War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

On the fourth day, the Mexican cavalry went out as usual.

Antony's troops were also supported, with a total strength of 2,500 men and fifteen cannons.

The two sides had been engaged in a fierce artillery battle since the morning. The sudden increase in the Mexican army's artillery fire caught Anthony by surprise.

Looking at the pieces of fallen parapets, Anthony made the same choice as any experienced cowboy on this continent.

The El Paso Legion used their caravans to block the gap in the parapet, but did not wait for a full-scale Mexican attack.

Anthony dusted himself off and cursed, "Damn Mexicans, Indian bastards, where did they get so many artillery? Let Austin bring more artillery tomorrow."

At this time, a scarred cowboy rushed into the camp on horseback.

Anthony immediately recognized the other party as Captain Jabbar, who was responsible for delivering supplies.

"What's going on? Is it an Indian?"

"No, Mr. Anthony. It's the Mexican cavalry. They cut off our retreat."

"How many are there!?" Anthony asked eagerly.

"About a regiment" and then Captain Jabbar passed out.

"Jabbar! Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!..." Anthony was still shouting. This was not because of how good their relationship was, but because the cavalry regiment's gratitude was very vague at this time.

The American cavalry regiment may consist of 400 or 500 men. It usually consists of two squadrons, each squadron has 2 companies, and each company has 100-125 men.

However, in Europe, the French cavalry regiment usually has 4 squadrons and 800 people, the Prussian cavalry regiment usually consists of five squadrons, and the Austrian cavalry regiment usually has 7-8 squadrons. The Russian cavalry regiment does not have a fixed number of squadrons, including Mixed with a large number of Cossacks, the British cavalry regiment numbered 450 men.

Anthony could only rely on his own experience in dealing with Indians. 50 pioneers could deal with 300 Indian warriors.

If there were 500 Mexican cavalry, it would be enough to send 300 Texan soldiers. But for safety reasons, General Anthony decided to send the 200 mercenaries as well. After all, they were experts in dealing with Indians.

(At this time, there were a large number of Indians and Indo-European hybrids in the Mexican army, and these people were called Indians by Americans.)

The search force sent by Anthony soon discovered the Mexican cavalry on a hillside.

At this time, the Americans, due to long-term fighting with the Indians, did not take these saber-wielding cavalry seriously.

On the contrary, they felt that in this era, the use of cold weapons was a very ridiculous behavior. Their own cavalry also used pistols and rifles. It was only after 1838 that they began to use Colt cavalry revolvers (no longer pressing the hammer).

Gablenz was a little surprised on the hillside. It was not that the Texan troops came quickly, but that there were too few.

On this inconspicuous hillside, a total of 2,000 Mexican cavalry were stationed. Their purpose was to block enemy reinforcements and prevent the El Paso Legion from escaping.

What surprised Gablenz even more was that instead of retreating, this small Texan force advanced along the gentle slope, seemingly intending to capture the hilltop.

The search force of the Texas Army was led by Colonel Bob. His idea was very simple: rush up and kill all the Indians. He could take advantage of the range of the rifle. Anyway, the opponent only had sabers.

Suddenly there was a hail of bullets flying from the mountain. Colonel Bob touched his forehead, and his hands were covered with blood.

"How is this possible?" Colonel Bob fell heavily to the ground. He couldn't understand why those cavalry had guns.

In fact, this is related to the Austrian tradition. The cavalry in the Netaleña region was originally dominated by dragoons, and General Gablenz himself was a dragoon commander. It is not surprising that the Mexican cavalry he trained would become dragoons.

Gablenz felt that he had a numerical advantage, and he could not be sure whether the opponent's force was a decoy or whether the opponent had follow-up troops, so he first asked the soldiers to dismount and shoot at the enemy, and at the same time let the reserve team prepare for an assault.

However, what he didn't expect was that the opponent was defeated so quickly. They fell into chaos as soon as the battle started, and then began to flee.

There was a flat Gobi Desert in front of them, with no hiding place at all, and it was at least two kilometers away from the Texan camp. It was impossible for these defeated soldiers to run back.

Gablenz signaled the messenger to signal, but the cavalry on the side could no longer hold their nerve. After receiving the order, they immediately poured down the hillside.

The fleeing El Paso Legionnaires were heartbroken when they heard the thunderous sound of horse hooves behind them.

Some people wanted to organize a counterattack. After all, it was impossible for a two-legged man to outrun a four-legged horse, but those people could only be dragged around by the defeated troops and ran around in the Gobi Desert.

Naturally, the Mexican cavalry would not miss this good opportunity to cut wheat. The cavalry slammed into the broken ranks and began to massacre.

The defeated soldiers who were left behind had no choice but to run forward desperately if they wanted to survive, or pull down their companions to delay the cavalry's pursuit. This scene was very similar to the "rolling bead curtain" strategy used by the Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago. ".

The two-kilometer long flat Gobi desert destined these defeated soldiers to be unable to escape back to the camp alive.

At this time, the commanders of the Texas Army were all colonists and slave owners. They had no war experience. Even the mercenaries only had experience fighting Indian tribes.

They don't know the horror of the gentle slope, let alone the horror of the cavalry.

The reason why Gablenz chose this kind of hillside as a blocking point was because this terrain was not conducive to local attacks, and it could also give full play to the strengths of his own cavalry.

Only a few of the five hundred men fled back to the El Paso Legion camp.

These men were deliberately let go by Gablenz, whose purpose was to demoralize the El Paso Corps.

These soldiers who narrowly escaped death were either silent or shouting non-stop, because they had just experienced a horrific massacre, and their comrades around them were cut down one by one.

The Mexican cavalry did not allow the Texans to surrender, bleeding those who surrendered with their sabers, and then followed those who surrendered on horseback, driving them toward the El Paso Legion's camp.

"Damn it! You can't even deal with those damn Indians! What a bunch of trash!" Anthony cursed.

"Then what do we do now?"

"I know what to do? There are Mexican artillery and fortifications in front of me, and the rear route is cut off by the opponent's cavalry. What can I do! Damn Houston, why doesn't he come to support me!" Anthony actually regretted not being in Austria. Sting defended.

The firepower of the Mexican Army is much more intense than that of the El Paso Army. Now El Paso's position is full of loopholes that cannot be blocked.

What worried Anthony the most was the morale issue. Most of these people had never been on the battlefield. If it had been the first two days, he could have let these new recruits break through, or even attack Tasan Anna's position head-on to defeat them.

But now fear, anxiety, and the shadow of death have enveloped the entire army. He can only hope that Houston will send someone to rescue him, and then he will cooperate inside and outside to escape back to Austin.

However, the Mexican army did not give him this opportunity. After the shelling stopped, Tasan Anna's messenger issued an ultimatum to him, demanding that the El Paso Army surrender immediately.

Anthony saw the red flag raised in the Mexican military camp, and he thought of the legend that if he did not surrender now, the Mexicans would no longer accept surrender later.

At this time, the cavalry team that eliminated Colonel Bob came from the direction of Austin. Anthony discovered that it was not a cavalry regiment, but a cavalry brigade.

Anthony knew that he would never leave alive if he did not surrender, so he chose to surrender. It was not that he lacked courage, but that he did not want to make unnecessary sacrifices.