In June 1875 in the central part of the Federation UNION cavalry brigades of 4th and 7th armies moved as fast as possible north in an effort to reach and cut the German railway from Seattle to Boston. The regiments soon outran their supporting battalions. Although wild game and abundant grass furnished adequate supplies for men and horses it soon became clear that combat operations would be curtailed by the limited amounts of ammunition available in regimental wagons. Early in July after marching 1500 miles, the regiments finally cut the railway. Immediately operations to destroy track were started and ambushes set up to intercept trains. Two days later on 9th July two German supply trains were attacked and destroyed over a ten mile stretch of track. The cavalry then moved west to intercept more trains. On 11th July the cavalry were in position to attack trains again. It was apparent that German trains were moving in tandem every two days. However as the expected trains appeared and started taking fire a fusillade of return fire hit the UNION cavalry. These trains were heavily guarded. After a short but intense battle the German train guards were destroyed along with the trains. However, UNION ammunition was now almost exhausted. The UNION cavalry began the long trek back to try to rendezvous with their supply columns.
Further to the east in Boston the commander of the 1st army cavalry brigade was instructed on 9th June to leave Boston and march east to intercept the German forces detraining at their railhead and disrupt and delay their advance on Boston. On 21 June the cavalry located the German railheads. They found that the Germans had not started the advance to Boston and seemed to be concentrating on stock piling supplies and advancing the railhead which was moving east at two miles a day. Large numbers of soldiers were assisting with the construction effort. The UNION cavalry commander immediately ordered a heavy bombardment of the railhead by his horse artillery. After only 30 minutes the UNION cavalry withdrew leaving the Germans in chaos. Fires were burning in piles of supplies and railway wagons and wounded soldiers and construction workers were strewn everywhere. The attack was a total surprise. Over the next days the UNION cavalry launched further hit and run attacks . UNION casualties were small, only 7 wounded. However UNION ammunition supplies were now virtually exhausted so there was little left to do but for the cavalry to fall back and monitor German activities. On 27th June news arrived that the cavalry supply columns had finally arrived in Boston. The UNION cavalry commander now sent his regiments back in pairs to resupply.
In Germany and among her generals a grave sense of alarm had developed in late June and early July. Hard on the news of UNION cavalry attacking the railway in the wilderness of the Federation had come news of the repeated defeat , retreat and surrender of the French. Now came news of UNION attacks on the railhead west of Boston. Added to this bad news was the certain knowledge that UNION forces must be moving north towards Boston as well as moving north towards Seattle and the German border. It was clear that German strategy had failed. The immediate priority now was to safeguard the German border with the Federation and protect the German communities in and around Seattle. Huge efforts were now made to repair the damage to the railway to Boston and instructions were issued for the German forces before Boston to withdraw urgently to protect Seattle. In the meantime an army of 100,000 men were instructed to leave Germany to take up positions along the border with the Federation and move south east to meet and defeat any UNION advance from the south.
UNION commanders received the news that German forces were withdrawing from the Boston area with great relief. The 1st and 6th armies had still not reached Boston at that time. Construction of the railway to that town continued but the difficulties of campaigning in such a vast country without railways had become very obvious. The same problems were also being experienced by 4th, 7th and 2nd armies moving north towards Seattle and the German border. It was decided that those armies would limit their advance to only 150 miles beyond railhead, it being deemed unwise to meet German forces well supplied from the railway between Germany and Seattle with UNION troops at the end of an excessively long wagon based supply line.
By early September the situation was that German forces some 65,000 strong in the centre of the Federation had been withdrawn to Seattle having destroyed the railway as they retreated. They were now in defensive positions to the south of the city. Other German forces numbering 100,000 had taken up defensive positions facing south west about 150 miles inside the Federation roughly parallel with the border. In addition another German force of 100,000 had been mobilised and stood in reserve just inside the German border in an area known as the Rhineland near the city of Cologne. The UNION 1st and 6th armies were now in Boston, although still without a railway link to Lincoln. A few of their cavalry formations had followed the retreating Germans west. In the south west of the Federation, the UNION 4th, 7th and 2nd armies had moved north west and were now only 100 miles from the German positions which were under UNION cavalry observation. The scene was set for a confrontation.
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