So Far From God (Mexico 1836-'76)

[Cinéad IV]

Fantastic as ever Om!

It's going to be a mad dash for Washington if you hope to force the US into anything approaching a favourable peace. Otherwise, you'll end up with a brutal war of attrition in Texas that you don't have the manpower to afford.

If you can get a white peace with the Americans, I think it's reasonable to assume that southern secession will take place not long after. When that happens, it's imperative that you keep the South independent. Manage that, and north America is yours to dominate. My most recent game with Mexico saw the Americans lose Washington to the Confederates and move their capital to Chicago, which I promptly occupied with a massive army of cavalry. I satellited the US, which preserved the South and stopped the US from ever attempting to bully me again.

Here's hoping you can jump the hurdle you're against just now though

 

[Capibara]

Border to Missisippi?

Mexican New Orleans!

The war is far from over. The Mexican armies must advance far enough to a zone where they can resist the new American offensive, if they can take another couple of important southern cities, that would mean in a moral blow for the US. Just let's hope Mexico can keep this way far enough, either to provoke a return to status quo or better, some territorial changes

 

[Director]

Congratulations, Comrade - yours is the Character Writer Award for this week.

 

[Stuyvesant]

Following Director's nod, I've started delving into this AAR today. I've just gotten to the point where Santa Anna is getting to the end of his Cuban exile.

This is my only exposure to the general (as well as 19th century Mexican history) ever, and while I realize the history in this story is not real (anymore), I still think I'm getting a good idea of what kind of man Santa Anna was. It's very interesting and the social overview (there was one I just read, at this point I don't know whether you return to the style later on) helps to give me some perspective on the milieu in which Santa Anna operated.

It's been a pleasant read and I hope you'll find the time to continue the AAR at a later time.

 

[CCA]

Congratulations, Comrade - yours is the Character Writer Award for this week.

A well deserved win indeed!

Congratulations!

 

[Stuyvesant]

Now fully caught up. Halfway into the next Mexican-American war... I am looking forward to see whether Santa Anna can force a favorable peace before the Yanquis (when the Mexicans speak of 'Yanquis', do they include Southerners? I digress...) start to fully mobilize their frightening resources. Given the huge potential of the US, a white peace would strike me as quite a victory for Mexico.

Hope you'll return to update soon!

 

[ComradeOm]

Lecture Fifteen: Go East Young Man (1859)

"Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good"
Ecclesiastes 9:18​

Mexico's position in June 1859 was a happy one as the war with the United States proceeded as well as could be expected. To the north Generals Zaragoza and Ortega, both youthful veterans of Mexico's civil strife, had made steady progress against relatively stiff opposition. Further south the withdrawal of McClellan's shattered army to Springfield had opened up the southern states to the almost unopposed advances of Santa Anna and Diaz. The latter two continued to face virtually no organised resistance as they quickly moved through the southern states of Louisiana and Mississippi stripping the countryside as they went. Many of the reserve soldiers in Mexican uniform had little notion of traditional military discipline but did possess experience of the brutal civil conflicts that had dogged Mexico since its independence. This was a combination that had harrowing consequences for the inhabitants of areas occupied by passing Mexican armies with scenes of rape and looting that were more reminiscent of the Thirty Years War than any modern conflict. Summary executions were common as the speed of the advance left little time for the establishment of POW camps or medical facilities to treat wounded foes. These were horrors that were to imprint themselves on the US, and particularly Southern, national psyche for decades to come. One result was a mass exodus of refugees moving east as homes and farms were simply abandoned at the sight of Mexican scouting parties. In turn this human wave distracted the local US authorities but in truth there was little that they could do - by September the entire south had been cleared of US federal soldiers as Washington directed its reserves towards the developing battle on the Mississippi

North of Santa Anna's eastwards march, General Zaragoza had performed impressively in driving Johnston's federal army from Kansas and by early September had pushed into Missouri to engage in battle around Jefferson City. As a hastily raised reserve army under General Manuel Doblado (1818-'65) advanced north along the west shore of the Mississippi - clearing the area of lingering resistance and securing the rear of Diaz and Santa Anna - it became increasingly clear that Scott's army at Springfield was at grave risk of encirclement. With his flanks guarded by the mighty Mississippi, Doblado began to push hard for the strategically vital town of Rolla, the capture of which would seal McClellan's fate by cutting off the last rail link to Springfield. This was the nightmare scenario for the latter - caught between two armies he was unable to move against one without exposing his position to the other - and US reinforcements were desperately rushed west to prevent the sealing of the pocket. The ferocity of the fighting reached new heights as armies of both nations were slowly pulled into a bloody struggle that spanned several thousand square kilometres. There were major battles in St Louis (2 October), Cairo (28 November), and Memphis (after Diaz turned north to score a crucial victory on 25 June) as well as Springfield itself where Doblado had begun to skirmish with Scott's soldiers in late October. This last assault, the first in the war involving multiple Mexican armies, was poorly planned however and dragged on through the autumn months with casualties mounting on both sides. Nonetheless the fifty thousand defenders suffered a major blow on 9 November when Mexican armies under Diaz finally secured Rolla and thus closed the only avenue of escape from Springfield. The bulk of the US professional army was now encircled in Springfield and fighting for its very survival

