Terrain:
The Battle of Buena Vista was fought at La Angostura, which translates to "The Narrows". It was located near the hacienda of Buena Vista, which is like a small estate or town meant for agriculture, mining, or other farm work. Overall, the Terrain was mostly a valley with its narrowest point being around 40 feet wide.
Positioning:
General Wool had been in charge of troop positioning during this battle, and he strategically moved his troops from the hacienda to La Angostura the night before when his scouts had spotted Mexican troops making way. The primary advantage of this position is the narrow passageway. Santa Anna had around 3 times the men as the Wool, so even if Wool had a superior Military, if all of Mexico's troops charged at once, then it could be a problem. By setting the battlefield to a more narrow and restricted pathway, he could prevent an all-out attack, funneling Mexico's troops to his advantage.
Strategies Utilized
Mexico:
Santa Anna's strategy was not as well thought out as the United States, or at least he underestimated how grand the U.S. military was. Santa Anna had originally tried to start the battle on February 22nd, which also happened to be George Washington's birthday, so not the best time to attack the United States military. His initial attack failed and ended shortly due to nightfall. The real battle began on February 23rd, where Santa Anna's primary strategy was to overwhelm the frontlines with Mexico's sheer numbers and constantly flank with their cavalry straight to the Hacienda, but instead found more U.S. troops hiding there. Santa Anna found slight success in this, even killing Archibald Yell, the second senator of Arkansas.
591 Casualties 1,048 Wounded 1,894 Missing
United States:
Wool's strategy for the majority of the War was to have a good defense and counterattacks. For the first day (Feb 22nd) of battle, Wool had strategically moved his regiments to prevent flanking, and it had worked. Then on the real day of battle (Feb 23rd), Wool came prepared. He knew Mexico would probably try to flank again, so he strategically left troops back at the Hacienda and purposefully moved parts of his troops up, intending to flank on the high ground when the sun rose. Wool had strategically left some of his troops and any volunteers at the Hacienda, so when Mexico's cavalry arrived, they were surprised and forced to retreat, with U.S. cavalry chasing after them. After a short break, the United States was ready to end this battle, telling all troops to maintain their position at all costs. With a bombardment of artillery from the United States, Santa Anna knew his troops were done for, many of them starving or already run away, so with this final stand from the United States, they had won.
267 Casualties 387 Wounded 6 Missing
Create Your Own Website With Webador