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Preface
In the presidential election of 1860 , the southern countries refused to recognize the legality of , which opposed slavery. He tried to create a new country called the United Nations.
under Lincoln 's federal government does not recognize its independent legality , declares that 's southern states separated from federal are "rebellious governments" and take measures to suppress them by force. The southern states are also preparing to resist by force.
South decided to make Virginia the capital of Richmond the most economically, population and military state, and become the capital of the United States of America .
This decision had a significant impact on the rest of the civil war. The reason for is that the federal capital Washington DC and the Allied Power capital Richmond are only 170 kilometers apart. This is a distance that can be reached within less than two hours' drive.
Therefore, the "Northern Virginia" between the capitals of the two countries has become one of the most intense battlefields of the Civil War , and countless large-scale battles occur every year. Therefore, both in the north and the south, the most troops were put into this area, with the largest number of people and the most elite troops.
is far inferior to the southern part of the north in terms of economy and population. The reason why he was able to fight for many years is largely because American War A famous general was appointed commander of the southern part of the region: General Robert Lee .
General Li knew Napoleon's tactics well and was able to reverse his disadvantages on the battlefield. He was a very brave commander.
Northern Army: Warriors led by the defeated general
The largest main force involved in the federal army in the capture of Richmond: Potomac Legion (named for Potomac River at the junction of Washington and Virginia).
In just over two years after the outbreak of the war in 1861, Med became the seventh commander-in-chief of the Potomac army. In this case, Lincoln can be heard sighing: "Is there no general able to defeat General Li?"
Commander of the Northern Virginia Army: Robert Lee
1861 General Li became famous for defending the peninsula invasion, which was the first large-scale invasion of Virginia in the north. Northern Commander George McClellan envisioned a large-scale operation to bypass with 200,000 soldiers, and simultaneously occupy the capital from the north and east Richmond .
Virginia has only about 85,000 Southern troops, and General McClellan's strategy is that if the siege tightens steadily, Richmond will be occupied with minimal losses.
However, General Li’s greatest talent is “ to see through the other party’s psychological weaknesses ”. General Lee regards McClellan as a "coward who is afraid of war."
He believed that even if he concentrated his troops, he would not attack from Northern . He concentrated the most likely troops in the east, and although the number was small, he turned to attack and evacuate the northern troops from Virginia.
After that, the north invaded Virginia many times, but was defeated by General Li every time. General Li's only comprehensive failure was when he first invaded the north, with the number of enemies far greater than the number of troops he led. (In the Battle of Antitan (1862)).
1863, the federal army was in trouble again. In the Battle of Chansleusville , General Lee moved most of the troops to the enemy's flanks during the surprise attack and more than doubled the flank attack positions. eventually won the war . article | Yutou Jianshe edit | Yutou Jianshe In the presidential election of 1860 , the southern countries refused to recognize the legality of , which opposed slavery. He tried to create a new country called the United Nations. under Lincoln 's federal government does not recognize its independent legality , declares that 's southern states separated from federal are "rebellious governments" and take measures to suppress them by force. The southern states are also preparing to resist by force. South decided to make Virginia the capital of Richmond the most economically, population and military state, and become the capital of the United States of America . This decision had a significant impact on the rest of the civil war. The reason for is that the federal capital Washington DC and the Allied Power capital Richmond are only 170 kilometers apart. This is a distance that can be reached within less than two hours' drive. Therefore, the "Northern Virginia" between the capitals of the two countries has become one of the most intense battlefields of the Civil War , and countless large-scale battles occur every year. Therefore, both in the north and the south, the most troops were put into this area, with the largest number of people and the most elite troops. is far inferior to the southern part of the north in terms of economy and population. The reason why he was able to fight for many years is largely because American War A famous general was appointed commander of the southern part of the region: General Robert Lee . General Li knew Napoleon's tactics well and was able to reverse his disadvantages on the battlefield. He was a very brave commander. The largest main force involved in the federal army in the capture of Richmond: Potomac Legion (named for Potomac River at the junction of Washington and Virginia). In just over two years after the outbreak of the war in 1861, Med became the seventh commander-in-chief of the Potomac army. In this case, Lincoln can be heard sighing: "Is there no general able to defeat General Li?" 1861 General Li became famous for defending the peninsula invasion, which was the first large-scale invasion of Virginia in the north. Northern Commander George McClellan envisioned a large-scale operation to bypass with 200,000 soldiers, and simultaneously occupy the capital from the north and east Richmond . Virginia has only about 85,000 Southern troops, and General McClellan's strategy is that if the siege tightens steadily, Richmond will be occupied with minimal losses. However, General Li’s greatest talent is “ to see through the other party’s psychological weaknesses ”. General Lee regards McClellan as a "coward who is afraid of war." He believed that even if he concentrated his troops, he would not attack from Northern . He concentrated the most likely troops in the east, and although the number was small, he turned to attack and evacuate the northern troops from Virginia. After that, the north invaded Virginia many times, but was defeated by General Li every time. General Li's only comprehensive failure was when he first invaded the north, with the number of enemies far greater than the number of troops he led. (In the Battle of Antitan (1862)). 1863, the federal army was in trouble again. In the Battle of Chansleusville Preface
Northern Army: Warriors led by the defeated general
Commander of the Northern Virginia Army: Robert Lee
With this great victory, General Li immediately planned to invade the north again. has three major strategic reasons .
