Oh darn. Yeah finally finished a post! and was line wtfi can't even post lol
Crap I didn't even realize what my phone did until this morning. I apologize
Last edited:
The Grey
- Thread starter herricks
- Start date
Crap I didn't even realize what my phone did until this morning. I apologize
Yes! Was hoping this would get updated!
I think the US should go defensive in the east while hitting the CSA hard in the west, aim for the Rio Grande and cut the CSA in half
I think the US should go defensive in the east while hitting the CSA hard in the west, aim for the Rio Grande and cut the CSA in half
Extended Fronts
Despite the armies being exhausted and winter coming on soon the Confederates wouldn't have long to rest before moving out again. Cause if they waited long then the initiative would be gone forever. Moving as much men and supplies that they could General Gordon and the 1st Army renewed their offensive on September 18 less than a month after the capture of Philadelphia. With roughly 325,000 the Confederates moved further north like a steamroller. In just ten days after moving out sections of Merritt's army had been defeated at Norristown, Warminster, Bensalem, and Newtown. Here there was a split in the American war department on which way Porter would move. Merritt believed that the Confederacy aimed to move the war out of Pennsylvania and assault New Jersey as some of their movements suggested, however a larger majority felt that they wouldn't risk trying to cross the Delaware River but would instead continue campaigning through Pennsylvania towards Allentown and more forcing Merritt to keep his army spread out. On October 1 the first of what would be hundreds of thousands of Confederate shells fired from its heavy long range artillery fell on American positions around the city of Trenton beginning the Battle of Trenton.
Despite what many in the American war department believed Confederate forces were not only trying but succeeding in crossing the Delaware and in great numbers. Though American river monitors were causing some problems heavy guns were soon placed in position so that they could fire on any vessel that approached. Though initially Merritt had only about 70,000 men in Trenton and had no hope of defeating the invaders he refused to withdraw and instead ordered every available unit to begin immediately moving to Trenton and dug in. Both sides brought more and more men and material into the city. Trenton was virtually wiped from the map as the battle raged. By November the battle had gone on for over a month and a network of trench lines stretching from Bordentown to Scudder Falls. The United States was making a stand here determined to end the string of defeats and turn the tide in the war. More and more men began to be funneled into the engagement on both sides. Intent on ultimate victory President Gordon ordered reserves and state troops from all areas of the states east of the Appalachians to be thrown in to the fight as did Lincoln. As the year came to an end nearly a million men were engaged in the Battle of Trenton and no end was in sight.
As Porter moved on Trenton, in the Western Theater General Rosser was on the move as well. Rosser's new objective was to deliver a decisive blow to the US's industrial capabilities and to do that turned east with his cross-hairs on Pittsburgh. On September 20 Rosser and 255,000 men came marching out of eastern Ohio crossing the border into western Pennsylvania on October 1. Though Crooks fought back on numerous occasions they were just delaying actions cause he knew that the big fight was ahead. On October 16 though Confederate shells began raining down on the city and the Battle of Pittsburgh began. As soon as it became clear that the Confederate's were going to march on Pittsburgh the Americans began working like madmen to turn the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers into impenetrable defensive barriers lining them with trenches, pillboxes, guns, and everything else they could find. The Ohio Line would end semi easily as the Confederates had naval superiority on the Ohio and sent monitors to assist so after just three days the Americans here had been overran. Taking the line had cost four monitors and by then the river further south had been heavily mined taking away the advantage of the monitors. The Allegheny and Monongahela Lines were a tougher nut to crack. For two weeks Confederate forces slammed over and over into US forces on the Allegheny only to be knocked back over and over. Finally however November 9 they broke through at Freeport and folding it up by the next evening. Three days later the Monongahela Line was broken at Munhall and the fight was finally in the city itself. That didn't mean Crook was through fighting though, this fight had only begun. For the remainder of the year the city of Pittsburgh became a warzone with much of it left utterly destroyed.
With American forces invading New Mexico and Arkansas General Wheeler was now having to divert troops to these two fronts and attacks into Kansas were reduced just to small scale raids. Wheeler himself moved as well crossing into Arkansas in early September. On September 17 Wheeler attacked the Americans in northwestern Arkansas in the Battle of Pea Ridge where he defeated 21,000 Americans in the largest predominately cavalry engagement of the war. While this cleared out this section of the state northeastern Arkansas still as occupied with more and more men coming in as General Custer prepared to assault Memphis. On October 19 Custer moved out of Jonesboro with 90,000 men aimed at taking Memphis and delivering a serious blow to the Confederacy. Wheeler fielded just under 60,000 men and moved from Conway to attempt and stop them and would try at the Battle of Wynne on October 31 however was defeated. Custer soon was continuing south and, he wasn't the only American force moving on Memphis.
