Will in New Haven wrote:
> Alistair Davidson wrote:
>
>>The key battle of the American invasion of Cuba during the
>>Spanish-American war was, famously San Juan Ridge.
>>
>>Bryan Perret, in "Impossible Victories" states:
>>"Curiously, Shafter did not ask Sampson to support the attack with naval
>>gunfire; nor did Linares ask Cervera for defensive fire from his
>>cruisers to assist in holding the position. Had either commander done
>>so, the result would almost certainly have been decisive."
>>
>>
>>So, at around 10:00 on the day of the battle, Spanish naval bombardment
>>begins pouring down on the American positions. The gattling battery is
>>wrecked, many men die, and a demoralised American army begins a
>>malaria-ridden retreat across the island, harried by Spanish sharp-shooters.
>
>
> The retreat is covered by the all Black Buffalo Soldier regiments. They
> blunt the Spanish attack with one heroic stand or counter-charge after
> another. Once closely engaged, the Spanish foot loses its naval gunfire
> as Cervera cannot fire into the mixed melee. Meanwhile, Sampson is
> contacted. He is asked to fire on the advancing Spanish line. It is
> rationalized that the Buffalo Soldiers are getting chewed up anyway and
> the fire is for their own good. Almost no one survives the savage
> battle at the point of attack once the naval guns are added to the mix.
>
>
> Late in the day, the over-extended Spanish forces gallantly face a
> counter-attack by the remainder of the U.S. forces, rallied in the
> shelter of the Buffalo Soldier rear guard. TR leads his roughriders,
> perhaps even mounted this time, in the attack.
>
> Upon their return, Roosevelt and his unit recieve the highest awards
> possible. His future is assured. No one remembers the deeds of the
> Black soldiers except a few survivors.
>
> So it goes.
San Juan seems to have been fairly close; the Spanish forces were mostly
in good positions with superior weaponry (apart from the gattlings) but
poorer morale/training.
It's certainly possible to imagine scenarios where the American force is
beaten back and recovers, but I was interested in exploring the
longer-term effects of an American defeat, and Spanish naval bombardment
seems a good way to engineer this.
--
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