I Became The Crown Prince Of The Mexican Empire - Chapter 139



Only Noblemtl

Mexican-American War (12)

President Mosquera of the Republic of New Granada, whose capital city of Bogotá had been occupied, informed the commander of the Mexican Imperial Army that he intended to proceed with a rapid unilateral peace without consulting the United States.

July 1, 1846.

Mexican diplomat Vicente Alvarez arrived in Bogotá, the capital of the Republic of New Granada.

He did not immediately enter into negotiations. He had work to do first. The orders given by the heir to the empire had to be carried out with great precision.

Many within the empire advocated annexing the entire Republic of New Granada.

‘No, this can’t be done that way. Even if we receive a declaration of war first, conquest through war is a huge burden.’

If you have the power, you can seize territory under the pretext of something as far-fetched as Manifest Destiny. But what if you don’t have to do that?

‘The most important thing for our Mexican Empire is Panama. We must include Panama in the peace treaty, but we can say it in a slightly different way.’

Amidst politicians and bureaucrats simply pondering whether to merge the whole thing or how far to take it, the crown prince proposed a more sophisticated method.

“Oh, extra! Panama will join the Mexican Empire after gaining independence from our country!”

“Independence?”

“This country is not Gran Colombia! Who wants to become independent?”

It was the citizens of Bogotá who had to watch as the federation collapsed and Ecuador on the left and Venezuela on the right became independent.

It was also for this reason that, unlike Gran Colombia, which was a federal state, its successor, New Granada, became a republic that aimed for centralization.

Bogotá’s citizens were outraged when they saw a statement signed by dozens of Panama’s regional elite, but there was nothing they could do.

Wherever you looked, soldiers in Mexican Imperial uniforms were controlling the streets.

By mid-July, news of Panama’s declaration of independence had spread throughout New Granada. President Mosquera, impatient, turned to the Mexican diplomat Vicente Alvarez.

“What the hell are you talking about now! I said we can have armistice negotiations right now!”

President Mosquera also had a vague idea of ​​what the Mexican Empire was doing. He still had time left in office, and he was preparing to quickly consolidate and blame all this on former President Pedro Herran.

No matter how much I thought about it, it was the only way to maintain this country on the edge of a cliff. Pedro Herran, who had pushed for a military alliance with the United States without much thought for personal greed, and insisted on participating in the war when it broke out.

The country could only survive if he turned all the hatred against himself and was executed.

But Mexico did not move as he intended. The imperial army controlled public opinion so that he could not control it, and in that state, the Mexican Empire was forming the public opinion it wanted.

Vicente Alvarez spoke calmly in front of an angry President Mosquera.

“Okay. Let’s do it, armistice.”

The demands he put forth were shockingly simple.

1. Respect the decisions of the local residents of Panama.

2. Pay a war indemnity of 30 million pesos to the Mexican Empire.

President Mosquera blinked and turned the paper over.

There was nothing written on the back.

“···”

President Mosquera was speechless. These Mexican imperial bastards were more sophisticated than he could have imagined.

Nations are united against a common enemy. Although the United States and New Granada declared war first, there was still an enemy in the Mexican Empire, and if they were to usurp the territory of the Republic, there would be no choice but to feel anger and hostility toward the Mexican Empire.

President Mosquera also wanted to play on that sentiment, but the Mexican Empire used a clever phrase that said, “We will respect the decisions of the region,” rather than “We will cede territory.”

It’s a pun.

You could argue that the statement was obtained by threatening the military, so it is invalid. But what would that mean? If Mexico were to declare that it would annex the entire country immediately, there would be no way to stop it.

“······This is where New Granada ends.”

President Mosquera said so and signed with a regretful face.

On the surface, the terms of the war were not harsh, despite the overwhelming defeat. In reality, all that was lost was the Panama region, which was part of the country, and 30 million pesos in war reparations. However, when the Treaty of Bogota was signed and the Mexican Empire withdrew, the voices that had been suppressed burst out louder.

“President Mosquera, step down!”

“Those congressmen who voted for war, step down!”

The citizens of Bogotá, who were direct victims of forced conscription, exploded with discontent, and the provinces were full of discontent in their own way.

“The central bastards started a war on their own and lost, and now they want to pay the war reparations together?”

In a normal country, the declaration of war would have been within the authority of the central president and parliament, but local elites who were strongly opposed to central intervention denied even that.

The Republic of New Granada began to descend into chaos with no way to see what lay ahead.

***

Boom!

Love love love-

Bam!

“What the hell. I told you I was going to target this place, but you ignored me.”

The American officer swore. The Mexican Imperial Navy had been prowling the waterways to Washington, D.C., all through July. Why would they do it without a reason?

There was no way to stop the investigation, but the defenses should have been strengthened. The garrison officers reported signs of danger several times, but the Federal Army remained silent.

Boom!

The Potomac River was the river that connected the U.S. capital, Washington, D.C., and the Atlantic Ocean.

The river, which had been attacked by the British fleet in 1812, was faced with the same situation 34 years later. Only the name of the country had changed, but the opposing country was pushing forward with overwhelming naval power.

“If it happened to you once, shouldn’t it not happen to you twice?”

In most countries, the capital is heavily defended, with a separate army guarding it. But the United States was different.

Although Washington, D.C.’s defenses were strengthened after the Burning of Washington in 1812, when the British approached across the Potomac River and burned several public buildings, including the White House (then called the President’s Mansion) and the Capitol, New York City remained America’s number one priority.

