Chapter 50: Battle of the New Alamo (Part 2)

Several Mexican soldiers drove the captives to the city of Alamo.

These captives were very cooperative. After all, they had just experienced the hellish pursuit. They wanted to survive, so they shouted hard.

"Colonel Travis and brothers of Alamo, we are the subordinates of Colonel Manin. We were ambushed by the Mexican army. No one will come to help you. Surrender quickly!"

Colonel Travis and Bowie on the city knew that if the captives in front of them continued to shout, the defenders of Alamo would collapse, because now someone was shaken. After all, no one wanted to struggle without hope.

Now all they could do was to make these poor people shut up forever. Colonel Travis took a puff of cigar and then put the cigar on the fuse of the cannon.

But at this time, Crockett stopped Travis.

"What are you doing? I know these people. They are Colonel Manin's men."

"They are traitors!"

Travis pushed Crockett away and lit the fuse.

With a loud bang, the captives who came to persuade them to surrender shut their mouths forever.

Seeing such behavior, Tasan Anna was very angry. He had already shown his kindness, but they dared to reject his kindness!

Not only Tasan Anna was angry, but even Gabrenz and Stadion were also angry. They even killed their own people. These people were simply crazy. It seemed that they could not complete the instructions of Archbishop Rauscher.

At this time, the letter from Archduke Franz Karl arrived again.

Hearing the name Franz Karl, Tasan Anna's brows relaxed slightly.

There was only one sentence in the letter.

"Attack the city is inferior, attack the heart is superior."

Tasan Anna laughed after reading the letter. He handed the letter to Gabrenz and Stadion, and praised Archduke Franz Karl as a genius.

Gabrenz and Stadion knew that Archduke Franz Karl's brain was not very good, but they took the letter curiously.

Gabrentz and Stadion, who had read the letter, seemed to understand something.

This time, Tasan Anna's messenger came to the city of Alamo again.

"General Tasan Anna ordered you to let the old, weak, women and children in the city leave. The general swore to God to ensure their safety. After the civilians were evacuated, the Alamo would be bombarded with a full range of artillery."

This time Travis did not hesitate. He didn't know if this was a conspiracy of the Mexicans, but if the other side really attacked the city, the Alamo would probably be a river of blood. As a soldier, his honor made him unable to let the old, weak, women and children be buried with him.

James Bowie agreed with Travis's opinion. After all, fighting is a matter between men.

However, Crockett had a different opinion. He believed that as long as the old, weak, women and children were still there, the Mexicans would not dare to conduct a full-scale bombardment. If they did so, Tasan Anna would have to be responsible for bombarding civilians.

In the end, the sense of honor of a soldier made Travis reject Crockett's opinion.

This was the second time Travis angered Crockett, which made the American congressman very unhappy.

Two hours later, the old, weak, women and children had left the Alamo, and Tasan Anna sent his most capable assistant to escort those people to San Antonio.

The sixteen-pound cannon was also ready, and at the same time, accompanied by a loud trumpet, the bombardment began.

This bombardment was much more accurate than the previous one, because Gabrentz and Stadion took advantage of the opportunity of the old, weak, women and children leaving to adjust the firing angle and gun position to ensure that the artillery could hit the target in the first time.

The sixteen-pound siege cannon was so powerful that the first shot collapsed the tower on the south side, and the collapsed tower directly buried the garrison squad stationed near it.

However, the defenders of the Alamo had no time to rescue the people buried under the rubble, and the shells whistled one after another.

In the Alamo Fortress, gravel flew and flames rose everywhere. Many people were injured by the gravel blown away by the shells. Travis wanted to organize a counterattack, but the opponent's firepower was too strong and he couldn't raise his head at all.

The Mexican army's small-caliber artillery has been replaced with incendiary bombs. Incendiary bombs of this era are a kind of grenade filled with flammable materials such as grease. They ignite surrounding objects through explosions, which is very inefficient.

But it is more lethal than firing solid iron bullets, and can make the defenders run for their lives.

The power of the sixteen-pound cannon is amazing. Each shot can cause a large area of ​​collapse. The power is completely incomparable to the three-pound cannon.

