Because of the tenacity of Jackson's division of the stone wall, coupled with the thorniness of the barbed wire position in the trenches, the director of Joseph. Hook's 180,000-strong army was slow to break through at Fredericksburg.

Ten days later, on March 28th, with the help of Robert . When Li led 60,000 main forces to support, the ratio of the number of people between the north and the south had reached 90,000 to 180,000, and although the south was still at a disadvantage, it was difficult for the northern army to take this place lightly under the condition of relying on the position.

But by this time, Joseph. Hook had little to do but continue the attack, for he had already crossed the river with his troops, and he could not advance without taking Fredericksburg.

In addition, even if he wanted to retreat now, it would be impossible, there was a river blocking him behind him, and it was impossible for the other side to watch him retreat leisurely, and he would inevitably launch a pursuit, so a rash retreat would mean a big rout.

In short, General Hooke's great army is now facing a situation where he can really muster the courage to take the stubborn stronghold of Fredericksburg once and for all.

In fact, Robert. Lee's arrival made Hook exhale, because he didn't have to choose anymore, he just had to fight with his head down.

Although Fredericksburg's position was tricky, the Confederates were numerically disadvantaged, and as long as the Union Army was willing to sacrifice, it could be filled with human lives.

However, Hook's idea was very good, but reality did not allow it, and the biggest reason was that the soldiers under him were too poor to achieve Hooke's strategic intentions.

To put it bluntly, the expansion of the federal army is too fast, and most of the soldiers are rookies who are on the battlefield for the first time, and the will to fight is not resolute enough, so it is okay for them to defend, and the effect will definitely not be good if they go to fight a brutal battle.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that these federal armies were too poor. If you retreat at the slightest setback, you won't be able to defeat Fredericksburg for ten days, even if there are trenches and barbed wire.

Therefore, although the Federation Army is large, it is only slightly better than the rabble, and if it were not for the fact that the Union Army also replenished a large number of new soldiers, dragging down the overall combat Suzhì, this battle would not have dragged on for so long.

As a result, despite Joseph. Hook insisted on forcibly attacking and attacked for three days. In addition to increasing his casualty figure to 13,000 and causing the other side to suffer 4,000 casualties, the rest of the battle was fruitless, and he didn't even take the outermost trench position.

At this point, the battle can no longer be fought, because the morale of the Federation army is already low, and any more forced attack will only make the casualties greater, and the result is meaningless.

And. At this time, the Federation Army still has a lot of vitality, and if it continues to attack recklessly, it is likely to be defeated by the other side, and if it is not done well, it will really become a major collapse.

This is not the World War I and World War II era of later generations. More than half of the army is killed or wounded and can continue to fight, and in this era, the organization and discipline of the army are actually just like that, even if it is a regular army. Once the casualties exceed two percent, they can no longer fight, but like temporary recruits. If the casualties exceed 10 percent, the combat capability will be greatly reduced.

As a result, the Federalist offensive suffered successive setbacks, and it was difficult to recover in a short period of time, especially in such a situation where there were heavy casualties but no results, and the blow to morale was even more severe.

After perceiving that the morale of the troops was low, George . Mead took the initiative to find Joseph. Hook began to persuade: "Commander, we can't fight any further, now the troops are suffering heavy casualties and low morale, we must withdraw first, re-repair and then fight, continue like this, in case the other side finds an opportunity to launch a counterattack, we are in danger." ”

"I know." Joseph. Hook sighed, "But what's the solution?" The president ordered me to take this damn Fredericksburg, how could I not listen to his orders? ”

"I see." George. Meade nodded, "The question is, do you care more about Mr. President's anger or do you care more about the lives of your soldiers?" ”

Listened to George. Mead's words, Joseph. Hook nodded: "To be honest, I don't care about the position of commander, but what I care about is that in the current situation, even if we want to retreat, I'm afraid it's impossible, and Robert on the other side won't let us go, unless we can take this damn Fredericksburg." ”

