Wild North America 1846

Chapter 85 The Battle of the Bridgehead Rio Rancho

After 3:30 p.m., escaping the sweltering midday sun, fierce fighting began again.

"Ready, launch!"

"Boom boom boom..."

The 6-pound Napoleon cannon made of bronze roared. Amidst the violent explosion, the oval cast iron shell was fired, and instantly hit the high house. The smoke and dust from the explosion filled the air, and the walls collapsed.

Several Mexican gunmen wearing cowboy hats who were still relying on the house to shoot just now were overwhelmed in the ruins, life and death unknown;

Artillery emplacement

The thick gunpowder smoke emitted by the black powder has formed a mist, so thick that it is choking and nauseating. After firing, the artillery immediately picked up a long brush to clean the gun bore from the front to prepare for the next round of artillery firing.

Amidst the sound of military drums, the soldiers of the US Federal Army marched in line under the cover of artillery fire and attacked along the dirt road in the street. Everyone had a look of fear on their faces.

"Aim, shoot."

"Clap clap clap clap..."

Under the command of the commander, the defenders of the Tang Kingdom raised their muskets in unison behind the barricade and fired a dense volley of guns. Most of their bodies were covered by the barricade, only a small part above the chest was exposed.

The scorching bullets roared in, and blood spattered on the American soldiers in the front row. "Pop tom, tom" fell seven or eight in a row, making the queue uneven like a dog chewing.

Accompanied by the uproar and screams of the U.S. military queue, the U.S. soldiers who were knocked to the ground also howled loudly. Facing death, the panic couldn't be concealed, and the scene was chaotic.

"Stand still, the soldiers move forward to fill up their positions and prepare to fight back." The frontline commander of the US military also looked miserable.

He stood at the very edge of the first platoon, bearing the death blow of the defenders' bullets head-on. The opponent hid behind a solid barricade, while the American soldiers were completely exposed to the guns without any shield, and endured it abruptly. With the massacre.

The huge psychological gap and the constant death made the lips of the U.S. military commander tremble; "Put the gun down..."

Before the words were finished, the head-on "Papapapapapapapa..." The gunfire sounded like popping beans again, and the hot bullets ruthlessly penetrated the chest of the US military commander, cutting off all the remaining words of him, and his body He fell limply to the ground and died.

There were sporadic shots from the U.S. military to fight back, but compared to the intensive and deadly deployment of the defenders on the opposite side, the U.S. military’s counterattacks were sparse and weak. Many bullets hit the barricades, except for drilling a hole in the wooden board or breaking a piece. Small stone flakes can rarely achieve a lethal effect.

"emission!"

The cannons rumbled again, roaring and smashing on the barricades. The blasted barricades were full of smoke and dust, and the flying stones and sawdust injured several soldiers.

The defenders of the Tang Kingdom in Rio Rancho had no means of counterattacking the artillery, so they could only endure the continuous bombardment of the artillery. One after another, the dead and wounded were replaced by another group, and they stood on the barricade with blood.

Most of the casualties of the defenders were losses caused by artillery bombardment.

However, when the U.S. soldiers lined up to attack, they could only bear the baptism of bullets with their bodies. The attack was repelled, and the attack was repelled again. The number of casualties increased rapidly. The U.S. attacking soldiers were almost unilaterally enduring a massacre.

The two sides hurt each other and fought fiercely until dusk.

The town of Rio Rancho was shrouded in the atmosphere of a tragic war. The houses and barricades that had been bombarded repeatedly were dilapidated, and there were fallen corpses and shocking bloodstains everywhere.

On the streets attacked by the U.S. military, there were more than 130 corpses lying here and there, and the black and red blood had already stained the streets, as if they had been put into a slaughterhouse in hell.

Colonel Stephen Carney's angry eyes were bloodshot, looking at the dead soldiers on the street, his heart ached like a knife.The onslaught on this day alone lost nearly 200 people, of whom more than 150 were killed.

If the loss of more than 230 people in the vanguard of the previous few days is added, the loss of the West Route Army has reached more than 1700 people. For an army with a total of only [-] people, the casualties exceeded [-]%, and it had to stop fighting and rest.

If the fight continues, the entire army will collapse.

Colonel Stephen Carney is an experienced military officer. He can sense that the hearts of the army are shaking.

Therefore, he had to order a suspension of the attack, and raised a white flag to demand that the battlefield be cleaned up, and the defenders agreed.

In early summer in New Mexico, there is a large temperature difference between day and night. The temperature reaches 35-[-] degrees at noon, and it is only around ten degrees in the morning and evening. You have to wrap yourself in a blanket to sleep.

In this horrible weather, the corpse will swell and stink after a day, so it must be dealt with as soon as possible.

Facing the heavily fortified town of Rio Rancho, Colonel Stephen Carney knew what was at stake, but he could do nothing.

The army's legal 6-pound artillery was too weak. The egg-shaped iron shell weighed about 2.6 kilograms and was about the size of a man's fist. It could not break through the defensive positions of the defenders and cause a lot of damage to them.

Mid 19th century
The 6-pound gun is almost the smallest field gun of the army. There are also 9-pound, 12-pound, 20-pound, 30-pound, 45-pound and 60-pound guns. Navy sail warships generally use medium and large-caliber artillery above 20 pounds. The largest can reach 60 pounds or 80 pounds.The army's super-large-caliber artillery that specializes in guarding ports can even reach 100 pounds, 150 pounds, 200 pounds or even 300 pounds Parrot cannons, which are proper war weapons.