1. The south was exhausted by the war entering its third year, especially in northern Virginia, which continued to become a battlefield, suffered particularly severe losses. In the north, the Northern Army's supplies were more secure than in the northern cities. If you bring back a lot of food, iron, guns and cannons, the burden will be significantly reduced next year.
2.1864 The presidential election will be held at the end of the year. Lincoln will naturally be a candidate for re-election, but it is certain that those who are negative about war and have no particular attachment to slavery will support the “peace candidate” and become competitors. If it was to invade the North and be directly attacked, public opinion would oppose Lincoln and support those who opposed the war.
3. General Li received education in Napoleon's tactics and believed that the secret of tactics lies in "winning in the decisive battle and smashing the enemy's main force." The defeated federal troops at the Battle of Chancellesville were intended to buy time behind the fortifications around Washington, D.C. until reinforcements arrived. There were not enough troops and artillery directly attacking the capital's fortifications.
is now the only time to lure the enemy's main force to the scene. Even if you are injured, you must "create" the reason for the enemy's main force to come out. Therefore, if the coalition forces showed a move toward the big cities Baltimore and Philadelphia , which were further north than Washington, they could only come out of the Washington Fortress.
combat mode
General Li and the Allied forces began to march north on June 3. Avoiding the road to Washington, he headed west first, followed the mountain road, bypassed the fortifications built by the Federation on the road to Washington, and after several small battles, he marched all the way to Pennsylvania, and marched at the end of June.
However, something strange happened here. During the Civil War, the main tool of the scout was horses. Horse riding is suitable for reconnaissance because they move quickly and can easily get out of the way when encountering enemies.
(General Jeb Stewart, commander of the Alliance Cavalry)
Due to the urbanization process in the north, Many of the excellent cavalry soldiers in the US military came from the southern . During the Peninsula invasion in 1944, General Stewart successfully provoked the enemy and laughed and said that the "Southern Cavalry" could go anywhere, and the Alliance Cavalry was fine. ''
General Stewart was a brave and bold officer who was able to quickly judge the situation and contributed to many battles. The overwhelming victory of the Confederate cavalry over the Union cavalry means that the Union does not know what the Confederate is doing, and the Confederate always has a detailed understanding of the Union's movements.
However, in the second Southern Army's northward operation, General Stuart's weakness of "greed for honor" overlapped with General Li's "lack of leadership and incomplete explanation of the adjutant's strategy", which developed into a serious problem.
In order to catch up with the Allies that were advancing rapidly north along the western mountainous areas rather than the road leading to Washington, the Alliance forces hurriedly stopped General Li's actions. As General Lee moved, General Stewart saw a chance to hide behind the enemy, and he did so immediately.
The advantage of doing this is that it deprives the enemy of supplies and hinders the actions of the enemy's follow-up troops. However, on the contrary, General Li suddenly lost contact with the 8,000 Situ Yat cavalrymen, and the cavalry who should have served as scout was cut off.