As soon as war broke out the section of the Mississippi River from Cairo to the bootheel had been mined heavily by both sides with the Confederacy keeping the US from using the river to go inland and the US to keep the Confederacy from uniting its two riverine fleets (the Mississippi and Ohio Fleets) and from moving on St. Louis. Both sides however were taking steps to get rid of the others mines. On October 15 Admiral Richard Worsam Meade set off from St. Louis with the largest riverine fleet the US had assembled with 27 monitors, 8 torpedo boats, and 10 minesweepers to defeat Confederates and assist in the capture Memphis. Through Confederate spy rings the Confederate Navy knew of the American maneuvers and just over a week later Confederate Admiral Bancroft Gherardi set sail from Memphis with 23 monitors, 6 torpedo boats, and 12 minesweepers up river to combat the threat. As Gherardi moved north Meade was moving headlong through the demined mine fields there was a formidable obstacle ahead and that was the natural fortress of the Kentucky Bend.
Damn near an island, the Kentucky Bend made a excellent natural fortress and the Confederacy had placed hundreds of guns along its shores and a garrison of 15,000 well trained men excluding most of the artillery. To assist with subduing this threat 40,000 men crossed into the Jackson Purchase on October 20 in the first large invasion of Confederate territory east of the Mississippi. Three days after the crossing these men were in position to assault the bend and on October 25 the Battle of Kentucky Bend began. The Battle of Kentucky Bend started with an intense artillery duel between the two sides that would last much of the day. Early the next morning US forces were ordered forward in attempts to rush and break the Confederate lines. Within an hour though the remainder of these men returned bloody and defeated with most of the men that had gone forward slaughtered by relentless Confederate fire. Over the next two days US forces attempted three more times to achieve a breakthrough only to return mauled and mutilated each time. On the fourth day of the engagement though the fighting would switch from land to water as Gherardi and his fleet arrived and the Mississippi became the scene of a mass of metal and carnage. For the next twelve hours the two sides battled it out. When the smoke finally cleared it was the Confederates that still held this section of the river as Meade's fleet was a burning wreck. Though the Confederate Fleet hadn't got off unscathed the Americans had been virtually destroyed and fled back to St. Louis. With the Mississippi still in Confederate hands the writing was on the wall for the rest of the Battle of Kentucky Bend. Despite this the American forces on ground would try for another two weeks before admitting defeat and having to withdraw from Tennessee and Kentucky. The defeat of the navy at Kentucky end would have ramifications for Custer as without the fleet he would have no naval support crossing and taking Memphis was nearly impossible and he withdrew back to Jonesboro.
Out of New Mexico a 30,000 strong section of Custer's army under Major General John Finis Philips was moving to secure the territory and hopefully cut off the supply lines heading to the western Confederacy. This time American forces would secure both Santa Fe and Albuquerque by the end of September. From there the American troops moved deeper into New Mexico. As General Armstrong tried to move enough troops forward to stop this offensive the Americans defeated a lesser force in the Battle of Peralta on October 9 and continued the move south. Two weeks later the Confederates were again defeated at the Battle of Valverde and from there it seemed El Paso, and the Confederacy's main rail line to the Pacific, were virtually in Philips' hands. On November 3 though Armstrong had finally managed to get the entirety of this force in front of them and would strike back near Las Cruces. For two days the Battle of Las Cruces would rage and though the Americans outnumbered the Confederates by nearly 8000 the Confederates were fierce and fighting for their homeland and in the end Philips would retreat eventually returning to Albuquerque by December.
General MacArthur's army was growing by the day and by late September it was time to liberate Los Angeles. On September 28 MacArthur and his 60,000 men began moving on Los Angeles. By now Stuart had fewer than 30,000 men but still hoped that he could achieve a victory. On October 3 the two armies met one another in the Battle of Cahuenga Pass. Though the Confederates would gain the high grounds and fought ferociously for three days there were just to many Americans and late in the day on October 6 Stuart finally ordered a retreat. The Americans would soon be in artillery range of Los Angeles. On October 10 Stuarts army began to withdraw from Los Angeles moving towards San Diego while the navy pulled off of Catalina island and bombarded the city making it useless to the advancing Americans. Over the next two weeks Stuart fought a delaying action as he moved south and conducting scorched earth as he went. Once arriving in San Diego, they would only stay there a week before withdrawing on November 5 and giving it the same dose of medicine Los Angeles received. Three weeks after leaving San Diego Stuart and his army would cross the Colorado River with had been fortified as the Confederacy's main western defensive line and prepared for an American invasion.
