Ulysses. Simpson. Grant stood on a high place, watching the Chinese soldiers rush towards the various positions set up by the Union Army in the small town of Poolsville, three 12-pounder cannons belonging to the Union Army and four machine guns firing desperately, almost turning the front of their positions into a sea of fire. Pen, Fun, Pavilion www.biquge.info, YBDU, but this kind of firepower can't stop the enemy's offensive at all!

Three 12-pounder cannons were firing solid shells, and they weren't on the right track -- the United States is a country where everyone has a gun, but not a country where everyone has a gun. Americans who are proficient in using rifles are easy to find, and Americans who are proficient in operating 12-pounder cannons are rare. Although the Federation has done its best to train artillery since the beginning of the war, there are still far fewer qualified artillery than artillery. Therefore, only a part of the elite troops can get really qualified artillery and artillery officers, while some other second- and third-line troops can only make do with unqualified gunners and artillery commanders. In general, it is difficult for such a junk artilleryman to accurately maneuver a Hodchsky grenade, and if he is not careful, he will get an accident with himself, or simply forget to light the fuse and fire the precious explosives to the enemy for nothing! In contrast, the Coalition side had half the size of the Union artillery, but they had experienced gunners and artillery officers from France and China, making their guns more accurate and lethal.

As for the three machine guns of the defenders of Poolsville, it was even more of a tragedy of three tubas! The first is that the placement is too exposed, high above the terraces of the three houses, and there are no sheltering fortifications. The second is that I don't know that there is such a thing as shifting positions! Under the precise fire of enemy snipers, the machine gunners were killed one after another! At last. These machine gunners shook the handle too quickly. So much so that the rate of fire significantly exceeded the standard. This not only wastes ammunition, but also easily causes jamming......

A lieutenant colonel of the Maryland militia of the Union Army stood in front of him and complained: "These Chinese are too cunning!" We crossed the river in the middle of the night, first took out the stronghold we had deployed at Kraft Farm, and then attacked Poolsville, and as soon as we rushed out, we were strafed by their rifle and machine guns, and hundreds of people were killed at once, which was terrible! Mr. Lieutenant General. Please send reinforcements now! ”

Grant snorted, and there was only a deep helplessness in his heart. Although the Federal Army has surpassed its opponents in terms of numbers and weaponry, it is still too short of training and excellent officers to compare with China and France, which have hundreds of thousands of standing armies and a complete army officer education system. Moreover, the people they sent to the United States are the essence of hundreds of thousands of millions of troops.

However, the Chinese will not be happy for long! They have fallen into the trap and will soon know how powerful the United States is!

Grant said coldly: "There is no need to send reinforcements, because the Chinese have already taken down Poolsville!" ”

The lieutenant colonel looked back and saw that the machine-gun fire, which had been blowing like a wind, had slowly stopped. The three cannons also stopped roaring, and three or four hundred figures retreated from the town. Scattered towards his side. A Blood Immaculate Flag, a symbol of the Confederate States of America (the new flag of the Confederate States of America), has been flown over the spire of the town's church.

Grant ordered, "Gather your men and withdraw to Gaithersburg." One of the guards brought him his horse, and Grant glanced back at the fallen town, then stepped on his horse and walked away with his own guard without looking back.

……

Poolesville, Maryland Regiment Command. Eight hours after Mao Zhongmin's troops seized the town, Shi Dakai moved his corps headquarters across the Potomac River. As soon as he settled down, he almost immediately received a large amount of battlefield information obtained by Mao Zhongmin's troops through reconnaissance and interrogation of prisoners. There is only one conclusion, the Union Army is empty on the north bank of the Potomac River, and their main forces have all gathered around Washington, ready to launch a general attack! Frederick, Clarksburg, Germantown, and Gaithersburg around Poolsville are all empty!

Major General Liu Kunyi, chief of staff of the Maryland Regiment, stepped into the headquarters at once. Shi Dakai was looking at the map with General Huang Zhisheng, the commander of the Second Army. There were also sporadic gunshots around, and it was the troops under the command of Major Mao Zhongmin who were clearing out the Union stragglers lurking in the surrounding woods. Seeing Liu Kun walking in with a disgraced face, Shi Dakai looked at him with blazing eyes and asked, "Da Xian, how is the front?" Are the Federation troops out of sight? Liu Kunyi took the tea jar handed over by the guards, took a big sip of hot tea, and then replied with a heavy face: "That's right, I took the combat staff and walked in the direction of Clarksburg under the escort of the cavalry. There was no sign of a tight fortification, no barbed wire or trenches, and only a small number of troops guarding a very small and old fort. What an empty force! ”

Huang Zhisheng is now an elegant-looking middle-aged man, with the appearance of a white-faced scholar, looking like a Confucian general. As the first batch of heroes who defected to Zhu Jishi, the rank of general and the title of county duke can only be regarded as mediocre official luck, which is not comparable to the three marshals Zheng Hong, Han Si, and Luo Junqi, and even one level lower than Shi Dakai, a junior, in the military rank. So this time, he was appointed by Zhu Jishi, led an expedition to North America, and led an army to sweep away the western part of the United States, which is completely worthy of a royal general! So Shi Dakai was also polite to him. He furrowed his eyebrows and asked suspiciously, "What about Washington, how is the situation in Washington?" Can it still be held? ”

Liu Kunyi whispered to a white major who served as a liaison officer in the command headquarters and shook his head, "At least there is no problem yet. ”

Huang Zhisheng and Shi Dakai glanced at each other and said with a smile: "It seems that Lao Mei's acting level is still a little worse, if I take command, I will definitely organize troops to storm Washington!" ”

Shi Da laughed and said: "It's already very good, the mobilization and deployment of millions of troops, such a complicated plan to lure the enemy into depth, even if it is arranged by our Ming Army, it may not be seamless." Brother Babye, can you guess where their main force is hiding now? ”

Huang Zhisheng thought for a moment and pointed to the direction of Baltimore on the map: "Baltimore must be defended, otherwise the Union Army will not be able to gain a foothold in the Maryland area west of the Susquehanna River." I guess there's going to be a big corps of 200,000 people. Then he pointed to Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania, "The terrain near Gettysburg is more complex, with some low ridges to lean back on, and it's a good place for a large army to gather." There should be another large corps to be stationed here to prevent us from breaking into Pennsylvania territory. In addition, there must have been heavy troops stationed in the area around Hagerstown, at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains. Holding there would cover the Union forces along the Shenandoah River, and prevent us from crossing the Appalachian Mountains to attack the Federation's industrial town of Pittsburgh. ”

He patted the map: "And the Union forces along the line of the River in Baltimore, Washington, Gettysburg, Hagerstown, and the Shenandoah River form a huge U-shaped encirclement!" An encirclement of millions of troops! And we are right now, right in the middle of this encirclement. If we can't break one or both of these millions of Federation troops before they arrive, the consequences will be unimaginable! ”

Shi Dakai dropped the red and blue pencil in his hand, Huang Zhisheng may not be able to guess the specific deployment of the federal army, but a big U-shaped encirclement is also very likely. He nodded and said, "Now our advantage is to fight on the inside line, and we have the opportunity to break through the enemy with a swift and sudden attack on the inside line of this big U-shape." In this way, the initiative of the campaign is completely in hand! Now the question is which enemy to choose as the first target! He pointed at Liu Kunyi: "Da Xian, have you communicated with the telegram from Richmond?" Inform Admiral Lee of our analysis and ask for the next section's course of action. (To be continued.) )