Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 330 Not mark my words, comrad
Fortunately, at this time, although Napoleon's actions were fast, they were not so fast as to be ahead of the times.

Even when Solovyov arrived at the temporary residence of Kutuzov's headquarters, his corps had only just departed from Boulogne-sur-Mer.

For the British, the danger they faced was relieved, but at the same time, the pressure came to the Austrians.

After a short rest, Kutuzov's Podolsk Corps finally approached Vienna after a long march.

However, this only means they are getting closer to Vienna, and most of the Russian troops are still on the way.

Even someone like Solovyov, who rode a fast horse and traveled light, had to realize that the distance was too far.

He was a little nervous about having to rely on the Austrians for supplies, and he had to travel continuously in the meantime.

Fortunately, he could still change horses at the Habsburg post station along the way. He now realized that if he continued riding like this, he might be able to change his military branch to cavalry in the future.

However, when he arrived in Vienna, the Austrian troops that existed there were just the troops that Archduke John was preparing to take to the secondary direction of Tyrol.

Regarding the Grand Duke, Solovyov could only say that if he did not command the army, then they could still be good friends.

As for Mark, he had to go to the border between Bavaria and Habsburg to find him. Currently, the Austrian army had deployed more than 70,000 troops there under the command of Archduke Ferdinand and others. This force was an overwhelming advantage for the Bavarian army.

When Solovyov thought about the fact that the Elector of Bavaria's second wife was Louisa's second sister, he felt that the relationship between these German nobles was too complicated.

If there is no relationship between each other, it would be difficult to say hello.

As for him, as a liaison officer, he ran all the way from Krakow and came to Mark's headquarters without stopping. He saw that the atmosphere here was quite relaxed.

"Hey, man, you are dressed like this. Are you the liaison officer sent by General Kutuzov?"

"Yes, I want to see General Mark."

"Your accent sounds like you're from Bavaria across the country, or maybe you're from our side, serving in Russia?"

Solovyov knew that his appearance could easily lead the Austrians to mistake him for an officer serving in Russia, no matter which German prince he came from.

"No, I'm Russian, Colonel Mikhail Solovyov, the commander of the Guards Chasseur Regiment. I was ordered to come to General Kutuzov, but after a short rest, I received this mission. Not only do I have to greet General Mark and shoulder the responsibility of communicating between the two armies, but I also have to make some friendly reminders."

"Uh, you are the colonel who was corresponding with Archduke Karl?"

Solovyov never expected that an adjutant at the door of General Mark's headquarters actually knew about his existence.

It seems that I am quite famous in Austria.

"I thought you were a theorist in your thirties or more, but I didn't expect you to be so young."

The other party's attitude was quite polite, which made a good impression on Solovyov.

"That's not surprising. Your Highness and I met in Dresden."

"Ah, when you mention that, Archduke, it occurred to me that he was assigned to religious activities in the past. No one expected that he would be such a great general. It's a pity that, for reasons you know, I can't say more."

It seems that this person, although working at General Mark's door, is inclined towards Archduke Karl, as for his own surname.

"Perisic, from Zagreb, is now General Mark's major adjutant."

"You are Croatian, no wonder you look subtly different from Austrians."

"If you look at what some people say, Croatians are very close to you Russians, except for the difference in religion."

"Let's not talk about this for now. Does General Mark have time now?"

"You know, in the Austrian army we have to hold meetings all the time."

"All right."

This old problem cannot be corrected at present. As for the Austrian army's first-stage goal, it is to control Bavaria and advance to block the main roads in southern Germany.

It's just that with General Mark's level, he was able to realize this problem, but he wanted to make Ulm his strategic center.

Outside, Solovyov talked a lot with the Croatian major.

Anyway, military officers from various countries nowadays generally have no sense of confidentiality. If you talk to them for a few words, they will tell you everything you want to know like spilling the beans.

Solovyov could imagine that the cautious Archduke Karl would definitely find a troop ready to support Mark's army at any time.

The army led by Archduke Karl had nearly 100,000 soldiers, and all of them were going to Italy. Because in the military memories of the coalition forces, the Austrians unanimously believed that Napoleon had won the previous two battles in Italy, and this was also the location of the French and Austrian treasury. The French would definitely mobilize a large army to join the Italian army commanded by Eugene.

Both parties have walked this way several times, so the path is very familiar and it seems to be a good choice.

However, Austrians generally have some inertial thinking, and even follow the French approach step by step.

In fact, the strategies and tactics adopted by the Austrians during the Anti-French Alliance were all used by others, so it was not surprising that they were discovered.

First of all, the choice of strategic focus was a big mistake.

Even if you don't have a clairvoyant, you should know that since the Thirty Years' War, the main battlefields in Europe have always been north of the Alps, especially since it is more convenient for both sides to deploy their main forces in this direction.

It may be for this reason that Archduke Karl proposed to allocate about 20,000 troops from the army going to Italy to protect the rear of Ulm, the strategic center of Mark.

As for what Mark was thinking, Solovyov was not sure.

"You are a theorist, Colonel. What do you think of the current deployment?"

"I think we should protect our army's rear and not advance too far. We can use the Black Forest area to allow the French to enter from several directions. Of course, with Napoleon's ability, he will definitely pay attention to this problem and make more use of the French army's mobility advantage."

This is also what he learned from Suvorov. In strategy, one must act quickly.

"Yes, this Corsican is really quick. He was like that in Italy before."

"You were present at the battle of 1796?"

"That's not the case. I was right here at the time."