Despite the armies being exhausted and winter coming on soon the Confederates wouldn't have long to rest before moving out again. Cause if they waited long then the initiative would be gone forever. Moving as much men and supplies that they could General Gordon and the 1st Army renewed their offensive on September 18 less than a month after the capture of Philadelphia. With roughly 325,000 the Confederates moved further north like a steamroller. In just ten days after moving out sections of Merritt's army had been defeated at Norristown, Warminster, Bensalem, and Newtown. Here there was a split in the American war department on which way Porter would move. Merritt believed that the Confederacy aimed to move the war out of Pennsylvania and assault New Jersey as some of their movements suggested, however a larger majority felt that they wouldn't risk trying to cross the Delaware River but would instead continue campaigning through Pennsylvania towards Allentown and more forcing Merritt to keep his army spread out. On October 1 the first of what would be hundreds of thousands of Confederate shells fired from its heavy long range artillery fell on American positions around the city of Trenton beginning the Battle of Trenton.
Despite what many in the American war department believed Confederate forces were not only trying but succeeding in crossing the Delaware and in great numbers. Though American river monitors were causing some problems heavy guns were soon placed in position so that they could fire on any vessel that approached. Though initially Merritt had only about 70,000 men in Trenton and had no hope of defeating the invaders he refused to withdraw and instead ordered every available unit to begin immediately moving to Trenton and dug in. Both sides brought more and more men and material into the city. Trenton was virtually wiped from the map as the battle raged. By November the battle had gone on for over a month and a network of trench lines stretching from Bordentown to Scudder Falls. The United States was making a stand here determined to end the string of defeats and turn the tide in the war. More and more men began to be funneled into the engagement on both sides. Intent on ultimate victory President Gordon ordered reserves and state troops from all areas of the states east of the Appalachians to be thrown in to the fight as did Lincoln. As the year came to an end nearly a million men were engaged in the Battle of Trenton and no end was in sight.
As Porter moved on Trenton, in the Western Theater General Rosser was on the move as well. Rosser's new objective was to deliver a decisive blow to the US's industrial capabilities and to do that turned east with his cross-hairs on Pittsburgh. On September 20 Rosser and 255,000 men came marching out of eastern Ohio crossing the border into western Pennsylvania on October 1. Though Crooks fought back on numerous occasions they were just delaying actions cause he knew that the big fight was ahead. On October 16 though Confederate shells began raining down on the city and the Battle of Pittsburgh began. As soon as it became clear that the Confederate's were going to march on Pittsburgh the Americans began working like madmen to turn the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela rivers into impenetrable defensive barriers lining them with trenches, pillboxes, guns, and everything else they could find. The Ohio Line would end semi easily as the Confederates had naval superiority on the Ohio and sent monitors to assist so after just three days the Americans here had been overran. Taking the line had cost four monitors and by then the river further south had been heavily mined taking away the advantage of the monitors. The Allegheny and Monongahela Lines were a tougher nut to crack. For two weeks Confederate forces slammed over and over into US forces on the Allegheny only to be knocked back over and over. Finally however November 9 they broke through at Freeport and folding it up by the next evening. Three days later the Monongahela Line was broken at Munhall and the fight was finally in the city itself. That didn't mean Crook was through fighting though, this fight had only begun. For the remainder of the year the city of Pittsburgh became a warzone with much of it left utterly destroyed.
With American forces invading New Mexico and Arkansas General Wheeler was now having to divert troops to these two fronts and attacks into Kansas were reduced just to small scale raids. Wheeler himself moved as well crossing into Arkansas in early September. On September 17 Wheeler attacked the Americans in northwestern Arkansas in the Battle of Pea Ridge where he defeated 21,000 Americans in the largest predominately cavalry engagement of the war. While this cleared out this section of the state northeastern Arkansas still as occupied with more and more men coming in as General Custer prepared to assault Memphis. On October 19 Custer moved out of Jonesboro with 90,000 men aimed at taking Memphis and delivering a serious blow to the Confederacy. Wheeler fielded just under 60,000 men and moved from Conway to attempt and stop them and would try at the Battle of Wynne on October 31 however was defeated. Custer soon was continuing south and, he wasn't the only American force moving on Memphis.
