Wild North America 1846

The First Battle of Detroit ended with a disastrous defeat for the Northern Army. Among the 86,000 officers and soldiers who participated in the battle, there were 28,600 casualties and more than 1,000 people missing. Only more than 56,000 people returned to Detroit in shock. It was a clean defeat.

However, the total number of old-fashioned muskets seized after the war was only more than 8,700, which is horrifying to think about in hindsight;

Of the more than 20,000 black soldiers in the first array, except for the more than 5,000 soldiers in the first row, all of whom were equipped with guns, a small number of black soldiers in the second row were equipped with guns, and the black soldiers in the third and fourth rows competed with each other.

However, it is unbelievable to be on the battlefield with empty hands, just waiting for the black soldiers in the front row to pick up the casualties and counterattack with guns.

Having been repeatedly defeated in annihilation battles, the Northern Army was indeed seriously short of firearms, but it wasn't to this extent?

After all, it's really using black people as cannon fodder.

Under the influence of various factors, the Tang Kingdom's army suffered only more than 870 casualties in the 1st Battle of Detroit, of which 339 were killed in action. Most of them were injured by artillery fire, once again achieving a very high casualty exchange ratio.

The frightened black soldiers who fled back to Detroit quickly became silent under the military's suppression. These black soldiers had no weapons or ammunition and could not cause any trouble in Detroit where soldiers gathered.

But this complete and utter defeat made Lieutenant General Samuel Brown, the commander of the U.S. Northern Army in Detroit, unable to sit still. The battle was so miserably lost that it was simply a loss of lives.

This forced the Northern Army Command to re-examine this failed policy, and quickly summarized several opinions;

Battle of Chicago

Although the old-fashioned smoothbore rifles equipped by the coalition forces to the white stormtrooper regiments were backward, in urban street fighting, due to the close combat distance, and a considerable part of the northern defenders were also equipped with old-fashioned smoothbore rifles, there was no obvious difference in the weapons and equipment between the two sides.

During the battle, you and I were fighting fiercely. The difference was only in combat experience, reaction, and physical strength. Therefore, we created a lose-lose situation in which we annihilated one thousand enemies and suffered eight hundred losses to ourselves.

The same situation would not be practical in the Battle of Detroit. Whether the old-fashioned musket was against the "Colt Thirteen-Ring" or the "King's Rifle", its range, firepower density, accuracy and power were completely crushed.

The result of pressure.

If the cannon fodder troops are to be used meaningfully, the only solution is to fully equip them with the new Mini rifles.

"Let's do it this way. Immediately assign the newly arrived batch of Mini rifles to the black troops and organize shooting training. We don't have much time left." Lieutenant General Samuel Brown finally made up his mind and made the final decision. He

He glanced at the somewhat dull senior officers in the headquarters and explained;

"No matter what, we must prevent the coalition forces from transporting coastal heavy artillery to the city of Detroit. The m1860 mortar has a range of 4 kilometers. In the Tang Dynasty, it was also nicknamed the "city crusher."

If we let it use its firepower, our existing strong fortresses will be blown into rubble one by one. This is a situation that no one would want to see.

The first priority of current defense is to organize battles and continuously carry out counterattacks against heavy enemy groups, forcing them to be unable to gain a foothold on the outskirts of the city and organize heavy artillery to attack the city.

Black troops cannot be sacrificed, but they must be sacrificed in a worthwhile way.

The military department will report to Washington again, requesting the rapid mobilization of no less than 50,000 Mini rifles to urgently support the front line.

As long as they have enough Mini rifles, all the soldiers fighting on the first line in Detroit will have the confidence to fight the Tang invaders to the end until they win the final victory."

The threat of siege artillery made the Detroit defenders panic, so they had no choice but to abandon the strategy of holding on to the city and adopt proactive offensive and defensive operations.

"God bless, the United States will win!" A group of senior military officers responded in unison with moved expressions, and a tragic atmosphere spread invisibly.

The Yankees of this era had no shortage of sacrificial spirit. Under the pressure of the army, they inspired the courage to fight to the death, and they had a kind of mourning mentality.

After winning the first Battle of Detroit, the Northern Army troops pressed forward from the north, west, and south, trying to push the front to the fortress of Detroit.

The U.S. Northern Army counterattacked with all its strength, constantly organizing divisions and regiment-level troops to go out of the city to fight. More than a dozen battles broke out outside Detroit in a day, and fierce gunfire sounded from morning to night.

The U.S. Northern Army learned its lesson, and the counterattack troops were all equipped with cutting-edge Mini rifles. Although they suffered heavy losses during the counterattacks out of the city, the scene was not a one-sided massacre. This also caused a certain amount of damage to the Northern Corps.

Melee for more than ten days

The Allied Northern Army achieved the result of killing and wounding 12,300 US troops, and its own casualties reached 4,177, achieving a battle loss ratio of 3:1.

In the case where there is no obvious generation difference in the weapons and equipment between the two sides, this is a relatively normal battle loss and is originally nothing.

But the officers of the Northern Corps, who were accustomed to complete victories, were not satisfied. The Chinese Corps, which was armed to the teeth and well-trained, fought like this with the American militia. What could they be proud of?

To this end, the Northern Corps planned a battle using two m1861 mortars as bait, which led to the gathering of soldiers from both sides and the Second Battle of Detroit.

this day

During a counterattack out of the city, a nearly 10,000-person U.S. military force composed of the 13th, 25th, 26th and 59th New York Volunteer Regiments suddenly discovered a U.S. cavalry reconnaissance force by the river in Dale Hills, about 12.5 kilometers south of Detroit.

