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Which is why he should post it all now so he doesn't have to come up with any more teasers... 
Update! Update! Oh yeah, I'd watch the Northern borders... sneaky those Canadians.. (shameless self-promotion)
The Election of 1916 - Part One
As history had shown 1914 had begun with promise and ended in disaster. In Europe war had torn asunder much of the landscape, from Belgium to Poland the great armies and empires clashed. In North America the United States would becoming embroiled in a war with Mexico over a petty dictator and his handling of the Vera Cruz incident. Early victories had been erased after disaster struck in the form of a Mexican victory near the capital. As a result, a quarter of a million men had been mobilized in the form of the Homefront Guards and only recently had their baptism under fire begun with disastrous results. The "First Battle of the Yucatan" as it was subsequently called had resulted in over 10,000 casualties and had shaken confidence in the military in many circles. Theater commanders would lambaste the Presidents decision to raise another ten divisions of Homefront Guards, all coming from the southern states. General March would call this decision to be "reckless folly" citing the need not for badly trained militiamen but for professionally trained soldiers, in the later half 1914 he would only receive two more of those divisions while the President called yet again for a successful offensive.
Little did the President know that his popularity in the last few months had been slipping across the entire country, by now a victory in Mexico would do little for him. The next year was to be one with an election and already opponents in the Republican Party were preparing for a run for the Presidency. History would show that only two of these men would be given serious thought for the Republican nomination - Charles Evans Hughes and Theodore Roosevelt. To find out how this came about we must look back to the Republican parties split in the 1912 election.
In 1915 the Republican Party was already discussing the possible candidates of party for next year's election. The early frontrunners would turn out to be Supreme Justice and former New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes and former President Theodore Roosevelt.
After the first term of office by President William Taft there were vocal disagreements between the incumbent and his former mentor Theodore Roosevelt. Angered over Taft's apparent independent thought, a rift between the two men would be created leading up to the 1912 election. Roosevelt would prove to be a still popular choice for the Presidency capturing all but one of the Republican primaries and the matter would come to a head at the National Convention in Chicago. Feeling that the choice of delegates was unfairly biased towards Taft, Roosevelt would call for his supporters to leave the convention in unison. And many would.
The split would turn the once powerful Republican Party into two smaller and less capable fractions, one under President Taft and the progressive branch of the party under Theodore Roosevelt. Woodrow Wilson was to get the better of this deal as the split virtually assured his election. By 1916 however a small amount of reconciliation had occurred, the war in Mexico had united the two fractions back into a formidable force and Taft was nowhere to be seen.
Thus we return to the preliminary choice of Republican candidates - Charles Evans Hughes and Theodore Roosevelt. Both were former governors of New York, Hughes had served on the Supreme Court and Roosevelt had fought in the Spanish-American war. To the party they both brought advantages and disadvantages to the table. With a war still ongoing Hughes was not seen as someone who would be a strong war leader, but Roosevelt was the complete opposite having fought and later used his Big Stick policy around the world. While Roosevelt was seen as a better war leader many in the party saw him as the man who had destroyed the party only four years previously. All agreed however that until the Republican Primaries had concluded the talk was all speculative.
As history had shown 1914 had begun with promise and ended in disaster. In Europe war had torn asunder much of the landscape, from Belgium to Poland the great armies and empires clashed. In North America the United States would becoming embroiled in a war with Mexico over a petty dictator and his handling of the Vera Cruz incident. Early victories had been erased after disaster struck in the form of a Mexican victory near the capital. As a result, a quarter of a million men had been mobilized in the form of the Homefront Guards and only recently had their baptism under fire begun with disastrous results. The "First Battle of the Yucatan" as it was subsequently called had resulted in over 10,000 casualties and had shaken confidence in the military in many circles. Theater commanders would lambaste the Presidents decision to raise another ten divisions of Homefront Guards, all coming from the southern states. General March would call this decision to be "reckless folly" citing the need not for badly trained militiamen but for professionally trained soldiers, in the later half 1914 he would only receive two more of those divisions while the President called yet again for a successful offensive.
Little did the President know that his popularity in the last few months had been slipping across the entire country, by now a victory in Mexico would do little for him. The next year was to be one with an election and already opponents in the Republican Party were preparing for a run for the Presidency. History would show that only two of these men would be given serious thought for the Republican nomination - Charles Evans Hughes and Theodore Roosevelt. To find out how this came about we must look back to the Republican parties split in the 1912 election.
In 1915 the Republican Party was already discussing the possible candidates of party for next year's election. The early frontrunners would turn out to be Supreme Justice and former New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes and former President Theodore Roosevelt.
After the first term of office by President William Taft there were vocal disagreements between the incumbent and his former mentor Theodore Roosevelt. Angered over Taft's apparent independent thought, a rift between the two men would be created leading up to the 1912 election. Roosevelt would prove to be a still popular choice for the Presidency capturing all but one of the Republican primaries and the matter would come to a head at the National Convention in Chicago. Feeling that the choice of delegates was unfairly biased towards Taft, Roosevelt would call for his supporters to leave the convention in unison. And many would.
