The Battle of the New Alamo (Part 2)

A few Mexico soldiers drove their captives toward the walls of the Alamo.

The captives were highly cooperative; having just survived a hellish pursuit, they clung to the hope of survival and shouted with all their might.

"Colonel Travis and brothers of the Alamo, we are the men of Colonel Maning! We were ambushed by the Mexico army—no one is coming to help you, surrender now!"

Colonel Travis and James Bowie on the ramparts knew clearly that if these captives were allowed to continue, the morale of the Alamo defenders would collapse, as some were already wavering; after all, no one wanted to struggle in a hopeless cause.

The only thing they could do now was to silence these poor souls forever. Colonel Travis took a drag of his cigar and then pressed it against the fuse of a cannon.

But at that moment, Crockett stopped Travis.

"What are you doing? I know these men; they are Colonel Maning's subordinates."

"They are traitors!"

Travis shoved Crockett aside and ignited the fuse.

With a deafening BOOM, the captives who had come to demand surrender were silenced forever.

Witnessing such an act, Santa Anna was furious. He had already shown the utmost mercy, yet they dared to reject his good intentions!

It was not just Santa Anna who was enraged; Gablenz and Stadion were also incensed. To kill their own men—these people were simply insane. It seemed they would be unable to fulfill the instructions of Archbishop Rauscher.

At this moment, a letter from Archduke Franz Karl arrived.

Hearing the name Archduke Franz Karl caused Santa Anna's brow to relax slightly.

The letter contained only one sentence.

"Attacking the city is the lowest form of warfare; attacking the heart is the highest."

Santa Anna laughed after reading the letter. He handed it to Gablenz and Stadion, praising Archduke Franz Karl as a genius.

Gablenz and Stadion both knew that Archduke Franz Karl was not exactly the brightest, but they took the letter out of curiosity.

Having read it, Gablenz and Stadion seemed to understand something.

This time, Santa Anna's messenger arrived at the walls of the Alamo once more.

"General Santa Anna orders you to let the old, the weak, the women, and the children leave the city. The General swears to God to guarantee their safety. After the civilians have evacuated, a full-scale bombardment of the Alamo will commence."

This time, Travis did not hesitate. He did not know if this was a Mexico conspiracy, but if the enemy truly launched a full-scale assault, the Alamo would be bathed in blood. His honor as a soldier forbade him from letting the vulnerable die alongside him.

James Bowie agreed with Travis's assessment; after all, battle was a matter for men.

However, Crockett held a different opinion. He believed that as long as the old, weak, women, and children remained, the Mexico forces would not dare to conduct a full-scale bombardment, for if they did, Santa Anna would have to answer for killing civilians.

In the end, his sense of military honor led Travis to reject Crockett's opinion.

This was the second time Travis had angered Crockett, which left the United States congressman deeply displeased.

Two hours later, the old, weak, women, and children had left the Alamo. Santa Anna sent his most capable aide to escort them to San Antonio.

The sixteen-pounder cannons were ready, and as a loud bugle call echoed, the bombardment began.

This barrage was far more accurate than the previous ones, as Gablenz and Stadion had taken advantage of the civilians' departure to adjust the firing angles and battery positions, ensuring the artillery would strike true.

The sixteen-pounder siege guns possessed immense power; the first shot collapsed the southern tower, burying the squad of defenders stationed nearby under the rubble.

But before the Alamo defenders could rescue those trapped beneath the debris, shells came whistling in one after another.

Inside the Alamo fortress, stone fragments flew and fires broke out everywhere. Many were wounded by the shrapnel. Travis tried to organize an artillery counterattack, but the enemy's firepower was so intense that they could not even lift their heads.

The Mexico army's small-caliber cannons had been loaded with incendiary shells. These were a type of grenade filled with grease and other flammable materials; while inefficient at igniting surrounding objects through explosion, they were far more lethal than solid iron shot and kept the defenders in a state of constant exhaustion.

The sixteen-pounders were terrifying; each shot caused massive collapses, a power that the three-pounders could not compare to.

The bombardment from the sixteen-pounders struck the fortress walls directly, causing a massive breach—a gap so large that not only infantry but even horses could easily pass through.

