Lee Attacks NYC

[NapoleonXIV]

At Gettysburg, Ewell takes and fortifies the Little Round Top so Meade can lose more men than Antietam trying to take it. When Lee catches the remainder of Meade's weakened force between Pickett and Stuart the AotP is annihilated

Lee moves unopposed into Chambersburg and contemplates his position. He doesn't want to attack Washington as it is too heavily fortified and Baltimore is strategically weak.

Then he hears about the Draft Riots going on in NYC, the biggest industrial center in the North, and surely full of much needed supplies.

What happens?

 

[Mike Stearns]

This is ASB. Unless Lincoln's generals are spectacularly incompetant, and some of them were, SOMEBODY is bound to in intercept Lee before he gets that far north. Not to mention the fact that taking New York will require a siege and the South doesn't have anything LIKE the resources to mount a siege of New York City.

 

[ironram]

They're not as detailed as possible, but I think one can get the idea. The biggest strategic problem for Lee is, as you can see, that New York City is an island. The Confederacy has no navy, or nothing of any use in the Atlantic. Therefore, attacking an island would not only be next to impossible for Lee's army, but look at the gross mileage Lee would have to cover to even get to the Delaware River. So, to answer your question, Lee could not have attacked New York City, not before becoming so hoplessly encumbered in northern territory that his position is untenable. Even with the AOP destroyed, guerrilla warfare would still be a constaint drain on his army. Even with a navy, there is a thin chance that he would be able to take it and hold it.




No, Lee would not be able to take New York City. A Confederate victory at Gettysburg would not have opened up as many strategic opportunities as it is thought. Even if by some godsend that Lee destroys the entire AOP, which is highly unlikely, then he still can't take Washington. The fortifications are too strong, the environs too well-defended--it is a terrible city to try and reduce. Now, don't let me appear like I think that the Confederate situation after destroying the AOP is entirely hopeless, because it isn't. Still, they're going to have a hard time.
And they won't, can't, not unless ASBs intervene, take New York City. Period.

 

[Mike Stearns]

And they won't, can't, not unless ASBs intervene, take New York City. Period.

Yep. It simply can't be done.

 

[Guildencrantz]

even if it did, remember the draft riots? the pissed of irish gangs would join the conferderates, and shoot the feds in the back. but the south had no such resources, unless thy invaded mexico, made peace w/ the usa, and fucused thier attentions to central america, they might cause a second civilwar, and pwn the us.

 

[Max Sinister]

Why should the Irish join the Confeds? They rioted because they didn't want to go to war, right?

And I third that the concept is close to ASB.

 

[Derek Jackson]

I also wonder whether the City being threatened by the enemy might possibly push New Yorkers towards the Federal government.

 

[Solomaxwell6]

but the south had no such resources, unless thy invaded mexico, made peace w/ the usa, and fucused thier attentions to central america, they might cause a second civilwar, and pwn the us.

First of all, let me just say... It wouldn't be a Civil War if it were two soveriegn nations going at it. Just sayin'. ;-)

Second of all, no way in hell they'd conquer Central America. The US as a whole couldn't do it... If you take out the population and industry of the north, the CSA has no way of creating an army powerful enough to conquer that whole territory, unless it's over a huge span of time (and I don't just mean a decade or two). Over enough time, either the two countries would have another war (with the US throwing all of its effort into it, allying with with the remaining Latin American countries, or the huge amounts of geurillas that would pop up in occupied territory), or tensions would have cooled, and they'd be pretty neutral towards each other.

Third of all, the CSA attacking Mexico at the time would be a BAD idea, and there was no way it could've gotten a good enough Navy together to hop the Gulf and attack Central America proper. France was busy setting up a puppet government in Mexico. If the Rebs attacked France's new little buddy, they'd get one of their few possible European allies pissed. With France against the CSA, the new nation would be screwed.

And you're assuming the US would be idle throughout all this. If its blood enemy-turned-rival somehow managed to supercharge its industry, conquer Central America, pacify all of the many, many geurillas that would pop up in what is, if I remember my geography correctly, great geurilla territory, I doubt the US would just sit back without trying to expand or build up its industry. We might not have as much room to expand as the CS, but we have a huge head start industrially, and a huge territory with plenty of natural resources.