v3 Chapter 199： General Grant's Highlights

On February 5, 1865, the 70th birthday of the old Dutch queen Anna Pavlovna, all European countries sent congratulations.

In addition to her nephew, the nephew of the Russian Empire, Alexander II, congratulated her in St. Petersburg.

The descendants of her sisters who married to European countries either sent representatives or sent congratulatory letters, etc., and all participated in it.

Among them are the Principality of Hungary to which her eldest sister Alexandra Pavlovna is married, the Principality of Mecklenburg to which her eldest sister Elena Pavlovna is married, and the third sister Maria Pavlovna. The Duchy of Saxony and the fourth sister, Yekaterina Pavlovna, married the Duchy of Oldenburg for the first time and the Duchy of Württemberg for the second time.

The descendants of her sisters are the heirs of the country's successive grand dukes, so among the descendants of Paul I, with the death of the third sister Maria Pavlovna in 1863, she became the only remaining descendant of Czar Paul I. .

It is also the only elder of the heirs of these countries, so they are respected by all countries.

Of course, in addition to them, the royal families of Britain, France, Austria, Prussia, Ottoman, and even southern Italy, Portugal, and Spain all sent congratulatory letters.

The former King of the Netherlands and the current King of Greece, William III, returned to Amsterdam with Queen Sophie, along with Prince Frederick, the third brother of William IV who was taken over to Greece as the Crown Prince (Kare, the second son of William III). Prince Er died young in 1850).

It is precisely because of the departure of William III that William IV now inherits the position of Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Together with the current wife of William IV, Queen Alexandra, a total of six people form the current members of the Dutch royal family.

And as William IV deliberately held the 70th birthday banquet of his grandmother Anna Pavlosuna in Amsterdam, it brought another opportunity to promote relations between the Netherlands and other countries. The displayed royal diplomacy made the status of the Netherlands rise rapidly in Europe, and at the same time, European civilians also discovered the intricate relationship between the Netherlands and other countries for the first time.

The blood of the royal family is always the most concerned about the nationals of all countries. William IV is also facing the worries of the Dutch nationals. After all, there are many members of the royal family in Europe who have no descendants. Not to mention, the two brothers of William I of Prussia. He had no chance to succeed him without descendants.

Queen Victoria's eldest uncle George IV and second uncle William IV, the two kings of the United Kingdom of Britain-Ireland-Hanover, also gave her the opportunity to inherit the British throne because they had no descendants.

Therefore, the blood of William IV really worries the Dutch.

However, with the emergence of a piece of news on February 20, 1865, the people really felt relieved.

Because, more than a year after the royal family finally married William IV, good news came from Queen Alexandra's belly that she was pregnant.

Immediately, the message became the headlines of the Dutch domestic newspapers, the main content of civilian discussions, and even in the Far East and Africa, it was the hottest topic of daily life chat.

William IV was naturally delighted.

This is his bloodline coming to this world, and there has never been a moment like now that he feels that he is now integrated into this world.

Even if she married Alexandra, who was originally the Crown Prince Edward of England, the future Queen of King Edward, even the wedding room, was not so close to this world at this moment.

"It's no wonder that all transmigrants find themselves belonging to this world only when they become fathers."

William IV exclaimed.

But because of this, he is even more hopeful about the future of the Netherlands.

This is what a struggling father should do instead, because, like other fathers, William IV always wants to leave the best for his children, and now he just wants to be in this war-torn world. Their future children will properly build a strong Dutch kingdom where they can live and live.

Perhaps influenced by the news that the child is coming, William IV seems to be no longer conservative in his behavior, and even becomes radical in his urgency.

On February 25, 1865, in the Dutch Parliament attended by William IV, when Prime Minister Tolbeck said that the number of immigrants in the two years before 1864 exceeded 2.4 million in the parliamentary question and answer, William IV interjected, He directly stated that in 1865, 2 million of the Dutch population of 6.5 million would immigrate to the Far East, making the Dutch population there similar to the mainland for the first time.

With this news, the Dutch government has started a new round of immigration planning.

In terms of diplomacy, William IV also began to frequently invite European royal families to the Netherlands for a royal diplomatic strategy, and took the initiative to put forward the Netherlands' friendly attitude towards various countries, which increased the reputation of the Netherlands among the European royal families. The member's trip to the Netherlands made the national pride of the Netherlands to the highest level.

......

