**Chapter 69**
**Conquering the Comanches (3)**
Chihuahua was one of the northernmost states in Mexico, or rather, the Mexico that lost its northern territory in my previous life, and it bordered Comancheria, the territory of the Comanches.
It was about 1,500 km from Mexico City, but luckily, I could take the train to Victoria de Durango, a stopover on the railroad that was extending to California.
‘I could skip marching 1,000 km.’
I arrived in Victoria de Durango in two days by train, covering 1,000 km, and after marching for about a month, I reached the town of Janos. It was the northernmost part of Chihuahua and a place where the Comanche tribe often came to raid.
Janos, a fairly large town that would soon be called a city, was filled with buildings made of adobe (mud bricks) with low floors, and only the church was built in a Baroque architectural style, but the recently built buildings were different.
‘There are buildings built similar to the urban houses in Morelia.’
They weren’t built by our company. Someone had bought cement and built them similarly.
My curiosity was short-lived, and I immediately started preparing for war.
There was no need for an operational meeting because we had already decided on everything and made detailed plans in Mexico City.
‘It wasn’t easy to make them understand.’
It was a task in itself to make the officers understand my plan during the five months we spent preparing troops and resources. Since I was the commander, they would obey orders, but they needed to understand this operation in detail.
“Your Majesty, we’ll start immediately.”
The major said.
“Begin.”
The soldiers, divided left and right, set off.
“Be careful with it, it’s expensive!”
The officer shouted, and the soldiers began laying the telegraph wires.
“Once it reaches the next town, let’s test it.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
I wasn’t too worried because we had already tested it dozens of times in Mexico City.
The major standing next to me said,
“It’s an incredible invention. I really want to prove it by making this operation a success.”
The major was already fascinated by the power of the telegraph.
“You want to introduce it formally into the Mexican Empire army, don’t you?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. With this, the enemy will think Napoleon is in our army.”
“Napoleon? …Ah, I see.”
Napoleon Bonaparte.
He was one of the greatest military commanders in history, who won several victories against European coalition forces despite the chaotic state of France after the French Revolution.
The French and allied forces were significantly outnumbered by the European coalition forces, yet they won several victories.
If you added up the size of his enemy nations, England, Austria, Prussia, Russia, Sweden, etc., they would be several times the size of France.
‘It’s true if you look at it in terms of war units, but it’s wrong if you look at it in terms of battle units.’
He actually had a numerical advantage in most battles, or at least fought on a similar scale. The reason he could do that despite being outnumbered was because of his army’s superior intelligence gathering and marching abilities.
Like most commanders who made their names in history, he knew the importance of information. His systematically and meticulously operated scouts gave him an information advantage, and based on that information, he emphasized maneuver warfare to fight in advantageous battlefields.
‘He offered a reward for food preservation methods, which led to the invention of canned food, which is an anecdote that shows how much he valued marching ability.’
The major was saying that with the electric telegraph, they would have an overwhelming speed of information transmission, and fast information transmission meant fast decision-making and rapid troop movement.
“Wow, you understood that right away. Hahaha.”
The major laughed in admiration when I understood immediately.
The telegraph I prepared to deal with the Comanche tribe would connect the towns that were often targets of raids, which were located near their territory, in a U-shape. It would completely block the Mexican side of Comancheria.
‘I invested 100,000 pesos of my own money for this.’
The price of the telegraph wire, which I had worked on with Francis to reduce costs and improve efficiency, was 50 pesos per kilometer. I had built a total of 2,000 km worth.
“Your Majesty, the telegraph wire has been connected to Ascensión, the next town.”
“Oh, that’s faster than I expected. Let’s test it right away.”
We decided to send a predetermined message from the other side to this side.
While I watched, the telegraph operator, with a serious expression, turned the handle of the telegraph on the desk and sent the message.
Short and long beeps sounded in succession, and the soldier recorded them on paper.
The result was ‘- .-. .- -- .--. .-’.
The telegraph operator deciphered it.
‘trampa (trap).’
“It was transmitted normally, Your Majesty.”
“Good, send a message confirming that we received it.”
The telegraph, which would soon be put into practical use in the US and England, was one-way, but we had already improved the early version to make it two-way.
It was the result of my engineering ideas, even though it wasn’t my field.
‘I struggled a lot to make this, returning to my role as an engineer.’
Fortunately, we succeeded in development on time. If this had failed, the number of telegraphs would have doubled, the length of the telegraph wire would have doubled, and the cost would have doubled. That’s 200,000 pesos.
‘But if we don’t use the telegraph, it’s impossible to realize my plan.’
Dealing with the Comanche tribe is not easy.
It’s much more difficult to deal with 10,000 cavalrymen who are skilled in guerrilla tactics and have excellent horsemanship skills honed from childhood than the Spanish expeditionary force I faced before. That’s why even Mexico and the US in the original history couldn’t hold them for so long.
First, we can’t just drive the army into Comancheria and attack. It’s because even their children and women are skilled in horsemanship, so we wouldn’t have an advantage in a race against time.
