In September 1794, the Continental Army was in a good situation, and with the capture of Pittsburgh, the revival of the Continental Congress seemed unstoppable, and Washington formally established the Continental Army Command in Pittsburgh.
Previously, the Continental Army did not have a stable command, mainly because they had only one front, so there was no need for a unified command.
But now, with the conquest of Pittsburgh, the situation in North America has officially entered a new chapter for the Continental Congress.
Washington envisioned a future division of forces for the Continental Army, and the current concentration of British troops in Virginia was an opportunity for the Continental Army.
Pennsylvania, where Pittsburgh is located, borders Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.
These areas are the essence of the British North American colonies, and at present, the main force of the British army is concentrated in Virginia, and the rest of the states are bound to be empty of defensive forces, so if the Continental Army will mainly deploy troops on the border of Virginia, and then send troops to attack the remaining states, from a strategic level, the Continental Army will have a great advantage.
But now Washington also knows that the British army will certainly not sit idly by and watch his strategic plan succeed.
In this way, Washington after all, through a campaign, made the British army dare not move lightly.
And in Washington's mind, the next target for the Continental Army is the Harrisburg area in Pennsylvania!
Pittsburgh was formerly the seat of the Governor's District and the capital of Pennsylvania.
But it has to be said that Pittsburgh's geographical location is quite eastward.
As you can see from the map of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg will be very important in the next phase of the operation.
Harrisburg is well connected to the southwest of Pennsylvania.
It was one of the key points of the north-south traffic of the British colony.
And Harrisburg is also the eastern barrier to Philadelphia.
"It's been a week's rest, it's almost over, gather the generals, we're going to act!"
Washington said proudly to the staff officers in the military tent.
And just as Washington was gathering the generals of the Continental Army to begin planning the next phase of the offensive, in Atlanta, Whartonhall's personal representative was in the Governor's Palace asking for an audience with Bruneck.
"Your Excellency the Governor, after the capture of Pittsburgh.
The rebellion of the Continental Army has become a climate, and this situation is not only bad for our army, but also for your country.
Therefore, Sir Whartonhall hopes to join forces with your country to suppress the Continental Army once again!
” This envoy was the third to be sent to Atlanta after Whartonhall landed in North America, and neither of the previous envoys had received a positive reply from Bruneck.
"I can understand Sir Whartonhall's painstaking efforts, but please know that I have not received instructions from Brandenburg to send troops.
So though I'm the governor here.
But without Brandenburg's orders, I still have no right to send troops!
” Bruneke said with a smile on his face.
Bruneke laughed, but apparently the messenger couldn't laugh at all.
After that, as on the first two occasions, Brünecke remained unmoved, no matter what the messenger said, and seeing this, the envoy had to return to Philadelphia in disgrace.
But wait until the Wharton representative leaves.
Bruneck's face changed, and he immediately summoned Scharnhorst and other military officers, as well as several government officials.
Originally, Scharnhorst was also going to Nashville with the troops.
But Brüneke left him in Atlanta.
Leaving Scharnhorst, Brüneke actually had no other thoughts, mainly to let Scharnhorst know about the affairs of the government and military before the war.
"Are the troops all in place?"
"Your Excellency the Governor, please rest assured that our troops arrived at the predetermined assembly points half a month ago!"
Bruneke nodded and asked the government officials on the side: "How's the material raised?
Is the logistics support line unblocked?
” "Your Excellency the Governor, we have concentrated a large amount of logistics in Nashville and other places where the army is concentrated, enough to sustain the army for three months, and in terms of logistics support, the government has mobilized five hundred large freight wagons, and at the same time the roads along the route have been renovated, so that it only takes ten days to reach Nashville from Atlanta to Nashville at the normal speed of these wagons!"
"Good!"
Brunech nodded approvingly, and then he stood up and said to the people in the room: "From now on, the North American states of the great Kingdom of Prussia are immediately in a state of war, and all officers immediately rush to their respective units to launch an offensive on all fronts against Pennsylvania on September 15, according to the plan of the Doge's Palace!"
"Yes, Lord Governor!"
............................................
On September 15, 1794, the Prussian Governorate of North America brazenly sent troops, and the 1st and 3rd Colonial Divisions set out from Nashville under the command of Scharnhorst.
After a long drive into Pennsylvania without any threatening obstacles, the Prussians captured Louisville, the capital of Kentucky, in just half a month.
It was not until October 1, when Washington, who had led a large army to the Harrisburg area to confront the British, learned of the Prussian troops.
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In the Harrisburg area, Washington gathered all the elite of the Continental Army, plus nearly 20,000 black slaves, so that Washington's Continental Army reached 39,000 men.
On the other side of the Continental Army was the 22,000 British army led by Whartonhall.