The split would turn the once powerful Republican Party into two smaller and less capable fractions, one under President Taft and the progressive branch of the party under Theodore Roosevelt. Woodrow Wilson was to get the better of this deal as the split virtually assured his election. By 1916 however a small amount of reconciliation had occurred, the war in Mexico had united the two fractions back into a formidable force and Taft was nowhere to be seen.
Thus we return to the preliminary choice of Republican candidates - Charles Evans Hughes and Theodore Roosevelt. Both were former governors of New York, Hughes had served on the Supreme Court and Roosevelt had fought in the Spanish-American war. To the party they both brought advantages and disadvantages to the table. With a war still ongoing Hughes was not seen as someone who would be a strong war leader, but Roosevelt was the complete opposite having fought and later used his Big Stick policy around the world. While Roosevelt was seen as a better war leader many in the party saw him as the man who had destroyed the party only four years previously. All agreed however that until the Republican Primaries had concluded the talk was all speculative.
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It lives!!!Dan Cook said:dead?
Edit: And Teddy for president! *holds up a stuffed bear*
Over The Top
April was quick to come and with it came the news of a newly planned attack along the Mexican front. It would involve the 1st and 2nd Guards Armies attacking all along the front. Over 160,000 men were scheduled to go up and over the trenches on April 15th. The overall goal of the attack was to drive at least a dozen miles into the Mexican rear by the end of the first day near Santa Rosalia in the Chihuahua province. To accomplish this, Georgian Guards Corps under Mj. General Menoher and the Alabama Guards Corps under Mj. General Muir would attack with their forces to the West and East of the town. In the center lay the 1st Army Corps, the only regular forces in the area with around 35,000 combat ready men. Organized into a infantry and cavalry division it was to provide support in case either of the Guards Corps was bogged down.
Further to the east was the 2nd Guards Army under Lt. General Bullard. While he would technically be attacking his real objective was to tie down Mexican forces and if possible make some gains near Torreon. This Bullard would have to do with only three untested militia divisions and scant artillery support. No other help would be available save for a dozen reconnaissance planes. The rest of the army in the region would be needed to guard the rest of the line still stretched too thin closer to the Gulf of Mexico.
To complement this attack a massive amalgamation of artillery pieces had been undertaken throughout early spring putting artillery totals at well over two thousand pieces on the Chihuahua front. Most of these were the older American 70mm Howitzers, but several hundred of them were far newer ones purchased from France the previous year. Though it seemed to be a massive force it would turn out to be a paper tiger, all growls and no bite. The massive factories that adorned the manufacturing belt in the north had still not switched over to mass production of shells and the army would suffer as a result. To worsen the matters the French built guns were not compatible with American shells, something that had been neglected when the purchase occurred. It would take several weeks for the necessary factories to retool and begin the construction of the appropriate shells but it would be too late for the combat operations that were to take place in April. Truly the artillery had become the proverbial paper tiger, low on shells and with the best guns with little or no ammunition at all.
American factories located in the northern manufacturing belt would be slow to retool and change to a wartime economy that demanded among other things - artillery shells.
The morale of the troops did not help matters at all. Many had been in their home states only a month earlier when the orders to move into Mexico had been gotten. Acclimating to life in the trenches would prove to be a hard task the weary and begotten Guardsmen. Rear area hospitals were littered with hundred of men wounded from the hail of "Mexican Steel" that regularly fell atop their trenches. Leadership did not inspire confidence either as the commanders of the Guards Armies were generally thought to be incompetent by their troops. Commissioned officers were often held in distain by the men, as they were often Northerners the feeling was only enhanced. Even the highest ranking officers such as Charles Menoher were detested by the troops. Exceptions existed however, troops would hold any officer primarily interested in their well being with respect, southerner or not.
Looking back however we can see that the attack was doomed before it had started, the factors against it were too large to hold back with any amount of planning. The troops were not well trained and were at odds with the commissioned officers in most units. Artillery was lacking along most of the front and where it existed their was a lack of shells to use. Airborne reconnaissance was put on hold so that experienced mechanics and other personal could work upon the ongoing zeppelin program. Intelligence about enemy forces was woefully inadequate; an intelligence document dated April 3rd, 1915 stated falsely that...
"Mexican forces around the Chihuahua front are from all estimates less then twenty thousand men".
Reflection allows us to see that the number was closer to triple that estimate with more divisions ready in the rear waiting to pounce on any American attack.
The attack would begin promptly however as the sun began to rise on April 15th. The men of the Georgian, Alabama and Louisiana Corps would rise from the trenches - many still boys at eighteen. All along the front they rose in unison and shouting bravely they hurled themselves into the breech.
Over the trenches they went, many to never return.
It was not till that night that the first casualty lists were prepared. Many who were with General March when he learned of the figures would attest to the fact that he would break down in tears having learned how many men had gone to the great beyond on his watch.