As soon as war broke out the section of the Mississippi River from Cairo to the bootheel had been mined heavily by both sides with the Confederacy keeping the US from using the river to go inland and the US to keep the Confederacy from uniting its two riverine fleets (the Mississippi and Ohio Fleets) and from moving on St. Louis. Both sides however were taking steps to get rid of the others mines. On October 15 Admiral Richard Worsam Meade set off from St. Louis with the largest riverine fleet the US had assembled with 27 monitors, 8 torpedo boats, and 10 minesweepers to defeat Confederates and assist in the capture Memphis. Through Confederate spy rings the Confederate Navy knew of the American maneuvers and just over a week later Confederate Admiral Bancroft Gherardi set sail from Memphis with 23 monitors, 6 torpedo boats, and 12 minesweepers up river to combat the threat. As Gherardi moved north Meade was moving headlong through the demined mine fields there was a formidable obstacle ahead and that was the natural fortress of the Kentucky Bend.
Damn near an island, the Kentucky Bend made a excellent natural fortress and the Confederacy had placed hundreds of guns along its shores and a garrison of 15,000 well trained men excluding most of the artillery. To assist with subduing this threat 40,000 men crossed into the Jackson Purchase on October 20 in the first large invasion of Confederate territory east of the Mississippi. Three days after the crossing these men were in position to assault the bend and on October 25 the Battle of Kentucky Bend began. The Battle of Kentucky Bend started with an intense artillery duel between the two sides that would last much of the day. Early the next morning US forces were ordered forward in attempts to rush and break the Confederate lines. Within an hour though the remainder of these men returned bloody and defeated with most of the men that had gone forward slaughtered by relentless Confederate fire. Over the next two days US forces attempted three more times to achieve a breakthrough only to return mauled and mutilated each time. On the fourth day of the engagement though the fighting would switch from land to water as Gherardi and his fleet arrived and the Mississippi became the scene of a mass of metal and carnage. For the next twelve hours the two sides battled it out. When the smoke finally cleared it was the Confederates that still held this section of the river as Meade's fleet was a burning wreck. Though the Confederate Fleet hadn't got off unscathed the Americans had been virtually destroyed and fled back to St. Louis. With the Mississippi still in Confederate hands the writing was on the wall for the rest of the Battle of Kentucky Bend. Despite this the American forces on ground would try for another two weeks before admitting defeat and having to withdraw from Tennessee and Kentucky. The defeat of the navy at Kentucky end would have ramifications for Custer as without the fleet he would have no naval support crossing and taking Memphis was nearly impossible and he withdrew back to Jonesboro.
Out of New Mexico a 30,000 strong section of Custer's army under Major General John Finis Philips was moving to secure the territory and hopefully cut off the supply lines heading to the western Confederacy. This time American forces would secure both Santa Fe and Albuquerque by the end of September. From there the American troops moved deeper into New Mexico. As General Armstrong tried to move enough troops forward to stop this offensive the Americans defeated a lesser force in the Battle of Peralta on October 9 and continued the move south. Two weeks later the Confederates were again defeated at the Battle of Valverde and from there it seemed El Paso, and the Confederacy's main rail line to the Pacific, were virtually in Philips' hands. On November 3 though Armstrong had finally managed to get the entirety of this force in front of them and would strike back near Las Cruces. For two days the Battle of Las Cruces would rage and though the Americans outnumbered the Confederates by nearly 8000 the Confederates were fierce and fighting for their homeland and in the end Philips would retreat eventually returning to Albuquerque by December.
General MacArthur's army was growing by the day and by late September it was time to liberate Los Angeles. On September 28 MacArthur and his 60,000 men began moving on Los Angeles. By now Stuart had fewer than 30,000 men but still hoped that he could achieve a victory. On October 3 the two armies met one another in the Battle of Cahuenga Pass. Though the Confederates would gain the high grounds and fought ferociously for three days there were just to many Americans and late in the day on October 6 Stuart finally ordered a retreat. The Americans would soon be in artillery range of Los Angeles. On October 10 Stuarts army began to withdraw from Los Angeles moving towards San Diego while the navy pulled off of Catalina island and bombarded the city making it useless to the advancing Americans. Over the next two weeks Stuart fought a delaying action as he moved south and conducting scorched earth as he went. Once arriving in San Diego, they would only stay there a week before withdrawing on November 5 and giving it the same dose of medicine Los Angeles received. Three weeks after leaving San Diego Stuart and his army would cross the Colorado River with had been fortified as the Confederacy's main western defensive line and prepared for an American invasion.
You did. The Confederates are weak in the west. Perhaps with the confederates distracted South Mexico can get some revenge and take the North back.