Harrisburg was now under the control of the British, with 2,000 British troops stationed in the city, and Wharton Hall himself led 20,000 troops under Harrisburg.
"Damn the Prussians, how could they choose to send troops at this time!"
Washington's face was full of anger when he heard the news.
Although the Continental Army has now undergone a major expansion.
However, the total number of troops is less than 60,000.
And after Washington took thirty-nine thousand people, only eleven thousand people remained in the Continental Army, which was actually used for other regions, and among them.
The 4,000-strong northward detachment had been formed by Washington and had rushed to Scranton ahead of Washington, where they would launch an offensive against Connecticut.
Another 3,000 men were formed by Washington to march south, and these 3,000 men were to invade Maryland from Hagerstown.
As a result, the number of troops deployed under the control of the Continental Council is actually only 10,000 men.
Of these, Columbus was stationed at 2,000 men, Pittsburgh with 3,000 men, and the remaining 5,000 were scattered in various cities under the control of the Continental Congress.
Once the Prussian army set foot on the territory of the Continental Parliament, it meant that they had few decent opponents.
This is an extremely dangerous signal for Washington.
Because if the Prussians copied their back route, then the Continental Army led by Washington would be in danger of destruction in an instant.
"The British must be defeated as soon as possible, or else.
If Ohio or Pittsburgh loses, then our previous battles will be ruined!
” Washington made up his mind, and he looked viciously at the British garrison outside Harrisburg.
And unlike the Continental Army, when the British learned of the Prussians' military dispatch.
Almost the entire British garrison turned into a sea of joy.
Brits with a modicum of common sense know it.
The route of the Prussian army was completely towards the back of the Continental Army, which also meant that once Washington was dragged back by the British army and could not return to the army, the Continental Army would not only lose the land it had previously captured, but also face the danger of being caught between the Prussian army and the British army.
But there was one man who was out of step with the atmosphere in the British camp at the moment, and that was the British commander Whartonhall.
It is true that the Prussians sent troops is a good and cannot be better news, but in Whartonhall's opinion.
The Prussians sent troops at this time, and the timing of the selection can be called vicious.
At present, the main forces of the Continental Army have been assembled in the Harrisburg area.
Judging by the speed at which Prussia was marching, it would probably take only twenty days to set foot in the area controlled by the Continental Parliament.
In that case, there is not a lot of time left for Washington.
In other words, if Washington fails to defeat the British army and return to the rescue within a month at the latest, the situation will be turned upside down, and the strategy previously achieved by the Continental Congress will be immediately lost.
To tell the truth, after learning the news of the Prussian troops, the first thought that flashed through Whartonhall's mind was to make peace with the Continental Army, so that the Continental Army could return to the division and the Prussians dog-eat-dog.
But then the idea was abandoned by Whartonhall.
Washington is not a fool, and even if Wharton had sent someone to inform Washington of his idea of reconciliation at this moment, perhaps Washington would not have believed it.
After all, for Washington, the Prussians were enemies, but the British were even more enemies.
If Washington really believed Whartonhall's words and led the army back to the division, who knows whether the British would have pursued the Continental Army in the future, and the Continental Army, which had just incorporated many new recruits, would be defeated by the end of the army.
Therefore, it is okay to make peace with Washington, but it must come up with reasons that convince Washington.
At the moment, it is clear that this reason is missing, because the Prussians sent troops under the banner of the British to put down the rebellion.
"We must let the Continental Army taste the bitterness and let them know that they will not get any bargain in the Harrisburg area, and only then can the Continental Army understand that if they want to preserve their victory, they can only return to the division and fight the Prussians!"
At the military meeting of the British army, Wharton Hall swore frankly to the British officers.
Early September 1794 In the Harrisburg area, the Continental Army and the British fought the largest battle since the start of the war in North America, with a total of more than 60,000 troops on both sides.
Washington ordered his close general Nikolai to lead 5,000 elite soldiers and 10,000 new black soldiers as the vanguard of the whole army to enter the battlefield from the northwest.
Opposite Nikolai was a British army of 4,000 led by the British general Alberta.
Nikolai took advantage of his forces and used his elite soldiers to open a gap in the British line.
He ordered 10,000 poorly equipped black soldiers to go into battle in five groups.
These blacks may be poorly equipped, and even some of them are unclothed, but for these black slaves.
If the Continental Army was defeated, they would be re-enslaved, and it was with this in mind that these black soldiers burst into great prowess.
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This idea had been instilled in the minds of all black soldiers by officers of all levels of the Continental Army before the war.
The black soldiers who joined the battle in five groups flocked to the gap in the British line, and although most of them were armed with rudimentary cold weapons, they were still brave enough to fight the British army with the encouragement of the officers.