April was quick to come and with it came the news of a newly planned attack along the Mexican front. It would involve the 1st and 2nd Guards Armies attacking all along the front. Over 160,000 men were scheduled to go up and over the trenches on April 15th. The overall goal of the attack was to drive at least a dozen miles into the Mexican rear by the end of the first day near Santa Rosalia in the Chihuahua province. To accomplish this, Georgian Guards Corps under Mj. General Menoher and the Alabama Guards Corps under Mj. General Muir would attack with their forces to the West and East of the town. In the center lay the 1st Army Corps, the only regular forces in the area with around 35,000 combat ready men. Organized into a infantry and cavalry division it was to provide support in case either of the Guards Corps was bogged down.
Further to the east was the 2nd Guards Army under Lt. General Bullard. While he would technically be attacking his real objective was to tie down Mexican forces and if possible make some gains near Torreon. This Bullard would have to do with only three untested militia divisions and scant artillery support. No other help would be available save for a dozen reconnaissance planes. The rest of the army in the region would be needed to guard the rest of the line still stretched too thin closer to the Gulf of Mexico.
To complement this attack a massive amalgamation of artillery pieces had been undertaken throughout early spring putting artillery totals at well over two thousand pieces on the Chihuahua front. Most of these were the older American 70mm Howitzers, but several hundred of them were far newer ones purchased from France the previous year. Though it seemed to be a massive force it would turn out to be a paper tiger, all growls and no bite. The massive factories that adorned the manufacturing belt in the north had still not switched over to mass production of shells and the army would suffer as a result. To worsen the matters the French built guns were not compatible with American shells, something that had been neglected when the purchase occurred. It would take several weeks for the necessary factories to retool and begin the construction of the appropriate shells but it would be too late for the combat operations that were to take place in April. Truly the artillery had become the proverbial paper tiger, low on shells and with the best guns with little or no ammunition at all.
American factories located in the northern manufacturing belt would be slow to retool and change to a wartime economy that demanded among other things - artillery shells.
The morale of the troops did not help matters at all. Many had been in their home states only a month earlier when the orders to move into Mexico had been gotten. Acclimating to life in the trenches would prove to be a hard task the weary and begotten Guardsmen. Rear area hospitals were littered with hundred of men wounded from the hail of "Mexican Steel" that regularly fell atop their trenches. Leadership did not inspire confidence either as the commanders of the Guards Armies were generally thought to be incompetent by their troops. Commissioned officers were often held in distain by the men, as they were often Northerners the feeling was only enhanced. Even the highest ranking officers such as Charles Menoher were detested by the troops. Exceptions existed however, troops would hold any officer primarily interested in their well being with respect, southerner or not.
Looking back however we can see that the attack was doomed before it had started, the factors against it were too large to hold back with any amount of planning. The troops were not well trained and were at odds with the commissioned officers in most units. Artillery was lacking along most of the front and where it existed their was a lack of shells to use. Airborne reconnaissance was put on hold so that experienced mechanics and other personal could work upon the ongoing zeppelin program. Intelligence about enemy forces was woefully inadequate; an intelligence document dated April 3rd, 1915 stated falsely that...
"Mexican forces around the Chihuahua front are from all estimates less then twenty thousand men".
Reflection allows us to see that the number was closer to triple that estimate with more divisions ready in the rear waiting to pounce on any American attack.
The attack would begin promptly however as the sun began to rise on April 15th. The men of the Georgian, Alabama and Louisiana Corps would rise from the trenches - many still boys at eighteen. All along the front they rose in unison and shouting bravely they hurled themselves into the breech.
Over the trenches they went, many to never return.
It was not till that night that the first casualty lists were prepared. Many who were with General March when he learned of the figures would attest to the fact that he would break down in tears having learned how many men had gone to the great beyond on his watch.
My vote is for Teddy for President!
Maybe with him in office we'll see end of those Guards units and the mobilzation of professional army units!
Instead of having the troops go over the top, why not do an amphibous assault behind the lines while also attacking out of Arizona and California?
Maybe with him in office we'll see end of those Guards units and the mobilzation of professional army units!
Instead of having the troops go over the top, why not do an amphibous assault behind the lines while also attacking out of Arizona and California?
Evans said:
Oh glory will come.........it will come.
Edit: Currently working on the next update. I'm going to try my hand at revision too.
Might switch out of the battle to update everyone about our buddy Franz too.
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The Lead Up
The morning was chilly, more so then the last few days had been. Light would first pierce the darkness a little after six in the morning and what living life remained in northern Mexico began to awake. All along the front thousands of men would start moving. They were careful to be as quiet as possible moving around the trenches with orders, equipment and other matters a preparing army usually does. The command posts in the rear were a bustling metropolis of activity, akin to a beehive, activity never ceasing. Phone lines strung across the desert were checked over once again my signal men on horseback. Those lines would lead down the command chain first to the divisional headquarters located further ahead; and once again further down all the way to the battalion level. Artillery had been thoroughly checked over the night before; as the sun appeared on the horizon the first shells were loaded into the breech.