The Springfield Campaign of 1859​

A detailed operational history of these months of fluid combat is far beyond the scope of this work. The frontlines and battlefields were constantly shifting as the Mexican armies surged forward to capitalise on the disorder in their foe's deployments. The United States was generally on the losing side of those battles, particularly around Rolla and Vicksburg, but they did possess their own strengths and every Mexican victory came at the cost of heavy and irreplaceable casualties. As the Mexican formations became increasingly stretched it appeared that the advantage in material could yet prove decisive for the US and there was a notable stiffening of resistance in October and November as the various armies, of both sides, concentrated around Rolla. One army however was not engaged in the struggle to control the Mississippi - the Army of Operations had been marching in a very different direction since September. In a move of stunning audacity, Santa Anna - either tired of the south and its lack of resistance or concerned over mounting casualties and with a firm grasp of the larger strategic picture, depending on who you talk to - had taken it upon himself to end the war as quickly as possible. This meant nothing less than taking Washington DC and, if necessary, forcing President Buchanan to sign a treaty at gunpoint. It was a plan that required his thirty thousand men to cross thousands of kilometres in a forced march while avoiding major enemy concentrations and without any real element of surprise. In short, it could only have been conceived by a mind as erratic and ambitious as Santa Anna's. On 12 September the Army of Operations departed from Mobile and, by refusing to pause to seize towns or fortifications, made rapid progress. Astonishingly their efforts to avoid a major engagement were successful and it was not until the Battle of Manassas (24 November) that any significant opposition was encountered. After brushing aside General Samuel Curtis at Manassas, the army arrived at a virtually undefended Washington on 11 December. The parading of Mexican soldiers past the half-built US Capitol was a moment to be etched into the history of both nations, and typical of Santa Anna's sense of the occasion. Such was the speed of his advance that James Buchanan suffered the dubious honour of being the first US President to become a prisoner of war while in office

It took a few weeks longer to actually bring hostilities to an end but the success of Diaz and Zaragoza in eliminating the Springfield pocket - accepting the surrender of McClellan and his men on 25 December - and Santa Anna's sacking of Philadelphia in late December convinced both President Buchanan and his Congress that the war was indeed lost. No doubt tales of Mexican atrocities further south also spurred the hurry towards peace; the Mexican generalissimo making a number of not-so-subtle threats to raze the capital should the war drag on. On 27 December, with US divisions still racing towards the east coast, the Treaty of Washington was signed and the war finally brought to a close. This was a victor's peace, a severe settlement designed to limit, for once and for all, the threat of US expansion towards the Pacific. Unhappy that the previous agreement (following the 1842 war) had not secured peace and unwilling to continue "drawing lines in the sand", Santa Anna dictated that only a major natural barrier would suffice as the future border between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic. To the shock of the US establishment he decided that the most fitting natural feature for this purpose was none other than the Mississippi river. Such a transfer of land was obviously unacceptable but a framework was put in place for a Border Commission to meet over the following months to decide on the new shape of North America. This was nonetheless a humiliating peace signed on the understanding that large areas of indisputably US territory would be ceded to Mexico. When Santa Anna and his soldiers finally departed from Washington in early 1860 they did so secure in the knowledge that decades of US territorial expansion had not only been halted but decisively reversed

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[ComradeOm]

The Mexican-American War of 1859

 

[ComradeOm]

Ah now that Stuyvesant has caught up we can move on.... I jest, I jest

Above you will find both an update and an animated map that will hopefully reassure people that this AAR has a future. I fully intend to complete this story and by my estimation this will take another 4-5 updates. That's roughly what I was always planning so this breakdown of the updating schedule will have no impact on the actual progression of the AAR. What I cannot promise is the regularity with which updates will follow and for that I owe an explanation

To be blunt, I've been out of work for the past few weeks and this has seriously compromised my writing schedule. Amongst other things of course. You'd think that 'losing' my job (as if I just misplaced it) would give me more free time but, paradoxically, its had quite the opposite effect. In addition I tended to do 90% percent of my writing in the office (a fact that had nothing to do with my current joblessness... that gets blamed on the slow collapse of global capitalism) so actually sitting down to write/edit/post an update has become something of a rarity. Not to mention falling behind in reading others' AARs

Now, as I said above, I do plan to finish this AAR but I'm afraid that you'll have to be patient with me. I'll try and keep to a schedule as much as I can but from here on in updates will follow irregularly. Apologies all, I know how difficult it is to follow the story with all these breaks

Oh, and sorry about the cheesy tactics in the above update. I try to put a decent spin on it but in-game I just couldn't resist. One example of why I try to base my writing on gameplay as little as possible. I'll also have a map showing the finalised borders in the next update

