Chapter 508: Stealing Home Tactics
Colonel Dardo stared at the bones hanging on the cliff, swallowed his saliva and chose to retreat. After all, a good man would not suffer a loss in front of him.
Soon the white officer found his position in the mine.
There was a terrifying amount of gold sand here. Fortunately, the Indian chief also fulfilled his promise. He could get all kinds of food, wine, cigarettes, and even prostitutes.
The disadvantage is that their cooking skills are a bit hard to describe, so they just need to get cooking utensils and ingredients to cook by themselves, just like when they were in the Boy Scouts.
Some American prisoners even thought that the land under their feet was the legendary "promised land". After all, they could really "get rich" with their own hands here, and such work was so simple.
Except for the lack of freedom, there was fairness, abundance, and even the elimination of identity differences to a certain extent. After all, those officers had to work like ordinary soldiers to get food; and there were not only white people in the mines, but also Indians and mixed-race people, which showed that the chief really treated everyone equally.
In just a few days, the captives were tamed. They disdained the idea of their former superiors wanting to escape, and even reported those compatriots who wanted to escape.
On the other hand, the US military was still on the way. Although the enthusiasm for gold gave these cowboys superhuman perseverance and endurance, after all, not every army could reach the level of one person riding two horses.
In fact, at this time, the US military's marching team was already rich in the eyes of their European counterparts, because at this time, most European armies did not have many donkeys, let alone horses. Soldiers in some areas did not even have uniform shoes, and marching could only rely on walking.
The journey from Denver to California was indeed not an easy task. First of all, it was necessary to deal with the Mexicans' pursuit and defense of the fortress, but fortunately, the opponent's defense was in vain.
Not only did the Mexican army arrive late, but the subsequent battle with the US army was also intermittent. They did not seem to be in a hurry to cut off the Americans' retreat.
Of course, this was a misjudgment and wrong strategy of the "great commander" Tasan Anna. He did not think that the enemy would choose to go deep alone. After all, the "New Mexico area" at this time was just a huge no-man's land in his eyes.
(According to Mexican statistics, there is only one person per 20 square kilometers on average, and most places are undeveloped.)
However, what the Mexicans did not expect was that the number of American immigrants in the area at this time had exceeded the total number of local Mexican population.
But even with the help of American immigrants, the US military's journey was full of hardships; mountains, grasslands, deserts, swamps, tornadoes and sandstorms were threatening their lives at all times.
Fortunately, they brought enough supplies and formulated a "perfect plan".
In fact, this US military team was not alone, and there were more companions behind them to establish supply points along the way. At the same time, it also included a most critical strategy, that is, another US military force would support them from the sea.
That's right, this is not a reckless long-distance raid, nor is it a gamble on national destiny. It is a careful plan. They will take a boat to Panama, cross the Central American Isthmus, and then take a boat to attack the Austrians' rear.
In fact, this is what the Americans did in history, and they won a great victory. They chose to land in San Francisco and easily captured the California region with the help of a large number of guides.
But now the Americans have encountered a problem, that is, the Republic of New Granada (Colombia), which rules Panama at this time, dare not let them borrow the road at all.
On the one hand, it is connected to the Austrian colony and is afraid of the powerful military force of Austria.
On the other hand, it is a threat from Britain. After all, as the world's number one troublemaker, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the reputation if they don't get involved in this matter?
In a sense, Britain does not want the United States to dominate North America alone. It would be best if it could be divided into pieces like the European continent. That is the most in line with the interests of Great Britain.
It's just that now the British can neither spare their hands nor have enough energy to manage it. But this does not prevent them from making trouble behind the scenes, and the Republic of New Granada will naturally not cause trouble for themselves.
At this time, Central America was occupied by the powers. Britain, France, and Austria all had their own reasons for refusing, and in the end the Americans had no choice but to bypass South America and continue to march towards California.
Of course, General Zachary Taylor, who was responsible for the frontal attack, did not know this, and he was still advancing according to the original plan.
If the general knew that his navy's actions had been delayed, he would have more time to "leisurely" pass through those death zones, and there would not be many problems such as insufficient troops.
Since both the United States and Mexico were on guard against the French sneak attack, Texas's truthful report caused a series of speculations from the top leaders in Paris.
Marshal Soult, who was looking forward to a glorious retirement, naturally tried his best to prevent France from joining the war, while Louis Philippe was a little suspicious and even thought that this was a trap set by the United States and Mexico for France.
When the other cabinet members saw that His Majesty the King and the Prime Minister had reached a consensus, why should we join in the fun. It is better to go home and be with my wife.
As a result, France's participation in the war as John Tyler had expected did not happen. At the same time, the actions of the Mexicans were also very suspicious. They did not rush to attack, but just randomly robbed the US military supply convoys like a group of bandits.
But one thing was within the expectation of the President of the United States, that is, the Mexicans concentrated all their forces on the northern line.
Now the United States and Mexico are facing each other on the Grande River, and both sides have assembled hundreds of thousands of troops. A war was about to break out.
But a piece of news broke the tranquility of the battlefield. The US military had captured the port of Veracruz and was heading towards Mexico City.
At the same time, 15 merchant ships traveling between Mexico and Austria were seized, but it would take some time for this news to be transmitted back to Austria.
Fortunately, the weapons and military talents sent by Austria to Mexico have arrived, plus the assistance of the church.
And those that were stopped were the troop transport ships under the Umbrella Company and some cargo ships transporting sugar, spices, and cotton.
At this time, the United States did not declare war on the Austrian Empire, so of course there was nothing they could do with this group of "security personnel" and businessmen, and they could only be locked up in the hotel at the port first.
The US military actually made a lot of preparations for this war, and the stealing tactics at this time was one of them. However, Franz had already made preparations for this.
He asked Mexico to buy a large number of old ships that were eliminated by its own navy, and also built a large number of artillery batteries around several ports where they might land.
However, man proposes, God disposes. These arrangements were not used at all. Not long after the war began, the Mexican Navy Marshal contacted the Americans and prepared to surrender.
So this Mexican navy, which was built with a lot of money, became a helper for the US Navy. This brought the total number of ships in the US West Coast Fleet to a terrifying 113 at this time.
(Historically, the US military participated in the attack on Mexico City with 70 fleets, of course, including a large number of troop transports and cargo ships, not all warships.)