, the army of the Tang Kingdom is building a bridge.

In the camp on the other side of the river, there are two M1861 giant cannons. Their high black muzzles are frightening.

After hearing the news

The Detroit headquarters of the U.S. Northern Army immediately became agitated. The two coastal cannons that terrified the entire Detroit defense line showed traces. Lieutenant General Samuel Brown immediately decided to destroy or capture these two coastal cannons at all costs.

Giant cannon.

Day 2

Early morning on December 4th

The thick black troops of the Northern Army poured out from the Detroit Fortress in several groups and spread menacingly toward the Dale Hills in the south. The white and black troops were clearly separated.

The U.S. military's unusual movements immediately attracted great attention from the coalition forces. Several troops stationed south of Detroit engaged in fire with the other side and retreated while fighting when the situation turned bad.

Seeing that the opponent had taken the bait, several armies of the Northern Corps quickly approached the direction of Dale Hills, and a great battle began.

About 9:40 am

More than 46,000 men of the Fourth Army of the Northern Corps met with about 50,000 men of the American New York Corps heading south in the wilderness. The two sides hurriedly launched a fierce battle.

The well-trained Fourth Army quickly deployed and immediately launched an overwhelming attack under the cover of artillery fire.

The U.S. New York Corps was in chaos when it transitioned from march to battle formation, and could only hastily fight the battle. The enemy's artillery fire and volley fire further aggravated the chaos. Under the ferocious attack of the Fourth Army, a large number of corpses were left behind.

Defeated steadily.

The hastily retreating U.S. soldiers disrupted the rear array, causing greater chaos. The Fourth Army took advantage of the situation to pursue and fight fiercely to expand the results.

Seeing that this U.S. force was about to collapse, unexpectedly, a large group of U.S. troops shot out from the northwest direction and quickly approached the battlefield. The leaders were all black troops, with a total of about 30,000 to 35,000 people.

The Fourth Army had to detach the 117th Division to intercept. The 117th Division quickly set up a heavy machine gun fire position on the west flank of the Fourth Army's offensive line. More than 10,000 people in the division took regiments as combat units, forming five infantry clusters.

Heavy machine gun position defense.

Their mission is to prevent this American force from joining the New York Volunteer Corps and affecting the Fourth Army's plan to annihilate the enemy.

Seeing the arrival of strong reinforcements, the New York Volunteer Corps, which had been beaten back step by step and faced collapse, rallied to block the Fourth Army's fierce attack and gradually stabilized its pace.

more than three hours later

Near one o'clock in the afternoon, the black troops reinforced by the United States suffered heavy losses under heavy machine gun fire and volley fire, and were never able to cross the defense line established by the 117th Division.

At this time, the main force of the US military led by Lieutenant General Samuel Brown arrived and launched a counterattack against the Fourth Army from the left and right directions. The sound of gunfire and artillery in the wilderness of dozens of square kilometers resounded throughout the world.

Under heavy pressure from the enemy, the Fourth Army could only cover alternately and retreat while fighting. This attracted a frenzied attack from the US military, and the battle became more intense.

It's about two o'clock in the afternoon

The Fourth Army retreated while fighting and had retreated to the edge of the Dell Hills. The entire army suffered more than 17,000 casualties and had less than 30,000 remaining troops.

The one with the heaviest casualties was the 506th Division (White Servant Division) of the Fourth Army. Because it carried out several tail-cutting missions, the entire regiment was annihilated by the US military, with a total of about 7,130 casualties.

However, the Fourth Army officers and soldiers, under heavy siege by the US military, also caused more than 38,500 casualties to the US military, which can be said to be a tenacious combat effectiveness.

In order to destroy the two coastal cannons, Lieutenant General Samuel Brown spent a lot of money and mobilized about 170,000 troops to fight out of the city. Although he lost 38,500 troops, he still had 135,000 troops in hand.

Dale Hills is about 12.5 kilometers south of Detroit. This distance is nothing to the U.S. military where soldiers gather.

With the Detroit Fortress at its back, there are still 150,000 to 60,000 troops in the fortress. All senior US military generals, including Lieutenant General Samuel Brown, are confident and do not think that the Northern Corps has such a good appetite and can swallow it in one bite.

.

That's not nice to say

If an army of hundreds of thousands is marching, and the leading troops arrive at Dale Hills, there will still be many troops in the rear who have not left the city.

General Samuel Brown stood on the high ground of the hills and used his binoculars to carefully observe the Fourth Army, which was surrounded by his own army on three sides. Behind the Fourth Army was a river about 30 meters wide, and the military camp south of the river

In the middle, two conspicuous giant cannons stand proudly.

see here

General Senor Brown couldn't help but smile, and said to the officers around him with great ambition: "Guys, no matter what the price is, I will cut off a leg of the Northern Army today, annihilate all its Fourth Army, and order all the armies to

Step up the attack and don't slack off."

"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander."

The situation in front of us is very clear. Although there is only a small river more than 30 meters wide behind the Fourth Army, it is an insurmountable natural danger in this cold winter.

Even if the soldiers risked swimming across the river, the severe cold and the rapid loss of body temperature would turn the soldiers who swam to the other side into stiff wooden piles, and even the ability to resist would disappear.

The distance is still more than 30 meters, which is easier than target shooting for Mini rifles. Under heavy siege, the Fourth Army is simply a dead end.