The chase in Dayton ended in victory for the Continental Army, with more than 2,100 British troops fleeing from the two British forts, but less than 400 British escaped under the pursuit of the Continental Army.
However, Washington was not satisfied with this result, in Washington's opinion, he could have mobilized nearly 20,000 troops, but even under this circumstance he was still unable to completely annihilate the British army.
Fortunately, Washington also knew that the foundation of the Continental Army was too thin after all, so he did not blame the generals of the Continental Army, but after reorganizing the army, he began to march towards Columbus, the capital of Ohio.
At this moment, outside Columbus, 2,000 soldiers of the Continental Army were constantly provoking the British soldiers guarding Columbus.
However, their provocation did not have much effect, at least the British did not go out of the city to fight them in a decisive battle.
"Commander, this is not the case, our supplies are running out, and every day we stay under Columbus will be in greater danger, so it seems to us that we might as well withdraw our troops!"
In the Continental Army camp outside the city, a lieutenant was speaking to a man with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
"Norland, the mission given to us by His Excellency the Marshal was to raid Columbus, but now that we are already under the city, we have not completed the task after all, in this case, if we withdraw the troops, I am afraid that His Excellency the Marshal will not spare us!"
"When is this, but the tongue we have caught has already been said, the two thousand soldiers led by the British governor are stationed less than a hundred and fifty miles from here, and judging from the time, it may not take two days for the British to return to Columbus!"
Hear Norland say that.
Smith, who was the captain of the Continental Army's raid team, seemed a little distraught.
At the time of departure, Washington gave Smith a strict order, that is, to get to Columbourne as quickly as possible, and then capture Columbus if the defenders were insufficient, and if the enemy force was large.
It is stationed outside the city to maintain a standoff situation in order to hold back the main enemy army.
But according to Smith's understanding, Columbus was only stationed with more than 400 people at the moment, but even under this situation, more than 1,800 Continental Army soldiers still could not capture the city.
"Smith, after all, the combat effectiveness of our army is not as good as that of the British.
Therefore, I think that in the present situation, if we choose to retreat, His Excellency the Marshal will certainly be able to understand it!
” Norland continued.
Both Noland and Smith were old men in the Continental Army, otherwise Washington would not have entrusted Smith with such an important task.
After listening to Norland's words, Smith suddenly had a flash of inspiration in his mind and said to Norland: "Norland.
What do you think the British governor will do when he learns that we are under Columbus?
” Smith's words made Noland's face roll his eyes "I said Smith, didn't I say that the British Governor will definitely bring the army back quickly!"
Who knows, Smith was not angry at Noland's disrespect, on the contrary, a smile suddenly appeared on Smith's face.
"Norland.
I think our chance has come!
As you said, the British, after learning about the comparison between the strength of the Columbus garrison and ours, must have rushed back to reinforce without stopping, after all, the importance of Columbus cannot be missed!
In this case, I think we can lead the army to set a trap on the road to Columbus, and if the British don't find out, we can take the British by surprise with our strength!
” After Smith finished speaking, Noland's face immediately showed a look of sudden realization "Yes, why didn't I think of it, no wonder you are now the head of the regiment.
And I'm just a little lieutenant now!
” Noland teased Smith with a smile.
"Okay, who doesn't know what kind of character you Norland is, if you had the heart, I'm afraid you would have climbed on top of me a long time ago!"
After saying that, Smith and Noland smiled and said a few more words.
After that, his face was grim and he began to give orders.
"Noland, I'm going to give you a task, you must complete it for me!"
Seeing Smith's actions, Noland also saluted Smith with a serious expression and said loudly: "Command, Your Excellency Lieutenant Colonel!"
"Norland, in order to prevent the British from learning of our plan, so I decided to leave you and your squadron outside Columbus as suspicious soldiers, and the task I gave you is very simple, that is, after I lead the main force to leave, you must drag the British troops in the city for me, and be sure not to let them find out about our movements!"
After saying that, the expression on Smith's face softened a little more, and he patted Noland on the shoulder and said: "You should be able to understand what I mean, your mission is not easy, but we have to do it now, if we can succeed in the ambush, then the whole of Ohio or Pittsburgh will be in our hands, but if we fail, the consequences will be even more serious, so I want you to fight with all your might!"
"I understand, Your Excellency Lieutenant Colonel!"
Noland solemnly gave Smith a military salute and resolutely left the tent.
Late that night, through a careful study of the surrounding terrain, Smith finally selected a suitable location for an ambush, and then Smith decided to take advantage of the cover of night to rush to the ambush site overnight.
