I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 133



Only Noblemtl

Mexican-American War (6)

“Retreat north, not to the city!”

“Give up. If we delay any longer, the Mexicans will come.”

“Damn it!”

It was already late and dark. If we delayed any longer, we might be caught up in the darkness by the Mexican army. The main force was already far away.

Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, who was commanding the troops in the city, and the American command retreated northward and sent orders to the left and right armies to retreat as well, but confusion arose and many troops entered the city.

Such confusion was bound to happen on the battlefield, but with the Mexican army advancing so quickly there was no time to deal with it.

The US military abandoned its remaining soldiers in the city and retreated.

Although it was dark and hard to see, the Mexican military also had a vague idea of ​​the situation.

“There seems to be some confusion in the orders.”

“I don’t know if they were confused or if they just fled to the city because it seemed safer.”

These people, even generals, mocked the American soldiers in excited voices.

“Haha, do those idiots think we’re going to fight in a street fight?”

Lieutenant General Antonio also cheered. They should have retreated north.

The Mexican Empire’s target is the Mississippi River. The city of New Orleans is only a secondary target, and no matter how superior the firepower, there is no way they would engage in a street battle that would inevitably result in great casualties.

“The engineers will surround the city with barbed wire, and the artillery will surround it with their guns aimed. The rest of you will treat the wounded and prepare for camp.”

“yes!”

The Imperial fleet successfully suppressed coastal batteries and fortifications and was able to bombard the city at any time.

The Mexican army encamped around the city.

After a bloody night, the Mexican army took control of the battlefield.

chuck-

The adjutant who saluted reported the results of the battlefield recovery.

“Commander, the number of casualties from the battle the day before was 1,811, 1,500 seriously injured, and 2,100 lightly injured.”

“···Okay, I see.”

In just one day, there were 5,400 casualties.

“Have you figured out the size of the US forces that retreated north?”

“Not yet. I will report back as soon as I find out.”

“Let’s do that.”

Although at great cost, an army of about 75,000 men crossed north to the Mississippi River.

‘The 2nd Corps will arrive soon to take control of the occupied territory and carry out supplies and combat in the south, so we have achieved our first objective.’

While Lieutenant General Antonio was comforting his bitter heart over the greater than expected loss of troops, despair was spreading in New Orleans.

“Shouldn’t you be leaving now?”

The troops fighting in the center of the city retreated and took food with them. They were not able to recover all the supplies in the city, but the food was not enough for the 30,000 troops here.

“···How can you go out when the Mexicans have been putting up barbed wire and aiming cannons all night? Are you going to be the first one?”

Colonel Peter Jones, the most senior of those remaining in the city, reacted annoyed.

I would have liked to find whoever had told us to retreat to the city and shoot them dead.

Phew-

As he let out a sigh, holding back his anger, the officers in the conference room, mostly junior officers, became tensed.

“We are short on everything, including troops, supplies, and officers. Fighting in this situation is nothing more or less than suicide.”

“So you’re saying we have no choice but to wait for reinforcements?”

The next most senior officer after Colonel Jones was Lieutenant Colonel Anderson.

“Yes. We have to hold out until reinforcements arrive, so we need to reduce our food consumption first. For the time being, we’ll just have to eat one meal a day.”

He added, looking around at the officers.

“I will apply the same to all officers, including me, so please understand.”

“yes!”

Although Colonel Jones gave the standard order, he was skeptical that reinforcements would arrive before food ran out.

Didn’t this disaster happen when they hastily mobilized people who hadn’t even received a day’s training to fight?

The United States may have been too ambitious and too unprepared, but it is not a country made up of fools. Having experienced it once, they will not fight until they are ready. And on top of that, they have already lost their strategic objective, the Mississippi River.

All I could see was a dark future.

***

February 25, 1846.

“···10,000 casualties? And 30,000 people are trapped in New Orleans?”

After hearing the results of the Battle of New Orleans, President James Polk leaned back and put his head in his hands.

After leaning back in his chair and remaining silent for a while, he opened his mouth.

“Yes. Since we sent them in a hurry, let’s say there were casualties, but what do you mean they were trapped in New Orleans? Fifty thousand retreated and thirty thousand were trapped. Does that make sense?”

President James Polk, who had removed his hands from his head, was glaring at Secretary of State William Marsh.

“That is···.”

Although his gaze was harsh, as the Minister of National Defense, he had a duty to report to the President, who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Military.

bang!

“There’s confusion in the orders? What the heck!”

It was James Polk who shouted like that, but if you think about it, it was understandable. The officers were mostly those who had not received formal military education, the soldiers were those who had not even the bare minimum of training, and 20,000 out of 90,000 were militia.

“You said you brought most of the food with you, so we won’t be able to last long. Shouldn’t we send reinforcements?”

There were a whopping 30,000 people. You couldn’t just give up on that number of troops, right?

“Mr. President, the generals’ consensus is that sending additional troops to rescue them under the current circumstances would be suicidal.”

“Then what are you saying? Are you saying we should give up 30,000 people?”

“···Mexico is a Christian country, so it will not commit such cruel acts against prisoners.”

The idea was to abandon New Orleans.