After the Alberta division was attracted by black soldiers.
Nikolai quietly pulled out his main forces that had been put on the battlefield before.
All of a sudden, the British army led by Alberta began to shake violently under the fierce attack of these black slaves.
And at this time.
Taking advantage of the fact that Nikolai attracted the attention of the British army, Washington took advantage of the concealment of the Morun Heights occupied by Nikolai to mobilize 3,000 soldiers and concentrate on the right flank of the British army.
At this time, I saw that Alberta's subordinates were shaken across the board.
Whartonhall urgently dispatched 3,000 British soldiers to reinforce Alberta.
And just after Whartonhall sent reinforcements to Alberta.
Washington himself appeared on the battlefield with an army of 20,000 men.
The army led by Washington was inserted into the battlefield from due west, and seeing the arrival of the main force of the Continental Army, Wharton Hall personally led an army of 10,000 to block the front of Washington's army.
As a result, Whartonhauer's home was effectively left with only 3,000 men in reserve.
With the reinforcement of 3,000 British troops, Alberta gradually began to stabilize the situation, after all, although it was caught off guard by those black slaves, the British army was elite after all, and in terms of weapons and equipment.
These British troops had a great advantage.
Seeing that the British troops, who had received reinforcements, were gradually consolidating the front, Nikolai was not in a hurry.
Instead, he immediately ordered his main elite to cut into the battlefield from the gap between Alberta's headquarters and the reinforcements of the British.
More than 4,000 well-equipped Continental Army troops were put into the battlefield, which directly put Alberta's headquarters in danger of being cut off from the waist.
The crisis looms over Alberta.
As a last resort, Alberta again appealed to Whartonhall for help.
At this time, Wharton Hall and the main force of the Continental Army led by Washington himself were in full swing, and although Washington had a great advantage in troops, he still could not bargain in front of the front line composed of elite soldiers of the British army.
The battle went on until four o'clock in the afternoon After Alberta sent six heralds for help, Wharton Hall had no choice but to send 1,500 men from the 3,000 reserves that had been left behind to reinforce Alberta's headquarters.
For Wharton, that's already the limit of what he can do.
On the Albertan side, the British army is actually struggling.
"Let the artillery fire at the gathering point of those one more round!"
"But general, in a day's battle, many artillery pieces have reached their limits, and if there is another round of bombardment, I'm afraid these artillery pieces will be invalidated!"
After seeing through the telescope that the black slaves of the Continental Army were inadvertently squeezed into a low-lying location, Alberta said to the staff officer beside him.
"What nonsense, immediately give the order to open fire, even if the artillery is all invalid, as long as we can bombard the heads of those with dozens of shells, we will win!"
After that, on Alberta's orders, the artillery had to reload the artillery with ammunition.
In fact, as Alberta said, this was indeed the best chance for the British army, after the British new force joined, the black soldiers who had been fighting for at least three hours gradually began to show signs of exhaustion, and under the slow squeeze of the British army, more than 4,000 black soldiers gathered on a piece of land of less than half a hectare.
Alberta's headquarters had more than 30 artillery pieces, and these guns, which opened fire under Alberta's orders, dealt a devastating blow to the morale of the black soldiers belonging to the Continental Army.
After a round of shelling, although 15 of the more than 30 artillery pieces were blown up, and at the same time caused nearly 100 casualties among the British artillery, the results after the shelling were enormous, and the Continental Army, which was suddenly shelled, collapsed for a while.
This scene not only made Alberta's heart happy, but also surprised Nikolai.
"Damn it, don't retreat!
No retreat!
” Nikolai, who was commanding on a high ground, kept waving his saber and yelled at the black soldiers fleeing all over the mountains.
"Your Excellency, it is not easy for these blacks to hold out for such a long time!"
Indeed, as the officer beside Nikolai said, it was not easy for these black slaves to survive a day's battle at the cost of their own heavy casualties, even for most white soldiers.
But in Nikolai's opinion, this is not enough.
However, as he spoke, he saw that the morale of the British army suddenly rose to a new level because of the rout of the black soldiers of the Continental Army, and then these British soldiers launched a counterattack against the Continental Army.
The Continental Army, which had previously been inserted into the British army, also suffered heavy casualties under this counteroffensive for a while.
"Damn, order the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 8th regiments to break through the siege immediately and immediately request reinforcements from His Excellency the Marshal!"
As a last resort, Nikolai could only order the Continental Army, which had been inserted into the British formation, to break through.
At six o'clock in the afternoon, both the Continental Army and the British Army were exhausted, and as a last resort, both sides had to collect their troops and return to their camps.
However, on the entire battlefield, the 3,000 Continental Army, which had already lurked on the right flank of the British army, did not retreat, but quietly lurked.