On December 21, 1862, with the undisguised mass movement of the Confederate forces outside the city, the entire Union army in the Gettysburg area began to become nervous. By this time, even the most basic soldiers knew that a big war was coming.

Before the start of the war, the north and the south could be said to have their own advantages, and they should be considered evenly matched.

On the surface, the Potomac Corps of the Federation Army was more numerous, with a total of thirteen infantry corps, one cavalry corps and one artillery reserve, with a total number of more than 150,000 men, which was overwhelmingly superior in numbers.

In comparison, the Northern Virginia Regiment of the Confederate generals had only three large corps and one separate cavalry division, with a total strength of 90,000 men.

Although the Union Army was outnumbered by the Union Army, in terms of the number of artillery, the Union Army was far superior to the Union Army.

As a result of follow-up support, the Northern Virginia Regiment had a total of 260 guns before the war, more than half of which were steel 12-pounder Napoleon guns imported from China. Comparatively speaking, the Union Army suffered a miserable defeat before, with a total of only a pitiful 90 guns, many of which were 6-pounderers, and less than 30 real 12-pounder guns. Looking at it this way, both in terms of the number and quality of artillery, the Union Army far surpassed the Union Army.

Not only did the Southern Army surpass the Northern Army in terms of artillery, but even the Southern Army had the advantage in light weapons.

At this time, the main firearms of the north and the south were still front-loading smoothbore guns, such as the federal army in the north, the main weapon was the Springfield-style front-loading smoothbore gun, and the weapons of the southern army were almost the same weapons.

However, since China began to consciously export Sharps rifles to the South in small quantities two years ago, at the beginning of the war between the North and the South, the total number of Sharps rifles in the Southern Army exceeded 6,000, and half of them were given to the Northern Virginia Regiment.

Later, due to the sharpness of this musket called the Hua 1 type. The Confederate government continued to import vigorously and began to trade grain for weapons, so that the weapons of this breech-loading rifled gun continued to flow into the South, and by 1862, the number of such imitation Sharps rifles in the Southern Army had exceeded 20,000, of which more than 10,000 guns were in Robert Brown. Lee's Northern Virginia Regiment.

Robert. Lee was fond of this rifle, and instead of using it in a scattered manner, he gathered them together to form a Sharps Army, with soldiers carefully selected as marksmen. Coupled with these Sharps rifles that are both accurate and powerful, it has become Robert. Lee's ace army.

Relatively speaking, although the Northern Union Army has also obtained this Sharps rifle through various means, especially since they can also produce it themselves, the production capacity has not been able to rise, and the price has remained high, so far, the total number of Sharps rifles in the Federal Army is only a pitiful 4,000, and it has been formed into four Sharps marksman regiments.

Thankfully. In the previous battle, these four Sharps marksmen did not participate in the battle because they had not been trained, and they did not suffer defeats. Now the situation is urgent, and they can only be pulled out of the barracks in Washington and urgently replenished into the Potomac Legion.

From this point of view, whether it is artillery or muskets. The southern army is stronger than the northern army, and although it cannot be said that it is crushing in terms of firepower, it is an indisputable fact that the southern army has stronger firepower.

Other than that. The Union Army has won successive battles and has high morale, among which eighty percent are veterans who have fought many wars, while the Federation Army does not look at the large number of soldiers, but eighty percent are new soldiers, and the rest are defeated defeated soldiers, and in terms of fighting will and skills, they are far from being comparable with the Union Army.

In fact, if it weren't for President Lincoln's incessant encouragement and a series of severe punishment policies, it is estimated that just dealing with deserters would have become a big problem for the Potomac Corps, but now, due to the cold weather and Lincoln's death order, a number of gendarmerie units have been formed, and the risk of escape has become greater, so the escape wind has been curbed a little.

In terms of command structure, it was also the Southern Army that prevailed over the Northern Army.