"The enemy is also constantly reinforcing us, and the gap with us is getting smaller and smaller." George. Meade said, "And their supply lines are shorter than ours, and the fortifications are well done, if we continue to fight like this, we can only continue to fight each other, except for the continuous bleeding of both sides, it is pointless." ”

"George, why don't you understand?" Joseph. "It's not that I don't want to retreat, it's that I can't." Even if we want to go, can the person on the other side agree? ”

"Actually, you can think about it from a different perspective." George. "Now we are the attackers, and we still have the initiative, so if we want to go, we can still go, at most there will be some losses." ”

"Do you have anything to build?" Hook Road.

"We can attack and retreat." George. Meade said, "We can continue to arrange some troops to attack, but the intensity should be a little smaller, and only let the other side feel a little pressure." While attacking, we can build more pontoon bridges in the rear to make it look like reinforcements are coming. When the pontoon bridge is built, we will attack and retreat in batches.

As long as we are careful, even if we find that our main force has already retreated across the river, we can then arrange covering troops along the river to cover the retreat of the last sniper troops.

In this way, after crossing the river, we became the defenders, and they became the attackers, losing the convenience of fortifications, and I believe that in Robert's eyes, this kind of thing would not be done. And once we have crossed the river, we can confront them across the river, and we can dig the same kind of trenches and fortifications, and just go down with them. In this case, we are not a failure, but a tactical retreat. ”

"That's a good idea." Joseph. Hook nodded, "But in this way, we will not be able to make progress, and I am afraid that the president's side will not be able to get by." ”

"At the very least, we've pinned down their main force here." George. Meade said, "Our strength is stronger than theirs, and what they can fight is this Northern Virginia Legion, as long as we can divide some troops to contain their main force here." We can continue to organize another army to bypass from another place.

Of course, we can continue to train here, as long as these lads are familiar with the battlefield, no longer tremble when they go into battle, can calmly face death, and will not run back at the slightest setback, then it is time for us to attack. ”

Hear George. Mead said so, Joseph. Hook nodded.

True, there was no time when decisive progress was made in weapons. Strength advantage is the biggest advantage, but only if you can make the most of it.

The number of soldiers in the federal army is quite large, but most of them are recruits who came out of the training ground in a hurry, and many of them have not even been trained, that is, after recruiting people, they are sent with a weapon, and even because of the emergency of the military situation, many soldiers do not even have military uniforms, and they are still wearing civilian clothes.

This leads to the great legions of the Federation Army, although they are huge. But it looks a little shabby, at least in terms of uniforms, it can't be completely unified, and at first glance it looks like the posture of the militia.

The militia is not impossible, such as the War of Independence of that year. The Americans relied on the militia to defeat the British regular army, but the problem was that the militia had to go through the experience of war, and if they came up, they would fight a brutal battle. That's simply not possible.

Therefore, confront the other side first and let your soldiers get used to the atmosphere of the battlefield. When they go to the battlefield, they are no longer afraid to tremble, and when they give orders, they can ignore the rain of bullets and the death around them, and they will only numbly obey the order to advance, then they will be considered qualified.

Once these soldiers have such an awareness, if they go to fight the southerners, even if the other party has the kind of trench fortifications that make people's scalps tingle, they will not be able to stop it in the face of powerful crowd tactics.

In other words, the reason why the Federation Army has been unable to advance for a long time now, whether it is the stubborn resistance on the opposite side, or the trench fortifications, is not the decisive reason, in the final analysis, it is the Federation Army itself that is not competitive, and its psychological quality and morale are too poor.

With George. After Mead had talked, Joseph. Hook no longer hesitated, and sure enough, he sent people to continue the attack, but the intensity was far less than before, and he just opened fire on the periphery, firing a platoon of guns, with a cautious attitude.

