"Yellow Fever and the Strategy of the Mexican-American War" Topic

"March 26, 1847 found Major General Winfield Scott in a strangely anxious mood. His army had successfully landed, then invested, the Mexican city of Veracruz. His decision to lay siege to the city -- the most heavily fortified in the Western Hemisphere -- rather than storm it was criticized by some, but the constant American bombardment was starting to have the intended effect. Morale inside the Mexican city was collapsing and it was clearly only a matter of time before the city capitulated.

The cause of Scott's anxiety, in fact, had little to do with the actual military situation. His eye was on the calendar and the steady march of days. Already two months off his original timetable because of incompetence in the War Department, Scott's nerves were on edge because of reports from his medical officers of disease in the ranks. It was this same disease that had dictated the entire strategy and original timing of his assault and now it looked as if every delay would bring it into contact with his forces…"

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Armand

He was a very good strategist but the bureaucracy can screw-up anything.

Thanks.

Armand