Chapter 327 Major General Lack of Soldiers (6-1/5)

Lincoln has no energy to pay attention to the backlash brought about by strong pressure. If there is no massacre, it means that there is still room for manoeuvre. In the future, the southern rebellion will be suppressed, and then we will find a way to ease the relationship.

The worst outcome is nothing more than losing a state vote. If the United States loses this war, and the United States is divided into two, no matter how well he handles the relationship, he will still have to get out.

President Lincoln, who had just returned to Washington, received bad news, and there was still no movement in the state of Delaware next door.

"What's the matter, why hasn't Delaware been done?"

Don't blame Lincoln for being angry, Delaware is only a slave state in name, but slavery is already dead in name here.

Of the more than 20,000 blacks in the state, less than 1,800 were slaves.

The most prosperous Wilmington and surrounding areas have been economically connected to Pennsylvania. The area of ​​this state is very small, only more than 6,000 square kilometers, and the power of the plantation owners is naturally not large.

The secretary of state in charge of coordinating Delaware looked ashen. Maryland, which had been difficult to solve, was dealt with by the president, and Delaware, which he thought was the easiest to persuade, was delayed.

"The state of Delaware was originally loyal to the Union, and we also had an absolute advantage in the state legislature vote in January.

But the involvement of Britain, France, and Ossie made things complicated. The suppressed Southern faction became active with their support.

These people couldn't make Delaware fall south, but they brought the state's preparations to a standstill.

In the name of opposing the civil war, they organized mass demonstrations and demanded neutrality in the state government. Not long ago, 20,000 people gathered and at one point occupied the state legislature. "

Lincoln frowned and asked, "Why not suppress it, I remember the Delaware governor is loyal to the federal government?"

"Reporters from many European countries appeared in Delaware, and the British, French, and Ossie ministers sent a note to the state government, expressing close attention.

The Delaware government is concerned that the forceful crackdown could have unforeseen consequences, prompting intervention by foreign powers. ' replied the Secretary of State with a livid face.

This is not the first time the four countries have interfered in the internal affairs of the United States. Without the intervention of European powers, the southern government would not be able to win so many states together to become independent.

In particular, the two populous states in the west, Kentucky and Missouri, were pulled over by the northern government in history, but now they have fallen to the southern government.

Of the 14 states in the Confederacy, Missouri ranks first in whites and Kentucky ranks third in whites.

These two states have more whites than the six least populous states in the United States combined, and their participation will undoubtedly greatly increase the strength of the southern government.

Historically, these two states joined the northern government, and 40,000 still joined the southern army. But after they joined the southern government, there are fewer than 1,000 people who are willing to work for the northern government.

The reason is very real. The plantation owners are not willing to lose their interests and fight for their own interests.

The capitalists can't do it anymore. After being lured to the southern government, they followed the Confederate government with peace of mind.

It's all interests to blame. The plantation economy in the south hinders the development of the capitalist economy, but it does not mean that it prevents the capitalists from getting rich.

With cheap industrial raw materials and a market of more than 10 million people, a quarter of whom have incomes in the middle class, a proper high-quality market.

The number of local capitalists in this market is very small, and it is far less competitive in the big family of the federal government. It is very attractive to capitalists who are not very powerful.

It is easier to make money there, so support that side, and the capitalists will not feel guilty in the face of interests.

Public opinion reversed, and the southern government hyped the northern government's desire to turn the south into an economic colony, and the blindly obedient people naturally supported the southern government.

The southern government added three states and the population grew by more than three million, while the northern government lost more than three million. With this increase and decrease, the power balance between the two sides has changed.

Lincoln was naturally unaware of these changes. He still maintained full confidence in defeating the South, but he had a headache for possible intervention from European countries.

It has not been long since the British burned the White House. Lincoln also came from that era, and now the Three Kingdoms of Faossi have been added. How can there be no sense of fear at all?

Lincoln asked concerned: "Mr. Saffar, what do the Russians say, are they willing to support us?"

It is very unwise to directly confront the four countries of Britain, France, and Oxi. Before the outbreak of a world war in Europe, it is impossible for the United States to ignore the joint intervention of European countries.

If there is no ocean barrier, with the strength of the United States, any of these four companies can be beaten to the ground.

This has been proved in the battle of the British burning the White House. With only tens of thousands of British troops, the United States lost its capital, and the army of the federal government is really difficult to be reassured.

Foreign Minister Safar replied: "The tsarist government is willing to support our unification war, but it is limited to diplomacy. Their strength in the Americas is limited, and there is no way to give us substantial support."

Verbal support is useless, and the four countries of Britain, France, and Ossie have to end up helping out in person. Seeking the help of the tsarist government naturally wanted the Russians to be able to engage in some activities and contain one or two great powers.

Now Britain, France and Austria are all bordered by the Russians, and it would be a great diplomatic victory for the federal government to contain any one of them.

Lincoln reluctantly said, "Are we

Is supporting their expansion in the Far East in exchange for verbal support? "

Now that it wants to buy off the Tsarist government, the federal government has too little leverage. In addition to diplomatic mutual support, in practice the US government was able to provide very limited help to the tsarist government.

Now the Russians are most short of money. If the federal government has the money, spending hundreds of millions of pounds to keep the Russians can make a big news and at the same time contain the energy of Britain, France and Austria.

It's a pity that the current US is not that rich and powerful US empire, and it simply can't come up with such a huge sum of money.