At the same time, Hook also asked the sappers to step up the construction of new pontoon bridges in the rear, and repaired sixteen pontoon bridges in one go, explaining that the following was that reinforcements were coming, and the pontoon bridges should be repaired in advance to facilitate the reinforcements.

Not to mention, this is indeed good for the floating military spirit, which was originally due to the frustration of the attack, but when he heard that there were reinforcements, he improved it a little.

Three days later, the pontoon bridge was completed. Hook launched a military-level attack on the front, as usual, he stopped at the beginning, and withdrew as soon as there was a loss, but it continued to give the impression that he was going to cause fatigue on the other side.

But at the same time, at night, Hook would retreat in batches, first the wounded, then the other units that were still in good condition, and as for those who were in contact with the front line, they did not move at all.

This operation lasted for five days, and when the 130,000 men were withdrawn, the Federation Army itself realized that something was wrong.

Because although the camp tent is not small, the number of people in the barracks is getting smaller and smaller, and at the same time, the intensity of the attack is getting smaller and smaller, and there is obviously a feeling of powerlessness.

In the end, by the time the Confederates realized that something was wrong, the Union Army had basically withdrawn all its troops across the river, leaving only 30,000 troops on the other side of the river for sniping.

At this time, the coalition army naturally could not let go and began to turn defense into offense, but the federal army had long been prepared for this, the sniper troops were all elite, and they retreated while fighting, and the main force on this side of the river also concentrated all the artillery to support, so as not to let the federal army take advantage of it.

Finding that the sniper force had lost too much to eat, the Union Army stopped the pursuit and spared the unit, and at this point, the Federation Army all withdrew to its original starting position, across the river from the Union Army.

Thus, the battle, known as the Battle of Fredericksburg, ended with a resumption of confrontation between the two sides, which, of course, claimed to have won the battle, but in fact it was a draw.

After this battle, the coalition army continued to build trench positions on a large scale, and the federal army was unable to open up the situation on the eastern front for a long time, losing its offensive ability, and the two sides changed from the original back and forth to a situation of mutual confrontation, and the confrontation of trenches became the main theme of the battlefield on the eastern front.

President Lincoln was outraged. and removed Joseph. Hook, by George. Mead replaced him as the commander of the Great Legion, but in the face of the Confederate trench positions, Mead could not do anything when he came, so he could only let the battlefield on the Eastern Front turn into a standoff situation.

Now, Lincoln, who understood the situation, could only allow the Eastern Front to continue to confront each other like this, and set his sights on the Western Front, pinning his hopes on the battlefield of the Western Front, which was advancing vigorously.

Just when the Union Army was losing a series of battles on the Eastern Front and finally had to confront the Union Army at Fredericksburg, the Union Army won one after another great victories in the Western Theater.

At the same time that the Battle of Fredericksburg entered a stalemate. by Ulysses. Simpson. The Tennessee Legion, led by General Grant, is advancing in Mississippi.

Grant first sent troops to capture Memphis, an important town in Tennessee, and then he led an army of 80,000 and began to advance towards Vicksburg, hoping to completely control the Mississippi River through Guò Vicksburg.

The Mississippi River is the largest river in the United States and is known as the "Father of Rivers" because it is wide and deep, and has excellent waterways. It is the main artery of inland waterway transportation in the United States, and its strategic position is extremely important.

The river, which divides the southern Confederate states into east and west, is one of the most important transportation routes between Texas and other western states and Richmond. For example, Texas beef and mutton, as well as weapons and equipment imported from China, are all shipped to Richmond here, so they are regarded as a lifeline by the South.

And the Mississippi River flows through the border slave states, Kentucky, and Missouri. Whoever controls the Mississippi River controls the two states, invisibly increasing their economic and military power. Especially the immeasurable weight of politics. It can be said that once the Mississippi River is controlled, it is equivalent to cutting off the connection between the east and west of the Union State, and if the sea lines of communication are controlled again, then the Union State that has lost its supplies will be completely useless. Therefore, whether for economic or political purposes, the Mississippi River has become a key target for both the North and the South.