The bombardment of the sixteen-pound cannon directly hit the fortress wall, directly causing a large area of ​​collapse. Such a large gap can be easily passed by horses, not to mention infantry.

Bowie immediately organized people to block the gap with caravans and furniture, but the Mexicans had no intention of attacking at all.

"Damn, are the Mexicans' shells endless? Do they want to bury us with heavy cannons?"

Crockett passed by with a bucket.

"Stop complaining, go put out the fire first, or you'll be burned to death or choked to death."

After two hours of bombardment, the Mexican army stopped bombarding, not because they had run out of shells or were preparing to attack the city, but because the barrel was overheated and would explode if they continued firing.

Clockett found his old servant in the ruins.

"John, you old man, I knew you were still alive."

The old servant slowly opened his eyes, spit out a pile of debris, and looked at his master with tears in his eyes.

"Mr. Crockett, my legs can't move..."

Crockett didn't care about his worn hands, but comforted John.

"Don't worry, when I get back to Tennessee, I will find the best doctor and I will definitely be able to cure you."

However, Crockett didn't find the old servant's legs.

"Mr. Crockett, go home, the mistress is still waiting for you."

The old servant, whose consciousness was about to dissipate, used his last strength to push Crockett away. At the same time, the broken wall on the side could no longer support it and collapsed, hitting Crockett's position just now.

"No! John! Damn it! I'm going to fight those Mexicans!"

In the Alamo Fortress, many soldiers who lost their relatives and friends roared.

"Yes! Go out and fight! It's a dead end anyway!"

"Let them see the courage of the cowboys!"

"Kill them, revenge!"

"Revenge!"

Bowie's leg was pierced by a shrapnel, but he also thought that instead of waiting to die here, it would be better to rush out and kill happily.

But Travis stopped them because he saw that the surrounding Mexican troops had been staying in the fortifications. It would be tantamount to suicide to rush out now.

"Enough, return to your posts. If you go out, you will commit suicide. General Houston will come to save us."

"Where is General Houston! Where are the reinforcements?" A soldier shouted angrily.

"We have been abandoned!"

"We are abandoned!"

"I want to go home!"

Travis fired a gun into the air.

"Enough, Tasan Anna is a dictator and a barbarian. If you go out, you will die. Didn't you see the red flag? As long as the Mexicans raise the red flag, it means that they will not accept any prisoners. Believe me, General Houston will come to save us."

The matter about the Mexican red flag is a rumor. The Mexicans not only have red flags, but also green and white ones, which are the colors of the Mexican flag.

In the afternoon, the Mexicans continued to bombard, but did not launch an attack.

Tasan Anna was not in a hurry because he knew that the Alamo could be taken at any time.

The Alamo defenders could not stand this passive situation. At night, Crockett organized more than 20 desperate men to destroy the Mexican artillery positions, at least the 16-pound gun.

However, the Mexicans were well prepared. After a firefight, Crockett fled back to the Alamo with several Tennessee fellows.

The Mexicans did not pursue, not because of their high military literacy, but because they did not know how many people the other side had.

Due to malnutrition, many Mexican soldiers suffered from night blindness, so there was a firefight between hundreds of people and twenty or so, and in the end only a dozen of the other side were killed.

When Crockett returned to the Alamo, Colonel Travis had already put on his military uniform.

"Do you know what you are doing? You should go to a military court, and I can even shoot you now."

"Colonel Travis, Crockett is also doing this for everyone's good. The Mexican artillery is too powerful. Fifty of us died in the bombardment during the day. Almost no part of the front wall is intact. If this continues, we will have no place to block the wind."

"Don't think I dare not shoot you just because you are a US congressman. This is Texas!"

This sentence made Crockett and the American volunteers very unhappy.

On March 10, 1836, the bombardment continued.

Tassan Anna invited Gabrentz and Stadion to have lunch together on the hillside, and while eating, they enjoyed the scene of artillery fire covering the Alamo.

"This cannon is really powerful. If our Mexican army is equipped with this kind of cannon, we will no longer be afraid of the Americans."

