6 History and Tactical Maneuvers Class 2 (1/2)
The class wasn't as boring as Thomas remembered it to be. Maybe because he had adjusted his mindset or because he had lived through it all already. In the beginning of the class, Instructor Wilson taught them something they were all vaguely familiar with, the history of the United States. It's inception as an independent power in seventeen seventy six, the formation of it's Continental Army the year before that, and some of the tactics Washington used to route the British.
Of course these were all topics that school vaguely covered, but here they went into much greater detail, they scrutinized it closely. They weren't the most perfect military strategies, but for their time, and considering the arms with which they had, they were ingenious. The strategy was ingenious, but it almost failed because of how challenging it was. It bordered on impossible, Thomas mused.
”Can anyone tell me why Washington crossed the Delaware?” Instructor Wilson asked the class. ”Nobody? Well I guess I am going to have to volunteer one of you.” His gaze lingered around the classroom, it stopped on Thomas, there was something about him. That unnatural calm gaze, as if he was a military veteran of war itself. Of course if Instructor Wilson knew that Thomas died towards the end of WWII and came back to life...well if he had any hair on his, he'd probably tear it all out.
”Recruit Conlin, you've just volunteered yourself,” Wilson smiled to himself, there was no way anyone here knew the answer, or could come up with a plausible one.
”Sir!” Thomas replied smartly, ”General George Washington crossed the Delaware because he wanted to take the isolated fort on the other side and bolster the morale and resolve of the Continental Army against the British and the Loyalists sir!”
”Hmm. Impressive, sit down, that's only half the answer recruit,” Wilson was slightly impressed, ”I didn't expect even that much out of any of you. While it's true that those were things they needed. It was also close to being the worst tactical blunder in the entirety of American military history.”
”First off, while it's true that it was a victory, it was a shallow one that almost failed from it's onset. The plan of attack called for a three pronged attack across the Delaware, with three different forces.”
”Can anyone tell me who the leaders of the three crossings were, and how many troops each of them lead? What about the kinds of arms they were bringing with them? What kinds of ships did they use to cross the Delaware?” Wilson looked over the classroom, he didn't expect anyone to know these. However, he severely underestimated Thomas who had knowledge from a previous life.
”Sir! Recruit Conlin can tell you some of it sir!” Thomas stood up and saluted Wilson. Wilson was intrigued, ”All right recruit, tell us what you know.”
”Sir! The river crossing three force's leaders were General George Washington, Colonel Cadwalader, and General James Ewing! Respectively, they each led a force of twenty four hundred, twelve hundred, and eight hundred troops sir!” Thomas saluted again before sitting back down. That should be enough to stand out a little bit. He didn't want to stand out too much, he wasn't trying to become a tactical genius.
”That's only the half of it recruit! Next time I expect a full and detailed answer!” Wilson snapped at Thomas, but secretly he was pleased that even one of his recruits showed that little bit of knowledge. ”What Recruit Conlin said is correct, these three indeed led the attack on the garrison at Trenton. However, only Washington's force made it across. Due to severe weather and a number of unfavorable weather conditions both General Ewing and Colonel Cadwalader couldn't cross. Even then, Washington almost cancelled the attack.”