"Ah, it seems that you are more familiar with this side. The officers who are used in the southern German direction are more familiar with this side?" "I guess so."

As they were talking, the door to the conference room opened.

Among a group of Austrian officers in white clothes, Solovyov, wearing a green shirt, was still very conspicuous.

"Sir, this is Colonel Soloviev from General Kutuzov's headquarters."

"General Mark, I have brought a letter from General Kutuzov."

"very good."

However, Mark's relationship with Archduke Karl was not very good, but it cannot be said to be bad.

As for Solovyov, who had a good relationship with the Grand Duke and had discussed military theories through correspondence, he always felt uncomfortable with him.

After reading the letter, Kutuzov's meaning was very simple. He hoped that the two armies could reunite. He hoped that General Mark would be patient and wait for the arrival of the Russian follow-up troops, and not to engage in battle with the French army easily.

"We have the advantage of manpower to resist the French using typical Fabian tactics. Moreover, a strategic center like Ulm is in a very good location. It can control the roads in several directions. It is difficult to abandon such a place."

What Mark said is indeed correct.

"But Napoleon cannot be underestimated. He always moves very quickly. I have studied his actions in Italy."

Of course, compared to Schwarzenberg, who is conservative and cautious to the point of being stupid, Mark still has some advantages. At least he takes his opponent seriously, no matter how badly he deals with them. This attitude still exists.

"Have you studied it?"

"Yes, General. And I have with me a copy of some strategic research which has just been published in Petersburg."

Moreover, Solovyov was very capable. He believed that this was a work written by himself and revised by many Austrian and Russian generals. In the preface, he also thanked Archduke Karl, General Melas, General Krei and others.

Although he had a bad relationship with Archduke Karl, Mark still had some respect for Melas, the veteran who almost defeated Napoleon.

"It's quite interesting. Can you leave this book to me? At least I can use it to study our enemies. Also, while you are resting here, you can also serve as an observer and see our battle against the Bavarian Army. Then you can go back and report to General Kutuzov."

"Thank you so much."

Although Mark is stubborn and self-righteous, as the leader of the war faction, he still has some skills, at least he has some skills in talking.

As for why Mark has such a high status, Solovyov and Perisic chatted outside for a while and had a rough idea.

In the past, General Mark served as an aide-de-camp during the reign of Emperor Joseph II. This aide-de-camp was like Bernard's job as the "Prime Minister's Private Secretary" among secretaries, and the relationship was quite close.

And although Archduke Karl's relationship with Mark has not been very good recently, the two of them once fought side by side. With this relationship, it is just a difference of opinion and the relationship is not too bad.

But there was another problem. Mark often had bad relations with his direct military commanders, but was very trusted by the emperor.

Although it was a strange thing, he also had some skills in it. Even though he had a very bad relationship with Marshal Lao Dong and was almost sent to a military court, it did not affect his promotion.

However, it is easy to have bad relations with generals, which is very troublesome.

Solovyov came to General Mark this time to test his and Archduke Ferdinand's attitude, then go back to report and make new decisions.

But he could sense that some generals did not have a good relationship with Mark.

At the same time, as the Quartermaster General, Mark was actually the commander on the battlefield, but he did not have a harmonious relationship with the generals other than Archduke Ferdinand, and he always trusted his own command more than using the entire system.

But he was still quite enthusiastic towards the messenger from the friendly forces.

"How old are you, Colonel?"

After chatting for a while, we returned to the issue of age.

"24 years old, General."

"You are really young, and you have won a medal. Have you been to the Italian battlefield before?"

"Yes, I followed Marshal Suvorov in the entire Italian and Swiss expedition from beginning to end. Except for being wounded in the Battle of Novi, I participated in all the major combat operations."

"So in your opinion, what should we do? The Grand Marshal's approach is very good. We should take the initiative to fight."

"But we should now pay attention to reconnaissance on the battlefield and attach great importance to intelligence about the enemy. The Austrian cavalry is so excellent that we can send light cavalry and Hungarian hussars to scout the French on the main roads and make effective judgments based on the intelligence."

"Well, you are quite interesting. So after the reconnaissance, if the French attack us, what should we do?"

"Of course, we want to delay time. Our army has the advantage in numbers. We will launch a final attack in a place where our army has the advantage. At the same time, we will send a small force to attack the French rear, so that the French cannot easily get supplies. This will make the enemy tired. At the same time, we must ensure the safety of the transportation lines and gather more troops. When we have a greater advantage, we will launch a final attack. Although we may not be able to defeat Napoleon, we can let him know how powerful we are and get more bargaining chips when making peace."

"You may be young, but you are overly cautious."

"I am not like Archduke Karl who is against going to war, but a young officer like me still needs to rely on military merits to be promoted!"

"Well, that's true."

But General Mark did not adopt his opinion. He just listened to what he said.

The only action taken to adopt Solovyov's opinion was to invite him as an observer to observe the actions of the Austrian army in Bavaria and to take away the pamphlet he brought with him that studied the French. There was no other action.

But even so, Mark's performance was better than that of a third-rate general, and he was not without his own abilities. For example, his attitude towards the pro-war faction in the Vienna court won the trust of Emperor Franz.

After that, we have to see how this person acts.

If it were Solovyov himself, he would have to act quickly.

Mobilize troops from Linz to directly encircle the 30,000 Bavarian troops, directly consume the enemy, weaken the power of Napoleon's vassal states, and then consider using Ulm as the center to compete with the French army.

At least in the Ansbach area, troops should be sent to cut off the roads, creating a situation of closing the door and beating the dog.

(End of this chapter)