United States Army

From Turtledove

The United States Army is the ground defence force of the United States.

[edit] United States Army in Southern Victory

[edit] 1861-1914

The American Army failed to cover itself with glory during the latter half of the 19th Century; losing both the War of Secession and the Second Mexican War to the breakaway Confederate States and its European allies. Its defeat in both conflicts was a combination of overstretch (due to the lack of prewar preparations) and the incompetance of its generals. With a lack of prepared plans, the general strategy of the US Army in both wars was to overwhelm the Confederate States with sheer numbers. Unfortunately, when facing the likes of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jeb Stuart, sheer numbers were not enough. The superior numbers of the US Army were squandered in fruitless actions.

In addition, the US Army suffered from morale problems, especially after the stunning defeat at Camp Hill. When the common soldier felt that his leaders did not have his best interests in mind, the common soldier fought poorly. In all probability, desertions were high in the Army of the Potomac after Camp Hill, which led to the conquest of Philadelphia.

[edit] The Great War (1914-17)

The US Army's Eagle with Crossed Swords device, used to identify all vehicles and aircraft

After its defeat in 1881, the United States sought to learn new lessons from the forces of Germany, who had been victorious during the Franco-Prussian War. They adopted the German field-grey uniform, recoloring it green-grey, along with German standards of discipline. By the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, the US Army consisted of a massive force of regular soldiers. In addition, when the Great War broke out, there were large numbers of trained soldiers that were recalled thanks to conscription. Conscription enabled the United States to draw on their larger population and easily sustain a two-front war against the CSA and Canada. Despite the heavy losses suffered due to the nature of trench warfare and the cavalier attitude of certain generals, the US Army was able to retake ground lost early in the war, drive the Confederates from Kentucky, Houston and some border chunks, and seize the vital areas of Canada. By the end of the war in 1917, the US Army was the unchallenged military force in North America.

During the war US soldiers wore green-gray uniforms based on the German feldgrau model, and adopted 'coalscuttle' helmets during 1915. The bolt-action M1903 Springfield rifle was the standard personal weapon, with flamethrowers, hand grenades, light machine guns, poison gas, and barrels being introduced during the war. In addition, the US Army had an advantage in heavy artillery, which was somewhat offset by the fast-firing "French 75" howitzer used by the CSA.

[edit] The Interwar Years (1918-41)

The Socialist presidencies of the 1920s saw the US Army gutted by funding cuts, barely leaving enough men to garrison Utah and Canada and patrol the CS border. Research and development into barrels was slashed, to the point where US barrel forces lost any possible leads over their CS counterparts.

The Pacific War and the presidency of Herbert Hoover saw some funding restored to the armed forces. With Jake Featherston preaching fire and hate in the CS, Al Smith continued to quietly prepare the US Army for a new war, including the much-delayed mass production of Mk II barrels. Alas, US strategy lagged behind technology, and the General Staff believed that the new war would be a repeat of the last.

[edit] The Second Great War (1941-44)

From the opening shots of Operation Blackbeard, the US Army was caught badly out of position, and its CS counterparts easily cut through to Lake Erie during the summer of 1941. America's abysmal record was not improved during the autumn and following spring, when General Daniel MacArthur's stubborn frontal assaults in northern Virginia resulted in massive casualties for paltry gains. As if this wasn't enough, Utah erupted in violence following the success of Blackbeard, diverting more US soldiers to the west.

The litany of US defeats continued into the summer of 1942, when Operation Coalscuttle saw Confederate troops reach Pittsburgh and the Canadians joined Utah in revolt. Thereafter the Americans displayed much-improved performance, cutting off the CS spearhead in Pittsburgh and grinding it into dust. At the same time, the growing US Army mounted attacks into Arkansas and west Texas, while keeping the pressure up in north Virginia. Individually, these offensives accomplished little; together they tied down possible CS reinforcements.

During 1943 US soldiers cleaned up the final CS pockets in Pittsburgh, forced a cease-fire in Utah, and contained the Canadian rebellion. Not only did they drive the Confederates from Ohio, but they succeeded, in a mere six months, in taking Kentucky, Houston and Tennessee. By the end of year, the Americans were poised to strike at Georgia.

During this war the American uniform and small arms were unchanged from the last conflict; the Springfield proved an inferior weapon to the submachine guns and automatic rifles of Confederacy. Because of the War Department's tardiness in manufacturing automatic weapons for its own soldiers, US troops took to wielding captured Confederate automatic weapons. later in the war US soldiers began to receive the M1 Thompson submachine gun "big, brutal, and Made in the USA," sometime in late 1943.

Artillery remained mostly unchanged, with 105mm howitzers replacing the lower-caliber 75mm howitzers that had been standard divisional field artillery during the last war. In addition, the superiority in heavy artillery probably continued during the Second Great War.

American barrel crews proved the equal of their CS counterparts, despite their inferior barrels. When provided with barrels (upgraded Mark II's) that were a match for those used by the Confederate Army, they proved to be formidable foes. In 1943, the new Mark III barrel began to be distributed to front-line barrel units in time for the drive to Atlanta. The Mark III was superior to any Confederate barrel, giving US Barrel forces a distinct advantage. This was seen in the fighting for Kentucky and Tennessee.

In 1944, the US Army effectively dominated the Confederate States, driving deeply into CS territory and crush opposition. With the deployment of superbombs by both sides and the deathe of Jake Featherston, the CS was defeated, and occupied in its entirety by the US Army.

[edit] United States Army in Worldwar

The United States Army was surprised by the Race's invasion in 1942. Prior to the invasion, the US Army had been building up for the fight overseas.

In addition to the standard infantry, armored, and artillery units, the US Army also fielded mounted cavalry units.

Standard infantry weapons of the US Army consisted of the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, M1 Carbine, Thompson submachine gun, BAR, M1919 .30 caliber machine gun's, and the Browning M2HB heavy machine gun.

Armor of the US Army consisted of M3 Stuart light tanks, along with M3 Lee and M4 Sherman medium tanks. While all human produced armor was grossly outclassed by the Race's armor, the US Army's was one of those especially outclassed, though superior to British and Japanese armor.