The Battle of the New Alamo (Part 2)

The result of the cavalry charge on the city was, naturally, much the same as the Battle of Balihe fought by the Qing army back in the day.

The Mexico cavalry bravely charged toward the walls of the Alamo, only to be forced to dismount and engage in a firefight with the defenders on the ramparts. After twenty minutes of exchange, the Mexico side suffered 114 casualties and was forced to flee in a sorry state.

Including the 11 messengers from before and the 25 soldiers killed yesterday, the total casualties for the Mexico army reached as high as 150.

In contrast, the casualties of the Alamo defenders were almost negligible. There are many folk legends regarding the casualties of this battle, including absurd exchange ratios like 1 to 30 or 1 to 40. Even history books written by the United States claim that before the battle ended, every man at the Alamo had taken down at least ten Mexicans.

Although Franz felt it unlikely that the Mexico army would pay such a heavy price, he still made preparations for both scenarios, providing experienced military observers (military advisors) and a heavy siege cannon.

However, the actions of Santa Anna had already exceeded Franz's imagination, and the two Austria army observers were also stunned.

"General Santa Anna, cavalry is not suitable for siege warfare," Stadion reminded him.

Santa Anna also realized he was wrong, but for the sake of his pride, he chose to ignore Stadion's words.

"Mr. Stadion, watch closely, the courage of our Mexico army! Infantry, advance!"

Then, another tragedy unfolded. Accompanied by the rhythmic beating of drums, the Mexico soldiers in green jackets and white breeches marched toward the Alamo in neat formations.

A cannonball flew into the ranks, first blowing off the head of the first man, then trailing a spray of blood through the line.

The second cannonball slammed into the ground and ricocheted; a soldier tried to block it with his arms, only for both arms to be snapped off instantly and sent flying high into the air.

Although the Alamo defenders had only three cannons, this was not enough to offset the disadvantages of the Mexico army. When the Mexico soldiers closed to within three hundred yards, the defenders began to fire, and men fell one after another.

The Kentucky Rifle used by the Texas men, although a design from the previous century, was a rifled firearm.

The range of the Kentucky Rifle was far superior to the smoothbore muskets of the same era, and its accuracy was beyond compare.

Just as Stadion and Gablenz were about to dissuade Santa Anna, the Mexico formation collapsed.

After all, no one wanted to die, and the Mexico army contained a large number of Indians and white settlers; their treatment was poor to begin with. If the war went well, they could scavenge for spoils, but once things went south, these people just wanted to slip away.

Once the first deserter appeared, the number of deserters grew geometrically.

In the end, Santa Anna had to send the cavalry to intercept the fleeing 1st Infantry Regiment. After a brief period of chaos and a headcount, the Mexico army had lost over 200 more soldiers.

This made Santa Anna lose face, so he ordered the execution of the commander of the 1st Infantry Regiment, and that unlucky colonel went to meet God.

On the other hand, the Alamo defenders, Bowie and David Crockett, were already preparing for a victory banquet to celebrate driving off Santa Anna.

Many felt that these Mexicans were not as difficult to deal with as the Indians, and the entire fortress was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

But Travis could not be happy no matter what, because before the siege began, a team of scouts reported discovering a giant cannon, 4-5 meters long, that required ten horses to pull.

If the scouts were telling the truth, it was likely a 16-pound heavy cannon, or perhaps a 24-pounder.

Such artillery did not even exist in the armories of the United States Continental Army; they were only found in Europe. Actually, the United States Navy did have such cannons, but they were all mounted on gunboats.

Although Santa Anna was very concerned with his reputation, he did not want to continue letting his men die in vain; after all, these people were the foundation of his rule, and this was only the first battle.

"Mr. Gablenz, Mr. Stadion, do you have any good suggestions? You know, we Mexicans are all warriors, and we rarely encounter opponents who hide in turtle shells like this."

Through the battle just now, the two had already analyzed the combat power of both sides.

The Alamo defenders had better weapons; even though the Mexico army was equipped with flintlocks shipped from Austria, the shooting accuracy of the two sides could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Although the Mexico army had the advantage in numbers, it lacked both training and courage.

In the battle just now, if it had been a Europe army, they would likely have reached the walls, and with a few hundred more casualties, they would have taken the Alamo.

But the Mexico army had collapsed just as they approached the walls. One must know that the last ten miles of a hundred-mile journey are the hardest; the attack just now not only failed to achieve any results but actually boosted the opponent's morale.

"I propose dividing the siege force into two parts to harass the enemy continuously, waiting for the siege cannons to arrive before attacking," Gablenz said.

"Correct, the enemy's morale is high; attacking now will surely cause our army heavy casualties. But our army must win a victory to boost our morale," Stadion said.

Santa Anna thought this made sense, but he was also curious: if they were to hold their position and wait for the cannons, where would this victory come from?

"How is our army to win a victory?"

"General, there is another rebel force here," Stadion said, pointing to a small town on the map about a dozen kilometers from the Alamo.

"But Mr. Stadion, there are six hundred men there," Santa Anna thought it was inconceivable. He couldn't even handle 200 men now; wouldn't 600 choke him to death?

"But they have no walls, General," Stadion replied.

Santa Anna hesitated about whether to follow this advice. Although there were no walls in that small town, there were houses; if street fighting broke out, his own losses would not be small.

Gablenz saw Santa Anna's concern.

"General, according to your scouts' reports, most of the residents in the small town have already fled, and those remaining are a bunch of desperate outlaws. We can burn that small town down; once these outlaws flee into the plains, your cavalry can easily crush them."

Santa Anna understood what Gablenz meant, and he admired this young man even more—he was ruthless enough!

Gablenz was indeed a ruthless man. During the war in Italy, his unit was ambushed, and he himself lost an eye to the attackers.

Gablenz killed the attacker on the spot, then led his unit to break out of the encirclement, only collapsing from exhaustion once they reached a safe area.

Thus, Santa Anna left half of his troops to continue the siege of the Alamo and took his main cavalry force to "harvest the wheat."

As for killing and arson, the Mexico army was all too familiar with such things, as they often did the same on their own soil.

Maning, still in his dreams, was woken up by his subordinates; he didn't even have time to put on his boots.

Firelight illuminated the night, and there were chaotic crowds everywhere, with the sounds of wailing and women crying from time to time.

"What is going on!"

"I don't know. Someone set a fire, it's too big, and the wells have been blocked. We had no choice but to pull out of town."

Firefighting measures in this era are extremely primitive, and the Texas region is incredibly arid, making large-scale fires a common occurrence.

"Damn it!"

Maning escaped the small town with a portion of his men. As dawn approached, a large cavalry unit appeared on the distant horizon.

Maning and his men assumed it was the main force from Houston arriving, and they waved their arms in excitement, one by one, until they saw the Mexico flag.

A massacre began.