Fox of France

After the British fleet took shape, it first launched an attack on the American fort near Savannah.

The Americans built a fort near Savannah, but this fort is quite old, and the artillery on it is somewhat out of date-there are still 76mm front-loading rifled guns on it. Of course, this is mainly because the development of artillery has been too fast in recent years. You know, just a few years ago, these artillery were considered very advanced weapons.

The soldiers of the British Army landed on a beach near the fort, and then began to attack the fort. At the same time, the navy's warships began shelling the forts to cover the army's offensive operations.

Most of Georgia's state soldiers were transferred to the north to fight the Canadians, and the number of troops on the fort was seriously insufficient. In fact, not only the number of people is insufficient, but even the number of guns is not enough-when the Georgia state soldiers went north, they dragged away some of the smaller artillery on the fort.

In addition, today was originally a weekend, and many soldiers and officers were not on the fort. So the British took the fort with little effort. Then the British warship sailed directly into the port along the channel.

The transport ship of the British army docked directly on the port pier, and then the British army soldiers with bayonet-mounted rifles boarded the pier.

Among them, a small number of Georgia soldiers tried to resist, but the British warships immediately fired close-range naval guns, which really smashed their resistance.

The brigade of British troops went ashore, and quickly marched along the streets into the city. Gunshots rang out from time to time in the city, but they subsided very quickly. By around three o'clock in the afternoon, the British army had taken control of the entire city with a successful raid.

The British then naturally adopted a "steal up policy". The British seized all the various warehouses in the city and retrieved the various items in them. Everything that can be used is loaded on board. As for those merchant ships in the port, if they look at the condition in good condition, they will be "requisitioned" directly. As for what you don't like, don't waste it. The British demolished many buildings in the city, using their temporary conscripted American laborers. Then the bricks and everything that were removed were loaded onto these ships.

The Briton stayed in Savannah for three days, and roughly robbed everything he could. At this time, more than 10,000 state soldiers temporarily recruited by Georgia began to gradually approach Savannah.

General Arthur Wellesley also used these days to prepare a simplified version of Joseph's defense outside the city. Then the Americans slammed into it head-on, and their heads were bleeding.

So Georgia issued a general mobilization order, ordering all men over the age of 15 and under the age of 60 in the state to bring their own weapons and come to report to prepare to fight against the British aggression. However, they did not intend to rush over to regain the lost ground immediately, but to prevent the British army from going deep into the interior and attacking Atlanta.

Neither General Nelson nor General Arthur Wellesley actually had the idea of ​​going hundreds of kilometers inland and setting fire to Atlanta. The city, if possible, is better left to the Americans to burn themselves. However, considering that in this world line, the development direction of the United States is completely different from the original history, it is estimated that Atlanta has mostly escaped the devastating fire.

After another four days, the British had largely completed their plunder of Savannah. So they drove out all the Americans in the city, and began the second step of the plan-"burn it out". After driving out all the residents in the city, the British lit dozens of fire points in the city at one go, and the whole city burned quickly.

At this time, most of the British ships, including the ships they requisitioned, also left the port. The lit cavalry boarded the last few transport ships, and then the transport ships also left the port. When the last transport ships left the port, the British People drove the ships full of bricks and stones, which were not in good condition, to some important positions in the port, then anchored them, and then used a small time bomb to blow through the bottom of the ship, allowing these ships to sink on the channel. In the most critical position, it becomes an artificial reef.

After these ships sank, the British sent small boats to drop some mines in the port and on the channel, and then left the burning Savannah with satisfaction.

No, the Brits aren't exactly content. Because the French have been watching nearby, they have to be more ethical when doing things. For example, they first expelled the citizens from the city before setting fire to the city. And according to the original plan... In short, the "Three Alls Policy" has become the "Two Alls Policy", which is a full third less, which is really uncomfortable.

News of the British capture of Savannah spread quickly throughout the United States through the wire telegraph system. The news, of course, reached the front lines in Cleveland. So the U.S. troops surrounding Cleveland suddenly panicked.