By seven in the morning the soldiers had eaten their breakfast consisting of the low grade rations everyone detested. Here and there a little smoke rose from the trenches as a wily soldier made coffee or tea. They had come from different places in the south, yet this morning they shared in the silence. Not one of them talked, the silence in a way was something magical, on the eve of that great battle men could look into their friend’s eyes and without a word exchange thoughts that no words could ever put in motion. But the quiet time for reflection was over; commissioned officers would rouse the men from that small pleasure by tapping them on the shoulder - the pre-arranged signal put in place the week before.
Lined upon against parapet the men looked a ragged force, though they had spent only a few weeks on the line it had taken a toll on all of them. None of them had gotten a shower since entering the line, their once pristine uniforms were now caked with dried mud and in some cases the blood of others. Many of them had been hit with shrapnel from enemy artillery and had the scars to show for it, ragged coughs would attest to the other great enemy of theirs. Now however they had more important things to think about. Up and out, across the few hundred yards of “no mans land” was their goal – the Mexican trenches.
The signal to go was known to everyone, every few hundred yards a man with a trumpet would sound the advance. It was planned to be a minute after eight in the morning, for everyone the time would advance slowly. A observer would be struck at the amount of those men that were looking to the skies, eyes roving back and forth as if searching for something…….anything. The sounds of the artillery firing would snap most of them out, it was fifteen minutes before the go time now and the artillery had begun a punishing bombardment across the front.
In the rear those two thousand pieces had been assembled, besides them lay piles of shells. Despite the chill in the air the gunners had their shirts off, it would be a long day and the heat of Mexico was oppressive, even in April. A shrill whistle told them to begin their grisly business; the chambers were already loaded with the deadly package. In unison a plethora of guns would erupt, observers could not help but flinch at the sight. Scarcely had echo’s of the first volley ended that the next one began, sending another volley of death out into the air. Men working the guns would pass shells from man to man, the weight of each was heavy and the coordinated effort maximized the rate of fire. Opening the breech yet again another shell would be loaded and to the right a man with a stop watch would time each shot and signal to fire the next volley.
Up on the lines the first shells would land with tremendous force, though the American soldiers were somewhat well away from the blast many would still reel back from the parapet as if trying to escape from that grim nightmare which had caught them all. A few would shout encouragement and raise their fists towards the enemy’s lines, but a glance towards an older man would silence them. A look was all it took to make those men realize that this was no thing to cheer for.
The men look across No Mans Land to the situation that is unfolding before them
Across the No Mans Land the vision was that of a living hell. The Mexicans which had not been aware of any America activity had just woken up. Small fires had been started in the trenches as they prepared the morning meals, a few had already completed that ritual and were busy devouring their food when the first shells landed. Grabbing their helmets they would collapse, digging themselves ever closer to the ground. Some of the luckier ones were located by the few wooden bunkers that had been constructed along the lines were relative safety awaited, for the rest the open air would be above them. Above the horrendous roar of exploding rounds American soldiers could occasionally hear the screams of an injured man. The few medical personal that were able to tend the wounded were overcome with the injured and dying. Short pauses between volleys would allow them to go from man to man where they lent what aid they could. Advancing up and down the line their boots would squash upon landing upon the pools of blood and vomit that was now part of the trench line. Strung across this scene of destruction were the other men, cowering in fear or lying helpless with shards of metal in them. Some were missing limbs, others eyes and ears and many more clutched their inners for hope of keeping them from spilling out.
More then one man would break down during those few minutes. Seeing their friends and comrades in arms cut down around them they could do nothing. And yet soon it was over, the last volley would land at precisely eight in the morning. A silence once again reigned over the battlefield but only for a second. Then the moans and screams began. Americans across the field of battle would cringe and the trumpets would sound.
The morning was chilly, more so then the last few days had been. Light would first pierce the darkness a little after six in the morning and what living life remained in northern Mexico began to awake. All along the front thousands of men would start moving. They were careful to be as quiet as possible moving around the trenches with orders, equipment and other matters a preparing army usually does. The command posts in the rear were a bustling metropolis of activity, akin to a beehive, activity never ceasing. Phone lines strung across the desert were checked over once again my signal men on horseback. Those lines would lead down the command chain first to the divisional headquarters located further ahead; and once again further down all the way to the battalion level. Artillery had been thoroughly checked over the night before; as the sun appeared on the horizon the first shells were loaded into the breech.
By seven in the morning the soldiers had eaten their breakfast consisting of the low grade rations everyone detested. Here and there a little smoke rose from the trenches as a wily soldier made coffee or tea. They had come from different places in the south, yet this morning they shared in the silence. Not one of them talked, the silence in a way was something magical, on the eve of that great battle men could look into their friend’s eyes and without a word exchange thoughts that no words could ever put in motion. But the quiet time for reflection was over; commissioned officers would rouse the men from that small pleasure by tapping them on the shoulder - the pre-arranged signal put in place the week before.