The tsarist government is also the master of not seeing the rabbit but not the eagle. There is not enough benefit. Why should they help the United States to create hatred?

Foreign Minister Safar defended: "Your Excellency, this topic does not make any sense. The Russians are reforming, and now they need a stable international environment. They can't take anything out of the fire for us."

It's not that he doesn't work hard, it's just that his family is too thin. In exchange for the Russians' verbal support, he went to great lengths.

This is the end of the topic, the problem cannot be solved, and there is no need to talk about it any more.

Minister of War Simon Kammer hurried in and said eagerly, "Your Excellency, the frontline has an emergency call."

President Lincoln said calmly: "Come on, what bad news is there, I can hold on."

Just by looking at Simon Kamei's face, he knew where he must have been defeated again. It seems that the northern army has not won since the outbreak of the war.

Secretary of War Simon Camille said with a gloomy face: "On May 1, 1861, the rebels launched an attack on Cincinnati. Our army fought hard for three days and nights, and finally was defeated because of outnumbered, and Ohio was in an emergency."

Lincoln stood up immediately, snatched the battle report, and looked at it carefully. The vocabulary of artistic processing is directly omitted, and summed up as follows:

50,000 Confederate troops attacked Cincinnati, and the federal government sent an infantry division of 12,000, plus 32,000 militiamen in Ohio and 21,000 militiamen in Indiana, and it was defeated.

It is indeed outnumbered. After ignoring the militia forces of the two states, the federal government has only one infantry division, only a quarter of the enemy's strength. It is very difficult to withstand three days.

Lincoln didn't care about the course of the war. He only knew that the infantry divisions sent by the federal government still had less than one-third of the troops left. Several people were killed or captured. The militiamen of the two states also suffered heavy losses. The specific data is unknown. .

"Ohio is above the Great Lakes, and once the rebels take it, the federal government is divided in two by the enemy from the land.

No matter what, the War Department must find a way to keep the state. Militarily we may lose, but politically we don't allow us to lose a state. "

With his half-bucket of military common sense, Lincoln immediately made a judgment.

Minister of War Simon Kammer replied with a bitter look: "Yes, Your Excellency. But now we need more reinforcements, and the original plan is out of date."

This battle directly made the Ministry of War understand that the enemy was not a mob. The original plan was: the militiamen of the surrounding states set up an encirclement, and the government recruited 75,000 militiamen and regular troops, and directly rolled them over.

Now that the siege has been torn apart, once Ohio falls, Pennsylvania next door will be reduced to a battlefield, and Pittsburgh, the steel center of the United States, will be exposed to the front of the South.

Even if the southern government has limited strength and cannot occupy it for a long time, as long as they engage in a major destruction, most of the industrial advantage of the northern government will disappear.

There is no way, the Great Lakes region is the core industrial area of ​​the United States, and it really cannot afford to lose. With Ohio State reduced to a battlefield, they've already lost a lot.

Lincoln replied without hesitation: "I will issue a national recruitment order again, recruiting 300,000 militiamen from various states to serve. However, when this is needed, you still need to find a way in a short time."

The sequelae of the lack of preparation were exposed. As long as any front was lost, the federal government did not have enough troops in its hands.

Population advantage and industrial advantage are only war potential. If it cannot be transformed into military strength, then potential will always be potential.

The Minister of War Simon Camille said: "The federal government has a limited number of troops, and there are too many places to guard. In a short period of time, we can only order militias from neighboring states to rush to reinforcements.

Considering that the enemy may attack from all directions and disrupt our deployment of troops, we must have at least a mobile force of 700,000 to be able to put out this rebellion. "

The original plan required only 100,000 troops to put out the rebellion. As a result, after the battle, Simon Cameau became conservative.

Lincoln asked in surprise: "Need so many troops?"

Secretary of War Simon Camille explained: "Your Excellency, depending on the deployment of the enemy's forces, it won't be long before Maryland, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, etc. battlefield.

How a state falls, the political trouble it brings to us is immeasurable. If there are not enough troops, it is difficult to counterattack in the case of comprehensive defense. "

The United States is different from other countries. As long as the federal government dares to give up any state, they will have nowhere to go. Perhaps these state governments surrendered directly to the south under the sadness of the death of the rabbit and the fox.

Lincoln said helplessly: "Okay, you are the professional in this regard. If there are any other problems that I need to solve, you can say them together."

war department

Chief Simon Kamei said embarrassedly: "Our officer reserve is insufficient, and retired officers must be recruited to serve again.

I know it's been recruited, but it's not enough. I mean recruit veterans who have been on the battlefield to serve as junior officers, and the age can be relaxed to 55. "

It is indeed a veteran. In this age where the average life expectancy is less than 55 years old, Simon Kamei is really forced to recruit veterans of this age.

High-level officers can promote new recruits, and the demand is not large anyway, and you can always find them if you search carefully from the federal army.

The company and platoon-level officers, who are in the greatest demand, have no choice. The U.S. Army was originally small, and the officers above the seventh tier came from the South. After the outbreak of the Civil War, these people all left.

Now that the army has been expanded tenfold at one time, even if all active-duty veterans are promoted to officers, Simon Kamei can't make up enough.

The only option is to take the next step, recruiting over-aged retired officers to return to serve.

Lincoln proposed: "Is the situation so serious? We can let military students graduate early and serve in the military."

Minister of War Simon Kamei reminded: "Your Excellency, the students in the first year and above of the military academy have all entered the military. As for the first-year students, they have just entered the school and have not learned anything yet."