The Legion from Georgia strongly demanded that they either immediately launch a general attack on Cleveland, take back Cleveland quickly, and then go back to defend their hometown immediately; or simply stop the siege of Cleveland and let them rush back to defend Georgia immediately. Cleveland was taken by the Canadians, which was infuriating, of course, but to the Georgia Corps men, Savannah was a hundred times more important than Cleveland, just as Georgia was a hundred times more important than Ohio.

Not only Georgia, but state soldiers in all coastal states are panic-since the British fleet can attack Georgia, they can also attack South Carolina, then North Carolina, then Virginia, then Maryland and Delaware, And then... all the way down to Massachusetts, anyone could be attacked.

A few days later, when the news came that the British had set fire to Savannah and continued to march north, the US troops besieging Cleveland became more and more panicked. Everyone is rumored that the British were killing people in Savannah. Like Genghis Khan, they killed all the people in the city. Then they set fire to the whole city. In all of Savannah, there is no house that can continue to stand.

This news not only made the soldiers in Georgia turmoil, but also the soldiers in South Carolina and North Carolina panicked, because they were just north of Georgia. But now the British fleet has begun to go north, and their city is the next target of the British.

Therefore, the requirements of the Georgia Legion are also the requirements of all state soldiers. And such a request, even President Jefferson could not ignore it. To be honest, the political status of American presidents in this era is far lower than that of later generations. In later generations, even if one knows the king, there are a thousand ways to make those governors obediently send money to his son-in-law. But in this era, he has nothing to do with those state soldiers and the governors of the states. If the Georgians yelled "Georgia first" and then took the army away, he would have nothing to do.

So President Jefferson personally rushed to the front line of Cleveland to talk with General Andrew Jackson, the commander of the U.S. military outside Cleveland and also the commander of the Tennessee Army, and Colonel Seville, the general adviser of the French advisory group, to listen to their opinions.

"Under the current situation, we have lost our coastal sea control, and we can only switch to a comprehensive defense." Colonel Seville said, "It is a pity that the United States has not been able to build a railway along the coast. If there is such a railway, we will Defense at sea is much more convenient.

As for the president, you asked me if I could take back Cleveland with a general attack. Mr. President, I have to say, it's impossible, it's beyond the capabilities of our military. Mr. President, the British defense in Cleveland is a typical 'Joseph's defense'. To quickly break through such a defense, even the French army would have to pay an astonishingly high price. I don't mean to look down on the U.S. Army here, but the training and equipment level of the French army surpasses that of the U.S. Army. If Mr. President must want to solve the Cleveland problem quickly, you will never have enough troops to strengthen the coast defense after this problem is solved. "

"So General Jackson, what do you think of this issue?" President Jefferson asked again.

"A direct attack is out of the question," General Andrew Jackson replied. Although he has a brave personality, after these days of fighting, he also understands that if he insists on "Joseph's defense", it is simply courting death.

"However, Mr. President, it would be very dangerous for us to retreat. If the enemy takes advantage of the situation to counterattack, our retreat will be very troublesome. But this is also an opportunity. In fact, we can take advantage of this opportunity. We pretend to retreat, Then lay a trap, and the British who come out to pursue will suffer. Then we can retreat safely." General Andrew Jackson added.

"But it will take time. In fact, it will take time for the soldiers to rush back. I am afraid that the damage to our coastal cities is inevitable. In addition, Your Excellency, I suggest that you should order as quickly as possible Some mines, for the defense of the ports. Maybe the southern cities are too late, but some of the northern ports, especially those inside the Chesapeake Bay, if we move fast enough and rely on mines, we can protect them." Colonel Seville also suggested.

The Chesapeake Bay is a bay where the Atlantic Ocean extends from south to north into the American continent. The bay is 311 kilometers (193 miles) long and 540 kilometers (325 miles) wide, making it the largest bay in the United States. Many important cities in the United States, such as the capital Washington, and the important port of Baltimore are here. The entrance of the bay is less than 20 kilometers wide, and the narrowest part in the middle is only about six kilometers. Among them, the waterway that can be used for shipping is even narrower. As long as there are enough mines, it is entirely possible to block the British fleet from entering the Chesapeake Bay.