US-Mexican War

The Battle of Monterrey

The Battle of Monterrey played a very decisive role in the U .S .-Mexican war . It heralded the defeat of Mexico after many of its soldiers suffered from severe disappointment and disenchantment as a result of their perception that their generals did not possess the will to win in the face of numerical and logistical superiority . This disenchantment took form in numerous mutinies and desertions that followed the Battle of Monterrey (Battle of Monterrey

The three-day Battle of Monterrey which took place from September 21-23 , 1846 was

stacked heavily in favor of the Mexican side whose estimated 10 ,000 soldiers under Lt . General Pedro de Ampudia faced around 6 ,000 Americans under the command of Brig . General Zachary Taylor . In addition to their superiority in number , the Mexican army also enjoyed the advantage of having 32 artillery pieces which supported their infantry and cavalry units , and a very defensible position in the city of Monterrey . All things considered , the chances for an American victory should have been remote (WolfWikis

General Ampudia , who commanded the Mexican forces , had positioned more than 7 ,000 soldiers in very formidable defenses inside the city assigning numerous snipers on top of concrete single-story buildings and the bulk inside the cathedral in the center of the city . In addition to their strong position in the center of the city , there were also several strongholds located in crucial outlying areas which provided additional defenses . For instance , 400 Mexican soldiers were stationed in an unfinished cathedral somewhere north of the city . Another 300 infantry soldiers with several artillery pieces were assigned to protect La Purisima Bridge which was also located north of the city while the northeast defensive position was assigned to 200 troops stationed in an old tannery building . The eastern approach to the city was defended by troops manning a fortification called Fort Diablo while the western side was defended by 250 soldiers and several pieces of artillery stationed in a deserted bishop 's palace built on top of a hill 800 feet high (U .S . Army Center of Military History

For any casual observer , the odds for the Mexicans to win the Battle of Monterrey had been great . The numerically-inferior Americans had the difficult task of attacking the highly fortified city , exposing themselves to heavy enemy fire before even reaching the outskirts of the city , and then engaging the enemies , with their snipers atop the buildings , in a door-to-door and street-to-street fighting in their own backyard . The Mexicans , for their part , defended with their lives and did everything within their knowledge and experience to thwart the enemy advances (U .S . Army Center of Military History

There were even reports that the American troops , once inside the city were effectively pinned down by Mexican fire . Logistics had also been one of their problems . They almost ran out of ammunition . In the midst of the fighting , Lieutenant Ulysses S . Grant even had to ride his way through heavy enemy fire in to...