There was a purgatory-like scene inside the barracks, and outside the barracks Stephen Carney was furious. He obviously didn't understand why his army was being attacked, and he had built the camp airtight with Major General Carter and his men in front of him

In addition, there is an ugly thing that makes this embarrassed general even more angry, that is, what is his garrison doing? Why haven't the raiders been eliminated yet?

In fact, what Carney didn't know was that his patrol team reacted very quickly, but the enemy's elite chappers had already laid an ambush on the road in advance, and it was indeed not easy to organize counterattacks and charges in the dark night.

The Austrian side was indeed small in numbers, but it was better because of the large number of throwing weapons and rockets it was equipped with, and the hunters who had been prepared for it had planted explosives on the route of the opponent's possible attack, and the two sides suffered very heavy losses as soon as they came into contact with the American troops.

This caused the officers of the patrol to fall into the illusion that "the main force of the Austrians had arrived", and they naturally did not want to stupidly wash their necks and send them to death, but hesitation would obviously magnify their fear.

The American soldiers enjoyed the torment of the fire and rain, and the fear in their hearts was infinitely magnified.

Soon some people could not resist the pressure and began to run away, and it was not too easy to slip away from the busy officers in the darkness of the night.

When the officers found that their men were dwindling, it was too late to order the soldiers to charge.

Only a small number of soldiers seemed to obey their superiors' orders, and then they ran back as a burst of gunfire rang out, and even lay on the ground and pretended to be dead.

One officer chose to set an example by shooting deserters to maintain his military prestige, but he forgot that many of these so-called soldiers were outlaws.

Sure enough, after the officer had killed one of the deserters, a bayonet had been stabbed into his stomach.

"You bunch. Yokel. Quick." The officer's eyes widened in disbelief, and then several bayonets stabbed him in the stomach.

After stabbing their commander to death, the American soldiers did not disperse, but ran while shouting.

"The sir, stabbed to death by the Austrians, run! The enemy is coming! ”

This infuriated an English-speaking Austrian chasseur battalion commander who cursed.

"Give me all back! Who made you rush! Guard it for Lao Tzu! ”

The battalion commander checked for a long time and didn't find a shortage of soldiers under his command, and thought, "Could it be that the opposite side is killing the red eye and charging with his life?" ”

The shouts of the American routs had little effect on the Austrian side, except for a few English-speaking officers who were still stunned and suspicious.

But this news couldn't be worse for those unlucky people who had just escaped from the fire.

Soon a thwarted attack turned into a rout.

Although Stephen Carney actually sent his surviving men to take over the troops as soon as he escaped the fire, the officers who tried to stop the rout were invariably revenile.

A large number of routs fled with their comrades, who were still unknown, and no one knew where they were fleeing.

In the end, Stephen Carney could only personally lead the Guards and his assembled forces to stop the rout.

He thought that as the commander of the First Army of the United States, he was fully capable of turning the tide, after all, every soldier should know him as a general.

But the reality was that Stephen Carney and his troops were in the way of the rout, and before they could talk, someone fired first.

Carney's frightened horse raised its front hooves high and threw the guy out, and his troops began to fight back without receiving an order.

The battle scene is very chaotic, and the breech gun is slow to reload, but as long as there are enough of them, it can also have the effect of "one after another" of gunfire.

It's just that with the blessing of darkness and friend and foe, these remaining American soldiers can't be accurately loaded.

Although neither side wanted to come forward to fight to the death, with the blessing of the spreading fire, a bayonet battle began.

The two sides launched a desperate struggle for the same goal of "survival". If you can stab the opponent with a bayonet, you can use your fists or teeth if you get stuck in the bones, in short, you have to live with all your strength and everything

After a night of fighting, Stephen Carney's forces achieved the final "victory", and they survived to the end.

But when the sun rose again the next morning, they found that it was their comrades who had fought against them yesterday, and the camp was long gone, and the stench of corpses was all over the ground.

Carney was stunned as he looked at the sad picture in front of him with a bandage on his head, his losses in this battle were too great.

More than 7,000 soldiers were killed or missing, and 80% of the supplies they were carrying were lost, but fortunately he built his arsenal on the outskirts of the camp and the precious artillery was still alive.

In fact, the main purpose of the Austrian attack was to destroy the opponent's arsenal, but due to the lack of effective intelligence, the target was not found, otherwise the effect of the firestorm would be more intense, and the enemy who saw God in advance would probably be more.

About 1,000 people died in the rocket attack and the subsequent fire last night, and about 1,500 more were killed in the scuffle that ensued, and the rest are missing.

In fact, it is not surprising that there are so many deserters, because it is dark at night, and the chaos caused by the fireworks display and the resulting fires can easily lead to fear and stoop.

What's more, due to the physical and mental exhaustion caused by the previous trekking through mountains and rivers, many soldiers' tense spirits have reached the limit, so it is only a matter of time before there is a big rout.

There were also lucky ones who didn't die, but their hearts were broken, and these guys were the ones responsible for last night's scuffle.

The US military was at a loss as to how many Austrians participated in the sneak attack, where they came from, and when they began to set up ambushes.

Many of Lieutenant General Stephen Carney's officers had been painted in last night's attack, and the survivors were staring blankly at a map that was still intact.

So far, the First Army of the Federal Army has limited its knowledge of the Austrian army in California to the fact that the other side has been entrenched in the area for many years and the approximate strength of the troops, and has intelligence on artillery and rockets and a small number of light warships.

The lack of knowledge about the specific troop arrangement, command style, and tactical literacy has made some US military officers begin to doubt whether they can win this war.

Lieutenant General Stephen Carney, however, did not fall into such reflections at this time, nor did he have the slightest doubt that the United States would be the ultimate victor.

He was well aware of America's entire war plan, and he knew how terrifying the U.S. military's ability to mobilize was.

Stephen Carney's mind now is on how to cover up this defeat.

Yes, the defeat most likely affected his career, and Zachary Taylor of the Whig Party was his rival, who excelled in the battle to defend the Rio Grande.

Not to mention that one of the two was born in the sky and the other was underground, compared to the other, Carney's resume was far inferior, if it weren't for the fact that he had been appreciated by Andrew Jackson for slaughtering several Indian villages, he would not have been able to sit in such a high position at this time.

"Write to President John Taylor and tell him that the Austrian army in the California area is at least 100,000 men, and we have been deceived! Ask for immediate reinforcement from the country, we will hold our ground here, long live America! The Star-Spangled Banner never falls! ”

(End of chapter)