Wild North America 1846

washington

Three unmarked black carriages filed through the road in front of the Capitol and soon arrived at the south entrance of the White House. Several senior officers in straight general uniforms got out of the carriages and hurried inside with stern faces.

The reporters waiting at the south entrance of the White House were instantly recognizable. Among them were Lieutenant General Heath Caldwell, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Lieutenant General McClelland, Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army, and MacDonald Knox, Commander of the Artillery.

Major general and other military dignitaries, the reporters suddenly became excited.

The purpose of entering the White House at this time is obvious. It must be to urgently discuss countermeasures due to the unfavorable situation on the battlefield.

in the white house

The discussion in the small conference hall has been going on for a long time, and everyone has a solemn look on their face. After two full-scale military mobilizations in the north, social production has shifted to a war system, and all kinds of urgently needed supplies are being produced at full capacity.

However, due to the backward conditions of industrial production capacity in today's era, the 680,000-strong northern army that was urgently recruited lacked almost everything, from weapons to military uniforms, from ammunition to boots, and tents.

The United States is a British-style highly liberal market economy. Before the outbreak of the Civil War, there was no concept of strategic reserves. There were some commercial inventories in the domestic market, but they were only a drop in the bucket to cope with the sudden increase in the number of large armies.

Even if production is at full capacity now, it will still take a long time to increase production. It is expected that by this time next year, most of the material shortages will be alleviated, while a small number of them will become more acute.

Just take kerosene as an example;

Since the world's petroleum refining industry was basically monopolized by the Tang Kingdom, after the outbreak of the Civil War, the North was cut off from the import of kerosene, lubricating oil, diesel and heavy oil. After the inventory was exhausted, it now includes large and medium-sized cities such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Detroit.

Inside, it's pitch black after nightfall.

Even the kerosene street lamps on the roadside in big cities are no longer viable, so people have to go about their activities in the dark. Only a few candles can be lit in taverns, and the hazy light is like a will-o'-the-wisp.

People turned their hopes for lighting back to vegetable and animal oils, which caused the price of vegetable oils on the market to skyrocket, even reaching more than 10 times what it was before the war, which is jaw-dropping.

The shortage of lubricating oil made the situation worse. Many factory equipments were paralyzed and had to be temporarily replaced with animal fats, greatly reducing production efficiency.

Also due to the outbreak of the civil war, cotton imports from the south were cut off, which forced many textile mills in the north to suspend operations. There was a huge shortage of uniforms, bedding, tents and other materials supplied to the army.

Social demand was also the same, which led textile importers from the UK and the Tang Dynasty to raise prices wildly. The price of a foot of ordinary cotton cloth was four times higher than before the war. Moreover, "Luoyang paper is expensive", attracting citizens to rush for it.

A white cotton shirt increased from 65 cents to 3.5 US dollars, and a pair of strong and durable "Lister brand" jeans produced in the Tang Dynasty cost as much as 13.6 US dollars, compared with only 2.35 US dollars before the war.

Many northern volunteer militiamen were still holding old-fashioned flintlock muskets brought from home and wearing all kinds of strange clothes until they went to the battlefield. How did they look like an army?

This spectacle was like the peasants fighting with their lord knights with pitchforks and sticks in the European Middle Ages. It was so chaotic that it made observers from all over Europe laugh out loud.

"There are not so many ifs, and don't give me so many reasons to emphasize. I will see the Northern Army launch a full-scale general attack at the end of July, otherwise I will use the special authorization of the wartime president to send you all to a military court."

Death, charged with treason." President James Buchanan shouted hoarsely. He looked around at the crowd with angry eyes, and his face became a little flushed with excitement.

In just over a year and three months since he took office, President James Buchanan has rapidly aged from a dashing middle-aged politician to a man with white hair and an appearance as old as a teenager.

The huge tests he faced one after another almost bent President James Buchanan's tall waist, and his figure became slightly stooped, but his eyes were still so firm.

He looked around at the crowd and continued;

"The army wants soldiers, and I gave them to you. The government wants to mobilize the whole country, and I signed the presidential decree. Now I need news of victory, but you are emphasizing all kinds of difficulties for me.

Our military strength is 1/3 more than that of the South. This is our biggest advantage.

Now ordering in his capacity as the President of the United States and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Armed Forces;

The Continental Army is scheduled to launch a full-scale general attack on the southern rebels on both the Eastern and Western fronts simultaneously on July 28, under the command of Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Heath Caldwell.

The officers and soldiers of all armies must fight with all their strength, and the United States will provide the greatest support. I hope to hear the good news of your victory."

"Dear President, on behalf of the Federal Continental Army, I accept this sacred mission. I will lead the brave soldiers to attack with all their strength and bring you the victory you desire." Lieutenant General Heath Caldwell led a group of people.

The general stood at attention, saluted, and bravely accepted this arduous task.

President James Buchanan turned his eyes to the commanders of the U.S. federal navy. After seeing them all standing up, he ordered in a deep voice;

"I order the federal naval fleet to launch a full-scale attack to blockade and cut off the ports in the south after the rebellion, and authorize you to arrest ships that violate federal prohibitions and participate in the smuggling trade."