Lined upon against parapet the men looked a ragged force, though they had spent only a few weeks on the line it had taken a toll on all of them. None of them had gotten a shower since entering the line, their once pristine uniforms were now caked with dried mud and in some cases the blood of others. Many of them had been hit with shrapnel from enemy artillery and had the scars to show for it, ragged coughs would attest to the other great enemy of theirs. Now however they had more important things to think about. Up and out, across the few hundred yards of “no mans land” was their goal – the Mexican trenches.
The signal to go was known to everyone, every few hundred yards a man with a trumpet would sound the advance. It was planned to be a minute after eight in the morning, for everyone the time would advance slowly. A observer would be struck at the amount of those men that were looking to the skies, eyes roving back and forth as if searching for something…….anything. The sounds of the artillery firing would snap most of them out, it was fifteen minutes before the go time now and the artillery had begun a punishing bombardment across the front.
In the rear those two thousand pieces had been assembled, besides them lay piles of shells. Despite the chill in the air the gunners had their shirts off, it would be a long day and the heat of Mexico was oppressive, even in April. A shrill whistle told them to begin their grisly business; the chambers were already loaded with the deadly package. In unison a plethora of guns would erupt, observers could not help but flinch at the sight. Scarcely had echo’s of the first volley ended that the next one began, sending another volley of death out into the air. Men working the guns would pass shells from man to man, the weight of each was heavy and the coordinated effort maximized the rate of fire. Opening the breech yet again another shell would be loaded and to the right a man with a stop watch would time each shot and signal to fire the next volley.
Up on the lines the first shells would land with tremendous force, though the American soldiers were somewhat well away from the blast many would still reel back from the parapet as if trying to escape from that grim nightmare which had caught them all. A few would shout encouragement and raise their fists towards the enemy’s lines, but a glance towards an older man would silence them. A look was all it took to make those men realize that this was no thing to cheer for.
The men look across No Mans Land to the situation that is unfolding before them
Across the No Mans Land the vision was that of a living hell. The Mexicans which had not been aware of any America activity had just woken up. Small fires had been started in the trenches as they prepared the morning meals, a few had already completed that ritual and were busy devouring their food when the first shells landed. Grabbing their helmets they would collapse, digging themselves ever closer to the ground. Some of the luckier ones were located by the few wooden bunkers that had been constructed along the lines were relative safety awaited, for the rest the open air would be above them. Above the horrendous roar of exploding rounds American soldiers could occasionally hear the screams of an injured man. The few medical personal that were able to tend the wounded were overcome with the injured and dying. Short pauses between volleys would allow them to go from man to man where they lent what aid they could. Advancing up and down the line their boots would squash upon landing upon the pools of blood and vomit that was now part of the trench line. Strung across this scene of destruction were the other men, cowering in fear or lying helpless with shards of metal in them. Some were missing limbs, others eyes and ears and many more clutched their inners for hope of keeping them from spilling out.
More then one man would break down during those few minutes. Seeing their friends and comrades in arms cut down around them they could do nothing. And yet soon it was over, the last volley would land at precisely eight in the morning. A silence once again reigned over the battlefield but only for a second. Then the moans and screams began. Americans across the field of battle would cringe and the trumpets would sound.
Battle for Betebachi
Army intelligence had predicted that the shock of the artillery barrage would most likely destroy the enemies will to fight. Once again intelligence was proven wrong, contrary to predictions the Mexicans would not feel helpless and desperate, instead they grew only grew determined. Grabbing their weapons they would regain their footing - many bloodied and injured - and mounted the parapets. On the horizon they could see the first shapes of men moving towards the first defensive lines. In a matter of seconds the few machine guns they possessed were loaded and ready.
So far the advance across No Mans Land had been hard and slow. The artillery while having only fired for several minutes had none the less created muddy mire out of the ground. Carrying rifles and several dozen extra pounds of equipment, moving through this uneven and slippery ground was hazardous all by itself. Craters would dot the ground even few feet and the space between them would narrow the farther the men advanced. A lucky survivor of the battle would remark later on in his life about those conditions.
"Walking across that landscape reminded me of the moon as I had thought of it before hand. It was a haunting and eerie seen I saw, totally beyond comprehension, yet at the same time terrifying to me. Getting across it was a severe challenge for me and the rest of my company. The landscape had a habit of trying to suck your boots into it and only with the utmost use of force could one defy its grasp."
Cautiously optimistic officers could already deduce that it was taking far too long for the infantry to cross the gap, mired as they were within the battered landscape. Rear area exercises had called for the men to cross a similar sized gap in around ten or so minutes but those tests had been upon flat terrain which resembled the current landscape not at all. It was now a race between the scrambling Guardsmen and the Mexicans that were entrenched ahead of them. Should the enemy sufficiently regain their composure they would surely beat back the first wave of men.
