1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 668 Casualties

"McClellan's Union Army and the Western Army are fighting fiercely in Nebraska. The Union Army on the north bank of Bull Run hastily assembled. We know their deployment clearly. Now is the best opportunity to defeat the Union Army."

In the Oval Office of the Confederate President in Richmond, Robert Lee explains the pros and cons to Davis.

"If we miss this opportunity, we will regret it in the future. Your Excellency is also a military man and is well versed in military affairs. If this group of mobilized soldiers of the Northern Army completes their training, we will be in a very passive position."

Davis retired with the rank of colonel. During the Battle of Buena Vista in the First Mexican-American War, Davis fought bravely and led his troops by example, which resulted in him being shot in the leg and becoming disabled.

After recovering from his injury, President Bordeaux appointed Davis as a brigadier general to lead a militia brigade, but Davis rejected Bordeaux's appointment on the grounds that according to the Constitution, the power to appoint senior military officers lies with the state, not the federal government, let alone the president. This move won him a lot of political capital when he later abandoned the army and entered politics, and won strong support from the states' rights faction, especially the southern states' rights faction.

Robert Lee was not trying to flatter Davis. As a veteran in the American military, Davis was indeed well versed in American military affairs.

However, it was precisely because Davis was well versed in military affairs that he hesitated to make up his mind to go to war with the North. He was more inclined to consolidate the South's independence through diplomatic mediation and military deterrence.

"I know the situation of the Union Army on the north bank of Bull Run. The Army of the Potomac, the Army of the Shenandoah, and the Virginia Cavalry Brigade are certainly capable of defeating these hastily assembled and poorly trained mobilized soldiers in the North." Davis pondered for a moment and said helplessly.

"But have you ever thought about it? Once the war starts, the right to end it may not be in our hands. I know Lincoln's character. Once the war starts, if we cannot completely defeat the North, we will definitely not be able to end the war, at least during Lincoln's term of office."

"Then we will defeat them completely! Liang Yaodu is determined to declare war on the north, what are you worried about?" Robert Lee was very dissatisfied with Davis's remarks.

At the beginning, they should have chosen to accept the conditions of the Federation and stay in the Federation. Now that they have completely torn their relationship with the Federation, it is very foolish to still be entangled in the issue of whether to go to war or not and sit back and watch the opportunity slip away.

"We don't have enough ammunition. We only have one arsenal in Richmond, and now we lack raw materials. The arsenal's production capacity is even lower than before independence." Davis expressed his difficulties. "I have sent three waves of envoys to visit Britain and France, hoping to gain their recognition and assistance, but there has been no news so far. Our envoys may have been illegally detained by the North."

The lack of military production capacity was Davis' biggest concern. Davis had served in the military himself, and he believed that the Southern warriors were far more brave and skilled in fighting than the Northerners. But the prerequisite was to provide the Southern warriors with enough ammunition and military supplies. Otherwise, no matter how brave and skilled the Southern army was, its combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

Davis had been waiting for a reply from Britain and France. As long as he could get the support of Britain and France, even if it was just a verbal promise at the beginning, which would give him peace of mind, he would have the courage to directly declare war on the North.

"The ammunition in stock is enough to support us in a large-scale battle." Robert Lee said, "As for ammunition, we can buy it from the West. When the French army invaded Mexico, the West also provided a large amount of arms and military supplies to the French army. I think the arms and military supplies in the West must be abundant, and we can still sell arms and military supplies to the French army at this juncture."

"You go back to Manassas first. I will convene a cabinet meeting to discuss the war and make a decision." Davis suddenly felt his eyes light up and said to Robert Lee.

On the other hand, after capturing Fort Gossen, Fort Cozad and Fort Lexington, the main force of the Western Army launched a fierce attack on Fort Kearny and Fort Grand.

Fort Kearny and Fort Grande were large forts, with stronger firepower and garrison than the three small forts attacked before. Even so, the Western Army still took down Fort Grande in four days with its absolute firepower advantage, killing and capturing a regiment of the garrison of Fort Grande.

At this point, of the five forts of the Kearny Fort Group, only Fort Kearny, which was guarded by Mason himself, remained in Sekin.

"This Mason is much tougher than he was twelve years ago. He refused to surrender. He refused to break out even though we gave him a chance to survive. Does he really want to live and die with Fort Kearny? To be loyal to the Federation?"

After five days of confrontation, Sartre couldn't help but look at Mason, his former defeated opponent, with new respect.

"It took two of our companies to take Grandburg. This siege was really hard to fight." Kruger, who had just returned from Grandburg by train, paid more attention to the casualties and asked Sartre, "I heard that the artillery responsible for shelling Fort Carney also suffered casualties in the past few days?"

During the attack on Fort Kearny and Fort Grand, the Western Army suffered its first casualties.

Although there was a regiment of the Northern Union Army standing army garrisoning Grandburg, and the two companies of casualties suffered by the Western Army were from the Utah Militia Brigade responsible for the attack, and such casualties in the siege were already a very good answer, Kruger still felt very painful.

"We were careless on the first day of the war. We didn't expect the Union Army to have heavy artillery that could fire four or five thousand yards away. We accidentally lost six artillery groups to the artillery in Fort Kearny." Sartre frowned and asked Kruger, "Did the Third Artillery Regiment in Fort Grand suffer any casualties?"

Six artillery groups, almost the casualties of an artillery company, made Sartre feel heartbroken. Unlike cheap infantry, artillery was an elite force made with gold and shells.

"No, the Third Artillery Regiment has been suppressing the artillery of Grandburg, and the casualties are all the infantry responsible for the final attack and capture of the fort." Kruger replied. At the same time, he was also puzzled. "The Union Army has artillery that can fire at a range of 4,000 to 5,000 yards? I haven't heard of it before? No matter how the Napoleon cannon is modified, it can't reach a range of 4,000 to 5,000 yards."

"The sound of the cannon doesn't sound like a Napoleonic cannon. It could be a new cannon developed by the Federation, or it could be a new cannon they got from Europe? Does the Prussian army have such a cannon?"

Sutter pulled his sparse beard. There was no record of the Sacramento cannon being sold to the Union Army before the war, and the sound of the cannon did not sound like that of a Sacramento cannon. Sutter was very curious about what kind of cannon the Union Army in Fort Kearny was using.

"The Prussian army does not have artillery that can fire at such a distance." Kruger gave a very affirmative answer. Kruger kept in touch with his Prussian colleagues, and he was sure that the Prussian army did not have artillery that could fire at a distance of four or five thousand yards.

"This is weird, could it be that the British sold them new cannons?" Sartre speculated wildly.

(End of this chapter)