On September 7, 1794, a battle broke out between the Continental Army and the British Army in the Harrisburg area. Although the Continental Army had a strength advantage in the early stages of the battle, it did not gain any advantage in the face of the British defense line.
On September 10th, the Battle of Harrisburg entered its fourth day. During these four days, both sides suffered a lot of casualties, but in short, the British army had the advantage in terms of casualty rate.
The casualty ratio between the Continental Army and the British Army was three to one.
The three-day offensive caused the Continental Army, which had 39,000 troops at the beginning of the war, to suffer 12,000 casualties.
However, in Washington's view, these casualties were worthwhile, because after the battle entered the fourth day, the situation of the Continental Army was dominant from an overall perspective. At the same time, the three thousand Continental Army who had previously lurked on the right flank of the British army were even more
Like a sharp dagger in Washington's hand, it threatens the center of the British army at any time.
At two o'clock in the afternoon on September 10, fierce fighting was going on between the two sides on the entire battlefield, and the Continental Army successfully lengthened the frontal front of the British army through continuous attacks.
"Order to have the first detachment immediately penetrate the center of the enemy's defense line from behind!"
Standing on a high ground, Washington said to the herald beside him.
As Washington's order was issued, the 3,000 Continental Army who had been lurking on the right flank of the British army for three days suddenly appeared and attacked the center of the British defense line, which was weak because of the stretched front line.
This directly led to the collapse of the British central defense line.
"Damn Washington, order the central army to disperse, and the left-wing British army immediately moves to the right. Cover the rest of the army to withdraw into Harrisburg!"
With the central front already lost, Wodenhall had to order the British troops to begin their retreat.
After all, the Continental Army has broken through the center of the entire front. At this time, the British army has no spare power to retake the front. Under this situation, if the center of the Continental Army blooms and then cooperates with the two wings to deal with the British army that has been divided into two halves
If a pincer attack was launched, the British army would immediately be in danger of being wiped out.
At this time, Alberta was no longer as high-spirited as when she first landed on the North American continent. The military tent on Alberta's body had turned into a smoky color and was stained with black and red stains.
The look on Alberta's face was even more haggard, and her eyes were full of bloodshot eyes, which was obviously the residual sequelae of not sleeping well for several days.
No wonder Alberta became so embarrassed. You must know that the central defense line that was broken through by the Continental Army was the defense area responsible for the troops under Alberta's command.
At this moment, Alberta was being herded by his men and retreating towards the rear. The 4,000 men under Alberta's command before, plus the men and horses that Wharton Hall later sent to him as reinforcements, now only had less than 2,000 men left.
, the rest of the soldiers were either wounded or separated.
Six o'clock in the afternoon.
The entire British defense line was lost, and the 4,000 British troops behind the left wing were almost wiped out. Less than 800 people escaped back to Harrisburg.
After returning to Harrisburg, when the statistics of casualties were handed over to Wharton Hall, Wharton Hall felt that his head was in a daze, and he seemed to be about to faint.
Only about 8,000 of the 20,000 British troops fled back to Harrisburg. Even with the 2,000 troops left behind in Harrisburg, the current British army only has a strength of more than 10,000, and these more than 10,000
Most people are injured.
"There must be a truce with the Continental Army, otherwise, all our soldiers will die before the Prussians take the Continental Army's retreat!"
"Exactly, Your Majesty Marshal, please make your decision early!"
Several British officers from the front-line troops said to Wharton Hall.
"Send someone to contact the Continental Army, we need a ceasefire!"
After he finished speaking, it was as if all the energy and energy in Wharton Hall's body had been drained away.
Just when the British sent people to contact the Continental Army, the Prussians who captured Louisville did not stop for a moment. After leaving two thousand garrison troops in Louisville, Scharnhorst commanded the army to invade Indiana brazenly.
Louisville itself is a city on the border between Kentucky and Indiana.
However, after entering Indiana, the Prussian army also slowed down.
In ten days, the Prussian army arrived at Seymour.
There were originally two hundred Continental Army militiamen stationed in Seymour, but after discovering the arrival of the Prussian army, the local Continental Army withdrew.
For the Continental Army, it is the wisest choice to avoid confrontation with the main force of Prussia before the main force returns. After all, these towns with only a few hundred armed forces may not be able to give a blow even if they fight against the Continental Army.
How much trouble the Continental Army caused.
Rather than doing this, it is better to temporarily abandon these unimportant areas and concentrate all the troops for use.
At this moment, in Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana, the Continental Congress had gathered four thousand Continental Army soldiers to defend it.
In fact, there were already voices among the top leaders of the Continental Congress that wanted to abandon Indiana, and there were even a few who agreed with this view.
Although Indiana was the first territory after the resurgence of the Continental Congress, this territory was not prosperous and was originally far from the coast. From a long-term perspective, Indianapolis was not equipped to become the ruling center of the Continental Congress's regime.