With most of the CSA troops in Pittsburgh, the US should try to retake Cleveland
I’m not too familiar with Southern Arizona but considering it looks like the US controls the part of the Colorado where it turns east. On both sides of the river. those Colorado River defenses are looking less impregnable barriers and more maginot line that can be gone around instead of thru
I think the weak point in the Confederate defenses is in the join between Arizona and Baja. MacArthur should assault through Yuma, and then swing down to reach the mouth of the Colorado and put the confederacy under siege in the pacific. The Asiatic squadron should be here
Have no fear computer is finally here and in currently working through a new post
America's best chance is to crush the Confederacy in the west.
Counterpunch
As 1895 began the Battle of Trenton was still one of the two biggest shows in the continent. Fighting was going back and forth. In one push the Confederates would capture the entire town and looking to force a withdrawal, then in an American counterattack the US would almost drive the Confederates back across the river. The battle was going nowhere and it seemed that neither side was going to gain the upper hand. The US however, was making plans to change that.
Even though Britain had remained neutral in this conflict they were still assisting the Confederacy through trade and by upping the troop strength Canada thereby making the US keep sizable forces on their northern border. In December however the British Ambassador to the US Sir Julian Pauncefote met with President Lincoln and informed him that the British Empire had no desire to enter into another armed conflict with the US and so long as they were not attacked they wouldn't enter a conflict with the US. In a show of good faith 25,000 of the 200,000 Canadian troops that had been mobilized were demobilized and the same number of the 250,000 British troops that were in Canada were demobilized as well. With assurances and a lighter enemy presence on the border Lincoln ordered some units on the Canadian border to be rerouted to where the fighting was occurring.
On February 12,1895 with an additional 100,000 fresh troops reinforcing his army General Merritt launched his largest counteroffensive yet with forces attacking in a pincer movement from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Burlington, New Jersey and directly at Trenton. Finally the Americans were making headway as Alexander had to divert troops to protect its flank. Three days after the counteroffensive began Confederate troops were forced over the Delaware River and back into Pennsylvania. The battle wasn't over however as the pincer movements failed to overrun the Confederates and a day after being forced back into Pennsylvania the counteroffensive stalled. Though still fighting the battle had turned against the Confederacy and they were determined to regain the initiative here.
The success of the Confederate Navy had surprised everyone including most Confederates. They inspired President Gordon to call for the navy to save the initiative in Trenton by sailing up the Delaware and bringing their guns to bear on the Americans. On February 28 the Confederate Atlantic Fleet, bolstered by many vessels from the Gulf Fleet, set sail from Norfolk with eight battleships, ten coastal defense monitors, ten cruisers, twenty monitors, and eighteen torpedo boat destroyers began moving towards Delaware Bay. Such a large fleet was impossible to hide however and the US Navy knew of their counterparts movements. The morning after the Confederates set out the US Fleet set sail to confront them with eleven battleships, twelve coastal defense monitors, fourteen cruisers, twelve monitors, and twenty torpedo boat destroyers began rapidly moving from New Jersey. In the morning on March 2 the US fleet moved into the Delaware Bay mere hours after the Confederate ones. Though the Confederates beat the Americans to the bay and entrance into the river they couldn't leave the Americans at their rear cutting off supply and escape routes. While eight monitors began making their way into the river the rest and the fleet turned to face and destroy the American Navy. About 4pm the Battle of Delaware Bay began as the two fleets began firing on one another. Fighting soon became intense however, being late in the afternoon the fleets soon began to disengage as darkness fell. The next morning though the battle exploded and quickly went into full swing. Throughout the day the battle raged as the bay was filled with fire and blood. Fighting occurred all across the bay, sometimes within a hundred yards of the shore. This brought forth hundreds of onlookers to witness the fighting however, after a few stray shells from both sides landed among them caused them to quickly disperse. Tremendous amounts of casualties were made on both sides however, the Confederate dead far outnumbered their American counterparts. As the sun began setting low the battle came to an end. The Americans had lost four battleships (1 beached), seven coastal defense monitors, seven cruisers (2 beached), four monitors, and thirteen torpedo boats with over 3000 dead. The Confederate fleet however was virtually destroyed. Through being either sunk or destroyed to avoid capture the Confederacy suffered seven battleships had been, nine coastal defense monitors, seven cruisers, eleven monitors (the other fled up the river), and all of its torpedo boats with over 6000 dead. Though there were still vessels scattered across the coast and much of its Gulf Coast Fleet intact its naval superiority had been smashed and now Americans could sail up the Delaware to bring their guns to bear on the still fighting Confederates.