Bowie immediately organized men to block the breach with wagons and furniture, though the Mexico forces showed no intention of charging just yet.

"Damn it, are the Mexico shells endless? Do they intend to bury us alive with these heavy guns?"

Crockett passed by, carrying a water bucket.

"Stop complaining and go put out the fires, or you'll be choked to death if you aren't burned alive first."

The bombardment lasted for two hours before the Mexico army ceased fire—not because they had run out of shells, nor because they were preparing to storm the walls, but because the gun barrels had overheated and risked exploding if they continued.

In the ruins, Crockett found his old servant.

"John, you old dog, I knew you were still alive."

The old servant slowly opened his eyes, spat out a mouthful of debris, and looked at his master with tear-filled eyes.

"Mr. Crockett, I can't move my legs..."

Crockett ignored his own raw, bleeding hands and comforted John.

"Don't worry, once we get back to Tennessee, I'll find the best doctor; you'll be healed, I promise."

However, Crockett could not find the old servant's legs.

"Mr. Crockett, go home. The mistress is still waiting for you."

As his consciousness faded, the old servant used his final strength to push Crockett away. At that same moment, a nearby broken wall could no longer hold its weight and collapsed, crashing heavily onto the spot where Crockett had been standing just a second before.

"No! John! God damn it! I'm going to fight those Mexicans to the death!"

Inside the Alamo, many soldiers who had lost friends and family let out roars of fury.

"That's right! Let's go out and fight! We're dead anyway!"

"Let them see the courage of a Western cowboy!"

"Kill them! Revenge!"

"Revenge!"

Bowie's leg had been pierced by shrapnel, but he too felt that rather than waiting here to die, it would be better to charge out and kill to his heart's content.

However, Travis stopped them, for he saw that the surrounding Mexican army remained within their fortifications; charging out now would be nothing short of suicide.

"Enough! Return to your posts. Going out there is suicide. General Houston will come to save us."

"Where is General Houston?! Where are the reinforcements?" a soldier shouted in anger.

"We've been abandoned!"

"We are sacrificial pawns!"

"I want to go home!"

Travis fired his gun into the air.

"Enough! Santa Anna is a dictator, a barbarian. You'll only die if you go out there. Haven't you seen that red flag? As long as the Mexicans raise that red flag, it means they will take no prisoners. Believe me, General Houston will definitely come to save us."

The matter of the Mexican red flag was a rumor; the Mexicans possessed not only red flags but also green and white ones, which were the colors of the Mexican flag.

In the afternoon, the Mexicans continued their bombardment but did not launch an attack.

Santa Anna was in no hurry, for he knew that he could take the Alamo at any moment.

The defenders of the Alamo, however, could not endure this passive state of being beaten. That night, Crockett organized two dozen desperate men, intending to destroy the Mexican artillery positions, or at least disable that sixteen-pounder cannon.

However, the Mexicans were well-prepared. After a brief exchange of fire, Crockett and a few fellow men from Tennessee retreated back to the Alamo in a sorry state.

The Mexicans did not pursue, not because of their high military proficiency, but because they had no idea how many men the enemy had.

Due to malnutrition, many soldiers in the Mexican army suffered from night blindness, which was why a skirmish between hundreds of men and only two dozen resulted in only a dozen casualties for the enemy.

When Crockett returned to the Alamo, Colonel Travis was already dressed in his uniform.

"Do you know what you've done? You should be court-martialed; I could even shoot you right now."

"Colonel Travis, Crockett did it for everyone's sake. The Mexican cannons are too powerful. We lost fifty men to the shelling today, and there isn't a single intact section of the front wall. If this continues, we won't even have a place to block the wind."

"Don't think that just because you're a United States congressman, I wouldn't dare execute you. This is Texas!"

This remark left Crockett and the volunteers from the United States feeling deeply displeased.

March 10, 1836. The shelling continued.

Santa Anna invited Gablenz and Stadion to join him on a hillside for lunch, enjoying the sight of the artillery fire blanketing the Alamo while they dined.

"These cannons are truly impressive. If our Mexican army were fully equipped with such artillery, we would never have to fear the Yankees again."

