John_Ford Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 The Garrison at the Alamo inflicted Casualties of 1/3 of the Attacking Force. If the Goliad Garrison of 300 men had reinforced the Alamo could they have changed the outcome or at least the timeline? Would have changed the ratio from 6-1 to around 3-1 on the day of the attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 "Where the hell did all those landscapers come from?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Davis Posted March 25, 2013 Share Posted March 25, 2013 The defeat was still pretty much a foregone conclusion. The defenders were completely surrounded, outmanned and outgunned. The Alamo complex was not completely surrounded by high picket walls or stone walls. There were a coouple of places where Mexican ladders were not even needed to enter the compound because the redoubt was so low to the ground. Also, the defenders had received 13 straight nights of artillery bombardment in a form of sleep deprivation, so they were not at their peak physical condition. The only way that the Goliad Garrison could have turned the tide is if it had secretly arrived and conducted an attack on Santa Anna's rear echelons to divert attention from the Alamo itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougRichards Posted March 26, 2013 Share Posted March 26, 2013 And the Time Tunnel wasnot fully operational then anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-Files Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Davis Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Yep - it's that time of year again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7F3r7dWpV0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archie Pellagio Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 More defenders in a confined space under heavy artillery bombardment with minimal cover does not equal a radically different result for the end game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcello Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Strictly speaking the Alamo had more than twice (and in several cases heavier) artillery pieces than the mexicans and not enough men to man them all properly without leaving enough as infantry so in theory extra men might be useful. However in practice it does not mean much as siege batteries, by virtue of being small spread out(and easily repaired if hit) targets concentrating fire on a single large one (usually from favorable angles and possibly locations) had the upper hand even when heavily outnumbered. Of course the Alamo was not a proper fortress but neither mexican artillery was of the heavy type so basics should still apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Evans Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 300 extra men entering the fort would have more than doubled the strength of the garrison. But let's say only 200 men from Goliad actually got in. That would still double the strength of the garrison. That not only increases fighting power, but also increases labor power to improve fortifications. It would probably have made a difference in the endurance of the Garrison, if not the final outcome. Or it might have made a difference. Too much is unknown about the actual condition of the fort, Santa Ana's army, etc. WRT the Mexican use of artillery against the fort, it's an interesting question whether the Mexican artillerists were technically qualified to employ ricochet fire, or do more than randomly bombard. Certainly Santa Ana didn't open a formal siege with saps, parallels, fortified batteries, etc. This actually goes some way to answering the question about the effect of a much larger garrison -- If Santa Ana could not have taken the place by storm, could he have blockaded the fort long enough to starve the garrison out? Or did he have to reach a decisive conclusion at the Alamo come what may? Could he have against a garrison twice the size? Would he have to wreck his army to do so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky Davis Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Santa Anna lost a great portion of his army on his winter forced march from southern Mexico to San Antonio - due to frostbite, disease and being attacked by Indians along the way. But, he still had several thousand by the time he got there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Evans Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Santa Anna lost a great portion of his army on his winter forced march from southern Mexico to San Antonio - due to frostbite, disease and being attacked by Indians along the way. But, he still had several thousand by the time he got there. Several thousand? I'd believe anywhere between 2,000 and 2,500, given that Santa Ana had less than 1,600 men just a month and a half later at San Jacinto. Yes, he had battle casualties at the Alamo, probably had disease casualties on the subsequent march, and even left garrisons along the axis of advance. But to believe that thousands were whittled down to the equivalent of two or three battalions between the Alamo and San Jacinto is asking a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 The best recollection is between 1,800 and 2,500 men. Most likely the lower number. As for Goliad, Fannin was not going to move at all, he was afflicted with the "slows" and indecision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABNredleg Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 (edited) Final resting place (maybe). Edited June 22, 2014 by ABNredleg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnm Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Things would have run different if Davy Crockett was present. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Head Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 Looks like the Alamo is getting a large donation of historical items from a unlikely fan.http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28054287 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootER5 Posted June 28, 2014 Share Posted June 28, 2014 (edited) Edited July 3, 2014 by shootER5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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