After Smith left, only Norland and his 110 soldiers were left in the entire Continental Army camp.
In mid-June 1794, Smith ambushed Stewart's British forces, but allowed Stuart to escape at the last minute.
But either way, it was an exceptionally brilliant victory.
Subsequently, Smith led the army and took the captured British soldiers to the city of Columbus to demand the surrender of the British defenders, and the helpless Columbus defenders finally agreed to Smith's request to surrender Kaesong.
The battle at Columbus became the most important battle since the resurgence of the Continental Congress, and although the forces of both sides were not comparable to the Battle of Dayton, it was extremely important to the Continental Army.
As Stewart fled to Pittsburgh with the remnants of his army.
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This meant that there was no longer any British force in Ohio that could stop the Continental Army.
In late June 1794, Washington led the Continental Army to Columbus.
In Columbus, Washington convened a meeting of Continental Army generals to reclassify the Continental Army's combat missions for the next phase, and this meeting will undoubtedly go down in history.
Because after this meeting, the Continental Army's requirements for conscription began to be strict.
At the same time, it also changed the previous high-pressure policy, and the treatment of those who surrendered began to soften.
In addition, a large number of military supplies stored in Columbus City became the best supply for the Continental Army, which greatly relieved the pressure on the Continental Army's weapons and equipment to a certain extent, and also allowed the Continental Army to begin to move towards regularization.
Not only that, but Washington, after deciding to divide part of the army to occupy the whole of Ohio, decided to lead the main force to attack Pittsburgh!
The upheaval in Ohio has sparked unrest across North America.
July 3, 1794.
Information from the North American colonies was sent to the desk of Regent Augustus for the first time.
"It's just ridiculous, Stuart is simply damned, the rebellion that has been wiped out by the empire has actually revived under his rule, and it has grown to such an extent, it is simply a shame for the kingdom!"
At Buckingham Palace, there is no doubt about it.
His Royal Highness the Regent, who heard the news, immediately burst into a rage.
Although Augustus behaved very gaffe, at this moment, none of the British ministers in the palace dared to accuse His Royal Highness Regent of his gaffe.
"Your Highness, we can talk about Stewart's dereliction of duty later, but the top priority is to send troops to North America as soon as possible, otherwise under the erosion of the situation, it is difficult to guarantee that the situation of more than ten years ago will not occur!"
After a while.
British Prime Minister Fox was the first to speak.
It's not that Fox intends to exonerate Stewart, and even in Fox's heart, he still wants Stewart to be severely punished because of this, but at present, the situation in North America is already in danger of erosion, and at this time, it is obvious that it is the first thing to stabilize the people's hearts.
There are priorities, and the immediate priority is clearly to send troops to North America.
In fact, two months ago, the British government began to send troops to reinforce North America, but because the situation was not corrosive at that time, the British government thought that the Continental Congress was?
The disease of scabies.
Therefore, they did not seriously deal with it, but only drew more than 1,500 troops from the West Indies to rush to reinforcements.
But now, it is clear that the situation has changed beyond everyone's expectations, and in Stewart's battle report, he does not blame his own presumptuousness for the defeat.
Rather, it highlights the fact that the slave bill passed by the Continental Congress gathered a large number of troops for it, and the reason why the British army was defeated was because of the disparity in strength.
"Your Highness, the rebels of the Continental Council have actually exceeded 20,000 troops at the moment, although in the eyes of the minister, the combat effectiveness of these soldiers is very doubtful, but it is undeniable that under their wanton recruitment, their ambition is not small, so the minister believes that the government should immediately send no less than 20,000 troops to North America to exterminate these rebels with a thunderous force!"
After Fawkes finished speaking, Abt the British War Secretary spoke.
"Does the War Department already have a plan for this?"
After Abt finished speaking, Augustus, who was sitting at the top, asked anxiously.
Hearing His Royal Highness Regent's question, Abt said: "The War Office plans to draw five thousand men from Rouen, three thousand from Gibraltar, five thousand from London, and five thousand from the West Indies, so that there are eighteen thousand, plus the strength of the original Viceroyalty of Pittsburgh, so that it is more than twenty thousand!"
"What about the generals?"
"The War Office is ready to appoint Sir Whartonhall, the general of the garrison in the Rouen region, as commander to be responsible for the extermination of the Continental Army!"
Whartonhall, this person Augustus still knows, in the Anglo-Prussian coalition against France, this general cooperated with William III of the Netherlands to launch a strategy in northern France, although his ability is not top-notch, but in the current situation of many senior generals, Whartonhall is also a helpless choice.
Augustus nodded in agreement, and it was at this time.