Secretary William Marsh continued his persuasion towards the silent James Polk.

“The Mexican army has already crossed north of the Mississippi anyway. It’s time to look at the bigger picture.”

If the Mexican army wanted to send troops north of the Mississippi River, they had to either cross the river or land on the north shore of the Mississippi River. The primary goal was to use the terrain to prevent a river crossing or landing, but since that had failed, they had to think about the next step.

“Even if the enemy takes control of New Orleans, it is still only the mouth of the Mississippi River. If they want to control the waterways of the Mississippi, they must move north, so we can block them there.”

The United States still had a lot of territory left, and the massive railroad construction encouraged by Mexico was able to transport goods. The most populous states in the northeast and the industrial areas of the north were not affected at all.

New Orleans is a major city in the South, and even if the Mississippi River were blocked, it would not be fatal for the entire United States.

“We must be patient now. We must gather more troops, train them, prepare supplies, and prevent the enemy from advancing to the middle reaches of the Mississippi River.”

Secretary of Defense William Marsh advised the President, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, based on decisions made in consultation with his generals.

Fortunately, the president did not resort to stubbornness.

“Do so.”

So New Orleans and its 30,000 people were abandoned.

***

Just as the U.S. Navy had detected the Mexican fleet sailing from Cuba, the Mexican Navy was also monitoring the U.S. Navy’s movements.

“I think I’ll get out soon.”

Admiral Salvador Martinez, commanding the Atlantic Fleet, realized that the American fleet had sailed to attack the main fleet that had entered the Mississippi River, and prepared an ambush.

Sitting around defending a port against the Americans, who didn’t even have much of a fleet, wasn’t to his taste.

‘Did you really think we wouldn’t notice after you pulled the whole fleet out like that?’

“They’re coming out!”

Early in the morning, a fleet of American ships, clearly in bad shape, was leaving the Mississippi River in the distance.

“Now! Attack!”

Boom!

As soon as the admiral’s order was given, the main guns of the flagship, which had been preloaded and aimed, opened fire.

As soon as the steamer set sail, the Mexican Imperial fleet opened fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“It’s an ambush!”

Someone shouted, but everyone had already noticed.

Ding ding ding ding ding-

The American fleet sounded its bells in a hurry and prepared for battle.

“Prepare for battle!”

“Return fire!”

As his officers busily prepared for battle, Admiral David Connor struggled internally.

The enemy fleet was already rapidly approaching the American fleet on both sides. The difference in strength was clearly visible.

‘There is no chance of winning if you fight head on.’

‘If we escape with full force, we can preserve some of the armored ships and monitors.’

‘But then we’d lose all the sailing ships without steam engines.’

He will be branded as a commander who abandoned his comrades and ran away.

He blamed Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, who had ordered that ships of the line and frigates be taken along as well, in case they might be of help.

Didn’t the US military lose all of its sailing warships thanks to that old fart who only lived in the era of sailing ships and then retired from the front lines?

‘Fight fiercely and die here?’

Admiral David Connor was a little taken aback by the idea.

His mind was filled with despair, caused by the overwhelming difference in naval power between the two nations and the defeat in a battle in which he had risked his life.

If I fight and die here, I will lose my life but I will never be called a coward.

“···All fleets, disengage at full speed!”

But his choice was to retreat. What crime had the young men on board committed? It was a choice that meant abandoning almost half of the fleet, but he had to save the other half.

“Admiral Connor!”

As the order was given and the fleet began to build to maximum speed, shouts erupted from the rear.

It was the cry of his junior and the captain of a battleship.

bang!

Wheeeeeeeeeek-

Crunch!

The side of a U.S. Navy battleship was penetrated.

The battleships that had once been symbols of overwhelming power were being torn apart by enemy guns.

Its inherent limitations were revealed in the face of more powerful cannon technology.

The Mexican fleet’s pursuit continued until the fleet reached Pensacola, Florida.

In this fierce pursuit, many steam warships as well as sailing ships were lost, but the ironclads were saved.

6 ironclad ships and 20 monitor ships.

It was all the ships left in the U.S. Navy.

***

“The supply route is under attack?”

“Yes, it appears to be the work of organized militias from various parts of the occupied territory.”

When the messenger’s report came in, the staff officer answered.

“It was expected. They quickly pushed in without any management of the occupied territory, so it is natural that the rear is unstable.”

The United States was very large. On the map, it was only a small part of the country, but in reality, there were over 300 kilometers of supply lines and territories to manage.

“Since the 2nd Corps is almost ready, I guess we can just leave it to them as planned?”

“Yes, we are planning to depart on March 2nd. Since we can also supply the troops by river, there is no need to respond hastily.”

I nodded.

“Let’s do that, and we need to decide what to do with the overflowing prisoners.”

The Navy has taken over 4,000 prisoners, and soon an unknown number of those trapped in New Orleans will surrender.

That’s over ten thousand prisoners.

“Make a thorough plan so that you can pay for the meal.”

There was a lot of work to do, including building basic roads for supplies, constructing trenches and defensive positions.

Within two months of the start of the war, they achieved successes such as winning the Battle of New Orleans, occupying the mouth of the Mississippi River, and striking the American fleet.

The first step of the war was well put together.