But the seven small cannons in front of me are not satisfactory for attacking solid targets.

If he had two 12-pound guns in his hands, Colonel Stephen Carney was confident that he could break through this damned town in an hour without incurring such heavy casualties.

But it's too late to say anything now, and they don't have powerful weapons in their hands, so they can only use their lives to pile up. No matter what, they must capture Rio Rancho Town and gain a stable and reliable foothold.

As long as the town is occupied, it means that the US military has advanced more than 1300 kilometers to the west and obtained the bridgehead of the attack. This is a reason sufficient to explain the heavy casualties.

After occupying the town of Rio Rancho, the West Army can get a steady stream of supplies from the rear, including personnel and powerful artillery, and then push the small towns held by the enemy with a crushing force all the way, and pull them out one by one , heading west and eventually reaching the beach in Los Angeles.

Otherwise, either return to Denver more than 700 kilometers north, or return to Kansas City more than 1300 kilometers east, and that means the complete failure of the Western Expedition.

This highlights the importance of occupying the town of Rio Rancho. It is nothing more than a question of how many casualties?
With the huge size of the United States Federation, Colonel Stephen Carney has every reason to believe;

The little Datang Kingdom is just trying to block the traffic with its arms, and all resistance is in vain.

From a military point of view, this is the significance of occupying the town of Rio Rancho no matter how much the price is paid.

What troubled Colonel Stephen Carney the most was that these defenders refused to enter and fought desperately.

Although the defense line of Rio Rancho Town was blown to pieces, it only took one night for the defense line to return to its original state.And the artillery shells carried by the West Route Army are running out, so they can't afford to be so profligate!

small town

The battle losses of this day were quickly counted. The advance cavalry squadron of the Tang Kingdom had a total of 43 casualties, of which 19 were killed and 24 were injured.

The Mexican gunmen who accompanied the battle suffered 13 casualties, including 5 killed and 8 injured.

Captain James Kahn led his men to achieve a 1:4 result, which is undoubtedly a huge victory.

The town has stockpiled enough food for three months, and there are 12 horses (the remaining 300 horses have been sent back to Gallup Town with the evacuation personnel to avoid consuming too much food and grass) that can be killed and eaten Meat, the order he received was to stick to it.

James Kahn led people to patrol around the defensive position, and then went to check on the injured, arranged for night vigilance, strengthened the defense line and other matters, and then he was able to return to the house to take a breath.

There is a large tank of water in the house. James Kahn picked up the bowl and scooped it up. He raised his head and drank it in a gulp. Shouted: "God, this weather is so hot, I feel alive again."

Lieutenant Lu Zhiran nodded in agreement, took the bowl in his hand, scooped a bowl of cool water from the big tank and poured it down, feeling all the depression in his body disappeared; "When the battle is the most intense, sweat and The gunpowder smoke blinded the soldiers' eyes, and everyone was fighting instinctively. At that time, perhaps death was not the worst outcome."

"We have lost 57 people, and our combat power has been reduced by 1/3. The army that bears the brunt has suffered the most. If this situation continues, I am afraid that the Mexicans will start to mess up first, Lu, so we can't last long." James - Kahn said with a serious face.

The advance squadron has a total of 157 soldiers. Today, 47 people were lost in one day. In addition to the nearly 20 people lost in the battle a few days ago, the number of casualties has accounted for nearly half.

Except for the seriously wounded, most of the lightly wounded soldiers were still able to fight.

The excellent obedience and tenacity of the Chinese soldiers were fully revealed in difficult times. The troops did not show signs of mutiny or collapse, but silently endured the tempering of the war, gritting their teeth and persevering.

Comparison
Those Mexican gunmen who voluntarily participated in the war and shouted loud slogans were much more unbearable. Although the casualties were much lighter, many people had been frightened by the fierce offensive of the US military and hid behind to avoid the war.

Many people even advocated surrender, creating a lot of panic for no reason.

"James, what do you mean?"

"I think we did a good job. It did cause considerable damage to the Yankees. I don't know how many shells they brought, but I can be sure that today's high-intensity attack cannot last for two days. We must grit our teeth and persevere Come down." There was a trace of ruthlessness in James Kahn's eyes, he gritted his teeth and continued; "Maybe... we should take decisive action to eliminate and imprison some of the demagogic Mexicans, and put all the remaining people into combat force."

Speaking of here
He raised his head to look at Lieutenant Lu Zhiran, and continued word by word; "I know that these Mexican gunmen are all volunteers, and they participated in the battle against the Yankees with enthusiasm. But they have no discipline, no organization, and when they encounter In high-intensity battles, you will be scared out of your wits, and the panic will spread everywhere, which will greatly disrupt the morale and morale of the army. Although it is a bit unbearable to ask them to attack, in this dangerous moment, in order to eliminate internal troubles, there is no need to worry about it. gone."

"Sir James, we brothers don't know if we can get out alive? It's a big deal. It's impossible to surrender to the ghost anyway. Just tell me what you want. I'll support you." Lu Zhiran only hesitated for a moment before resolutely agreeing.

The Chinese are helpless in this wild North American wasteland, surrounded by high-nosed, deep-eyed ghosts and Mexicans wearing big straw hats, with a deep sense of crisis.

The strong pressure brought by this environment made the Chinese more united, and their cohesion was unprecedentedly high. Even if they fought to the last moment of their lives, it was impossible to surrender to the ghosts.

James Kahn was overjoyed to receive the support of the squadron leader Lu Zhiran, so he leaned over to discuss with him in a low voice...

(End of this chapter)