General Winfield Scott was born on June 13 th , 1786 in Petersburg, Virginia. Scott was commissioned as captain in the year 1808 and fought on the Niagara frontier in the War of 1812. By the end of the war he had attained the rank of major general. After the election of James K. Polk in 1844, the United States Army was placed out strategically along the Rio Grande so as to defend (Texas Maslowski, P., & Feis, W. B., 2012). The president ran for the presidential position with the main agenda of territorial expansion. The president tried the initial plan of engaging the Mexican government into a peaceful treaty but it did not work.
Even though the Mexican nation had just attained their independence, they did not have a well-established government. After the failure of General Zachary Taylor, the president decided to put General Scott in charge of the whole operation. General Scott had a good knowledge over the Mexican nation and knew all the issues they were faced with in their daily lives. The general used the approach of making peace with the local people and bringing back order to the parts that were close to the open waters. Then he kept on invading the interior areas through strategic means of winning over the locals and showing the good intentions that he had and finally he pulled out one of the most creative moves that helped him capture Mexico City.
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The act of General Scott choosing Vera Cruz as the entry point was essential since it enabled the U.S army get their entry into the country without much hindrance. He chose the city since it would enable him keep up the communication line from the point of entry to the Mexican City and also to keep up the supply for his army while invading the hostile nation. The General knew that they had few soldiers than required; he came up with the measures to empower the locals and ensured that the soldiers gave all the leaders respect and showed the good will they had.
While all this was happening the army kept on putting more pressure on the Mexican government so as to enable the U.S government get the land under peaceful treaty. When the army reached the Mexican City, General Scott knew that he had a smaller number compared to the Mexican rebels, he deployed a group of his soldiers to the southern part and the south-eastern part of the city. This was to act as destruction to the rebels as the remaining part of the army climbed the wall into the city from the opposite side. This move caused the rebels to flee from the city which in turn led to the victory of the army.
Most historians and army men have studied Scott’s campaign and have categorized it as one of the most successful invasions in the United States army. This is shown through his strategic and operational tactics that he used to capture the Mexican Nation. Even though he had a small troop for the whole campaign, he managed to attain his goal even though he did not have the full resources required for the campaign (Army War Coll Strategic Study Studies Inst Carlisle Barracks Pa, &Gray, 2006). This can be applied by today’s army in countries like Iraq whereby the army ensures that they get to engage the locals and ensure that there is peace and the rebels are dealt with without increasing the number of casualties of the war.
In conclusion, General Scott conducted the campaign along three lines of effort that proved fruitful at the end. Firstly, he wanted to defeat the Mexican army while marching into the Mexican City. Secondly, he ensured that that he sustains the army. Finally, to protect the force from attacks from the locals, from diseases and also from the Mexican Army. This was done strategically and with a lot of plan put in place to enable the army attain its goal. General Scott knew how to integrate all the knowledge he had on war and how to deal with different groups of people thus this helped him win the war and conquer the Mexican army.
References
Army War Coll Strategic Study Studies Inst Carlisle Barracks Pa, &Gray, C. (2006). Irregular Enemies and the Essence of Strategy: Can the American Way of War Adopt?
Millett, A. R., Maslowski, P., & Feis, W. B. (2012). For The Common Defense: A Military History Of The United States From1607 To 2012 (3rd ed.). New York: Free Press.