Fox also spoke: "In addition, according to the Cabinet, Stewart is no longer fit to serve as Governor of the Governorate of Pittsburgh, so the government has decided to recommend Duke Andrew as the new Governor of the Governorate of Pittsburgh!"
After Fawkes finished speaking, Augustus immediately agreed without any hesitation.
Apparently in Augustus's heart, he hated the governor as well.
And at this time, Abt of the War Department said to Augustus with some nervousness: "The only thing that worries the minister is that the total number of troops deployed by our country in the provinces of Rouen, Amian and Calais is only 23,000 people, so if 5,000 people are transferred at once, will it affect our rule!"
After the surrender of France.
The northern part of France was brought under the rule of the British, who divided the territory of northern France into the provinces of Rouen, Amian and Calais.
Among them, there were 8,000 British troops in Rouen, 10,000 troops in Calais, and 5,000 troops in Amian.
Originally, Amian was supposed to be the place with the most garrisons, after all, it was the closest to the center of French rule.
However, considering that France was already weak at home, in this case, the Bourbons did not have the strength to start a major war with England, so Britain would be relieved that only 5,000 troops were deployed in Amian.
As for Calais, although it was the first area occupied by the British, because the territory of Calais Province bordered the Netherlands and Prussia, Prussia in particular, placed a division in the Netherlands.
So in Calais the British would have deployed an army of 10,000.
In this way, only the garrison of Rouen can be used as a last resort, and the garrisons of the other two provinces do not need to be thought of at all.
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The size of the British Army has not yet exceeded 100,000 troops, including more than 10,000 troops stationed in various colonies in North America, 15,000 troops in the West Indies, 10,000 troops in Asian colonies including India, 8,000 troops in Gibraltar, and several thousand more in Africa.
If you do this bit by bit.
There were more than 50,000 troops stationed overseas, and 23,000 troops were stationed in the three northern provinces of France, so that the British army was actually 20,000 troops.
"Well, the War Department is well arranged.
But there is one thing, when will these troops be able to reach North America at the earliest?
” "Your Royal Highness Regent, if you take the lead, we can directly transfer it from the West Indies first, so that the West Indies will be able to set foot on the North American continent in ten days at the earliest, and the rest of the army will be able to cross the European continent at the earliest, so it will take more than a month at the earliest!"
As he spoke, Abt had a helpless look on his face.
To be honest, more than a month is too much time to change, especially now that the Continental Army has the upper hand.
In the West Indies, it would take a week for the British mainland clipper ship to deliver the order to the West Indies, which would mean that it would take half a month for the nearest 5,000 soldiers to be reinforced to North America.
Half a month is enough time to march from Columbus to Pittsburgh.
But there was no other way at the moment, so Augustus left the palace with a sad face after agreeing to the government's proposal.
When Augustus had left, Abt leaned over to Fawkes and said; "Actually, Your Excellency Prime Minister, there is another way at the moment, but His Royal Highness the Regent is here just now, I don't want to mention it, why don't you go and talk to His Royal Highness the Regent" Without waiting for Fox to speak, Abt said: "As far as I know, the Prussians have nearly 30,000 troops in their colonies, and if the Prussian government can promise to help us, the situation in North America will definitely change as a result!"
Hearing Abt's proposal, Fox immediately rebuked: "You don't have to think about the Prussians, it's good if they don't fall into the ground, in my opinion, the Prussians will definitely fall into the ground, don't forget, the Prussians have never stopped their colonial expansion in North America over the years, maybe this is a godsend for them.
You have to say hello to Sir Whartonhall and ask him to be wary of the Prussians in North America, I always feel that the Prussians will intervene in this incident!
” Hearing Fox say this, Abt had no choice but to dispel his thoughts.
In mid-July 1794, the Continental Congress was relocated from the French colony to Columbus, and the Continental Congress was officially branded.
Just after the re-establishment of the Continental Congress, Washington, which had already led its troops to the Ohio border city of Welling, immediately took the oath of force.
It took just over a week to reach Pittsburgh, the capital of the Governorate of Pittsburgh.
At this time, the city of Pittsburgh was already in turmoil, and the 6,000 British troops recruited from various colonies in the Pittsburgh Governorate were stationed in the city, but these British troops did not bring any sense of security to the residents of Pittsburgh.
After the news of Washington's sworn in troops in Welling, residents in and around Pittsburgh began to flee with their families, making the whole of Pittsburgh as noisy as a wet market.
Standing by the window of the Governor's Palace, Stewart's face was very ugly.
The defeat in Ohio had left him with a huge burden, and even within the Governor's office, many people jumped out to accuse Stewart of incompetence.