News of the devastating defeat at Delaware Bay spread quickly through the line at Trenton. It was a decisive blow to the Confederate morale with many now seeing no way that victory could be achieved. On March 8 American forces launched another offensive was launched across the Delaware about 25 miles north of Philadelphia. Though the Confederates fought hard this was the final straw and after two days the five month long Battle of Trenton ended as General Alexander, against President Gordon's wishes, ordered the retreat of his army. The Battle of Trenton was the most devastating and deadly battle ever fought on North America with over 500,000 casualties sustained. Over the rest of March Confederate forces fell back. Gordon gave orders for Alexander to cease retreating and not give another inch to the Americans. By now though the Americans outnumbered the Confederates by more than 2-1 and much of the soldiers the Confederates had were demoralized and worn out from the constant fighting while the Americans had new fresh men arriving almost daily. Facing ever increasing odds the Confederates continued to fall back. On April 2 Confederate forces pulled out of Philadelphia after less than a week of fighting and back into southern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware . However when the Americans arrived everything of industrial or economic use was either taken back to Confederate territory or destroyed.
The Battle of Pittsburgh, like Trenton, was a bloodbath that was leaving hundreds of thousands dead, wounded, and mutilated. Day after day the two forces slugged it out as the Confederates did their damnedest to take the city and destroy the American army fighting to stop that from happening. The battle here was a stalemate as neither side had enough manpower to overcome the other. The final end of the Battle of Trenton however would change that. Just days after their victory at Trenton the US began funneling troops into western Pennsylvania from the eastern states and via ship across Lake Erie. On March 19 a 55,000 strong US counteroffensive that started at Monessen south of the main fight. Throughout the winter Confederate reinforcements had became less and less common and by the time the offensive began their flanks were dangerously undermanned. Finally American forces were on the move crossing into parts of Pennsylvania that had been occupied for months. Three days after this offensive began another offensive was launched in the north from Alquippa. This offensive had even better success as many of the Confederate's reserves were already on the move towards the southern counterattack. The American pincer movement was quickly closing in on cutting off the Confederate Army in Pittsburgh. A week into the counterattack General Rosser began pulling troops out of Pittsburgh to try an halt these movements in case he needed to evacuate the city. President Gordon however ordered Rosser to not retreat and instead press on until ultimate victory. Unlike Alexander, Rosser listened to the president's demands and remained in Pittsburgh. That would come to be a grave mistake. On March 31 the two arms of the American counterattack met one another and in doing so cut off 270,000 Confederate troops that were fighting in Pittsburgh.
In the Trans-Mississippi Theater the war had already moved onto Confederate territory. General Wheeler, who had assumed control over the Arkansas Front, was wanting to change this and give relief to the state. On January 31 General Wheeler set out from Fayetteville with 40,000 men and invaded southern Missouri. For two weeks Wheeler campaigned around southwestern Missouri raising hell and taking several hundred prisoners. General Custer however was quickly moving to stop the force. The two finally found one another on February 16 in the Battle of Drynob which ended in Wheeler's retreat. Though the invasion failed it did buy time for the rest of Arkansas to prepare for the coming new offensives. On March 30 though, the Americans began moving south once more.
With winter in full effect fighting in New Mexico had all but stopped until fairer weather arrived. That didn't mean they weren't preparing as both sides were moving as many free troops as they could to this backwater front. On March 17 American forces finally moved out looking to seize ground before the Confederates could counter them. 25,000 American troops began moving east out of the mountains and into the plains. The Americans had succeeded in surprising the Confederate's who's main army was guarding El Paso. The only significant force the Confederacy had in the US's way was 3000 men at Santa Rosa. Despite the numerical difference the Battle of Santa Rosa lasted for three days with them using the Pecos River as a defensive barrier. On March 27 however the Confederates withdrew and on April 4 the Americans invaded Texas.
Despite a promising beginning, Stuart's California Campaign had ended in failure. However since returning to Confederate territory Stuart had had his men and the army's slave corps working round the clock turning the Colorado River into an impenetrable fortress. General MacArthur was hoping to break these lines before they were fully constructed and on January 11 assaulted Confederate lines beginning the First Battle of Yuma. Though having a numerical superiority of 15,000 Stuarts line, though incomplete, was formidable. For over a weeks the battle raged before MacArthur reluctantly withdrew. Though he lost the battle he wasn't defeated though and just three weeks later attacked again in the Second Battle of Yuma. However like in the first engagement the Americans were again forced after three days of intense fighting. On March 14 the Third Battle of Yuma began as MacArthur attacked with 75,000 men. For ten days the battle raged across the already battered landscape. Bodies in both blue and butternut floated don the Colorado by the hundreds. Finally on March 20 MacArthur's men made a successful foothold on the Arizona side of the river. Though Stuart would atempt to break this foothold it was here to stay and finally on March 24 he ordered the withdrawal from Yuma.