During this period, wars in North America continued.

Large and small battles on the main battlefield in the east occur frequently.

On February 15, 1865, the entire Mississippi River valley in the middle was controlled by the fast-rising star general of the North's military, General Grant, who divided the South into two parts, the East and the West, and changed the strategic pattern of the entire North and South.

On February 25, 1865, Grant was appointed by President Lincoln as commander-in-chief of the Army of the Northern United States of America due to his outstanding military exploits. However, in order to balance him, Secretary of State Seward mentioned, and promoted William Sherman as deputy commander-in-chief.

The military of the Commonwealth of Millikin was immediately divided into two major factions, with Eli Hugh. B. Washburn and others supporting Grant Commander and Seward and others supporting the Deputy Commander General William Sherman.

As an excellent leader who is good at grasping the entire war situation, he decided to take into account the overall situation with General William Sherman and jointly formulate a coordinated plan for east-west operations to promote the progress of the war.

On March 1, the two men divided into two groups, each leading an army of 150,000 troops to launch an attack, of which General Grant's main target was Richmond, Virginia, the southern capital.

General William Sherman was in charge of the offensive from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Atlanta, Georgia.

In order to clear the enemy at any cost, Grant first attacked into the wilderness south of the Rappahannock River, and confronted Robert Lee, the commander-in-chief of the Confederate States, for two days and two nights.

Taking full advantage of the familiar terrain, Lee launched a violent attack on Grant there, which prevented a favorable counterattack from Grant, and two days into the battle, Grant's troops suffered heavy losses and more than 19,000 casualties.

This caused Seward's people to launch a public opinion war against Grant in Washington.

It is not easy to maintain it in Walburn and others, but neither Lincoln nor the Congress have dismissed Grant.

Seems like the tide is turning.

Meanwhile, Sherman was not doing well in western Tennessee.

On March 3, the troops under his command launched an attack on Kennesaw Mountain, and encountered a violent counterattack. The canyon crossed the Potomac River, and the march turned only 5 kilometers away from Washington. This surprised Grant and Sherman.

Even Seward and Wolber second, followed Lincoln with a frightening fright.

Especially the two people in front, if the capital of the north is really beaten by the south, it will be a big loss. What about fighting for power?

So this time, both of them chose to cooperate.

Grant and Sherman on the front lines also worked more closely together.

Grant then began to change the battle strategy and turned to attack Robert Lee's southeast flank.

But Robert E. Lee, worthy of being the strongest military general in the history of the United States, figured out Grant's movements, so he immediately turned to the southeast, and quickly established a well-positioned fortification near the Spocilvinia Courthouse.

Grant attacked here for 5 days and 5 nights. Not only did he fail to shake the strong defense line in the south, but he lost more than 20,000 troops.

But still he didn't back down.

At the same time, he ordered Sherman in the east to destroy the south at all costs and reckless consequences. In the order, he was responsible for dragging Robert Lee. Sherman not only destroyed the opponent's army, but also destroyed the opponent's economic foundation and the will to fight the people. .

To this end, Grant sent 30,000 troops to support the other side to achieve this goal.

Therefore, after Sherman scored Atlanta, when Tennessee counterattacked in the south, he did not pursue it, but decided to go from Atlanta to the sea and lead the way to Georgia.

This war not only occupied the other side's territory, but almost destroyed the material resources of the South, and completely weakened the South's war potential in the westkm Under the iron shoes of Sherman's army, plantations, villages and , towns, and even hundreds of miles of railroad, destroying every obstacle along the way, killing a man for every inch of land if necessary, ruthlessly destroying everything we see, according to his later words.

At the same time, Grant in the east also brought a turning point. With the changes in the west, Robert Lee's army was exhausted in the frozen street battles, but Grant was because of Lincoln's unconditional support for the subordinates he had picked up by himself. Therefore, he defied all opposition and provided Grant with sufficient soldiers and weapons and equipment, and even increased the purchase of weapons from the Netherlands and Prussia because the country could not keep up.

With his support, Grant cut off the supply line between the Confederate Army and Richmond by extending the front, and besieged Robert E. Lee's army in the city of Atlanta.

Therefore, this confrontation war ended on April 10, 1865, a month later, and it was finalized as Robert went south with a third of the army after suffering losses.

And Grant also went through this war, and completely established the status of the first person in the northern military.

The momentum was second to none in North America.