But for Jefferson, Indianapolis cannot be left to the Prussians like other towns. If nothing else, Indianapolis is now the capital of the Continental Congress, and after several months
With its operations, Indianapolis has become the most important headquarters of the Continental Congress.
At this time, if Indianapolis is lost to the Prussians, the reputation that the Continental Congress has finally regained will be destroyed. And more importantly, once Indiana is lost, only the entire Ohio will be left.
The Continental Congress, with most of Pennsylvania in hand, would be caught between the Prussians and the British.
From a geographical point of view, once this situation is formed, the Continental Congress will have almost no strategic depth. If the two families send troops to attack in the future, the destruction of the Continental Congress is completely foreseeable.
It was precisely because of this consideration that Jefferson forcibly suppressed the different voices within the Continental Congress and insisted on sticking to Indianapolis.
On September 12, 1794, after two days of emergency deliberations, Washington finally agreed to the British Army's request for a temporary truce with the British Army on behalf of the Continental Army.
However, Washington also had conditions, that is, the British army must provide the Continental Army with 20 artillery pieces, 3,000 rifles and corresponding ammunition. In addition, the British army also needs to provide a batch of medicine, cloth, grain and other supplies.
In addition to material requirements, Washington was concerned that in case the Continental Army retreated and the British army reneged on its promise, it required the British Army to send a person of considerable weight as a hostage in the hands of the Continental Army. Wait until the Continental Army retreated to a safe area and no British troops were found.
In pursuit situations, the hostages will be released.
After much thought, Wharton Hall agreed to the Continental Army's request.
In Wharton Hall's view, although the price paid by the British army was not small, as long as the Continental Army could return to the army, the British army would still gain.
After all, the Continental Army has to fight Prussia when it returns. In Wharton Hall's view, even though the Continental Army has a geographical advantage, it may not be able to defeat the Prussian army. The strength of both sides is to a certain extent.
The difference is not very big.
In this way, the Continental Army concentrated its main force to fight the Prussian army. No matter who among them won, it would definitely be a tragic victory. By then, the British army would be able to win without victory!
On September 17, the Prussian army arrived at Indianapolis. After six days of fighting, the Prussian army finally captured the city.
At this time, Washington had just led the Continental Army to Pressville, Ohio.
Jefferson and a considerable number of members of the Continental Congress died in Indianapolis, while some members of the Continental Congress who escaped from the encirclement of the Prussian army were those who fled from Columbus in a hurry.
On September 26, Warton Hall tore up the secret agreement with the Continental Army and once again assembled the British army to march westward.
On September 30, Washington arrived in Columbia.
After Washington arrived in Columbus, he immediately re-erected the flag of the Continental Congress in Columbus. At the same time, Washington himself became the leader of the Continental Congress with the support of a group of members.
After Washington reunified the forces of the Continental Congress, he immediately assembled the main force to counterattack Indiana.
On October 2, the British army captured Pittsburgh.
On October 5, the Prussian Colonial Fourth Division, which had already been deployed in Greenville on the border of South Carolina, formally invaded the British colony of North Carolina under the guise of sending troops for assistance at the request of the British army.
After the 4th Colonial Division invaded the British colonies, it seemed for a moment that they were in no man's land, and lowered flags were erected in every British town along the way.
The situation on the North American continent changed, and London had to once again dispatch troops to reinforce the North American continent.
At the same time, the British government in London also expressed strong protest against the Prussian army's brazen invasion of the British colonies without British consent.
However, Brandenburg's reply was that the Prussian army's entry was entirely at the invitation of the British government. For this reason, Brandenburg also showed the agreement signed by Bruneker and British Commander-in-Chief Warton Hall.
As the agreement was presented, London was speechless.
On October 13, 1794, the Prussian army led by Scharnhorst and the Continental Army led by Washington officially started the Battle of Dayton.
This battle can be seen as a life-and-death battle for the Continental Army. Therefore, Washington mobilized all armed forces from all cities under the Continental Congress. The Continental Army assembled a total of 43,000 troops.
On the Prussian side, the First, Second, and Third Colonial Divisions totaled 30,000 men.
For North America, this is also the strongest collision since the war began in North America.
At the same time, Walton Hall, who had just regained Pittsburgh, could not care less about the fisherman who had previously wanted to profit from the dispute between snipe and clam. After learning the news that the Prussian Fourth Colonial Division had invaded the border, Walton Hall
With the storm in his heart, I immediately ordered the main force of the British army to retreat from Pittsburgh to Greensboro.
In addition, Wharton Hall once again sent an urgent message to London asking for help.
On October 19, the Battle of Dayton came to an end. The Continental Army was defeated. After the war, of the 43,000 Continental Army, there were only less than 6,000 left. The rest were either killed in action or became prisoners of the Prussian army.
However, Washington disappeared after the war under the protection of his own Guards.