Vicksburg is the key point of the Mississippi River, but 74 kilometers from Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, and is strategically important. It can be said that whoever controls Vicksburg will control the lower reaches of the Mississippi River, which is a battleground for soldiers.

Because of the extremely important position here, the Southern Army attached great importance to it, and the 50,000 Mississippi River Army led by Pemberton was defended, which was also strong, but it was still slightly inferior to Grant's 80,000 Tennessee Army.

Because Grant's offensive intentions were unstoppable and the offensive intensity was not small, in order to ensure that Vicksburg was not lost, President Davis of the Confederate States immediately ordered Joseph Brown, a famous general who had returned from injury. Johnston led the Confederate Tennessee Army to support.

Joseph. After Johnston accepted the order, he immediately led 20,000 troops to assemble in Jackson City, the capital of Mississippi, but at this time, Grant suddenly led an army of 80,000 to appear, and instead of fighting Vicksburg, he attacked Jackson City first.

Grant's army of 80,000 was a team of tigers and wolves who had won consecutive battles. Johnston's troops were only in their early 20,000s, and the troops were newly formed, all of them were newly drafted recruits, and the two were too far apart in terms of quantity and quality.

Although Jackson City is the capital of Mississippi, it is not a strategic location, and the surrounding area is flat, and the defense is very unfavorable, so in the face of Grant's rapid attack, Jackson City immediately can't bear it.

This is the advantage of grasping the initiative, grasping the opportunity, hitting whoever you want, you can effectively mobilize others, and Grant's talent in this area is quite outstanding.

After the siege of Jackson City, Joseph. Johns immediately appealed to Pemberton of Vicksburg for help, asking them to lead all their troops and abandon Vicksburg and attack Grant together.

There is no doubt that Joseph. Johns's tactic is still very shrewd, and Grant is now the attacker, Joseph. Johns was the defender of the city, although Joseph. Johns's defenders were inferior to each other in terms of numbers and plain numbers, but it was unrealistic for Grant to capture Jackson anytime soon.

Therefore, if Pemberton led an army of 50,000 to attack Grant from the rear at this time, and attacked from the front and back, even if he could not defeat Grant, he would be able to trap Grant.

Once Grant is trapped, the Alliance Army has a very high chance of winning, after all, Grant is alone, while the Alliance Army can get more supplies and reinforcements, so it is beneficial for the Alliance Army to confront Grant here.

However, Pemberton suffered from both gains and losses, and did not send all his troops. It's just that 30,000 troops were sent to support, and it is conceivable that this amount of troops is not a threat to Grant of more than 80,000 people at all, not to mention that this army is still dragging its feet, and the marching speed is as slow as a snail.

In the face of Pemberton's reinforcements, Grant sent 30,000 defensive reinforcements, and he concentrated 50,000 soldiers and horses to attack Jackson City frantically, and even Grant himself went to the front line to boost morale.

In the face of the frantic attack of the Grant Army, the troops of Jackson City could not withstand it. In order to avoid total annihilation, Joseph. Johns had to lead the remnants of his army out of Jackson City.

At this time, Joseph. Johns' forces were less than five thousand, and they were no longer a threat to Grant.

Defeated Joseph. After Johns's troops, Grant did not stop, and continued to lead the remaining 45,000 troops, turned back to gather the 30,000 defense troops, and collected the reinforcements that came out of Vicksburg.

It can well be imagined. More than 75,000 soldiers and horses came to attack 30,000 men, and it was on the Great Plains, so the Vicksburg reinforcements immediately fell out of support and retreated backwards.

It was discovered that this force began to retreat. Grant was unforgiving, chasing the back of the army's ass and beating it until Vicksburg was finished.

By this time. Grant originally hoped to take advantage of the situation to enter Vicksburg, but unfortunately Vicksburg has been operating for many years and is not so easy to play. Moreover, there are quite a few defenders here, and it is unrealistic to rely on a quick attack to defeat them.