That was exactly what happened near Betebachi. This was a section of the line which was to be under the supervision of the 1st Georgian Guards Division and Betebachi was to be their most important target for the day. Capture of the vital town which was by now reduced to rubble would allow the American units to support their comrades on both flanks and hopefully they predicted cause the enemy to break all along the immediate line. Unfortunately for the Americans a myriad of factors was working against them. The first and arguably most important was the physical shape of the land. The front lines on both sides lay on heights of ground, in between - the No Mans Land in this case - rested in a shallow valley. To successfully attack the men would have to attack up hill towards the town, if the defenders were not incapacitated by the pre-attack bombardment the men would face withering fire from the Mexican defenders.
The town however had recently been heavily fortified by the Mexicans. Not only did a series of trenches intersect the town and nearby farmland but those were reinforced by an unusually large amount of wooden bunkers and pillboxes. When the artillery fire began those troops in the trenches would retreat safely into the bunkers and while many of their men were seriously injured or killed they still had a large amount of ready men.
Tasked with capturing this vital town were the 1st, 2nd and 4th Brigades of the 1st Guards Division. This force would total slightly less then six thousand men, it was generally considered that only one Brigade would be needed to take the town while the other two would be used to exploit the gains, sweeping through the flanks of the enemy. It would thus fall to the 2nd Infantry Brigade to take the town. Organized into four Battalions of five hundred men each they would be commanded by an eager Lieutenant Colonel named Douglas MacArthur. He was born in Arkansas and because he was of southern origin the men respected him. On that day he would lead the first Battalion from his command post a kilometer in the rear of the front trenches. He would keep in touch with the Battalion commanders via couriers.
Men of the 1st Battalion/1st Brigade before the battle around Betebachi
As the trumpets sounded, signaling the advance MacArthur's men would get off to a fast start. Up and over first was the 1st Brigade, followed closely by the rest of the Battalion. The first few hundred yards would be crossed quickly by the sure footed soldiers but movement slowed as they began moving through the destroyed landscape. At that point movement slowed considerably and a Major in charge of one of the most advanced companies thought he saw movement on the landscape above him. Those shapes were men from the opposing battalion. They were veterans of the Mexican Civil war and had been fighting against the Americans since the war began. Now they had regained their confidence and as the minutes past they manned the trench line which faced the oncoming American battalion. In front of them they could see other men scrambling up the slope towards them.
Their commander had been killed in the opening minute of the artillery barrage, cut in half. Most of his senior staff had been killed as well as they conferred over breakfast. Yet several capable men still remained to rally the defenders, the most senior among them was only a Captain but they had fought together many times and they inspired confidence, something that American commanders could not do. Seeing the attacking forces, they arranged the three MG-08's to support one another and then ordered the men to open fire. Immediately the machine guns opened fire, tracers leading the way.
The American Major that had spotted movement was the first to get hit, the high rate of fire by the MG-08 would put several bullets into him, mostly into the chest, but one would pass through his throat. Propelled backwards his legs would give out and he would collapse onto the muddy ground. His hands grasped vainly at his throat to try and stem the loss of blood but it was no use, he was dead within a minute. This all happened in less then two seconds but by the time the man was falling backwards the line of bullets had shifted to the left, hitting two more men before anyone could react. In five seconds over a dozen men had been killed, and two score more injured. Any man that could ran for shelter, often leaping into the nearest shell crater and pressing himself as close as possible.
The MG-08's swept left and right searching for the life of anyone unlucky enough to be spotted, but after the first sweep it became unsteady and indiscriminant. The gunners had not used the weapons for any serious amount of time before and as a result one of them would jam in the opening minutes. Cursing wildly the loader would try to rectify the situation only to be put down by a lucky shot from an American rifleman.
But all intents and purposes the 1st Battalion was now bogged down, the rifle and machinegun fire keeping them pinned down. On their left the 2nd and 3rd Battalions advanced slowly put taking heavy casualties in the process. The 4th Battalion on the right was over a hundred yards behind them but making steady progress and drawing little fire. The "Savannah Savages" were in a hell of a predicament, a young Captain would pick up where the late Major left off however. Picking himself up he and the men around him advanced slowly, rushing or crawling to the next shell hole they began the advance once again.
Lt. Colonel Douglas MacArthur could see the situation by now, couriers had arrived from the trenches with alarming news regarding the attack. Seeing that the situation was rapidly going out of hand he grabbed his rifle and left his command post with a stammering courier right behind him. Arriving at the trenches a few minutes later he would find the Battalion CP's a disorganized mess, inquiring as to the progress of the attack he would find that it had been stalled on the outskirts of the Mexican trench line. Furthermore the 2nd Battalion had been all but wiped out so far, all of its officers dead or injured and with casualties of over seventy percent. The rest of the units fared little better, the 1st Battalions commanding officer was dead they said, killed in the opening seconds of the battle. MacArthur immediately sent his courier to the 4th Brigades headquarters requesting that it reinforce his attack without delay.
