Chapter 52: Chapter 50: The Battle of New Alamo (Part II)

Several Mexican soldiers drove prisoners toward the walls of the Alamo.

These prisoners were extremely cooperative; having just endured a hellish pursuit, they wanted to live, so they shouted with all their might.

"Colonel Travis and the brothers of the Alamo, we are subordinates of Colonel Ma Ning! We were ambushed by the Mexican army! No one is coming to aid you! Surrender now!"

Colonel Travis and Bowie, atop the walls, knew clearly that if these prisoners were allowed to continue shouting, the defenders of the Alamo would collapse. Some were already wavering, for no one wanted to engage in a hopeless struggle.

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

But at that moment, Crockett stopped him.

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

"They are traitors!"

Travis shoved Crockett aside and lit the fuse.

With a thunderous "boom," the prisoners who had come to persuade their surrender were silenced forever.

Witnessing this act, Tassun Anna was furious. He felt he had already exhausted all mercy, yet they dared to reject his goodwill!

It was not only Tassun Anna who was angry; even Gabrunz and Stadion felt indignation. To kill even their own people was sheer madness; it seemed they would be unable to fulfill the entrustment of Archbishop Rocher.

At that moment, a letter from Archduke "Franz Karl" arrived.

Hearing the name Franz Karl, Tassun Anna's brow relaxed slightly.

The letter contained only one sentence

"To attack the city is the inferior tactic; to attack the heart is the superior tactic."

After reading the letter, Tassun Anna laughed. He handed it to Gabrunz and Stadion, praising Archduke Franz Karl as a genius.

Gabrunz and Stadion knew that Archduke Franz Karl wasn't exactly the brightest, but they curiously accepted the letter.

After reading it, they seemed to understand something.

This time, Tassun Anna's messenger came to the walls of the Alamo once again.

"General Tassun Anna orders you to let the elderly, the weak, women, and children leave the city. The General swears to God that their safety is guaranteed. Once 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 Mexican plot, but if the enemy truly launched a full-scale siege, the Alamo would likely run red with blood. As a soldier, his honor would not allow him to let the elderly and children perish alongside him.

James Bowie agreed with Travis's view; after all, combat was a matter between men.

However, Crockett held a different opinion. He believed that as long as the women and children remained, the Mexicans would not dare to conduct a full-scale bombardment, for if they did, Tassun Anna would be held responsible for shelling civilians.

Ultimately, his sense of military honor led Travis to reject Crockett's suggestion.

This was the second time Travis had angered Crockett, much to the displeasure of the American congressman.

Two hours later, the elderly, the weak, women, and children had left the Alamo. Tassun Anna sent his most capable assistant to escort them to San Antonio.

The sixteen-pounders were ready. Simultaneously, accompanied by a loud bugle call, the bombardment began.

This bombardment was far more accurate than the previous ones because Gabrunz and Stadion had used the opportunity of the civilian evacuation to adjust the angles and positions of the guns, ensuring the artillery could strike immediately.

The power of the sixteen-pound siege guns was immense. The first shot collapsed the southern tower, and the crashing structure directly buried the garrison squad stationed nearby.

But before the defenders of the Alamo could rescue those trapped under the rubble, shells came whistling down one after another.

Inside the Alamo fortress, stones flew and fires erupted everywhere. Many were wounded by flying debris. Travis wanted to organize counter-battery fire, but the enemy's firepower was so intense that they could not even lift their heads.

The Mexican army's small-caliber artillery had been loaded with incendiary shells. In this era, incendiary shells were a type of grenade filled with flammable substances like grease, intended to ignite surrounding objects through explosion; their efficiency was low.

However, they were more lethal than solid iron shot, forcing the defenders into a frantic struggle to extinguish fires.

The power of the sixteen-pounders was staggering; every shot caused large-scale collapses, a level of destruction that could not be compared to the three-pounders.

The sixteen-pounder bombardment struck the fortress walls directly, causing massive collapses. Such a large breach meant that not just infantry, but even horses could easily pass through.

Bowie immediately organized men to block the breach with wagons and furniture, but the Mexicans showed no intention of attacking.

"Damn it, are the Mexican shells endless? Do they intend to bury us with heavy artillery?"

Crockett passed by carrying a bucket.

"Stop complaining and go put out the fires, otherwise, you'll be burned or suffocated to death."

The bombardment lasted for two hours before the Mexican army ceased. It wasn't because they had run out of ammunition, nor were they preparing to storm the fort; it was because the gun barrels had overheated, and continuing would have caused them to burst.

In the ruins, Crockett found his old servant.

"John, you old man, 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 tearful eyes.

"Mr. Crockett, I cannot move my legs..."

Ignoring his own raw and blistered hands, Crockett comforted John.

"Don't worry. Once we return to Tennessee, I will find the best doctor. You will surely be cured."

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

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

With his consciousness fading, the old servant used his last strength to push Crockett away. At that moment, a nearby broken wall could no longer hold and collapsed, crashing heavily onto the spot where Crockett had just been standing.

"No! John! Damn it! I'll kill those Mexicans!"

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

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

"Let them see the courage of the Western cowboys!"

"Kill them! Revenge!"

"Revenge!"

