Second Mexican War

 The Second Mexican War was a conflict fought from 1881 to April 22, 1882. It was fought between the United States on one side and an alliance of the Confederate States, Britain and France on the other. The war began when hard-line Republican U.S. President James G. Blaine declared war on the C.S.A to prevent its purchase of the states of Sonora and Chihuahua from Mexico. Unfortunately, the US Army was completely unprepared after years of neglect and poor organisation. Hampered too by poor leadership, the US was defeated on all but one front. Blockaded by sea with no victories on land, the USA was forced to surrender, losing a chunk on northern Maine. This second humiliation finally rammed home to the people of the US that they needed European allies, for which the US had stead fastly avoided. It also lead to the emergence of the Remembrance period.

Background
A generation after the War of Secession ended, the Democrats, who had mainly walked softly around the CSA were finally voted out of office by a fed up public who voted back in the Republicans under the leadership of James G Blane. Blane had run mostly on a hard line platform towards the CSA which by now appealed to the people of the USA.

To the south, the Empire of Mexico was bankrupt, and desperately needed money to pay it's creditors. The solution presented it's self when the CSA opted to buy the provinces of Sonora and Chihuahua from the Mexicans three million dollars. Realising that this would give the Confederates a Pacific port, President Blane threatened war if the sale went ahead.

In the CSA, President Longstreet knew that a quick, decisive war along with intervention from England and France was the CSA's only hope as he knew a grapple with the USA would end only in defeat for the Confederacy. England on the other hand didn't want anything to do with the CSA unless they agree to manumit their slaves, while France refused to do anything without England. He agreed to their demands, and all slaves within the CSA would be manumitted one year after the end of hostilities. With backing from both countries, Longstreet went ahead with the sale.

CS forces moved into the newly purchased provenances and Blane issued an ultimatum. Withdraw or face war. CS forces in the provenances refused to budge and when the deadline passed, Blane asked for and received a deceleration of war from Congress.

The War Begins
The US Army, under the leadership of Major General William Rosecrans had no clear goal in fighting the war, just to pull at the CSA where ever it could and let the shear numbers of men win the war for them. Rosecrans also had no military plans for dealing with England and Canada to the north, under the belief that England wouldn't support a slave nation and the CSA wouldn't let their slaves go that easily.

The CS Army, under the leaderships of General Thomas Jackson preferred the hit hard and fast, however he was restrained in his actions by President Longstreet. Longstreet wanted to present to the world that the CSA was a smaller nation defending it's self from a larger aggressor. Although Jackson hated this, he planed for such a campaign anyway.

Confederate Front

Kansas
The US landed the first blow with a raid into Indian Territory by Colonel George Armstrong Custer. Armed with the latest weapon of war, the Gatling Gun, he loured first a war band of Kiowas and then a party of Confederate cavalry into an ambush, decimating both groups.

In retaliation, the Indians and CS Cavalry launched continuous raiding parties into Kansas for the remainder of the war.

Virginia
The first major fight of the war occurred in Northern Virginia, where the Army of the Potomac clashed with the Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General Jackson at the Battle of Winchester. Here he routed the US Army and chased them back across the river. As he made ready to attack Harpers Ferry, he was stopped by Longstreet, who wanted to present the CSA as defending it's self. The Army of Northern Virginia would remain camped along the Potomac for the rest of the war, until the case fire dragged on too long that Jackson threatened to march into Maryland.

Kentucky
It was in Kentucky the major campaign of the war was fought on the banks of the Ohio. The U.S. Army, under General Orlando Wilcox tried to cross into the Confederate state of Kentucky and capture the city of Louisville, with an eye towards returning the state to the U.S. The C.S.A., under their own General-in-Chief Thomas Jackson, was able to establish excellent defensive positions, resulting in the Siege of Louisville. The formidable Confederate defenses forced Wilcox's troops to advance incrementally at best, with each move paid for in blood.

The front remained the centre point of the war until the case-fire was called. In spite of Jackson's demands, US Forces remained encamped inside Louisville until the surrender when they finally left.

Arkansas Arkansas was only a minor front compared with the others. Here, the US Army crossed the border and captured the town of Pocahontas. However, due to more pressing concerns in Kentucky, this front didn't advance any further. Due to this being the only victory the US Army had, it was loudly trumped by the War Department.

New Mexico Territory
In the southwestern desert of the New Mexico Territory, the Trans-Mississippi Department under General Jeb Stuart led the Confederates only offensive operation against US territory. Although Stuart was aware of Longstreet's defensive strategy, he believed that the best way to defend the new territories was to make the Yankees defend their own. Although communications from Richmond were sketchy at best, Stuart herd no word of reproof from the War Department in regards to his plans, so he marched into New Mexico Territory as soon as the decleration of war reached him.