"Your Excellency, does this also include British, French and Tang Kingdom cargo ships?"

"Yes, but we must pay attention to the methods and methods. Artillery can be fired as a deterrent. Unless specifically authorized, otherwise; unless it is absolutely necessary, we are not allowed to sink the merchant ships of the above-mentioned countries to avoid triggering an international incident."

"Oh...this does sound a bit confusing, dear President."

"Execute the order, all for the sake of America."

"Yes, the federal navy will faithfully execute the president's orders. May God bless the United States."

"May God bless America." President James Buchanan crossed himself on his chest piously. He really needs some good luck now.

The brewing war involves hundreds of thousands of troops. The Northern Army will launch a fierce attack on the Confederate Army from east to west on a front line thousands of kilometers long. Such a large-scale battle requires a long time to prepare.

There are only 32 days left until July 28th, and time is very tight...

Although speaking of

The front lines of the American Civil War that stretch for thousands of kilometers from east to west are actually very clearly divided. One is the Eastern Front and the other is the Western Front.

Especially the Eastern Front, mainly refers to the 150 kilometers between Washington and Richmond. During the American Civil War, this was the main battlefield in the East and a key place that was repeatedly fought for.

Before the Southern Independence Movement

Virginia, a wealthy and populous state in the East Coast South, wavered at a high-level rally in New Orleans and did not make up its mind to fully join the separatist faction.

In order to win over Virginia, President Jefferson Davis (in the South) of the Confederate States did not hesitate to place a heavy bet and convince other southern states to agree to set the capital in Richmond, which is the capital of Virginia and the largest city in the state.

Virginia hesitates to join the South.

This resulted in the fact that in the American Civil War, Washington and Richmond were only about 150 kilometers apart, and this became the battlefield with the most frequent battles, the bloodiest battles, the largest number of casualties, and the largest number of troops in the entire Civil War.

Every hill, every river, every fort, and every town from Washington to Richmond was fought over repeatedly during the war. The corpses of fallen soldiers covered the more than 150 kilometers of mountains and rivers.

Towns, railways and infrastructure were all reduced to ashes, and it was the main battlefield in the civil war.

For example, at the beginning of the war;

In the Battle of Malassas, where the Northern Army encountered a head-on attack, Confederate Commander Jackson withstood five violent concentrated attacks by the Northern Army with an outnumbered enemy, winning the reputation of "Stone Wall" and becoming famous throughout the world in the first battle.

.

However, this was only the beginning, the second Battle of Malassas and the third Battle of Malassas also took place here...

No matter how many defeats they encountered and how heavy the casualties they suffered, the armies of the North and the South set each other's capital as the ultimate war goal and devoted all their efforts into a fist-to-flesh battle.

on this land

In the original history, from the outbreak of the civil war to the final end of the civil war for more than four years, an average of 420 soldiers from the North and the South were killed every day, accounting for a little more than two-thirds of the total casualties. Even in the fight for the advantage of the eastern battlefield, both sides had fought against each other.

Blinded.

From the beginning of the war to the present, after the Battle of Malassas, the Northern Army took the initiative to launch the Battle of Hegu and the Battle of the Peninsula. The purpose was to invade Virginia on a large scale and go straight to Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy.

However, under the outstanding command of Commander-in-Chief General Lee, the Confederate Army defeated the Northern Army's attacks one after another. Especially in the 1st and 2nd Battles of Malassas, General "Stonewall" Jackson repeatedly made meritorious deeds.

The Northern Army was beaten to a pulp and nothing was found except corpses all over the ground.

After this

In order to take advantage of the battlefield, the Southern Army took the initiative to cross the Potomac River and launched a fierce attack on the Northern Army. It invested heavily in the Battle of Maryland, the Battle of Sandsburg and other battles involving tens of thousands of people. Finally, it stopped under the Northern Army's human sea tactics.

The steps forward were taken.

The battlefield on the Eastern Front is a bloody mill with no strategic detours and depth, where the North and the South engage in head-to-head combat, with repeated battles over every hill and every river.

Thousands of troops were pulled up, but after a big battle, only a thousand people could come back.

The inherent cruelty and bloodiness are vividly reflected in the eastern battlefield.

On the other hand, on the western battlefield, the strategic depth is too great.

The Western Front battlefield mainly involves the battle for the Mississippi River, the main transportation artery. The truly decisive battlefields are fought in the western Appalachian Mountains and the vast Midwestern Great Plains.

As early as the beginning of 1858, the Northern Army began operations in the western battlefield, sending heavy troops from Kentucky to capture Tennessee, with the intention of occupying this important large granary in the South to supplement the North's precarious food supply.

The south resolutely fought back. The cavalry units, mainly from Texas, which had been trained by the officers of the Tang Dynasty, showed their skills and continuously inflicted heavy losses on the northern army.

The fighting on the Western Front battlefield was in the ascendant, and the situation was out of control like a wild horse running wild. The impact of the war spread to almost all the territories in the north and south of the United States, and no state was spared.