Chapter 50: Chapter 48: The Battle of New Alamo (Part II)

The result of the cavalry charge against the city was, naturally, much like the Battle of Balihe River involving the Qing army years ago.

The Mexican cavalry charged bravely toward the walls of the Alamo, only to be forced to dismount and engage in a firefight with the defenders atop the walls. After twenty minutes of exchange, the Mexican formation suffered 114 casualties and was forced into a humiliating retreat.

Counting the 11 messengers from before and the 25 soldiers killed yesterday, the Mexican army's total casualties had reached 150.

In contrast, the casualties among the Alamo defenders were almost negligible. There are many folk legends regarding the casualties of this battle, including preposterous exchange ratios like 1 to 30 or 1 to 40. Even American history books claim that before the battle ended, every man at the Alamo had killed at least ten Mexicans.

Although Franz felt it was unlikely the Mexican army would pay such a heavy price, he had still made two preparations: experienced military observers (military advisors) and a heavy siege gun.

However, Tassan Anna's maneuvers had exceeded Franz's imagination, and even the two Austrian army observers were stunned.

"General Tassan Anna, cavalry is not suited for siege warfare," Stadion reminded him.

Tassan Anna realized he was wrong, but to save face, he chose to ignore Stadion's words.

"Mr. Stadion, watch closely and witness the courage of our Mexican army! Infantry, advance!"

Then, another tragedy unfolded. Accompanied by the rhythmic beat of drums, Mexican soldiers dressed in green jackets and white trousers marched toward the Alamo in neat formations.

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

A second cannonball struck the ground and bounced; a soldier tried to resist with his arms, only for both arms to be severed and sent flying into the air.

Although the Alamo defenders had only three cannons, it was not enough to offset the Mexican army's disadvantage. When the Mexican soldiers closed within three hundred yards, the defenders began firing, and men continued to fall.

The Kentucky rifles used by the Texans, though designed in the previous century, were rifles—meaning they were rifled weapons.

The range of a Kentucky rifle was far superior to the smoothbore muskets of the same era, and its accuracy was incomparably higher.

Just as Stadion and Gabrunz were about to dissuade Tassan Anna, the Mexican ranks collapsed.

After all, no one wanted to go to their death. Furthermore, the Mexican army contained a large number of Indians and Mestizos whose treatment was already poor; if the battle went well, they could scavenge for spoils, but once things went south, these men wanted to slip away.

Once the first deserter appeared, the number of deserters would grow geometrically.

Ultimately, Tassan Anna had to order the cavalry to intercept a retreating infantry regiment. After a brief period of chaos, a headcount revealed that the Mexican army had lost over 200 more soldiers.

This caused Tassan Anna to lose face. He ordered the execution of the infantry regiment's commander, and thus the unfortunate commander went to meet God.

On the other hand, the Alamo defenders—Bowie and David Crockett—were already preparing a victory feast to celebrate driving Tassan Anna away.

Many felt that these Mexicans were even harder to deal with than the Indians, and a joyful atmosphere filled the entire fort.

However, Travis could not be happy no matter what, because before the siege began, a squad of sentries reported discovering a giant cannon, four to five meters long, requiring ten horses to pull.

If the sentries were telling the truth, it was highly likely a 16-pounder heavy gun or a 24-pounder.

Such artillery was not even found in the American Continental Army's arsenals; it was only found in Europe. In fact, the US Navy possessed such guns, but they were all mounted on gunboats.

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

"Mr. Gabrunz, Mr. Stadion, do you have any good suggestions? As you know, we Mexicans are warriors; we rarely encounter opponents who hide in turtle shells like this."

Through the recent battle, the two had analyzed the combat strength of both sides.

The Alamo defenders possessed better weapons; even though the Mexican army was equipped with flintlocks shipped from Austria, the firing accuracy of the two sides could not be compared.

While the Mexican army had numerical superiority, they lacked both training and courage.

In the recent battle, if it had been a European army, they likely would have reached the walls, and taking the Alamo would have required only a few hundred more casualties.

But the Mexican army actually collapsed upon approaching the walls. As the saying goes, "the last mile is the hardest"; the recent attack had not only failed to achieve any effect but had instead bolstered the enemy's morale.

"I suggest dividing the siege forces into two parts to continuously harass the enemy, and then attack once the siege guns arrive," Gabrunz said.

"Correct. The enemy's morale is high; attacking now would certainly cause massive casualties to our army. However, our army must win a victory to boost our own morale," Stadion added.

Tassan Anna thought this made sense, but he was also curious: if they simply held their ground and waited for the artillery, where would this victory come from?

"How is our army to win a victory?"

"General, there is a 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 people there." Tassan Anna found it inconceivable; he couldn't even handle 200 men right now, so wouldn't 600 men be too much for him to swallow?

"But they have no walls, Your Excellency," Stadion replied.

Tassan Anna hesitated over whether to follow this suggestion. Although the town had no walls, it had houses; if street fighting broke out, his losses would not be small.

Gabrunz saw through Tassan Anna's concern.

"Your Excellency, according to your sentries' reports, most of the residents in the town have already fled, leaving only a group of desperate outlaws. We can burn that town down; once these outlaws flee into the plains, your cavalry can easily crush them."

Tassan Anna understood Gabrunz's meaning, and he grew to appreciate this young man even more—he was ruthless!

Gabrunz was indeed a ruthless man. During the Italian Wars, his unit was ambushed, and he lost an eye to an attacker.

Gabrunz killed the attacker on the spot and then led his troops to break through the encirclement, only fainting once they reached safety.

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

For the Mexican army, acts of killing and arson were all too familiar, as they frequently did the same on their own soil.

Ma Ning, who was still asleep, was awakened by his subordinates; he didn't even have time to put on his boots.

Firelight illuminated the dark night. There were chaotic crowds everywhere, punctuated by occasional wails and the cries of women.

"What is happening!"

"I don't know! Someone set fires, the blaze is too large, and the wells have been blocked. We can only retreat from the town first!"

Firefighting measures of this era were extremely primitive, and the Texas region was very dry; large-scale fires were a common occurrence.

"Damn it!"

Ma Ning led a portion of his men out of the town. As dawn approached, a large body of cavalry appeared on the distant horizon.

Ma Ning and his men thought the main force from Houston had arrived, and they all waved their arms excitedly—until they saw the Mexican flag.

A massacre began.

(End of Chapter)