Chapter 2771

The cause of the Battle of Prince Port has to start from last winter.

At the end of 1626, Earl Winthrop led his troops to storm the Forge Valley but failed. In addition, the weather turned cold and the wind and snow were blowing, so he was forced to lead his troops back to Freeport to garrison.

In the long winter that lasted for more than three months, the flames of war in the New World subsided temporarily, and both warring parties were recuperating.

During this period, the propaganda and diplomatic work of the Continental Congress was very impressive. It won the public support of the Kolas Empire and the Canaan Kingdom successively, and won extensive sympathy and solidarity in the international public opinion.

On the other hand, the Fijian authorities have obviously fallen behind in foreign affairs and international public opinion, and have been accused of "suppressing the colonial people's pursuit of independence and liberation".

What is a "decaying imperialist reactionary"?

It is you who are scolding, the ruling party of the "Empire on which the sun never sets"!

In fact, apart from these verbal criticisms, the so-called "international friends" provided very limited substantive help to the revolutionaries in the New World.

Take the two allies of the Continental Congress as an example. The Far East authorities only did two things. One was to issue war bonds on behalf of the Continental Congress, and the other was to use the funds raised from the bond issuance to purchase a batch of supplies and send an airship fleet to The Forge Valley provided the Continental Army with scarce winter quilts; as for Canaan, there were quite a few volunteers who came to the New World to fight, but this was not considered official assistance.

The food, drink, and animal feed of the 40,000 troops in Forge Valley do not come from foreign aid, but rely on the supplies provided by the Yalfheim compatriots.

In the first year of the outbreak of the War of Independence, the fighting seemed to be limited to the Jotunheim and Midgard regions in the north, while the Yalfheim people in the south still lived a peaceful life, and their support for the northern compatriots was only verbal, even There are also people who took the opportunity to resell supplies and do business with the Feizhen invading army, making a lot of money for the country, which attracted a lot of criticism.

These criticisms were once reasonable, but with the passage of time and the changes in the situation, the same arguments have become outdated today.

In the early days of the war, the southerners did have a mentality of having nothing to do with themselves, and their support for the northern compatriots was very limited. Especially when the news of the successive defeats of the Continental Army spread to the south, this splitting sentiment reached its peak, and pessimistic people began to The whole family is going to move to the old world to escape the war, and the optimistic people have already made the national flag of Feizhen at home, preparing to welcome Master Wang.

However, when the time came to the late autumn of 1626, the outbreak of the Battle of Baden became a turning point that changed everything.

The news of the "Baden Victory" spread across the southern land like a whirlwind, making people suddenly realize that the Continental Army has not been defeated, and the independent revolution still has hope of success!

General Charles Gates, who led the Continental Army to defeat Fiji's regular army in the Baden Wetlands, is a native of Alfheim. Now he has become the pride of millions of southern folks and a national hero.

Encouraged by the "Baden Victory", the planters in Alfheim changed their views on the Continental Army and believed that this army was worthy of support. So when winter came, Nathaniel, who was also from the upper class of the South, When General Green returned to his hometown to seek military rations, the plantation owners changed their previous indifference and generously donated money to help General Green establish a logistics supply line from Port Prince to Forge Valley.

It is precisely because of the military rations provided by the vast grain plantations in the south that they are continuously transported to the Forging Valley that the soldiers of the Continental Army can survive this harsh winter.

It was from this moment that the residents in the southern part of the New World were gradually mobilized, realizing that this war was not just a matter for the northern compatriots, and instead took a more active attitude to dedicate themselves to fighting against the Fizhen invading army and seeking independence and liberation. in the front line.

Outsiders could ignore these real changes, but Earl Winthrop could not ignore them, and his mood became more and more anxious.

Obviously, the situation of the war is changing in a direction that is not conducive to Feizhen.

It is true that in the past year, the Continental Army has lost more than it won, and its performance has been poor. However, the Continental Army is fighting on the ground after all. It is familiar with the local environment and widely supported by the public, so it is convenient to replenish the lost troops nearby. , The advantages in logistics supply are also snowballing.

On the contrary, although the performance of the Feizhen Expeditionary Army on the battlefield was not bad, it could not make up for the various disadvantages brought about by Laoshi's expedition.

The "royalists" in the New World are only a minority, and they are concentrated in the cities, while the vast rural areas in the north are almost all sites where rebel guerrilla activities are rampant.

The Feizhen army was unable to obtain sufficient supplies on the spot. Food, weapons and ammunition mainly depended on the delivery from the home country. The supply line across the ocean was too long and was repeatedly robbed by pirates collaborating with the Continental Army. The longer the war dragged on, the longer the front line would be , the greater the logistical pressure on the expeditionary force, the less hope of victory.

To break the predicament, the best strategy is to make a quick decision and eliminate the main force of the Continental Army as soon as possible.

However, George Vassar and his staff are not stupid. They also see that the timing, location and people are all on their side, and the longer the delay, the better.

The 40,000 Continental Army huddled in the Forging Valley, determined not to give the opponent a chance to launch a decisive battle.

Anyway, I'm not in a hurry, so I'll just spend time with you. Even if I can't beat you, I will be able to kill you one day!

Last winter, Earl Winthrop had already suffered twice under the strong walls of Nidaville Fortress. He knew that it would be unwise to storm Forge Valley with only the existing 35,000 regular troops. It was too late, so they could only find another way, bypassing the hard bone of Forging Valley, trying to open up a new front, in order to open up the situation.

Around this strategic goal, Earl Winthrop and his generals formulated a rather radical combat plan, planning to send two divisions to sail south along the coastline and enter the Yalfheim Sea, Conquer the Prince's Port first, then go southward, advance into Pico Bay, conquer the southern capital of Layton Port, cut off the logistics supply line of the Continental Army, and put it in a desperate situation.

In order to ensure the safety of the rear, Earl Winthrop planned to have General Clinton with a calm personality garrison Freeport, leaving him with 15,000 troops, plus Enfield's Valli Mercenary Regiment, responsible for monitoring the Forge Valley's Continental Army.

This battle plan had been drawn up a long time ago, but Earl Winthrop couldn't make up his mind for a long time. After thinking about it, he still felt that it was too risky.

The troops of the Feizhen Expeditionary Army were not abundant, and they had to divide their troops to fight. One of them went deep into the unfamiliar and hostile southern hinterland alone. The Clinton Corps staying in Freeport is not safe either. Can it withstand the full onslaught of the main force of the Continental Army?

This is probably still a question mark.