When crossing the enemy-occupied area in Pennsylvania, without the cooperation of local residents, and the location, movements and numbers of the enemy's main force were not known. General Li's diary conveyed a sense of frustration. The Allies were forced to march blindly.
The federal army also rushed to the front of the Allies, and even behind them, the two armies approached without seeing each other's position.
The importance of Gettysburg
Pennsylvania The city of Gettysburg itself is not important. This is a town with only 450 households (a few thousand people) and is a workshop for craftsmen who make carriages and shoes.
But there is a reason here to be one of the largest battles ever in mainland America: This is where 12 roads meet.
Gettysburg City is located at the intersection of many roads in the area and is a potential transportation hub and "a convenient place for the two armies to meet".
19 The military convention of the century stipulates that the movement of the army does not mean that the entire army only takes one path. This is a strategy developed by Napoleon, by dividing it into division and army levels, moving parallel along multiple roads, the entire army can reach its destination faster.
On the other hand, in an era without radio and telephone, such troops cannot get in touch quickly. If a unit suddenly enters the battle, it often takes one or two days before reinforcements can arrive.
Therefore, large-scale battles are prone to occur in places where troops are prone to gather.
Fighting on the first day
1863 In the early morning of July 1, 1863, when a reconnaissance team of the 1st Cavalry Division of received the news that the Southern Army was approaching from Gettysburg to the west of , Brigadier General Buford summoned his 2,700 cavalrymen. Buford's envoy had sent messages to the Legion commanders in all four aspects, saying they "meeted the infantry of Confederacy" but Buford believed that it would take several hours to reach the main infantry regiment.
But Buford fully understood that this is likely to be the main battlefield for the next battle.
Then Buford found 3 important high grounds.
First the Macpherson Ridge in the northwest, followed by the much higher Seminary Ridge, and the Cemetery Mountain spanning the highest area of Gettysburg City.
Boofed said: "The initiative of this battlefield is on the army on Cemetery Hill, because it is the highest point in the area, and a large number of artillery can be deployed. The Confederate forces decided that they had to turn back, detour or attack directly, so they thought it was important to buy time before the main infantry troops were deployed to Cemetery Hill.
Since the Alliance cavalry basically reconnaissed on horseback and fought as infantry by dismounting the horse, there were 2,700 cavalry in Buford The name light infantry .
But from the west approached the General Li vanguard infantry unit carrying cannons, a total of 7,600 people. Therefore, it is impossible to defeat the elite southern troops of about three times the number of people. Then, the Buford troops and the Northern Army vanguard troops believed that "just exchange two unimportant hills in front to exchange for time."
The Southern Army saw the ambushing Buford troops and took the troops The attacks were launched from the marching formation to the combat formation, but the Buford army held its position and repelled the frontal attacks of the Southern Army many times. At this time, the reinforcements of the Northern Army arrived and the two armies arrived one after another. While organizing the troops, the front lines were sorted out.
Compared with the chaos and anxiety in the morning and the lack of coordination of the Southern Army, the attacks of the Southern Army after noon were excellent, so "General Li arrived at the battle at noon. The statement of "field" is powerful.
The Southern Army used the fast-reaching troops to conduct joint attacks, attacked from the side of the Northern Army, and launched a raid on its weak locations, so that the battle steadily advanced in a favorable direction.
In the evening, the Southern Army occupied the back of Mount Seminari, and the Northern Army retreated from Mount Seminari.
Since the sunset was still some time before sunset, General Li went to the left wing of the Southern Army General Yuer, commander of the Second Corps, said, "If the situation allows, it should also occupy the Semitali Hill in front," but the cautious General Yuer launched the attack.
The hypothetical narrative about the change of the course of the battle if General Lee ordered an attack or had General Yuer execute an attack is common among American Civil War enthusiasts: attacks, historians think it is wrong to not do so, while others argue that it is foolish to attack immediately and engage in a tired alliance force, and they should wait for the arrival of a continuous trailing force.
No matter what, although the vanguard of both sides fought on the first day, there were 27,000 Allied troops and 22,000 Federal Army , causing 6,000 casualties and 9,000 federal troops. If this was a separate battle, it would be the ninth battle of the Civil War, but this was just the prelude to the Battle of Gettysburg
However, the next battle was unfolded with Buford's reconnaissance force . The two mountains in the past exchanged for time, and the main force was deployed on the cemetery hill to resist the Confederate forces. It is no exaggeration to say that this battle is decided by the scouts.
