Holy Roman Empire
Chapter 347: Not The Fault of The War (Bonus Chapter)

Plans can never keep up with rapid changes. The American Civil War, originally thought to end soon, was still in a stalemate by 1864.

Battles involving hundreds of thousands of troops could not be concluded in just a day or two. Neither the North nor the South could afford to lose the war, and the commanders on both sides were experienced and prudent, turning the battle into a war of attrition.

While the Confederate army had slightly stronger combat capabilities, the Union army had greater numbers. Along the frontline spanning over a hundred miles, numerous fierce battles took place resulting in victories and defeats on both sides, making the overall situation evenly matched.

The butterfly effect exerted its powerful force. With assistance from other nations, the Confederacy was strengthened while the Union was weakened, directly reflected on the battlefield.

In New York, President Lincoln was on the verge of collapse as he looked at the requests for reinforcements. It was the nth time they had asked for reinforcements. Since the decisive battle began, he would receive three or four pleas for reinforcements basically every week.

If anyone dares again to suggest using the nation’s strong power to engage in a war of attrition and wear out the rebels, Lincoln will definitely go up and give them a few good slaps.

Industrial advantage? Does the North really still have an industrial advantage, especially with the support of the great powers?

The industrial manufacturing capacity of the Southern rebels is limited. But can’t they simply buy what they need?

The Union could no longer blockade Confederate ports. The two navies had already engaged in numerous fierce battles, but the Union navy still could not achieve victory.

Economic advantages were even more nonsensical. Did they really think the capitalists were all patriots willing to selflessly sacrifice for the nation?

Class interests don’t equate to personal interests; making money comes first. As long as they’re making profits, who cares if the United States splits apart?

“Capital knows no borders” is not a joke but a reality. As long as they make money, even if they leave the United States, they can still live very comfortably.

On the contrary, those who selflessly supported the federal government to win the war, when it came time to divide the spoils: Sorry, this is an era where strength speaks for itself.

Although the Union had a larger economic scale, in reality, the wealth it could mobilize was not much different from that of the Confederacy.

At least the Confederate cotton bonds were more favored in the international capital market than the Union war bonds. Britain, France, Austria, and Spain all accepted many bonds from the Southern government to support them.

But for the Union government, they had to pay either in foreign exchange or gold and silver. Who would recognize the US dollar?

In the end, the tragic discovery was that the real advantage of the Union government was its larger population, allowing them to compete with the Confederate government in terms of manpower.

However, this advantage is not without limitations. With the losses becoming increasingly devastating, public war-weariness began to rise.

Since the beginning of the decisive battle, on average, the Union government’s army loses the equivalent of one regiment’s worth of troops every day on the battlefield, and handling requests for reinforcements from the front lines has become President Lincoln’s daily routine.

President Lincoln, looking weary, asked, “My Secretary of War, please tell me, how much longer will this battle last?”

Secretary of War Simon Cameron pondered for a moment before responding, “I’m sorry, Mr. President, but only God knows the answer to that question. What I do know is that we cannot afford to take risks right now; the federal government cannot afford to lose this battle.”

Secretary of State Seward added, “Then can we at least reduce the casualties? At the current rate of losses, it’s estimated that if we don’t suppress the rebellion soon, the Union will have no future.”

Due to the butterfly effect caused by Franz’s actions, a large quantity of weapons and equipment was sold to both the warring Union and Confederate governments shortly after the outbreak of the war. Both sides were expanding their armies at a rate that exceeded the same period in the original timeline.

Correspondingly, training times for soldiers were drastically reduced. On average, each soldier received less than 40 days of training. At the most critical times, soldiers of the federal government were sent to the battlefield with less than a week of training.

The consequence of this is the casualty situation on both sides, exceeding what was in history for the same period. The loss of a large number of young and able-bodied individuals has already threatened the federal government’s rule.

Secretary of War Simon Cameron explained, “State governments are enlisting criminals, thugs, and numerous colored soldiers to bolster numbers, and we have not objected. The subpar quality of these soldiers inevitably leads to increased casualties, although we have managed to reduce the mortality rate among white soldiers.”

President Lincoln immediately interjected, “Secretary of War, such remarks are unnecessary. They are all federal soldiers; there should be no distinction based on race! Do you understand?”

Some things can be done but not said. Political correctness has become a point of contention even in this era of the United States.

……

In Richmond, Confederate President Jefferson Davis also faced the same problem. The brutal casualties had exhausted the Confederate government.

The scarcity of human resources became the biggest challenge for them. Although labor export companies were active, the cheap laborers from Africa they provided were not readily usable; they required rigorous training to become qualified laborers.

If the Union government were willing to compromise, Davis wouldn’t mind stopping the war immediately. Continuing the conflict with the limited manpower of the Confederate government would make it difficult to contend with the Union.