Gablenz and Stadion inwardly scoffed, If any army brought dozens of these things on the road, their marching speed would likely be slower than a crawling turtle.

The two merely smiled and did not reply, as they would not turn down any opportunity to make money.

However, what caught them both off guard was what followed.

"I wish to hire you two as my military advisors. Choose your own ranks and compensation. As the President of Mexico, I will fulfill your requests as long as it is within my power."

Just as Gablenz and Stadion were about to speak, Santa Anna interrupted them.

"Let me tell you, Mexico has the largest silver mines in the world, unique and unparalleled. You will surely say those silver mines are not in the hands of the Mexican government."

"That is true, but once this war ends, I will lead my great army back home to eliminate those who oppose me."

"I am willing to become a friend of Archduke Franz Karl. I will make Mexico a member of the civilized world and the most loyal ally of the Austrian Empire."

"Your command abilities far exceed any of my subordinates; even I must admit I am inferior. I imagine you two are not mere military observers, but true generals."

Santa Anna's final sentence directly exposed the identities of Gablenz and Stadion. They knew full well that if they refused Santa Anna's "kindness," they would likely meet with an "accident" on the road.

Gablenz and Stadion still had one lingering doubt: why did Santa Anna hold that dim-witted Archduke in such high regard?

"We need to write a letter to Archduke Franz Karl. We must obtain his approval."

"No problem. I believe in Archduke Franz Karl; he will surely accept me as his friend."

In his heart, Santa Anna felt that he, the Napoleon of North America, had already surpassed the real Napoleon, for he had chosen to join forces with "Archduke Karl."

Just imagine, if Napoleon and Archduke Karl had joined forces back then, who in the European continent could have stood against them?

Inside the Alamo, the shelling destroyed the last building within the fortress. The windmill of the mill collapsed and crushed the stables, and the panicked horses caused continuous chaos.

When counting the casualties, it was discovered that only 75 defenders remained in the Alamo, all of them wounded, silently cleaning up the battlefield.

Travis and Bowie argued in the makeshift command post.

At this moment, the Mexicans sent two doctors under a white flag, ostensibly for humanitarian reasons to treat the wounded.

Travis could not refuse such a humanitarian gesture, but what he did not know was that the true identities of these two doctors were Catholic Church priests. Their purpose in this visit was to persuade the wounded to convert to the Catholic Church or to surrender to Santa Anna in exchange for a chance to leave the battlefield safely.

When a man is dying, even a straw looks good, let alone a doctor.

The persuasion of the Catholic Church doctors moved many of the wounded, especially those with severe injuries.

However, Travis could not accept this. Seeing these Catholics shaking the morale of his troops, he shot and killed one doctor and drove the remaining few out of the Alamo.

Doctors and priests held a very high social status in Mexico. When a Catholic physician was carried out on a stretcher wrapped in a white sheet, the Mexican army erupted in unprecedented fury.

They might not have known what they were fighting for before, but now they felt they had to slaughter the thugs inside the Alamo fortress.

Soldiers and officers kept coming to Santa Anna to request battle, but Santa Anna was delighted, for he knew the confidence of the Alamo defenders had collapsed.

Sure enough, a gunfight broke out inside the Alamo fortress that night.

Crockett was elected leader by the Tennessee volunteers and the wounded, launching a surprise attack on the subordinates of Travis, while Bowie was locked in the fortress dungeon.

By the time the fighting ended, fewer than 50 people remained in the Alamo. Crockett surrendered to Santa Anna, Bowie was captured, and Travis died in the mutiny.

The Battle of the Alamo ended in a crushing victory for the Mexican army, and the fact that the Alamo was breached by its own people became the greatest scandal of the Texas war.

Crockett was a United States congressman, so Santa Anna treated him with great courtesy, had doctors treat Crockett and the other captives, and sent a large number of reporters to interview them.

Naturally, these reporters only recorded evidence favorable to Mexico. When the news reached Washington, Andrew Jackson furiously slammed the newspaper onto the coffee table.

"Remember, the shame of the Alamo! They are a disgrace to the United States! Faced with a siege by the Mexicans, they actually slaughtered each other for the sake of surrender—they are nothing but fools!"

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Starting from the next chapter, we return to domestic affairs in Austria.