Battle of Pittsburgh

From Turtledove

The Battle of Pittsburgh lasted from the fall of 1942 to January of 1943. When Confederate troops, riding the success of Operation Coalscuttle, came into western Pennsylvania, they had high hopes for a decisive victory. However the C.S. Army's attack bogged down in Pittsburgh and both sides engaged in city warfare. C.S. troops under General George Patton were forced to fight from street to street as they slowly advanced.

U.S. troops under Brigadier General Irving Morrell defended their ground valiantly, forcing the Confederates to pay a steep price for each piece of ground they took. In the urban warfare fought in Pittsburgh, the Confederate Army's superiority in automatic weaponry and barrels were negated. Men with Featherston Fizzes were able to destroy new-model Confederate barrels, and Springfields were as good as automatic rifles in this fight. In addition to conventional weapons, poison gas was used frequently by both sides.

Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest III warned President Jake Featherston of the folly of holding Pittsburgh, but Featherston ignored the heavy losses suffered by his troops, and ordered that Pittsburgh would be held at all costs.

With more and more Confederate soldiers tied down in Pittsburgh C.S. lines began to stretch thin elsewhere, requiring the C.S. Army to rely on underarmed Mexican troops to defend their flanks. The Confederates paid for this blunder when U.S. barrels under General Morrell, swept around the Confederate's flank and surrounded the city, trapping the troops inside.

Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest III tried to convince Featherston to order the C.S. the trapped forces to attempt escape, but Featherston would hear none of it, believing that the troops could be supplied by air. After Operation Rosebud it became apparent to the C.S. troops that they would not escape the city, but many men, such as Tom Colleton still took up arms against the U.S. for some time, fighting for their country. Despite his wishes, Confederate General George Patton was evacuated by light plane in late January at Jake Featherston's direct order. Despite their efforts all remaining C.S. troops in the city, most of them trapped in the pockets in the North Side, surrendered on February 2, 1943.