The Northern Virginia Corps in the south is divided into three corps, each of which has two or three corps, which makes the entire corps more flexible and easier to achieve more tactical maneuvers in terms of command structure.

However, because the Northern Army was formed in a hurry, there was only one large corps, and there were no subordinate corps under it, but directly commanded every corps, which made the entire Potomac Corps relatively bloated, and it was even more slow and sluggish in uploading and issuing orders.

Finally, when it comes to the talent of the commander, the contrast is even more obvious.

The commander of the Southern Army was Robert. Li, the commanders of the three major corps under his command are also experienced veterans, such as Jackson, a fierce general known as the stone wall, who is the commander of the second corps.

The commander of the Northern Army was different, the original commander-in-chief was Ambrose. Everett. Burnside, but this guy is a good inventor, for example, his invention of the "Burnside" rifle with metal magazines, which is quite advanced.

But the problem is that this Burnside is okay to invent, and his talent for training troops is also good, but in terms of command, which tests the most sense of presence, he is not strict enough, and can even be said to be a little timid.

Fortunately, he is also self-aware and knows that he is not competent, so after replacing McClellan as the commander, he has always been reluctant and always shirking.

However, although Burnside has been shirking and thinking about resigning, he has also done his duty without Lincoln's permission, and after becoming the commander of the Potomac Corps, he did not slack off, but responded positively.

At the beginning of his tenure, Burnside was faced with a demoralized rout, and after he took office, he did not engage in any special strengthening training, but only reorganized these routs and a large number of troops that Lincoln later stuffed in, and reorganized them into columns, one column and two armies, so that it became six columns and three independent armies.

This large formation of columns, although large and cumbersome, is far less maneuverable than that of Robert. Lee's corps system. But bloated also has the advantage of being bloated, that is, when defending, it is not easy to be defeated, and the thickness of the force is stronger than that of the Southern Army, especially suitable for the situation of the Federal Army, which has poor soldiers and lacks excellent grassroots commanders.

If we talk about the comparison, then the Northern Army and the Southern Army at this moment are a bit like the Soviet Army and the German Army during World War II.

In fact, Burnside was afraid of Robert. Plum. When the other party is not attacking, he can still organize the army honestly, and he does a good job, at least he quickly stabilizes the morale of the army, but if he finds out that the other party is really going to make a big move, Burnside will soon be unable to bear the pressure, and when Lincoln comes to inspect again, he strongly asks to resign.

This time, Burnside was quite resolute, and Lincoln found out that the other party really didn't want to be the commander. had to replace him, so that the nickname "Warlike Joe" Joseph. Hooker became commander of the Potomac Corps.

Joseph. Although Hooker has a nickname called the belligerent Joe, who seems to be courageous and very belligerent, he is actually a false rumor. This Hook's talent can only be said to be decent, not much better than the previous two commanders, and even in terms of organizational ability, it is inferior to the timid Burnside.

But Hook also has an upside, or a disadvantage. That's good bragging, good face, and very good at pretending, so he's obviously a little afraid of that Robert. Plum. But in front of Lincoln, his chest was pounding, and he looked like he was not afraid of him at all.

Not to mention, this trick really scared Lincoln, who was in a hurry to go to the doctor. I think Hook might really be up to the task.

In terms of commander-in-chief, the Confederate Army was far superior to the Northern Army, which even Lincoln admitted. But what he didn't know was that there was also a famous general in the Northern Army, but it was not famous, and this famous general was George who was still the commander of the Potomac Legion. Gordon. Mead.

All in all, before the start of the war, in addition to the two advantages of the federal army being more numerous and in a defensive position, the northern army was at a disadvantage in other aspects such as weaponry, soldiers, commanders, and reputation.

But then again, although the Southern Army is stronger, it is also very limited, and in such a large-scale offensive and defensive war, one side does not have an overwhelming advantage in weapons and equipment, so it is unreliable to say that it can win steadily.

