Chapter 2552 Sense of Presence

Vasa insisted on concentrating its forces, and there is another factor that is inconvenient to say clearly, that is, the perception of foreign friends must be taken into account.

The biggest advantage of the guerrillas is their mobility and flexibility, but the biggest disadvantage is that they are too scattered and lack a sense of presence.

Why emphasize the "sense of presence" of the troops?

Because foreign friends can't see or look down on the guerrillas wearing ordinary clothes, what they can see from the news reports is only a large army with a well-equipped army, and a big battle with thousands of troops!

If Vasa disperses the Continental Army into guerrillas lurking everywhere, although the fighters are still fighting the enemy, in the eyes of foreign friendly countries, your army is disbanded and ceases to exist, then why should I pay for it? Sending out guns to support your revolution? God knows whose hands these military aids will end up in?

Since ancient times, no regime has successfully built a stable territory through guerrilla warfare, let alone established an independent country.

All people have path dependence, and they all look for experience from past successful examples, and George Vassar is no exception.

Compared with unreliable guerrilla warfare, he is more willing to learn from the successful precedents of the Far Easterners fighting for independence, and to learn from the experience of the founding monarch of the Far East, Rudolph Kolas, who managed the army. He pulled up a team by himself and adopted a dignified frontal combat Defeat the imperial army, laying down a piece of land beautifully.

Vasa is not lacking in self-knowledge. He knows that he is inferior to Rudolf I, who was respected as a "famous general" by military strategists from various countries before the founding of the Far East, but he had to bite the bullet and play the role of "the leader of the New World". Rudolph", because the vast majority of compatriots and foreign friends in the colony had such expectations for him.

He cannot and does not dare to live up to everyone's expectations.

The contradiction between the north and the south of the Continental Army is more acute in the soldier class.

Following Vasa to the north were 3,000 soldiers from Yalfheim, including 1,000 Asa fighters from Powhatan village.

Most of these officers and soldiers from the south are brightly dressed and well-equipped, showing the wealth and superiority of Yalfheim.

In contrast, the militiamen in Jotunheim were nothing more than a group of street beggars, and it was hard not to be irritated to see the southerners showing off their might. Therefore, the northern militiamen went to the Yalfheim militiamen for trouble, and it was commonplace for gangs to fight.

In order to overcome regional prejudice, Vasa suggested breaking the organization based on the region and mixing all the fighters to reorganize.

But as soon as he said this, he was unanimously opposed by the generals.

You can't blame the generals for being narrow-minded. This was determined by the political structure at the time.

The Continental Army sounds like it should be "the army of the country" and should be planned by the Continental Congress.

Unfortunately, however, the Continental Congress had no money—not only no money, but no taxation power.

How can such a weak "central government" support the Continental Army?

It can only rely on the support of the colonies, that is, each region supports its own legions, and everyone gathers together to fight.

The Jotunheim Legion is paid by the Jotunheim Council, the Midgard Legion is paid by the Midgard government, and the Yalfheim Legion is paid by the Yalfheim government... Supply standards in various places Not the same, some more, some less, in this case it is impossible to break the regional organization.

More trouble than this is yet to come.

From the day Vasa entered Zishan Valley, he began to conduct very strict and systematic military training for soldiers.

At the end of the training, it turns out that the next thing soldiers who have just learned to fight are to pack up and go home because their contracts are about to expire.

When the new Avalon was besieged, no one expected that the war would drag on for such a long time. During the conscription, they signed short-term contracts of three to five months.

In such a short period of time, basically nothing can be done. Isn't it a waste of effort to do any military training?

Aware of the seriousness of the problem, Vasa proposed to the Continental Congress to establish a permanent standing army, but was unexpectedly rejected.

In the eyes of most congressmen, "standing army" means tyranny. A commander-in-chief who demands the establishment of a standing army will inevitably make these literati and politicians suspect that he is an ambitious warlord trying to implement a military dictatorship. think.

The militia in Jotunheim also has a wonderful tradition, that is, officers at all levels are democratically elected, not appointed by superiors.

This was especially intolerable to Vasa.

War is a game of life and death. Subordinates must strictly obey the orders of superiors. How can there be democratic elections? Isn't this a joke with life!

So he issued an order, stipulating that from now on, the promotion of all military officers should be decided by the superior and cannot be elected by the subordinate.

This order dissatisfied the officers and soldiers of Jotunheim who were accustomed to a democratic atmosphere. Fortunately, everyone also understood the principle of rushing to power in times of war, and to some extent gave the newly appointed commander-in-chief a little face. At least this order can be regarded as being implemented. up.

In such stumbling, George Vassar spent the first month in the Continental Army's garrison.

...

At the beginning of July 1626, the third infantry division from Figin arrived in the New World, bringing the total number of troops in New Avalon to 40,000, surpassing their rival "Continental Army" for the first time in terms of strength.

The town of Idalil, where the Continental Army was stationed, was located deep in the Yew Valley. It was a strategic point that was easy to defend but difficult to attack. Even with reinforcements, Earl Winthrop was not sure about storming the Yew Valley.

Fighting in this overgrown environment, the "line tactics" of Fiji's regular army were greatly limited, and they could not get the support of naval guns, while militiamen and hunter-born Continental Army fighters were at home in deep valleys and jungles. He never paid attention to any gentleman's demeanor, and even took pride in beating people in the back.

If the Feizhen regular army, which is not used to fighting in mountain forests, is forced to storm Yew Valley, not to mention that it may not be able to fight, even if it can be captured, the losses suffered will definitely be much greater than the Battle of Barn Mountain. would like to see the results.

In order to get rid of the passive situation, Earl Winthrop and his four generals - Henry Clinton, Johnny Burgoyne, Charles Cornwallis and William Howe - formulated a new battle plan.

According to this combat plan, Governor Winthrop and General Clinton will lead two infantry divisions to board the ship at the port of New Avalon. Under the escort of the fleet of Admiral William Howe, the corps will go south along the coastline and enter Asa. Bay, captured Midgard City.

At the same time, General Thomas Cornwallis and General Burgoyne led 20,000 troops to stay in New Avalon, pinning down the main force of George Vasa's Continental Army, preventing it from going south to rescue Midgard with all its strength.

...

·Historical material: "Democratic" Continental Army ("A Brief History of the American Revolutionary War" [English] Stephen Conway)

General Washington, a colonial officer who had earned respect during the Seven Years' War—where he dealt harshly with disobedient soldiers—was also deeply concerned about the New England army he now commanded.

He believes that the democratic election system practiced by the militiamen who make up the "Continental Army" is completely incompatible with military discipline. The officers of the Army of Massachusetts, in particular, he believed to be "entirely on the same level as the common soldier...it is impossible to expect such a body of officers to carry out operational orders" because they were elected and they hoped to continue to be elected. the favor of those soldiers.

Washington did not want to make any risky attempts with such an unreliable force, and he even worried that such a group of New Englanders might not be able to withstand a new British attack at all.