Wild North America 1846

Just as London was in deep trouble, the war situation in North America took on new changes.

The battlefield on the Eastern Front is still filled with heavy troops from the North and the South fighting for this narrow 150-kilometer area. Victory or failure in each battle only means advancing or retreating a few miles, truly demonstrating the bloody cruelty of not giving up an inch of ground.

It was like two naked men fighting hand to hand, sweating not sweat but countless lives.

On the vast battlefield of the Western Front

The Colorado Corps of the Kingdom of Tang Dynasty and the Southern Corps, which launched a swift attack, successively won the Battle of Kansas and the Battle of Xuefeng Mountain, wiping out a total of more than 140,000 enemies.

The approximately 110,000 remaining U.S. troops led by General Hillman formed a broad encirclement of approximately 800 kilometers from north to south and 130 kilometers in length, giving them an overall advantage.

The Southern Corps, combined with more than 50,000 relatively elite troops from the Confederate States of America (South), slowly pressed from south to north. After more than 20 days, they advanced to the Nixa area, more than 310 kilometers south of Kansas, but still no remnants of General Sherman were found.

The Colorado Corps, which was waiting in the north, had a total strength of 210,000 (an increase of 22,000 troops in January, plus more than 30,000 troops from the Southern Army General Hill's troops), but no trace of General Sherman's troops was ever found, which aroused

The Tang Kingdom General Staff Headquarters attached great importance to it.

Could it be that... General Sherman's troops actually escaped?

This possibility is not non-existent. After the Battle of Xuefeng Mountain, the US military, which originally had an extremely bloated retreat team, suffered a disastrous defeat. They abandoned a large number of baggage carriages and fled, leaving only the forward army of more than 75,000 people with relatively complete supplies and equipment.

There were about three to four thousand carriages of weapons, ammunition and food supplies.

In this way, it is tantamount to reducing the burden on the US military in disguise.

If the U.S. military abandoned their carriages and baggage, walked off the road into the wilderness, and crossed the vast eastern wilderness on the backs of men and horses, there would be a certain possibility of bypassing the huge trap in Kansas City.

Although the possibility exists, it is very difficult to operate.

Because the amount of supplies that a person or horse can carry is limited, the minimum food requirement that can last for 10 days is enough. If you want to bypass this huge trap in Kansas City, you have to hike at least 400 kilometers or even longer in the wilderness.

This is because the frontal defense network of the Colorado Army in Kansas is as wide as 137 kilometers, and there are also Ranger Cavalry patrolling the surrounding areas, reaching as far east as hundreds of kilometers in depth.

If the remnants of the Northern Army did not want to be discovered, it would still take more than 400 kilometers to surround the trap deployed by the Tang Kingdom, and this would require extremely accurate intelligence support.

If you leave a little safety margin, the hiking mileage will reach more than 500 kilometers.

is it possible?

revel city

This is a city more than 120 kilometers south of Kansas City that is mainly based on agriculture and animal husbandry. It is home to about 17,000 residents. The city has a small population but a wide area. It is basically composed of 1 to 2-story wooden houses.

The Lord currently has a cavalry division and an infantry division stationed in total, totaling 25,000 troops. It is the forefront military presence of the Tang Kingdom's Coralado Corps in the south.

The city council has now become a military headquarters. Lieutenant General Harry Fletcher, Commander-in-Chief of the Corps, Major General Duan Debiao and Major General Fan Pengfei, Deputy Commander-in-Chief, and a group of senior generals gathered here, all with deep anxiety in their brows;

Where the hell are these damn Yankees hiding?

"The matter has become very clear. Since the siege of Kansas City, no news has come out for more than a month. Sherman was originally an outstanding general of the Northern Army, and he also suffered the defeat of Snow Peak Mountain. It is impossible not to think of it.

The worst happens."

"The problem is... our cavalry patrol has spread out 150 kilometers away and still hasn't found any trace of the US military. Could it be that it flew from the sky?"

"I don't believe they went around. There are countless hilly rivers in these four or five hundred kilometers of wilderness. There are seventy or eighty rivers that can be counted, not to mention countless nameless streams. Just because the cavalry can cross it, it doesn't mean that they can go around it.

Infantry can also pass."

"Yes, the weather is still cold at the end of February. The Corps sends cavalry patrols to continuously swim across wild rivers. Even if they return within a week, 30 to 40% of the horses will suffer from serious discomfort and injuries. Why do the Yankees break through the wilderness?

"

"The problem is that there are no traces now!"

"This is an army of 110,000 people. It originally carried few logistical supplies. How will they solve the food problem if it continues?"

After discussing it for a long time, the problem returned to its original point, which made the atmosphere in the headquarters become more solemn.

The encirclement surrounded by more than 300,000 troops is like an iron barrel. If the remnants of Sherman's troops in the US Army are allowed to escape, the Corps Commander can really find a piece of tofu and kill them to avoid embarrassment.

Unable to completely annihilate General Sherman's troops, the Tang Kingdom's 300,000-strong army had to be dragged on this lush wilderness of Kansas, unable to move north in time to encircle Chicago and officially start the second phase of the campaign.

Therefore, the corps officers were extremely anxious in their hearts, but they could not show it.