As 1895 began the Battle of Trenton was still one of the two biggest shows in the continent. Fighting was going back and forth. In one push the Confederates would capture the entire town and looking to force a withdrawal, then in an American counterattack the US would almost drive the Confederates back across the river. The battle was going nowhere and it seemed that neither side was going to gain the upper hand. The US however, was making plans to change that.
Even though Britain had remained neutral in this conflict they were still assisting the Confederacy through trade and by upping the troop strength Canada thereby making the US keep sizable forces on their northern border. In December however the British Ambassador to the US Sir Julian Pauncefote met with President Lincoln and informed him that the British Empire had no desire to enter into another armed conflict with the US and so long as they were not attacked they wouldn't enter a conflict with the US. In a show of good faith 25,000 of the 200,000 Canadian troops that had been mobilized were demobilized and the same number of the 250,000 British troops that were in Canada were demobilized as well. With assurances and a lighter enemy presence on the border Lincoln ordered some units on the Canadian border to be rerouted to where the fighting was occurring.
On February 12,1895 with an additional 100,000 fresh troops reinforcing his army General Merritt launched his largest counteroffensive yet with forces attacking in a pincer movement from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Burlington, New Jersey and directly at Trenton. Finally the Americans were making headway as Alexander had to divert troops to protect its flank. Three days after the counteroffensive began Confederate troops were forced over the Delaware River and back into Pennsylvania. The battle wasn't over however as the pincer movements failed to overrun the Confederates and a day after being forced back into Pennsylvania the counteroffensive stalled. Though still fighting the battle had turned against the Confederacy and they were determined to regain the initiative here.
The success of the Confederate Navy had surprised everyone including most Confederates. They inspired President Gordon to call for the navy to save the initiative in Trenton by sailing up the Delaware and bringing their guns to bear on the Americans. On February 28 the Confederate Atlantic Fleet, bolstered by many vessels from the Gulf Fleet, set sail from Norfolk with eight battleships, ten coastal defense monitors, ten cruisers, twenty monitors, and eighteen torpedo boat destroyers began moving towards Delaware Bay. Such a large fleet was impossible to hide however and the US Navy knew of their counterparts movements. The morning after the Confederates set out the US Fleet set sail to confront them with eleven battleships, twelve coastal defense monitors, fourteen cruisers, twelve monitors, and twenty torpedo boat destroyers began rapidly moving from New Jersey. In the morning on March 2 the US fleet moved into the Delaware Bay mere hours after the Confederate ones. Though the Confederates beat the Americans to the bay and entrance into the river they couldn't leave the Americans at their rear cutting off supply and escape routes. While eight monitors began making their way into the river the rest and the fleet turned to face and destroy the American Navy. About 4pm the Battle of Delaware Bay began as the two fleets began firing on one another. Fighting soon became intense however, being late in the afternoon the fleets soon began to disengage as darkness fell. The next morning though the battle exploded and quickly went into full swing. Throughout the day the battle raged as the bay was filled with fire and blood. Fighting occurred all across the bay, sometimes within a hundred yards of the shore. This brought forth hundreds of onlookers to witness the fighting however, after a few stray shells from both sides landed among them caused them to quickly disperse. Tremendous amounts of casualties were made on both sides however, the Confederate dead far outnumbered their American counterparts. As the sun began setting low the battle came to an end. The Americans had lost four battleships (1 beached), seven coastal defense monitors, seven cruisers (2 beached), four monitors, and thirteen torpedo boats with over 3000 dead. The Confederate fleet however was virtually destroyed. Through being either sunk or destroyed to avoid capture the Confederacy suffered seven battleships had been, nine coastal defense monitors, seven cruisers, eleven monitors (the other fled up the river), and all of its torpedo boats with over 6000 dead. Though there were still vessels scattered across the coast and much of its Gulf Coast Fleet intact its naval superiority had been smashed and now Americans could sail up the Delaware to bring their guns to bear on the still fighting Confederates.
News of the devastating defeat at Delaware Bay spread quickly through the line at Trenton. It was a decisive blow to the Confederate morale with many now seeing no way that victory could be achieved. On March 8 American forces launched another offensive was launched across the Delaware about 25 miles north of Philadelphia. Though the Confederates fought hard this was the final straw and after two days the five month long Battle of Trenton ended as General Alexander, against President Gordon's wishes, ordered the retreat of his army. The Battle of Trenton was the most devastating and deadly battle ever fought on North America with over 500,000 casualties sustained. Over the rest of March Confederate forces fell back. Gordon gave orders for Alexander to cease retreating and not give another inch to the Americans. By now though the Americans outnumbered the Confederates by more than 2-1 and much of the soldiers the Confederates had were demoralized and worn out from the constant fighting while the Americans had new fresh men arriving almost daily. Facing ever increasing odds the Confederates continued to fall back. On April 2 Confederate forces pulled out of Philadelphia after less than a week of fighting and back into southern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware . However when the Americans arrived everything of industrial or economic use was either taken back to Confederate territory or destroyed.