Men of the 4th Brigade/1st Georgian Infantry begin their advance into No Mans Land to support the 1st Brigade who's attack has been halted
Back upon the slopes leading to Betebachi the situation had gotten worse. 1st Battalion had once again gotten bogged down, now only fifty yards from the enemy trenches, the rest of the Brigade fared little better with any organized movement forward being trounced upon by the Mexican machineguns. The reinforcement by the 4th Brigade reversed the fortune, and the men sallied for a final advance. Rising as one the remaining three thousand men commited to the attack rushed forwards.
The machine guns had a field day; it was like shooting turkeys in a barrel. As the distance decreased between them and onrushing troops the casualties escalated, it was if a solid wall of bullets reached out and smashed the men. Hundreds of men would collapse with bullets in them as the distance drew to a close and then they were in!
What was left of the 1st Battalion leapt into the Mexican trenches and onto the defenders. The bayonets reached out for their targets, screaming for flesh in a morbid kind of way. Men from both sides would let loose furious battle cries as they met the enemy, soon the mass of men degenerated into a deadly melee. Many men cast aside their ungainly rifles to choke their opponents only to be stabbed in the back via a bayonet. The machineguns which had up to now been a serious threat to the American advance were extinguished. It lasted only a few minutes but those Mexicans would break, a few were taken prisoner and the rest ran for their lives back to their secondary trench. The men of the 4th Brigade followed close behind, but the survivors of the 1st Brigade stopped, many collapsed wounded or dying.
One soldier reached into his pack and out of it he pulled an American flag, planting his rifle in the ground in front of the trench he attached the flag to it. Betebachi had been taken.
Army intelligence had predicted that the shock of the artillery barrage would most likely destroy the enemies will to fight. Once again intelligence was proven wrong, contrary to predictions the Mexicans would not feel helpless and desperate, instead they grew only grew determined. Grabbing their weapons they would regain their footing - many bloodied and injured - and mounted the parapets. On the horizon they could see the first shapes of men moving towards the first defensive lines. In a matter of seconds the few machine guns they possessed were loaded and ready.
So far the advance across No Mans Land had been hard and slow. The artillery while having only fired for several minutes had none the less created muddy mire out of the ground. Carrying rifles and several dozen extra pounds of equipment, moving through this uneven and slippery ground was hazardous all by itself. Craters would dot the ground even few feet and the space between them would narrow the farther the men advanced. A lucky survivor of the battle would remark later on in his life about those conditions.
"Walking across that landscape reminded me of the moon as I had thought of it before hand. It was a haunting and eerie seen I saw, totally beyond comprehension, yet at the same time terrifying to me. Getting across it was a severe challenge for me and the rest of my company. The landscape had a habit of trying to suck your boots into it and only with the utmost use of force could one defy its grasp."
Cautiously optimistic officers could already deduce that it was taking far too long for the infantry to cross the gap, mired as they were within the battered landscape. Rear area exercises had called for the men to cross a similar sized gap in around ten or so minutes but those tests had been upon flat terrain which resembled the current landscape not at all. It was now a race between the scrambling Guardsmen and the Mexicans that were entrenched ahead of them. Should the enemy sufficiently regain their composure they would surely beat back the first wave of men.
That was exactly what happened near Betebachi. This was a section of the line which was to be under the supervision of the 1st Georgian Guards Division and Betebachi was to be their most important target for the day. Capture of the vital town which was by now reduced to rubble would allow the American units to support their comrades on both flanks and hopefully they predicted cause the enemy to break all along the immediate line. Unfortunately for the Americans a myriad of factors was working against them. The first and arguably most important was the physical shape of the land. The front lines on both sides lay on heights of ground, in between - the No Mans Land in this case - rested in a shallow valley. To successfully attack the men would have to attack up hill towards the town, if the defenders were not incapacitated by the pre-attack bombardment the men would face withering fire from the Mexican defenders.
The town however had recently been heavily fortified by the Mexicans. Not only did a series of trenches intersect the town and nearby farmland but those were reinforced by an unusually large amount of wooden bunkers and pillboxes. When the artillery fire began those troops in the trenches would retreat safely into the bunkers and while many of their men were seriously injured or killed they still had a large amount of ready men.
Tasked with capturing this vital town were the 1st, 2nd and 4th Brigades of the 1st Guards Division. This force would total slightly less then six thousand men, it was generally considered that only one Brigade would be needed to take the town while the other two would be used to exploit the gains, sweeping through the flanks of the enemy. It would thus fall to the 2nd Infantry Brigade to take the town. Organized into four Battalions of five hundred men each they would be commanded by an eager Lieutenant Colonel named Douglas MacArthur. He was born in Arkansas and because he was of southern origin the men respected him. On that day he would lead the first Battalion from his command post a kilometer in the rear of the front trenches. He would keep in touch with the Battalion commanders via couriers.