But there is a reason here to be one of the largest battles ever in mainland America: This is where 12 roads meet.
Gettysburg City is located at the intersection of many roads in the area and is a potential transportation hub and "a convenient place for the two armies to meet".
19 The military convention of the century stipulates that the movement of the army does not mean that the entire army only takes one path. This is a strategy developed by Napoleon, by dividing it into division and army levels, moving parallel along multiple roads, the entire army can reach its destination faster.
On the other hand, in an era without radio and telephone, such troops cannot get in touch quickly. If a unit suddenly enters the battle, it often takes one or two days before reinforcements can arrive.
Therefore, large-scale battles are prone to occur in places where troops are prone to gather.
Fighting on the first day
1863 In the early morning of July 1, 1863, when a reconnaissance team of the 1st Cavalry Division of received the news that the Southern Army was approaching from Gettysburg to the west of , Brigadier General Buford summoned his 2,700 cavalrymen. Buford's envoy had sent messages to the Legion commanders in all four aspects, saying they "meeted the infantry of Confederacy" but Buford believed that it would take several hours to reach the main infantry regiment.
But Buford fully understood that this is likely to be the main battlefield for the next battle.
Then Buford found 3 important high grounds.
First the Macpherson Ridge in the northwest, followed by the much higher Seminary Ridge, and the Cemetery Mountain spanning the highest area of Gettysburg City.
Boofed said: "The initiative of this battlefield is on the army on Cemetery Hill, because it is the highest point in the area, and a large number of artillery can be deployed. The Confederate forces decided that they had to turn back, detour or attack directly, so they thought it was important to buy time before the main infantry troops were deployed to Cemetery Hill.
Since the Alliance cavalry basically reconnaissed on horseback and fought as infantry by dismounting the horse, there were 2,700 cavalry in Buford The name light infantry .
But from the west approached the General Li vanguard infantry unit carrying cannons, a total of 7,600 people. Therefore, it is impossible to defeat the elite southern troops of about three times the number of people. Then, the Buford troops and the Northern Army vanguard troops believed that "just exchange two unimportant hills in front to exchange for time."
The Southern Army saw the ambushing Buford troops and took the troops The attacks were launched from the marching formation to the combat formation, but the Buford army held its position and repelled the frontal attacks of the Southern Army many times. At this time, the reinforcements of the Northern Army arrived and the two armies arrived one after another. While organizing the troops, the front lines were sorted out.
Compared with the chaos and anxiety in the morning and the lack of coordination of the Southern Army, the attacks of the Southern Army after noon were excellent, so "General Li arrived at the battle at noon. The statement of "field" is powerful.
The Southern Army used the fast-reaching troops to conduct joint attacks, attacked from the side of the Northern Army, and launched a raid on its weak locations, so that the battle steadily advanced in a favorable direction.
In the evening, the Southern Army occupied the back of Mount Seminari, and the Northern Army retreated from Mount Seminari.
Since the sunset was still some time before sunset, General Li went to the left wing of the Southern Army General Yuer, commander of the Second Corps, said, "If the situation allows, it should also occupy the Semitali Hill in front," but the cautious General Yuer launched the attack.
The hypothetical narrative about the change of the course of the battle if General Lee ordered an attack or had General Yuer execute an attack is common among American Civil War enthusiasts: attacks, historians think it is wrong to not do so, while others argue that it is foolish to attack immediately and engage in a tired alliance force, and they should wait for the arrival of a continuous trailing force.
No matter what, although the vanguard of both sides fought on the first day, there were 27,000 Allied troops and 22,000 Federal Army , causing 6,000 casualties and 9,000 federal troops. If this was a separate battle, it would be the ninth battle of the Civil War, but this was just the prelude to the Battle of Gettysburg
However, the next battle was unfolded with Buford's reconnaissance force . The two mountains in the past exchanged for time, and the main force was deployed on the cemetery hill to resist the Confederate forces. It is no exaggeration to say that this battle is decided by the scouts.