You must know that although the Northern Army has various disadvantages, it has a large number of people and sufficient confidence, which is the greatest advantage of the Northern Army.

As a result of Lincoln's efforts, or rather Lincoln's stubbornness, the whole North has begun to act, and a large number of young men have been forcibly drafted into the army, and a large army of one million men is already being formed.

In other words, even if the Battle of Gettysburg failed, with Lincoln's stubbornness, it is likely that he will continue to resist to the end, and if Lincoln does not give up resistance, then with the strong strength of the North, it is unrealistic for the Southern Army to completely defeat them in the short term.

However, this is not to say that the Battle of Gettysburg was not important, on the contrary, it was quite important.

You know, at Gettysburg, almost all the troops in the vicinity of Washington have been assembled, and once there is a big defeat here, Washington will not have troops to replenish in a short time. Lee took advantage of the situation to attack, and it would be easy to take the capital, Washington, and once the capital was taken, the blow to the morale of the entire United States would be very severe, and it might even prolong the war.

Once the war drags on and the enthusiasm of the people is exhausted, all that remains is fatigue and discontent, and when the time comes, no one will like to hear what Lincoln says, and the opposition in the United States will rise, and it is not known if the Confederates will really take the opportunity to become independent, and at that time, it will be extremely difficult to regain the lost land in the South.

In contrast to the apprehension of the Gettysburg defenders, Robert. Lee's Northern Virginia Legion, though small in number, was confident in the battle from top to bottom, especially Robert Brown. Lee himself, because of his long-term successes in battles, was full of confidence in his own army, and felt that taking Gettysburg was just a matter of capture.

Of course, Robert. The reason why Lee waited so long and did not attack was precisely because he was too confident in victory, and it was precisely because he felt that he had won that he paid more attention to his own losses, hoping to win with the least losses.

It was with this idea in mind that after he won a great victory in the Battle of the Potomac River, he did not take advantage of the victory to pursue and let the Potomac Army go, because although he was the victorious side at that time, he himself suffered a lot of losses, and his supplies were already insufficient, and he lost the ability to continue the attack.

So, although he led his troops to the vicinity of Gettysburg, less than a hundred miles from Washington, he did not continue the attack, but camped in place, waiting for subsequent reinforcements and supplies.

Now, Robert. Li felt that his army had recovered and had sufficient supplies. It was time for the final blow to the enemy.

Robert. Lee believed that as long as he defeated Gettysburg's army, Washington would open the door to himself, and once Washington was taken, he could force the Yankees to stop the war and stop this damn war.

That's right, don't look at Robert. Lee fought very well, and he was a famous general who led the Southern Army to attack the Northern Army, but in fact, he always called himself an American officer, and he never reported a favorable opinion of the split. Until now, he has not accepted the post of the Federal States of the South.

That is to say, Robert. Lee was actually against secession, and was on the verge of being appointed commander of the Confederate Army by Lincoln, only to join the Confederate Army in the South.

The reason is simple, Robert. Although Lee was emotionally opposed to the division between the North and the South, he was more loyal to his hometown of Virginia, so when his hometown faced the invasion of the Confederate Army, his hometown called him into the army to defend his hometown. He joined the ranks of the rebels against the Northern Union Army without hesitation.

However, while Robert. Lee was already the supreme commander of the Northern Virginia Corps, and had received unanimous approval from all over the Confederates, but he had so far. He also always revered his rank of colonel of the United States, and was proud of it, refusing to wear the insignia of a general of the Union States.

So, even now. Robert. Li Mingming is the commander of the Southern Alliance generals, and he has a bunch of major generals and lieutenant generals under him, but he always carries the rank of colonel of the United States. It's also a scene.

It's hard to understand that this is to be placed in the East, but in the West, it's not uncommon. Lee's situation is not unique. And, Robert. Li also does one line of love and one line, even if his heart is still for the United States, but he is never soft when he fights the army of the United States.