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First of all, a big shout out to Director for nominating me for Character Writer of the Week. Given that its the second time I've won it for a history book character, I must be doing something right. Cheers

robou: This war, as can be seen above, actually went surprisingly well for me. Normally I probably would have gone into more detail to explain just how this great upset came about but operational history just isn't my thing. Wars are usually the most exciting thing to happen in a Vicky game but I just don't have the interest or the knack in writing about them. So unlike your own excellent works (which, as far as I'm concerned, set the AARland bar for detailed accounts of military manoeuvres) I just try and get war out of the war as quickly as possible

J. Passepartout: Indeed. Expect the ramifications of this war to feature heavily in the next few updates. Obviously the emphasis of the AAR is on Mexico but we've reached the point where events north of the border are equally important and thus deserve some real attention

RGB: What the above update might not show is the degree to which the fighting was getting tougher as the war progressed. I'll try and dig up real figures for the next update but the autumn fighting really gutted the Mexican armies. They were probably on their last legs before Santa Anna showed up on the East Coast. Not that the histories necessarily reflect that...

Quanto & HannibalBarca Delighted to have you with us. Its always fantastic to pick up new readers and I hope that my erratic schedule won't put you off following it to the conclusion

Enewald: Have you been reading my mind...?

CCA: Cheers. I'm sure Santa Anna won't disappoint

Cinéad IV: Another one who has been reading my mind! Actually this is, by some distance, my most successful war against the US. Usually I'm desperately struggling to hold off the blue tides at this point. But as a Mexican veteran I'm sure you can guess the two critical events that are about to shake things up...

Capibara: Well I can't promise New Orleans but you'll certainly get your "territorial changes"

Stuyvesant: Glad to have you on board. My emphasis with this AAR has been largely on the political evolution of Mexico as opposed to the social analysis that marked my previous AAR (Sins of the Fathers). This was largely a deliberate choice of mine based on, in no real order, a desire to try something new, a fascination with Santa Anna the man, and a relative lack of social upheaval/change in the game (or indeed Mexico at the time). Despite this I have been trying to comment on the graducal changes in Mexico through Santa Anna's actions and the challenges he faces. Its not been a complete success, I am far more comfortable talking about social trends than political intrigues, but its still been an interesting experience for me

 

[Enewald]

Wow, that is a very miraculous march!
Thousands of kilometres!
The Long March(of Mexico).

Shall we soon experience american civil war?
CSA gets more supporters since the people have realized the Union is not able to defend her borders.

 

[robou]

I don't know why you are so modest, I lack a lot of things in my writing, and my records of operations are hardly perfect or crystal clear. For me, that was one of the most interesting reads about a military operation in have had the pleasure of reading on this forum. The set out was clear, the objectives laid out and rhetoric sound; it made for a joyful read, no mistake. The update schedule might be... irregular, but when there are gems like this at the end, its worth the wait.

 

[unmerged(59077)]

Santa Ana, the great general. He'll be in all the text books, you know.

And the war finished on Christmas Day, you do realise?

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Sorry to hear about the job and the sporadic updates. I'm in the same boat, unfortunately, so I know exactly what you're talking about.

 

[Capibara]

Excelent update! Worth the waiting! Great tactics by the Mexican army to destroy the US defenses, despite the heavy resistance met. The image of Mexican troops marching through Washington DC is just priceless Those territorials changes will certainly calm down the US down, unless they want to go for Canada Again, excelent update, and I hope to see a map with the terrritorial changes next update

 

[Stuyvesant]

Well, you certainly surpassed my low expectations with this outcome! Perhaps I should have more faith in the old general?

I enjoyed the update on the war. It was fairly broad brush, but that helped to keep things moving. You didn't get bogged down in too many details or grandiose battle scenes. Considering your emphasis on politics and the character of Santa Anna, I think that is the right choice for this story.

In as far as the gambit of taking a nation's capital to force an advantageous peace can ever be described in realistic ways, I think you pulled it off. It seems to fit Santa Anna's temperament to make such a hare-brained dash for DC (and it fits his lucky stars that he succeeds).

Good luck with the job situation - same thing here. Hope you'll find employment (and get the stability to finish this story ).

 

[stnylan]

Finally caught up myself. Thsi continues to be a most excellent AAR, and continues to capture the ephemeral, marvellous, peculiar, wonderful, ambivalent persona that is Santa Anna.

Got to feel a little pity for the USA though

 

[Cinéad IV]

Good to see this AAR back on track Om! Bad luck on the old job front. I'm in a very similar position myself.

Always good to see the US taking a good thumping at Mexico's hands Setting the border at the Mississippi is harsh, but entirely justified. Hopefully this will be the last direct war you have to fight against the Americans. If you can sponsor and secure Confederate independence, all the better.

That said, how will Southerners who have suffered at the hands of the Mexican army respond to uber-Mexico as an ally? It may well be a bitter pill to swallow having Santa Anna march his armies, allied though they may be, through a Confederacy severely truncated by Mexican victories.

 

[Capibara]

Any news on the update? You left me intrigued after the last one. I really hope thi is continuing.

 

[robou]

Agreed, pal, this is too savoury to leave unfinished!

 

[unmerged(59077)]

True. This is due for a necromantic bump in the night.

Om, where are you?

 

[th3freakie]

my name is th3freakie, and I endorse the above post.