After the defeat of the Continental Army, the Prussian army took advantage of the victory and captured Columbus.
At this point, except for the remaining stubborn elements of the Continental Congress in some remote areas of Indiana and Ohio, the established Continental Army and the administrative agencies of the Continental Congress no longer existed.
After capturing Columbus, half of Bruneck's initial battle plan had been completed, and driving Woutenhauer's British army across the Atlantic Ocean was Bruneck's final plan.
Bruneke's plan was also approved by Brandenburg. Regarding Bruneke's plan, William not only did not think Bruneke was brave, but even applauded it.
William was very aware of the strength of the British army. After all, Britain was the focus of penetration by the Prussian Intelligence Department.
At present, the British forces are mainly invested in North America. After the British army dispatched 20,000 troops to North America in advance, London received Wharton Hall's request for reinforcements and dispatched another 20,000 troops from various places to North America.
As a result, in fact, the remaining areas under British rule have very weak defense forces. Take the three British provinces in northern France as an example. These three provinces currently only have less than 13,000 British troops.
The army is stationed.
This strength is already a very dangerous signal. You must know that France has been licking its wounds and wanting to take revenge on the British, and the 13,000 British troops obviously lack deterrence.
William even learned that Louis XVI in Paris had secretly appeased Napoleon and eased the previously tense situation between the two parties. Louis XVI promised Napoleon that as long as Napoleon could regain the northern region, Louis XVI would conquer Marseille and Marseille in southern France.
The territories along Toulouse and Corsica were annexed to Napoleon.
Napoleon also agreed with this.
In addition, in order to win over France to join the Prussian chariot, Brandenburg also secretly contacted Paris.
Brandenburg supports Paris' just move to regain its territory. At the same time, France must stand with Prussia against Britain. Once Prussia goes to war with Britain, the French navy must join the Prussian navy to fight against the British Royal Navy free of charge.
Originally, the Prussian government headed by William did not want to start a war with the British so early.
As I said before, the battle plan with the British army in the Prussian Military Ministry was based on the situation five years later.
But now the situation is different. The British have less than 60,000 military forces in Europe. France's preparations have created excellent conditions for Prussia.
"Your Majesty, the news has come from Paris that Louis XVI agreed to our proposal, but he also has a request, that is, we must provide Paris with an interest-free loan of one million gold marks and a loan of five million gold marks.
Mark’s low-interest loan!”
Standing in William's office at the Brandenburg Palace, Rocks said to William.
William frowned after hearing Rocks' words.
The Prussian treasury does not have much property at the moment. If this money is used to provide loans for Paris, then what can the almost empty treasury use to support a possible war between Prussia and Britain.
Seemingly seeing William's dilemma, Rocks said:
"Your Majesty, I think we can issue a war bond!"
"Oh, Mr. Prime Minister, how many are you planning to issue?"
War debt is not a new term in Europe, and Prussia has had this example for decades.
"After discussion, the government believes that based on the current situation in our country, a total of 10 million gold marks should be issued in government bonds, with the interest tentatively set at 5%!"
Ten million gold marks, this number is still within a controllable range.
And after all, William still has the existence of the Royal Bank of Prussia. You must know that the Royal Bank of Prussia has become the bank with the most capital in Europe under the management of the Rothschild family over the years.
The deposits in the bank amount to more than 50 million gold marks. Not only that, but if you include the mortgaged land deeds, properties, jewelry, etc., then the assets owned by the Royal Bank of Prussia have exceeded the 100 million gold mark mark.
.
It is precisely because of the Royal Bank of Prussia that William has the confidence
"Okay, let's follow what the government negotiates. But in addition to issuing this national debt, the government must communicate with those big businessmen. They have also made a lot of money in Prussia over the years. Now it is time for them to carry forward their spirit of contribution.
It’s time!”
Just after Prussia's national bonds were thrown into the market, the well-informed London government suddenly felt a chill.
Not only did Prussia have spies in Britain, Britain also planted many spies in Prussia.
As for Prussia's current financial situation, the British government can also have a rough understanding of it. Although there is still a lot of money in the Prussian treasury, Prussia actually launched a war bond worth tens of millions. It is obvious that Prussia has
It needs to be a big move.
"Your Highness the Regent, what should we do? Now that the Prussians have revealed their ambitions, we must not ignore them!"
In Buckingham Palace, Fox said to Augustus.
"Your Majesty, bad signs are appearing in Prussia and France. Under such circumstances, the kingdom must take precautions in advance so as not to be caught off guard by the enemy!"
After Fox finished speaking, Secretary of War Abbot immediately followed up.
And just after the cabinet ministers expressed their opinions one after another, Augustus said resolutely:
"Our country also issued war bonds, and immediately accelerated the reorganization of the new army. At the same time, we sent people to Switzerland. We need to recruit mercenaries. The glory of the Kingdom of Great Britain cannot be provoked by any country. If anyone wants to try, then they must pay blood.