In any case, by December 21, 1862, both sides were almost ready, especially Robert Brown. Lee's side was even more well-fed and well-supplied, and he felt that a harsh winter was coming, so he planned to end the battle early, preferably by entering Washington before Christmas, so he decided to launch an attack in advance.

Because the defensive policy of the Potomac Corps was too passive, they watched the Northern Virginia Corps deploy their troops in two days, but they did not take the opportunity to make any response, but only strengthened the vigilance of their respective defensive points, which was equivalent to missing the initiative in the battle.

At 1 o'clock in the afternoon of December 21, the artillery attack of the Southern Army began, which was regarded as the official start of the Battle of Gettysburg.

At the beginning of the battle, the Southern Army gathered 220 artillery pieces and directly attacked the cemetery ridge area where the defenders were in charge, launching the first large-scale artillery battle since the start of the battle between the north and the south.

The 220 artillery pieces were put into operation at one time, which can be said to be the largest artillery bombardment since the outbreak of the war.

Generally speaking, during the artillery battle at the beginning of the battle, both sides had to fire at each other, but the Northern Army did not open fire because of the lack of artillery, but endured the enemy's artillery fire.

Fortunately, although there are many artillery pieces in the Southern Army, the momentum of the fight is also quite extraordinary, but unfortunately the shells are still mainly solid shells, and they really bloom. Explode. There are not many bullets. In addition, the federal army was on the defensive, and the trenches and other fortifications had been dug long ago, so if it was just a turtle defense, although there were losses under this kind of shelling, the losses were not large.

The reason why they concentrated their forces and firepower to storm the cemetery ridge in the center as soon as they came up was because the geographical location of this high ground was quite important, and the federal army was the defender, fighting on the inner line, and there were many people, so if it was still a step-by-step strategy of hitting the two flanks first and then the center, I am afraid it would be time-consuming and laborious.

Therefore, Robert. Li Cai adopted a bolder central breakthrough tactic, wanting to use his firepower advantage to concentrate his forces to break through from the center, as long as he took the cemetery ridge, he could arrange artillery positions in this place, and calmly take the two heights of Kopu Ridge and Cemetery Ridge on both sides.

Once the three main heights were taken, the defenders of Gettysburg were all under their own firepower, and they could fight as they pleased.

Robert. Li can understand the importance of these places, how can the commander of the federal army not know the importance of these places? So at the beginning, they placed heavy troops in these three places, and planned that each place would have a column of defenders, that is, troops of two corps to guard.

Just in Robert. When Lee ordered to concentrate on the central breakthrough, the Allied Army of two corps also began to assault the two heights of Kopp Ridge and Cemetery Ridge, but the purpose was not to take them, but only to contain them, so that their central breakthrough would be smoother.

Originally. Robert. Lee's tactic was good, but the problem was that he chose the wrong target for the central breakthrough, because the main direction of attack he chose, that is, the cemetery ridge, was the third column of the Potomac Corps, and the commander of this third column was George. Gordon. Mead.

In the Battle of Gettysburg in another time and space, it was this George. Gordon. Mead, who defeated Robert at the Battle of Gettysburg. Plum. It's just that George at that time. Gordon. Mead was the commander-in-chief of the Potomac Corps, and now, he was only the commander of a column.

This George. Gordon. Mead may not be as good as Robert in terms of maneuver warfare. Li, but this guy used to be a construction engineer and was proficient in architecture, so he couldn't do anything else, digging pits and doing construction, or fortifications, it was first-class.

It was in George. Gordon. Under Mead's command. The fortifications on the ridge of the cemetery have become classics, and the reason why they are classics is not that there are many pillboxes here, but that the trenches here are more powerful.

After being appointed as the guard of the cemetery ridge. George. Gordon. Mead immediately adapted to local conditions, and built one fortification after another, from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, the main of which was the trench fortification.

in this period. Trench trenching is not yet popular, and it is still popular for two armies to form teams and slowly approach and then line up to shoot them.