Gabrentz and Stadion complained in their hearts, "If any army takes dozens of these things on the road, the marching speed will be slower than a turtle."

The two just smiled and did not answer, because they did not refuse any opportunity to make money.

But what they did not expect was.

"I want to hire you two as my military advisers. The official position and treatment are up to you to choose. As the President of Mexico, as long as I can do it within my authority, I will definitely meet your requirements."

Gabrentz and Stadion were interrupted by Tasan Anna just as they were about to speak.

"I tell you, Mexico has the largest silver mine in the world, unique. You will definitely say that those silver mines are not in the hands of the Mexican government.

That's right, but as long as this war is over, I will return home with my army to eliminate those who oppose me.

I am willing to be a friend of Archduke Franz Karl. I will make Mexico a member of the civilized world and the most loyal ally of the Austrian Empire.

Your command ability is far superior to any of my subordinates. Even I am ashamed of myself. I think you are not military observers, but real generals."

Tasan Anna's last sentence directly pointed out the identities of Gabrenz and Stadion. They knew very well that if they rejected Tasan Anna's "good intentions", they might encounter "accidents" halfway.

Gabrenz and Stadion still had a doubt in their hearts, why Tasan Anna praised the archduke who was not very smart so much.

"We need to write a letter to Archduke Franz Karl, and we need to get his approval."

"No problem, I believe Archduke Franz Karl, he will definitely recognize me as his friend."

Tasan Anna felt that he, the North American Napoleon, had surpassed the real Napoleon because he chose to join forces with "Archduke Karl".

Imagine if Napoleon and Archduke Karl had joined forces, who in Europe could stand up to the battle.

In the city of Alamo, the bombardment destroyed the last building in the Alamo Fortress, the windmill of the mill fell and smashed the stable, and the panicked horses caused continuous chaos.

When counting the casualties, it was found that there were only 75 defenders left in the Alamo, and all of them were injured, just silently cleaning the battlefield.

Travis and Bowie had an argument in the makeshift command post.

At this time, the Mexicans sent two doctors with a white flag to treat the wounded out of humanitarianism.

Travis couldn't refuse this humanitarian act, but what he didn't know was that the two doctors were actually Catholic priests. The purpose of their trip was to persuade the wounded soldiers to convert to Catholicism or surrender to Tasan Anna in exchange for a chance to leave the battlefield safely.

When a person is dying, a straw is good, let alone a doctor.

The persuasion of the Catholic doctors moved many wounded soldiers, especially those who were seriously injured.

But Travis couldn't accept that these Catholics shook his military morale, so he shot and killed a doctor and drove the remaining doctors out of the Alamo.

Doctors and priests have a very high social status in Mexico. When a Catholic doctor was wrapped in white cloth and carried out on a stretcher, the Mexican army erupted in unprecedented anger.

They may not have known why they were fighting before, but now they feel that they should kill all the thugs in the Alamo Fortress.

Soldiers and officers kept coming to Tasan Anna to ask for battle, but Tasan Anna was very happy because he knew that the confidence of the Alamo defenders had collapsed.

As expected, a gunfight broke out in the Alamo fortress at night.

Crockett was elected as the leader by the Tennessee volunteers and the wounded soldiers, and launched a surprise attack on Travis's subordinates. Bowie was locked in the dungeon of the fortress.

At the end of the battle, there were less than 50 people left in the Alamo. Crockett surrendered to Tasan Anna, Bowie was captured, and Travis died in the rebellion.

The Battle of the Alamo ended with a great victory for the Mexican army, and the capture of the Alamo by its own people became the biggest scandal of the Texas War.

Crockett was a member of the US Congress, so Tasan Anna was very polite to him, and asked doctors to treat Crockett and the prisoners, and sent a large number of reporters to interview Crockett and the prisoners.

Of course, these reporters would only record evidence that was favorable to Mexico. When the news reached Washington, Andrew Jackson angrily threw the newspaper on the coffee table.

"Remember, the shame of the Alamo! They are the shame of the United States! Facing the siege of the Mexicans, they actually killed each other in order to surrender. They are just idiots!"

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The next chapter starts with a return to Austria.