When he found that he couldn't rely on a quick attack to capture it, Grant didn't take a trick, and set up his troops in a dignified manner, besieged Vicksburg, and then let the Northern Army fleet on the canal fire at Vicksburg day and night.

By this time, the situation in Vicksburg was urgent. Johns wanted to send troops to rescue, but he was powerless, because he was now scraping together more than 10,000 people, and this point of people to rescue was simply a plugged between his teeth.

But President Davis gave the order to die, and Joseph Brown. Johns had no choice but to lead his troops to support, but unfortunately Grant attached great importance to the perimeter defense and had no flaws. Johns could only watch from the periphery, but could not make any further movements.

At this time, Grant had not yet completed the full siege of Vicksburg. John sent men to infiltrate Vicksburg and told Commander Pemberton to hurry up and lead all his troops out, abandon Vicksburg, and join him.

To put it bluntly, Joseph. Johns's meaning is obvious, that is, Vicksburg is already a dead city, there is no need to defend this city, it is better to preserve the living force.

But it's a pity that Pemberton didn't listen to him, but felt that Vicksburg had enough food and food, and the terrain was dangerous, and Grant would definitely not be able to attack it, so he had to defend Vicksburg.

After getting the news, Joseph. Johns was furious and had a great headache for the disobedient subordinate.

You know, Joseph. Johns was the commander-in-chief, and Pemberton was only his subordinate, but now that he had given the order, Pemberton was disobedient, which annoyed him.

In addition to being annoyed by not obeying orders, Joseph. Johns also had more realistic considerations, because he felt that Vicksburg could not hold on today.

Why? Because although the defenders of Vicksburg were numerous, the place was not large, and the food and ammunition supplies used to rely on Jackson City or take the canal.

Now that the city of Jackson has fallen, supplies in this area have been lost, and as for the canal, the fleet of the Northern Army is in an advantageous position and has blocked the river, and this attempt to transport supplies through the Guò Canal cannot be realized.

In other words, Vicksburg is already an isolated city, and once it is besieged, the result will be unimaginable without timely rescue of reinforcements.

Joseph. Johns reported his opinion to Richmond, hoping that President Davis would directly order Pemberton to obey his orders, but unfortunately Davis actually listened to Pemberton's words and felt that he could hold it, and that reinforcements would be sent in the near future, so he didn't listen to Joseph. Johns's opinion.

This is the end of the matter, Joseph. Although Johns was in a hurry, he had no choice but to lead troops outside to continue to monitor, and at the same time urged Richmond to send reinforcements over quickly, asking for a large number of reinforcements, at least 50,000 reinforcements!

It's a pity that Richmond now has to give priority to Roberto . Lee's Northern Virginia Corps simply did not have the strength to give Joseph a force. Johns used it, and as for the soldiers and horses in other places, there were not many people left, after all, the foundation of the Union Army was there.

Therefore, Davis did not give Joseph. Johns reinforcements, just told him not to worry, the reinforcements will be there.

With no other forces intervening, and Pemberton's defenders not acting more proactively, Grant became more and more bold, constantly waging wars to capture the outlying strongholds and cut off Vicksburg from the periphery.

On April 26, 1863, Grant captured an important railway junction, which was a complete cut off from the outside world, and by this time, Vicksburg's fate seemed to have been decided.

After that, Grant, who had completed the siege, was no longer in a hurry to attack, and only fired artillery into the city every day, decided to trap Vicksburg, and repeatedly demanded that the other side surrender unconditionally.

On 15 May 1863, the defenders of Vicksburg were already experiencing a food crisis, and Pemberton had to start rationing and quickly organize several breakouts, all of which undoubtedly failed.

However, just when Grant triumphantly felt that the situation was settled, on June 11, 1863, an army suddenly appeared from the south, shattered the tranquility and fundamentally reversed the outcome of the battle! (To be continued......)