Major General Fan Pengfei frowned deeply. After much consideration, he clicked on the map with his hand. This is a large wilderness forest nearly 100 kilometers south of Leweier. It covers an area of ​​about 100,000 hectares and is full of swamps. It is an inaccessible area.

area.

"After comprehensive judgment, I believe that the remnants of the US military are hiding in this area, and it is impossible to escape back to the north across the four to five hundred kilometers of wilderness to the east."

Speaking of which

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on him, Major General Fan Pengfei calmly stated the basis for his judgment;

"Based on our military's understanding of the US military, General Sherman's army is an army that has experienced hundreds of battles. It has a tough fighting style and is not afraid of sacrifices and dares to fight hard. It is one of the more outstanding field troops on the Western Front.

one.

Another outstanding field force is the Michigan Corps of more than 100,000 men led by Lieutenant General Samuel Brown. The Michigan Corps has successfully returned to Chicago recently.

This invisibly increases the difficulty of the Northern Army's attack, which can be said to be no small pity.

Because of this, we must not let go of General Sherman's remnants and must completely annihilate them in the field to avoid future troubles.

The U.S. military has always had a lot of courage, spirit of sacrifice, and combat experience.

However, the lack of systematic military training by the northern militias has always been a huge weakness, which has led to lax military discipline and poor obedience, which is an inherent disease of the US military.

Considering that General Sherman's troops had been victorious in consecutive battles and had enjoyed a smooth march of burning, killing, looting, etc., it was inevitable that he would be arrogant and arrogant.

Such a force, allowed to overcome numerous difficulties and dangers and cross a wilderness area of ​​400 to 500 kilometers long, would probably break up halfway.

Our army has iron-clad discipline. Let alone 500 kilometers, even if there are several times more soldiers, we can overcome it, but the Yankees cannot.

So I judge;

They must be hiding in this forest and swamp area with complex terrain. If they are led by locals who are familiar with the terrain and hunt local buffalo herds and other wild animals in a planned way, they can persist for a long time.

Therefore, the next step should be no less than a cavalry division, focusing on searching and exploring this area."

After finishing speaking, Major General Fan Pengfei tapped heavily on the map, showing his strong confidence in his judgment.

As a senior general of the Corps, he must be responsible for the strategic decisions he makes, because this may affect the deployment of the entire Corps.

The Colorado Corps has a total strength of more than 180,000. It has only two authentic cavalry divisions under its command. The other cavalry are division-affiliated cavalry battalions with a relatively small structure. They are mainly responsible for some reconnaissance, communication and security tasks, and are not powerful cavalry combat units.

The Kingdom of the Tang Dynasty had only 6 cavalry divisions in total, two under the Northern Corps, two under the Colorado Corps, one under the Southern Corps (a cavalry division of the Royal Guards, temporarily strengthened to the Southern Corps), and one guarding the royal palace of Longshouyuan.

.

If a cavalry division is sent to concentrate nearly 100 kilometers south to search the forest wilderness area, there will inevitably be large blanks including Leweier and the surrounding areas, and traces of the main US military force may be missed.

Lieutenant General Harry Fletcher, commander of the Corps, frowned and said nothing. He was still carefully considering the gains and losses.

It would be terrible if the judgment was wrong and General Sherman's remaining 110,000 men took advantage of the situation and forced a breakthrough east of Kansas City.

The more than 130 kilometers of defense line east of Kansas City along the railway direction is not full of troops. If the U.S. Northern Army seizes the weak flank and forcibly breaks through, it will cause the overall situation to be passive, and it will be too late to regret it.

Even if 110,000 ducks break through the big net, it will take a lot of effort to catch them, let alone people.

Just when Lieutenant General Harry Fletcher was hesitant, Major General Duan Debiao, Major General Fan Pengfei's old commander, spoke. Apparently, he said this after careful consideration;

"I agree with Deputy Commander Fan's point of view. Whether the US military is a veteran or a field elite, discipline is always a shortcoming. This is an indisputable fact.

It would be possible for a small U.S. military force to cross a wilderness of four to five hundred kilometers, but it would be unthinkable for a large army of 110,000 people to abandon all their artillery fire and logistical equipment and enter the wilderness.

To complete this arduous task, the military must have a complete training and organizational system, well-trained officers and soldiers, and iron-clad discipline, and these are elements that the US military cannot possess.

Therefore, I agree with Deputy Commander Fan’s opinion that the U.S. military may be hiding in this forest, swamp area with complex terrain or further away, and this should be the focus of the search.”

The two deputy commanders had the same opinion. Lieutenant General Harry Fletcher had to pay great attention to it. After careful consideration, he finally made up his mind and said;

"You have convinced me that the possibility of Sherman's army escaping across the wilderness into the north without us noticing is less than one tenth, and that it has nowhere to hide in the area from Kansas to Revel. It is even more likely.

They are hiding somewhere south of the Lemur area, so let us find them."

Speaking of which

Lieutenant General Harry Fritsch paused for a moment and then said in a serious tone; "As the commander of the regiment, I ordered that the headquarters of the 303rd Cavalry Division focus on the southern forest area to carry out intensive investigation and repeated combing.

I must dig out these hiding Yankees and eliminate them completely and cleanly."

"Yes, sir." Lin Feng, commander of the 303rd Division, and his subordinates all stood at attention and saluted, solemnly accepting the order.