The campaign got off to a promising start when he manged to haox the US commander at Contention City, which impressed the Apaches under Geronimo, leading to an alliance between the two forces. After this, they successfully lured US Forces into an ambush at the Battle of the Canyon before fighting the Battle of Tombstone. Now having cleared the territory of all US Forces, they returned to CS territory where they despatched US Raiders with the newly formed Fifth Cavalry, now being called the Fifth Camelry. With no more oposition left, the New Mexico front remained quite, until tensions between the Apaches and the CSA's new Hispanic subjects led to a vicious war between the Apaches and the CSA. Stuart himself was a casualty of this conflict.

Utah
Not entirely satisfied with US rule, the Mormons of Utah rebelled against the USA. The uprising itself was actually quite limited in its scope. Aside from cutting off telegraph and railroad lines from Utah to the rest of the U.S., the Mormons took very little direct action against the United States. General John Pope took control of the state quickly. He and his successer, Colonel George Custer ruled the state with an iron fist. Custer in particular proved quite ruthless, killing many suspected polygamists, leaving behind an angry Mormon population, determined to gain independence.

Maine
In the north, the front did not remain quite for long. In order to force Blane to quite the war, a combined British and Canadian Army invaded Maine. This invasion had two purposes. To humiliate Blane, who's home state was Maine, and to finally settle the US Canadian border which the British had never been satisfied with. This invasion was a success and the border was redrawn after the war.

Montana Territory
The only military success the U.S. had was in Montana. Here, cowboy Theodore Roosevelt and his Unauthorized Regiment joined George Armstrong Custer in fending off an attack from Canada led by British general Charles George Gordon. Here, despite Custer's efforts to abandon them, Roosevelt successfully used gatling guns to beat the British back at the Battle of the Teton River. As a result of this battle, Custer and Roosevelt became heroes of the war, prominent national figures, and rivals for the remainder of their lives.

War at Sea
The war at sea was a minor affair, due to the small size of the US Navy. Although the CS Navy took to sea, the majority of naval clashes occurred between the US Navy and the Royal Navy.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The Royal Navy blockaded both coastlines of the US, and bombarded the cities of Rochester, Cleveland and Buffalo along the Great Lakes. As the war continued on, the Royal Navy then bombarded New York and Boston on the East coast while also attacking Seattle on the West Coast. The attack on San Francisco was accompanied by a raid of Royal Marines on the San Francisco mint. This raid proved successful while the commander of San Francisco, Colonel William Sherman, proved helpless to stop it. The French Navy also played a minor part in the war, sending their ships up from Mexico to bombard Los Angeles.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">After these attacks, what little remained of the US Navy was confined to their ports as the ships of both England and France now lay at anchor outside all major port cities of the US.

Cease Fire and Surrender
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">As 1881 drew to a close, the war for the US was going badly, with defeats on all but one front and forces closing in from all sides. US commanders seemed to have little in the way of strategies while their Confederate counterparts were beating them at every turn. General and Chief of US Forces Rosecrans became increasingly reclusive and even openly critical of US President Blane, often refusing to talk to the President by blaming bad telephone communications.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">After Jackson launched his counter attack in Kentucky that destroyed the US salient there, Blane asked for a cease fire along all fronts. The President was hesitant to surrender as he realised he would be condemned for losing the war, and he didn't want to lose the northern part of his home state of Maine. But sadly, he too saw the writing on the wall, and as the months dragged on, the Republicans split with a faction joining the Socialists, and started turning on the pressure to end the war with public demonstrations.

<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Finally fed up, CS minister to the USA, Judah P. Benjamin along with General Jackson threatened a renewal of the war again, this time, the Army of Northern Virginia would invade Maryland. Faced with no way out, Blane agreed.

Long term effect
Even up until the end of the Second Mexican War, the leaders of the United States stubbornly heeded George Washington's farewell address warning against "entangling European alliances." After the Second Mexican War, frustrated German observers pointed out to President Blaine that the Confederate States had decisively beaten the United States in two major wars specifically because the Confederacy had allied with Britain and France. Faced with the humiliating defeat of the Second Mexican War, the message finally got through to the United States' leaders that the USA needed a counterbalance to the CSA's allies. To that end, the formed an alliance with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, which would become the Central Powers.

The Confederacy continued its alliance with Britain and France. The price for this was manumission of the slaves. Out of this amendment to the Confederate Constitution, and the admittance of the new states of Chihuahua and Sonora, the Confederacy developed political parties, the Whigs and Radical Liberals. Unfortunately, the Confederate victory would also lead to the CSA becoming complacent about future conflict with the USA.

In the United States, mandatory military service was introduced, as was rationing. April 22 was designated Remembrance Day in honor of the country's defeat in two wars. The Statue of Remembrance, a woman with a sword, was erected in New York harbor. The Republicans became a regional party as about one-third of their support went with Abraham Lincoln into the Socialist Party and another third went to the Democratic Party. By 1914, the Socialists would eventually replace the Republicans (who faded into obscurity) as the second-rank party in the United States.

In Germany, Alfred von Schlieffen developed the Schleiffen Plan based on his studies of Robert E. Lee's victory at Camp Hill. The plan was employed in the Great War, which the Central Powers eventually won.