Super Chief

Chapter 622: Encirclement

In this era of no telephone and telegraph and no radio, it is very difficult for San Reidge to know information hundreds of kilometers away from him.

   So, he couldn't even think of why General William Howe's troops didn't show up in Albany.

   This military plan was made by General William Howe himself.

   If William Howe’s army was annihilated by the Continental Army, St. Redger would not believe it. General William Howe commanded an army of nearly 20,000 people. If this army was defeated by the Continental Army, then Britain would stop fighting with the United States, and go back to Britain obediently.

   So, St. Redger quickly came to a judgment, that is, General William Howe and his army should be caught by something.

   To be able to become a colonel, St. Redguet is naturally not a vegetarian.

   Compared to the Colonel Alston in the Detroit fortress, St. Redger has been able to fight all the way from the bottom, and the military literacy he should have is not bad at all.

   Therefore, although there is no exact information about William Howe, St. Redige made the decision to move north and support Brigadier General Burgoin in the first place.

   St. Redger knows very well what his mission is, that is, to contain the Continental Army in the west, and eventually cooperate with Brigadier General Burgoin and General William Howe.

   Now that William Howe is nowhere to be seen, St. Redige can only take the initiative to move closer to the Burgoin department. Not to mention that Burgoin's Department is now under the siege of the Continental Army, and the situation is very bad. His West Route Army should support Brigadier General Burgoin.

  The Four Thousand West Route Army, led by St. Redegg, abandoned the Schenectady Fortress, and marched quickly to Saratoga in the northeast direction overnight.

   Maybe it was because of the seven thousand soldiers who held Burgoin head-on, Horatio Gates was very excited.

   As long as he can kill Burgoin's army, then this battle will be his biggest victory since he became the commander of the Continental Army in Northern New York.

   Horatio Gates didn't have the slightest worries about whether he could win the 7,000 people from Burgoyne.

After all, there are as many as 12,000 Continental Army forces here, 12 to 7,000, and coupled with the preparations, Horatio Gates is not worried about whether he can swallow Burgoin’s army in one bite. .

   "Philip, have Arnold's forces cut off Burgoyne's back path?" Horatio Gates asked without looking back while looking at the map.

  Beside him, a major general who was seven or eight years younger than him was also looking at the map. The Continental Army major general was Philip Skyler.

Philip Schuyler pointed to a certain area on the map, then drew a line with his finger and said: "Arnold's troops have arrived at the predetermined position yesterday evening, and his troops have now cut off Burgoin's flight from the north. Route, now Burgoin has been surrounded by us, he can't run."

   Horatio Gates nodded in satisfaction, with a happy smile on his face.

   And after taking a glance, Philip Skyler next to him showed a helpless look on his face.

   Although Skyler is eight years younger than Gates, his qualifications in the Continental Army are higher than Gates. As early as the year before, when the War of Independence broke out in 1775, Skyler was named a major general and became one of only four major generals in the Continental Army at that time. At that time, Horatio Gates next to him was just a brigadier general, and his major general rank was promoted last year.

   Even in the first half of this year, Gates was only Skyler's deputy. As a result, I didn't expect that the Fortress of Tecondroga where Skyler was stationed would be beaten down by Burgoin. Because of the defeat in this battle, Gates was named the Continental Army Commander of Northern New York, and Skyler became Gates' deputy.

   Yes, the Fortress of Tecondroga, which John Burgoin attacked in early July, was taken from Philip Schuyler.

Philip Skyler, who was defeated at the time, fled south with the remnants, and met Major General Horatio Gates and Colonel Benedict Arnold who were going north, and then the three parties formed the main force to block the Burgoyne Department, and Successfully blocked the Burgoyne Department in Saratoga.

In Skyler’s eyes, Horatio Gates’ luck was really good. Not long after he had just become the commander of the Continental Army in Northern New York, he encountered this battle that was almost destined to be a big victory—even if it was Keller didn't think that Burgoin could escape from the encirclement of the Continental Army.

   And once this battle is won, this will greatly enhance Gates' reputation.

In preparation for this battle, Gates brought in Albany and the garrisons in the Schenectady Fortress, plus some guerrillas, gathered more than 12,000 in this small Saratoga area. Thousands of Continental Army soldiers.

   And because of its preparation, the Continental Army also occupied favorable terrain, and surrounded Burgoin's seven thousand soldiers in a small encirclement.

   If there is enough heavy firepower, then the annihilation of the Burgoin Department does not require much consumption. Unfortunately, in order to block the Burgoyne Department, the Continental Army did not carry enough heavy firepower.

   Coupled with those Indian warriors under Burgoin's fear of death, so this battle may take a long time.

   But, this is not a problem. As long as the Burgoin's department can't jump out of the encirclement, then it is almost a certainty to eat this unit.

   William Howe’s main force is in Philadelphia, hundreds of kilometers to the south, and it is absolutely impossible for William Howe to rescue Burgoyne’s department. And the other British army that landed to the west ~ lightnovelpub.net ~ also had the Continental Army on the way against them.

   It can be said that in order to eat the Burgoyne Department, Gates has done his plan to the extreme.

   From Horatio Gates’ eyes, the Burgoin department in front of him is a bear that has fallen into a trap. There is no reinforcement outside, and the internal ammunition is in short supply. Sooner or later, this bear will be killed!

It’s just that Horatio Gates didn’t expect that the British West Route Army that should have been blocked halfway in his eyes had already broken through the ambush, and was now quietly killing the Continental Army in the dark. flank.

   Saratoga is located in a valley and plain about five or six kilometers wide. To the east of Saratoga are Lake Saratoga and the Fish River, and to the east there is the wider Hudson River. To the west of Saratoga, there are the endless tall mountains of the Adirondack Mountains. The highest peak of New York State, Mount Massy, ​​is in this mountain.

   As long as the north and south ends of this valley and plain are blocked, the Burgoin Department will not be able to run.

   This is also the encircled location carefully selected by Horatio Gates.

   But when Horatio Gates thought that the siege was perfect, there was a continuous burst of gunfire in the mountains on the west side.

   The gunshots made Horatio Gates and Philip Skyler's faces changed.

   In order to prevent the Burgoyne department from escaping to the mountainous area to the west, Gates arranged a defensive force composed of more than 1,000 people on the edge of the mountainous area. And this sudden gunshot came from that direction...

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