But because the Union Army is weaker. Therefore, Mead thought that he should not play the old trick and fight hard with the opponent, because he couldn't fight, so he built fortifications, planning to rely on fortifications to resist step by step, and use fortifications to delay the opponent's attack.

You must know that the federal army is all newly recruited soldiers or routs, once the white-knuckle battle, it will definitely not be able to fight, so the best way is to let them hide in the tunnel with peace of mind, shoot outside, and shoot at the other side, in this way, maybe they can also give full play to their manpower advantage.

After all, more people equals more guns, and if you fight with the other party, then the alliance army will definitely not be able to fight yourself.

It was with this in mind that Mead ordered the trench to be dug, and he asked not to dig one, but to have five in front and back of each position, each trench was more than one person deep, and when his own people defended, they had to step on a stool to show their heads and complete the shooting.

That is to say, when defending, he asked his soldiers to line up in the trench, and then step on stools, relying on the trench to shoot outward, and when he saw the other party rushing over, he quickly retreated, and brought a stool when retreating, so that even if the other party came, without a stool, he would not be able to climb out of the trench.

In addition, these trenches have holes dug inward, which are supported by wooden stakes, so that once the other side fires artillery, their own people can hide in them to avoid the artillery fire.

Not to mention, this little trick is quite effective, at least in the fierce artillery bombardment of the opponent, most of these people hiding in the trench anti-artillery holes have no loss, and when the Union infantry began to charge, these people immediately stood up at the sound of the whistle, stepped on the wooden bench, and crackled and shot outward.

What's even more damaging is that before the trench, Mead also asked people to dig a large number of traps, that is, small pits, once people step on them, it is okay to walk slowly, but once they walk fast, such as running, the feet are light, and they generally have to fall a big heel.

In addition to these pits, there are also a lot of patchwork wooden fences, the purpose of these things is to slow down the opponent's attack speed and give their side more time to shoot.

It was with these disgraceful tricks that the defenders led by Mead calmly opened fire and shot again at the attacking Union troops, and they also used artillery in the stepped trenches in the rear, usually six- or eight-pound cannons, all of which were grenades, with stepped firepower, plus the wooden fences in front of the trenches, the effect was unusually amazing.

At first, the Federation troops in the first trench were still a little nervous, and they always made mistakes when firing, but when they saw the attacking Union troops fall at every turn, they quickly laughed, so the tension was quickly dissipated.

Later, when they cooperated with the rear fire points, especially those artillery cannons, the coalition forces attacking here were completely damaged, and the dead were all one by one.

It was with this step-by-step trench fortification, combined with the pits and wooden fences in front, that Mead withstood three waves of Union charges, especially the third. Under the leadership of Pickett, he launched an attack on the scale of 7,000 men, which immediately set off the climax of the attack of the day.

Unfortunately, both sides of the war went crazy at that time, and although Pickett's charge suffered heavy losses, he finally rushed into the first trench after paying more than 2,000 casualties, and started a white-knuckle battle with the Northern army that did not leave in time.

There is no doubt that although the Union army suffered heavy casualties during the offensive, once it was fought in a white-knuckle battle, the Northern Army immediately collapsed and collapsed in one fell swoop.

However, because there was a trench, the collapse was only the collapse of the first trench defense line, and because the trench was too deep, the soldiers could not get out for a while, so it did not have much impact on the defenders behind, and did not form a chain reaction.

In the end, although the Confederate Pickett won the first line of trench defense, he also lost the ability to continue the offensive because of the heavy losses during the attack.

In this way, after the battle known as the Picket Charge, the battle lines of the two warring sides began to stalemate, and for a short time, neither of them was able to conduct a larger battle.

No one expected that this short but fierce brutal battle, which surprised the commanders of both sides, was only the beginning, and even greater casualties were yet to come. (To be continued......)