Bowie's leg had been pierced by a piece of shrapnel, but rather than waiting to die here, he wanted to charge out and fight to the end.

But Travis stopped them. He saw that the Mexican army remained stationed within their fortifications; charging out now would be nothing short of suicide.

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

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

"We have been abandoned!"

"We are pawns!"

"I want to go home!"

Travis fired a shot into the air.

"Enough! Tassun Anna is a dictator, a barbarian. You will die if you go out. Don't you see that red flag? Once the Mexicans raise that red flag, it means they will take no prisoners. Believe me, General Houston will surely come to save us."

The matter regarding the Mexican red flag was a rumor. In reality, the Mexicans used not only red flags but also green and white—the colors of the Mexican national flag.

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

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

The defenders of the Alamo, however, could not endure this passive situation. At night, Crockett organized about twenty desperate men, intending to destroy the Mexican artillery positions—at least to disable that sixteen-pounder.

However, the Mexicans were prepared. After a skirmish, Crockett and several fellow Tennesseans fled back to the Alamo in a sorry state.

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

Due to malnutrition, many Mexican soldiers suffered from night blindness, which resulted in a skirmish between hundreds of men and twenty-odd men ending with only a dozen of the latter being hit.

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

"Do you know what you are doing? You should face a court-martial; I could even have you shot right now."

"Colonel Travis, Crockett did it for everyone's sake. The Mexican cannons are too powerful. During the day, fifty of us died from the bombardment. There is hardly an intact section of the front wall. If this continues, we won't even have a place to shield ourselves from the wind."

"Don't think that just because you are a U.S. Congressman, I wouldn't dare shoot you. This is Texas!"

These words left Crockett and the American volunteers feeling deeply resentful.

On March 10, 1836, the bombardment continued.

Tassun Anna invited Gabrunz and Stadion to join him for lunch on a hillside, enjoying the sight of the artillery covering the Alamo as they ate.

"These cannons are truly impressive. If our Mexican army were equipped with nothing but these, we would never fear the Americans again."

Gabrunz and Stadion thought to themselves, *If any army tried to move with dozens of these things, their marching speed would be slower than a crawling turtle.*

The two merely smiled without answering, as they refused to turn down any opportunity to make money.

However, what they did not expect was

"I wish to hire the two of you as my military advisors. Rank and compensation are yours to choose. As the President of Mexico, as long as it is within my power, I will satisfy your requirements."

Before Gabrunz and Stadion could speak, Tassun Anna interrupted them.

"I tell you, Mexico possesses the world's largest silver mines, unique in their kind. You will surely say those mines are not in the hands of the Mexican government.

That is true. But once this war is over, 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.

The command talents of you two far exceed any of my subordinates; even I am humbled by them. I suspect you two are not mere military observers, but true generals."

Tassun Anna's final sentence directly exposed Gabrunz and Stadion's identities. They knew well that if they refused Tassun Anna's "goodwill," they might encounter an "accident" on their way back.

Gabrunz and Stadion still had one doubt: why did Tassun Anna hold that somewhat dim-witted Archduke in such high esteem?

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

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

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

Imagine if Napoleon had joined forces with Archduke Karl back then; who in Europe could have stood against them?

Inside the Alamo, the bombardment destroyed the last remaining building in the fortress. The windmill of the mill collapsed onto the stables, and the panicked horses caused continuous chaos.

When the casualties were tallied, it was found that only 75 defenders remained, all of them wounded, silently cleaning up the battlefield.

Travis and Bowie engaged in an argument within their makeshift command post.

At that time, the Mexicans sent two doctors under a white flag to treat the wounded out of humanitarianism.

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 priests. Their purpose was to persuade the wounded to convert to Catholicism or surrender to Tassun Anna in exchange for a safe exit from the battlefield.

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

The persuasion of the Catholic doctors moved many of the wounded, especially the severely injured.

However, Travis could not allow these Catholics to shake the morale of his troops. He shot one doctor dead and drove the remaining ones out of the Alamo.

Doctors and priests held very high social status in Mexican society. When a Catholic physician was carried out on a stretcher wrapped in white cloth, an unprecedented fury erupted among the Mexican troops.

They might not have known why they were fighting before, but now they felt they must go and slaughter the brigands inside the Alamo.

Soldiers and officers continuously went to Tassun Anna to request combat, but Tassun Anna was very happy, for he knew the morale of the Alamo defenders had collapsed.

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

Crockett was elected leader by the Tennessee volunteers and the wounded, launching a raid on Travis's subordinates. Bowie was locked in the fortress dungeon.

By the time the fighting ended, fewer than 50 men remained in the Alamo. Crockett surrendered to Tassun Anna, Bowie was captured, and Travis died during the insurrection.

The Battle of the Alamo ended in a great 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.

Since Crockett was a U.S. Congressman, Tassun Anna treated him with great courtesy, allowing doctors to treat Crockett and the other prisoners, and sending a large number of journalists to interview them.

Of course, these journalists only recorded evidence favorable to Mexico. When the news reached Washington, Andrew Jackson angrily slammed the newspaper onto his coffee table.

"Remember this: the shame of the Alamo! They are a disgrace to America! Facing a Mexican siege, they actually turned on each other to surrender. They are nothing but useless fools!"