MovieChat Forums > Cold Mountain (2003) Discussion > If the Union's tactics had been better a...

If the Union's tactics had been better at the Crater . . .

posted 8 years ago by jgroub
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. . . would they have been able to turn the tide, win the battle, and rout the Confederates at that point?

For example, there were some key, huge mistakes on the part of the Union: not attacking immediately; not having footbridges/ladders; attacking through the crater, instead of around it; not using the black troops who had specifically trained to fight this battle, and instead using white troops who had not trained and were under a terrible commander.

If they had done things right, could this have been a big Union victory that would have broke the Confederate lines, allowed the Union to advance on Richmond itself, and hastened the end of the war by a number of months?

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] GunHillTrain 8 years ago

The British tried the same thing on a huge scale in World War I, setting off nineteen explosions that killed at least 10,000 Germans (Messines, June 7, 1917). It was a generally successful operation, but it wasn't a war-ending event. The British couldn't break through in upcoming months during the Third Battle of Ypres.

At Petersburg the Confederate Army was much smaller and weaker than the German army in the next century, and Richmond was very close by. I suppose the Union attempt had a chance of success if those various mistakes hadn't been made. (The first Union troops moved in slowly, not rushing in as depicted in the movie.)

By the way, the black troops did go in as a second wave, and they attempted to fight their way around the crater as per their training. Later in the day they put up a defense at the edge of the crater to counter attacking Confederates.