Of course, they were not afraid of the Union. If it came down to a fight to the bitter end, they believed they could drag the Union down with them. At least they perceived themselves capable of doing so.

In less than four years, the Civil War had reduced America’s total population by five percent despite the influx of large numbers of Asian and Black immigrants.

The Union, spanning the East and West coasts, had the advantage of receiving Asian immigrants, while the Confederacy, due to its geographical position, mainly received African immigrants.

Currently, at least 400,000 active-duty Black soldiers are fighting for the Confederacy, with the total number of Black soldiers killed in action exceeding 250,000.

To incentivize slaveowners to bring their Black slaves to the battlefield, the Confederate government even offered double compensation. Trained Black slaves were seen as excellent cannon fodder, whereas newly arrived Black laborers were often unruly.

To boost the morale of black soldiers, at Robert E. Lee’s insistence, the Confederate government released black slave soldiers from slavery. Huge rewards were also offered, for example: for every two enemy soldiers killed, a black slave, or equivalent wealth, would be rewarded.

A direct consequence of this policy was that hardly any prisoners were taken in the armies composed of Black soldiers.

President Jefferson Davis inquired with concern, “Mr. Lee, have the British agreed to intervene?”

A snake cannot move without a head. As the member exerting the greatest effort in the intervention alliance, Britain was deservedly the leader.

Now that the North and South are in a stalemate, it’s the perfect time for intervention. The intervention of the coalition forces would instantly break the balance of power between the two sides.

Even if just one country intervenes, it could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, disrupting the power balance between the North and South.

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General Robert frowned and said, “The British still seem content to watch us tear each other apart. Anyway, at this stage of the war, there are no winners.

In this decisive battle, our casualties have already reached 380,000, including 110,000 killed. The Union is approaching 600,000 casualties, with at least 180,000 killed.

Even if we win this battle, we won’t have the ability to expand our gains in the short term, and the Union won’t fare much better. Everyone is already reaching their limits.”

Vice President Alexander objected, “That may not necessarily be the case. The greatest impact of the battle lies in the morale of the troops, not just in the number of casualties.

No matter how severe the casualties, as the victor, we will still have several hundred thousand mobile troops. With high morale, we can continue to fight.

At that time, the losers will have no choice but to rely on the intervention forces. Only by intervening in the most critical time can they maximize their benefits.”

This is a fact. A highly motivated army often defeats a much larger but demoralized force. After this major battle, a force of several hundred thousand troops can already influence the outcome of this civil war.

However, this still doesn’t pose a threat to the intervention forces. With two hundred thousand fresh troops joining, they can instantly turn the tide on the battlefield. For greater benefits, the British are naturally willing to wait until the outcome is clear before intervening.

This is the difference between reality and theory. In theory, the Union has a total force of around two million, while the Confederacy has one million. The intervention forces, at only two hundred thousand, would not have much impact.

In reality, total force does not equal the force that can be deployed for combat. States first prioritize their own security rather than committing all their forces to combat.

Secondly, there are combat-ready units. Taking the Northern government as an example, if half of the two million troops are considered main forces, they could crush the South two to three times over.

However, in reality, not even one-tenth of the main force is available. Except for the few hundred thousand relatively capable troops, the rest are an unorganized mob.

You cannot really expect a rookie army of sixteen thousand to split into two waves and train a million elite soldiers in less than four years.

Historically, the outcomes between the North and South were often decided by battles involving tens of thousands of combatants. If both sides had been cautious and unwilling to commit their elite troops in a gamble, such large-scale battles would not have occurred.

After a period of silence, Jefferson Davis spoke, “Secretly contact the Union government and explain the situation to them. If they don’t want the British to take advantage of us all, they should acknowledge our independence and end this war.”

General Robert shook his head and said, “I don’t think there’s much hope. While negotiating privately could minimize losses, the politicians in the Union government cannot afford to take on this responsibility.

I don’t believe they would be willing to stake their own political lives for patriotism, or even face retaliation from the capitalists in the future.”

This is a matter of reality; selfless individuals are always in the minority. In history, after being in a disadvantageous position, didn’t these people from the Confederate government also become traitors for their own interests?

Hoping the Northern politicians would all be selfless patriots was about as likely as winning the lottery.

Under the military intervention of the great powers, causing a split in the federal government, the politicians could still shift the blame.

In this era, the European powers were formidable. Failure was not due to their own incompetence, but to overwhelmingly powerful enemies, it was truly a case of it not being the fault of the war itself.

Footnote: 非战之罪 - It is not the fault of the war itself. Generally used to excuse the failure of the war; Failure is the will of the heavens. It is based on a saying from the Historical Records - Annals of Xiang Yu: “Yet now my soldiers are stuck in this predicament, this is Heaven’s abandonment of me, not the fault of the war/battle.”