The Battle of Pittsburgh, like Trenton, was a bloodbath that was leaving hundreds of thousands dead, wounded, and mutilated. Day after day the two forces slugged it out as the Confederates did their damnedest to take the city and destroy the American army fighting to stop that from happening. The battle here was a stalemate as neither side had enough manpower to overcome the other. The final end of the Battle of Trenton however would change that. Just days after their victory at Trenton the US began funneling troops into western Pennsylvania from the eastern states and via ship across Lake Erie. On March 19 a 55,000 strong US counteroffensive that started at Monessen south of the main fight. Throughout the winter Confederate reinforcements had became less and less common and by the time the offensive began their flanks were dangerously undermanned. Finally American forces were on the move crossing into parts of Pennsylvania that had been occupied for months. Three days after this offensive began another offensive was launched in the north from Alquippa. This offensive had even better success as many of the Confederate's reserves were already on the move towards the southern counterattack. The American pincer movement was quickly closing in on cutting off the Confederate Army in Pittsburgh. A week into the counterattack General Rosser began pulling troops out of Pittsburgh to try an halt these movements in case he needed to evacuate the city. President Gordon however ordered Rosser to not retreat and instead press on until ultimate victory. Unlike Alexander, Rosser listened to the president's demands and remained in Pittsburgh. That would come to be a grave mistake. On March 31 the two arms of the American counterattack met one another and in doing so cut off 270,000 Confederate troops that were fighting in Pittsburgh.
In the Trans-Mississippi Theater the war had already moved onto Confederate territory. General Wheeler, who had assumed control over the Arkansas Front, was wanting to change this and give relief to the state. On January 31 General Wheeler set out from Fayetteville with 40,000 men and invaded southern Missouri. For two weeks Wheeler campaigned around southwestern Missouri raising hell and taking several hundred prisoners. General Custer however was quickly moving to stop the force. The two finally found one another on February 16 in the Battle of Drynob which ended in Wheeler's retreat. Though the invasion failed it did buy time for the rest of Arkansas to prepare for the coming new offensives. On March 30 though, the Americans began moving south once more.
With winter in full effect fighting in New Mexico had all but stopped until fairer weather arrived. That didn't mean they weren't preparing as both sides were moving as many free troops as they could to this backwater front. On March 17 American forces finally moved out looking to seize ground before the Confederates could counter them. 25,000 American troops began moving east out of the mountains and into the plains. The Americans had succeeded in surprising the Confederate's who's main army was guarding El Paso. The only significant force the Confederacy had in the US's way was 3000 men at Santa Rosa. Despite the numerical difference the Battle of Santa Rosa lasted for three days with them using the Pecos River as a defensive barrier. On March 27 however the Confederates withdrew and on April 4 the Americans invaded Texas.
Despite a promising beginning, Stuart's California Campaign had ended in failure. However since returning to Confederate territory Stuart had had his men and the army's slave corps working round the clock turning the Colorado River into an impenetrable fortress. General MacArthur was hoping to break these lines before they were fully constructed and on January 11 assaulted Confederate lines beginning the First Battle of Yuma. Though having a numerical superiority of 15,000 Stuarts line, though incomplete, was formidable. For over a weeks the battle raged before MacArthur reluctantly withdrew. Though he lost the battle he wasn't defeated though and just three weeks later attacked again in the Second Battle of Yuma. However like in the first engagement the Americans were again forced after three days of intense fighting. On March 14 the Third Battle of Yuma began as MacArthur attacked with 75,000 men. For ten days the battle raged across the already battered landscape. Bodies in both blue and butternut floated don the Colorado by the hundreds. Finally on March 20 MacArthur's men made a successful foothold on the Arizona side of the river. Though Stuart would atempt to break this foothold it was here to stay and finally on March 24 he ordered the withdrawal from Yuma.
MacArthur should have gone for Jefferson.
Pittsburgh is not good for the CSA.
On the foreign front, the Germans would be wise to give the US a generous arms contract
Pittsburgh is not good for the CSA.
On the foreign front, the Germans would be wise to give the US a generous arms contract