Men of the 1st Battalion/1st Brigade before the battle around Betebachi
As the trumpets sounded, signaling the advance MacArthur's men would get off to a fast start. Up and over first was the 1st Brigade, followed closely by the rest of the Battalion. The first few hundred yards would be crossed quickly by the sure footed soldiers but movement slowed as they began moving through the destroyed landscape. At that point movement slowed considerably and a Major in charge of one of the most advanced companies thought he saw movement on the landscape above him. Those shapes were men from the opposing battalion. They were veterans of the Mexican Civil war and had been fighting against the Americans since the war began. Now they had regained their confidence and as the minutes past they manned the trench line which faced the oncoming American battalion. In front of them they could see other men scrambling up the slope towards them.
Their commander had been killed in the opening minute of the artillery barrage, cut in half. Most of his senior staff had been killed as well as they conferred over breakfast. Yet several capable men still remained to rally the defenders, the most senior among them was only a Captain but they had fought together many times and they inspired confidence, something that American commanders could not do. Seeing the attacking forces, they arranged the three MG-08's to support one another and then ordered the men to open fire. Immediately the machine guns opened fire, tracers leading the way.
The American Major that had spotted movement was the first to get hit, the high rate of fire by the MG-08 would put several bullets into him, mostly into the chest, but one would pass through his throat. Propelled backwards his legs would give out and he would collapse onto the muddy ground. His hands grasped vainly at his throat to try and stem the loss of blood but it was no use, he was dead within a minute. This all happened in less then two seconds but by the time the man was falling backwards the line of bullets had shifted to the left, hitting two more men before anyone could react. In five seconds over a dozen men had been killed, and two score more injured. Any man that could ran for shelter, often leaping into the nearest shell crater and pressing himself as close as possible.
The MG-08's swept left and right searching for the life of anyone unlucky enough to be spotted, but after the first sweep it became unsteady and indiscriminant. The gunners had not used the weapons for any serious amount of time before and as a result one of them would jam in the opening minutes. Cursing wildly the loader would try to rectify the situation only to be put down by a lucky shot from an American rifleman.
But all intents and purposes the 1st Battalion was now bogged down, the rifle and machinegun fire keeping them pinned down. On their left the 2nd and 3rd Battalions advanced slowly put taking heavy casualties in the process. The 4th Battalion on the right was over a hundred yards behind them but making steady progress and drawing little fire. The "Savannah Savages" were in a hell of a predicament, a young Captain would pick up where the late Major left off however. Picking himself up he and the men around him advanced slowly, rushing or crawling to the next shell hole they began the advance once again.
Lt. Colonel Douglas MacArthur could see the situation by now, couriers had arrived from the trenches with alarming news regarding the attack. Seeing that the situation was rapidly going out of hand he grabbed his rifle and left his command post with a stammering courier right behind him. Arriving at the trenches a few minutes later he would find the Battalion CP's a disorganized mess, inquiring as to the progress of the attack he would find that it had been stalled on the outskirts of the Mexican trench line. Furthermore the 2nd Battalion had been all but wiped out so far, all of its officers dead or injured and with casualties of over seventy percent. The rest of the units fared little better, the 1st Battalions commanding officer was dead they said, killed in the opening seconds of the battle. MacArthur immediately sent his courier to the 4th Brigades headquarters requesting that it reinforce his attack without delay.
Men of the 4th Brigade/1st Georgian Infantry begin their advance into No Mans Land to support the 1st Brigade who's attack has been halted
Back upon the slopes leading to Betebachi the situation had gotten worse. 1st Battalion had once again gotten bogged down, now only fifty yards from the enemy trenches, the rest of the Brigade fared little better with any organized movement forward being trounced upon by the Mexican machineguns. The reinforcement by the 4th Brigade reversed the fortune, and the men sallied for a final advance. Rising as one the remaining three thousand men commited to the attack rushed forwards.
The machine guns had a field day; it was like shooting turkeys in a barrel. As the distance decreased between them and onrushing troops the casualties escalated, it was if a solid wall of bullets reached out and smashed the men. Hundreds of men would collapse with bullets in them as the distance drew to a close and then they were in!
What was left of the 1st Battalion leapt into the Mexican trenches and onto the defenders. The bayonets reached out for their targets, screaming for flesh in a morbid kind of way. Men from both sides would let loose furious battle cries as they met the enemy, soon the mass of men degenerated into a deadly melee. Many men cast aside their ungainly rifles to choke their opponents only to be stabbed in the back via a bayonet. The machineguns which had up to now been a serious threat to the American advance were extinguished. It lasted only a few minutes but those Mexicans would break, a few were taken prisoner and the rest ran for their lives back to their secondary trench. The men of the 4th Brigade followed close behind, but the survivors of the 1st Brigade stopped, many collapsed wounded or dying.
One soldier reached into his pack and out of it he pulled an American flag, planting his rifle in the ground in front of the trench he attached the flag to it. Betebachi had been taken.
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If I manage to get my book report done EARLY tommorow, I MIGHT have time for another entry. Probably looking at a wider portion of the front, I haven't even fleshed out the results of the Alabama and Louisiana Guards Corps now have I?
Also need to touch up on Europe and our dear friend Franz.
Also need to touch up on Europe and our dear friend Franz.