Washington, D.C. maintained a second-tier defense similar to Philadelphia and Baltimore.

“Fire! Stop them from entering Washington!”

Boom! Boom!

Thump thump!

The garrison of Fort Washington, the fort guarding the entrance to Washington, D.C., began to resist fiercely.

***

August 15th.

Fighting in midsummer was an action that could result in non-combat losses. But the President’s anxiety and hysteria were growing worse by the day.

The successor to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott was Major General Zachary Taylor, who was famous for his thorough crackdown on Native Americans in the United States.

President James Polk nominated Winfield Scott as commander in chief because he thought the Whig Zachary Taylor was dangerous if he had military achievements, but he relieved him of his post after only two battles.

Winfield Scott and other generals opposed the idea of ​​taking Memphis, saying it was impossible, while Zachary Taylor argued that it was possible.

‘I have to seize this opportunity.’

It was a chance to be an American hero, and I actually believed I could win.

Although the United States had lost all of its ports and the Mississippi River, its potential as it transitioned into a full-scale wartime state was enormous.

According to information, the Mexican garrison numbered about 140,000.

On the other hand, this side mobilized 220,000 troops. Even half of them had combat experience, and even the newly recruited ones were trained for more than a month.

The haphazardly assembled officers recruited from all over the place had some real combat experience and were somewhat familiar with how the military and the battlefield worked.

The Springfield Model 1844, which was pointed out as one of the biggest problems in the last battle, was replaced by the Springfield Model 1846, which had significantly improved the remaining defects.

The Springfield Model 1846 was produced at a rate of nearly a thousand a day, and brought with it ample supplies of food, ammunition, and shells.

“I guess you have no intention of crawling out of Memphis.”

“Yes, they say that they have been building defensive facilities day and night since right after the battle.”

They showed no sign of advancing north or east, as if they were content to hold on to Memphis alone. The US forces were in a situation where they had to break through the defensive line that the Mexican Empire had built over the past four months.

As the American army approached, the Mexican Empire’s army also began to prepare for battle. They began to man the trenches in the front line, and the cannons were prepared to fire.

Several hours had passed since they had been busily preparing for battle, right at the firing range of each other’s cannons.

As the hearts of hundreds of thousands of soldiers were pounding, Zachary Taylor gave the order.

“Advance!”

The order was quickly relayed to all American forces surrounding Memphis, and tens of thousands of American soldiers began to run.

“advance!”

The officer who gave the order also ran along. There was no formation. Everyone started running as they had trained in advance, while maintaining their stamina to an appropriate level.

Kwakwakwang!

Khak-

It must have been about 30 seconds since I started running.

The steel cannons of the Mexican Imperial Artillery were the first to open fire, even before they reached the obstacle field of barbed wire.

“Commence firing!”

As the American troops came within firing range, a Mexican Imperial officer gave the order.

Bang! Ta-ta-ta-tang!

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-

The Mexican Imperial Army began firing from their trenches, their upper bodies sticking out, rifles and machine guns spewing fire.

Aaaah!

Bullets rained down and screams rang out. Since all the obstacles had been cleared in advance, there was no room to hide. All we could do was break through.

“Open fire! Those who brought wooden planks, throw them at the barbed wire!”

As the American officer shouted, the soldiers began throwing the wooden planks they had carried with great difficulty onto the barbed wire fence.

Chaeng-chaeng-chaeng!

The barbed wire clanked loudly against the wooden planks.

“charge!”

“Eww!”

Although the American soldiers had made their own preparations, charging while covering the barbed wire with wooden planks entailed considerable risk.

“Eww!”

Underneath the wooden planks was barbed wire, and it swayed as I ran. The planks were prone to slipping, flipping, or breaking as they went along the barbed wire. Even without that, it was impossible to cross quickly on these planks. If you were too greedy and ran, you would often fall.

“Kwaaak!”

The barbed wire thorns dug into his uniform and stabbed his flesh. The soldier twisted his body in shock from the pain, but the barbed wire seemed to have no intention of letting go, and dug deeper, scratching at his skin with a “snap.”

Most soldiers ignored their comrades who were writhing in pain and moved forward, but there were some who could not. He brought a large cutter that looked like a pair of nippers and began to remove the barbed wire one by one in the middle of the battlefield, sweating profusely.

“Don’t move!”

It was right after I shouted that.

bang!

A soldier was shot in the chest while removing barbed wire for his comrades.

Charang-

He fell down like that against the barbed wire.

The Mexican army in the trenches was not without casualties either. The enemy numbers were overwhelming, and trench warfare was a new experience for the Mexican army.

“Ugh-”

“You little punk! I told you to sleep tighter!”

Fortunately, he was hit in the shoulder. There was no time to call anyone. The officer dragged the soldier out himself.

As the American artillery took up position and began to open fire in earnest after heavy sacrifices by the infantry, the fixed machine guns began to fire.

Boom!

The machine gun was hit by a shell and shattered, its debris tearing through the soft flesh of the three machine gunners.

Although the casualties of the American troops were still overwhelming, the Mexican Army’s firepower and stopping power gradually declined as the machine guns were concentrated, and the surviving American troops began to get closer and closer to the trenches.

It was pushed through with overwhelming numbers.

August 1846.

Fierce fighting took place in Memphis and along the eastern seaboard of the United States.