‘If our supply lines start to lag and our army starts to tire, it’ll be a quagmire.’
Our supply lines will start to be eaten away, and they’ll relentlessly harass the rear of our tired army. In the end, we’ll just waste soldiers’ lives and supplies and return.
We can’t just charge into an attack when we know how it’s going to end.
Our army carried out our plan step by step.
***
Potsnakwahipu, who led a band of the Comanche tribe, preferred villages with weak defenses, even if there was less to loot.
“You say the Janos people’s defenses have weakened?”
“Yes, I saw one guy riding around on horseback, but he ran away immediately, and the town’s border guards and garrison are actually smaller than before.”
“I guess it’s time for them to taste defeat. Prepare.”
At dawn, the Comanche warriors galloped through the forest with fierce eyes. Puhiwiksu and Suu led the warriors. The forest shadows perfectly concealed them.
They moved quickly and silently through the forest, and when they crossed the river stones, they naturally adjusted their breathing. Their understanding of the terrain was a powerful weapon.
They approached the town at dawn.
Puhiwiksu and Suu led 1,000 warriors and quietly arrived at the outskirts of the town. The warriors held their breath and observed the situation in the town.
“There aren’t many guards. It’s a good opportunity for us,”
One warrior whispered. The guards, illuminated by the moonlight, were asleep.
The Comanche warriors slowly approached the town with tension. Their movements were cautious and agile.
As Potsnakwahipu and the front line entered the town, they saw an empty street, as it was dawn.
“Enter quietly.”
The sound of quiet hooves followed, and all 1,000 warriors entered the town. It had been a long time since they had easily entered without being detected.
Then it happened.
“Fire!”
Boom boom boom!
The sight created by just three cannons was horrific.
Horses and people were crushed together, creating a path of blood and flesh. They must have aimed for the middle to inflict as much damage as possible, because Potsnakwahipu, at the very front, was safe.
He felt his mind go blank for a moment, but his decades of battlefield experience didn’t disappear.
“It’s a trap! Scatter!”
At Potsnakwahipu’s lightning-fast shout, the warriors instinctively began to scatter.
The Mexican Empire soldiers, as if they wouldn’t let them go easily, started firing.
Bang!… Bang bang bang bang bang!!
Neigh neigh neigh-
“Aaargh!”
The Comanche warriors scattered and engaged in mobile warfare, using the narrow alleys and buildings of the town. Their horsemanship and mounted archery were almost magical, as they dodged the obstacles scattered throughout the alleys of the town and turned their waists to shoot arrows.
“Fire!”
Puhiwiksu and Suu commanded. The arrows found their targets accurately.
Ping!… Ack!
Potsnakwahipu also shot an arrow, killing one soldier. The warriors were startled, but they continued fighting, not being wiped out helplessly, but the problem was the number of defenders.
“The front is guarded!”
“Damn it! Left!”
It was understandable that they reacted quickly because they had fallen into a trap, but the number of troops seemed to be two or three times their usual number. As the warriors started to die helplessly, Potsnakwahipu gave the order to retreat.
“Everyone, get out!”
His order echoed across the battlefield. Nearby warriors relayed the order.
“Get out!”
The warriors began to break through the encirclement and escape. Their movements were fast and precise. They escaped the town, dodging enemy attacks and rescuing their comrades.
“That way!”
One warrior guided them. Their survival instincts and superior horsemanship allowed them to evade and break through the Mexican Empire soldiers’ encirclement, which had blocked them on all sides.
But the Comanche warriors’ nightmare wasn’t over yet. They heard the sound of horses’ hooves nearby.
It was dark, and there were other comrades escaping the town, so they didn’t think much of it at first, but something was different.
Thump thump thump thump-
This wasn’t the sound of the warriors’ hooves escaping the town. This sound, and its resonance, was that of a cavalry of at least hundreds.
“Wait, something’s wrong.”
There was only one group in this area that could operate a cavalry of this size, the Comanches. But there was a rule among the Comanche tribes’ bands that they wouldn’t overlap their raiding locations, so it couldn’t be another band.
“It’s the Mexicans!”
“Damn it. They brought cavalry?”
The warriors, who had barely escaped the town and had taken a moment to catch their breath, started running again. There was no time to wait for other comrades.
The Mexican Empire cavalry began to chase them, firing revolvers.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The chase began under the bright moonlight.
“Those guys have repeating pistols, be careful!”
The Comanche warriors, who had reached the edge of the forest in the midst of the hellish chase, entered the forest without hesitation.
“This far!”
The cavalry commander commanded.
The Mexican Empire cavalry withdrew after inflicting a moderate amount of damage. They didn’t pursue them more than necessary. It was a strategic decision.
Only half of the 1,000 warriors who had gone out to raid survived.
The raiding economy and the buffalo herds are the two pillars that support the Comanche tribe.
They had experienced losses among their warriors due to the increased number of defenders recently, but this was the first time they had failed to raid at all and lost half of their warriors.
It was the beginning of their downfall.