Custer at The Alamo

frlmerrin

Banned
I can see two possibilities:

1. Custer realising that:

a) USA army involvement in the Tejan rebellion against Mexico might bring his country into direct conflict with the Europeans, primarily the British over the issue,

b) that his troops advanced weapons and his officers knowledge of future technology could be of immense value to the USA,

c) that he cannot allow any of his weapons to fall into Mexican hands

accordingly he negotiates the withdrawal of this troops with Santa Anna and withdraws immediately from Mexican territory heading east.
 

frlmerrin

Banned
Alternatively and much more fun in my opinion, 5,000 Lakota warriors most of them carrying repeating carbines and mounted on beautifully chromed easy rider choppers and the Mexican siege train arrive to ensure not only the decisive Mexican victory of OTL but a STYLISH Mexican victory.

PS how about having Santa Anna and the Yellow Rose of Tejas mounted on enormous Tyranosaurus Rex for extra extra cool.
 
One thing to note is what did Santa Ana have as calvery? (sorry spelling...) Custer and calvery could have raided or attacted outside the walls (esp if they were on their way there). If Santa Ana's troops were mostly infantry, such harrasment could be devastating. As the purpose of the alamo defense was to buy time for others to organize, hit and run calvary attacks could aid in that.
This idea assumes that Custer's calvary and supplies is set to arrive before battle, but after the texans have set up the fort.
 

frlmerrin

Banned
The Mexican army had good cavalry at El Alamo. In 1836 most non-Hispanic Tejans did not have horses and walked everywhere and hence were terrified of Mexican horsemen. The 7th cavalry on the otherhand was basically a dragoon unit. They would not do well against the Mexican cavalry even with more modern rifles.
 
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the Mexican cavalry were lancers, and they basically guarded the perimeter around the Alamo. They cut down several Texans who tried to flee into the darkness after the Mexicans broke in, and incurred some losses in the process.
 

frlmerrin

Banned
the Mexican cavalry were lancers, and they basically guarded the perimeter around the Alamo. They cut down several Texans who tried to flee into the darkness after the Mexicans broke in, and incurred some losses in the process.

I think you are partially presenting the newish revisionist version of how the siege ended. That is with a large attempted breakout by the Texians/Tejanos once the perimeter had been breached and the subsequent cutting down of the running men by Mexican lancers. It is suggested that the greater part of the surviving defenders died in this way. I'm not entirely sure I buy into that. One of the reasons I am not sure is the Texians were as I said earlier absolutely terrified of meeting Mexican cavalry on open ground. another is that I have been unable to find out what proportion of the cavalry elements in the battle, that is the Regiment Dolores and part of a garrison regiment were actually lancers. The idea that all/most Mexican cavalry were lancers seems to stem from the earlier valquero practice of carrying a bora spear and the use of this weapon against the aboriginals.

Of course they won't really need the Mexican cavalry. They will parachute an elite unit of Lakota warriors and flamenco dances into the Alamo compound itself. The flamenco dancers will quickly distract Custer's troops with the inate eroticism of their performance
whilst the Lakota all dressed as Father Christmas, Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens to convince the defenders they are eccentric British volunteers and mounted on their huge 'Choppers of War' all chrome and matte black steel eliminate the 7th using repeating rifles and lances taking coup with rolled up copy of Paris Vogue and Hello magazine.

Someone please put this in ASB I want to stop taking it quite so seriously
 
I think you are partially presenting the newish revisionist version of how the siege ended. That is with a large attempted breakout by the Texians/Tejanos once the perimeter had been breached and the subsequent cutting down of the running men by Mexican lancers. It is suggested that the greater part of the surviving defenders died in this way. I'm not entirely sure I buy into that. One of the reasons I am not sure is the Texians were as I said earlier absolutely terrified of meeting Mexican cavalry on open ground. another is that I have been unable to find out what proportion of the cavalry elements in the battle, that is the Regiment Dolores and part of a garrison regiment were actually lancers. The idea that all/most Mexican cavalry were lancers seems to stem from the earlier valquero practice of carrying a bora spear and the use of this weapon against the aboriginals.

no, I don't think that most of the Texans tried to cut and run. But there were some, likely a dozen or so. That is attested to by just about every Mexican officer who wrote a memoir of the battle. They are also widely agreed that most of the Texans died in the buildings on the perimeter of the Alamo; they had fortified a lot of them, and they retreated to them when the Mexicans broke in, fighting (and dying) from room to room. The Mexicans ended up dragging around the Texans' own cannons and blasting the defenders out of the buildings. The Mexican cavalry at the Alamo seemed to have been lancers, and they suffered some casualties in cutting down the men who fled. One officer wrote a pretty clear account of how one lancer died at the hands of a Texan with a shotgun (IIRC) as he tried to charge in to spear him. And there were apparently a few other cavalrymen lost too in the tussle...
 
Guess the MODs are still debating on to move this yet.

I will agree that mostbof the reading I have done mentions at least a few survivors trying to make a break for it and being intercepted by the lancers. If by some whatevers a defender was able to get past the lancers, would the Mythos of the Alamo stay the same?
 
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