Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 340 Find a way to shoot at the castle

According to the plan of Kutuzov and Schmidt, the scattered Russian troops appeared in Dürenstein mainly to lure the French army into the valley. After that, the more than 20,000 coalition forces divided into six routes would begin their operations.

In fact, this arrangement made Solovyov quite puzzled.

"Why, sir, do you want to divide your troops into six groups? In the past, when we were in Italy, Bonaparte took advantage of our scattered forces and defeated us one by one."

"I know you only want to divide into four columns so that you can concentrate your forces, but you also have to consider the surrounding terrain. The terrain here is dangerous, and the French columns have strong impact capabilities. When we encounter them at the pass and on the road, although Russian infantry has always been known for their courage, few of them have experienced combat, which is not good. Now we divide into six columns and act in five directions at the same time. The cavalry and von Rosen columns can also be on standby as mobile forces at any time."

Of course, what Schmidt did not explain is that although both the Russian and French armies liked to form attack formations, the French army was accustomed to using columns, while the Russian army was accustomed to using six-row horizontal formations, and the orders issued by Kutuzov were still the same as those issued during the Empress' period in the late 18th century.

No way, I'm used to it.

Such an impact column is obviously more conducive to the French army's operations in narrow areas.

Schmidt made this deployment while taking the issue of reinforcements into consideration. Since he had strengthened Dokhturov's artillery, he also needed to keep some reserve troops on hand.

However, the sudden rain last night did cause the coalition forces to suffer a lot, and the temperature dropped sharply.

Some Austrian chasseurs from Croatia could no longer stand this kind of weather. The climate was still relatively warm when they set out, so many soldiers still wore thinner coats.

The Russian army uses military coats that were improved during the Paul period. They can be worn like a sack, and you can even put some things inside. They are also warmer than those coats used in Western European countries.

It's cold enough. After all, Schmidt is old, a comrade in his sixties, and he can't stand it without a coat.

Solovyov took out the coat from his luggage and gave it to the Austrian veteran to keep him warm.

"The pattern on your coat is very beautiful, but this bug reminds me of Bonaparte."

"Uh, don't worry about it, this is my family's crest, the red one is the bee."

Solovyov also knew that Napoleon's symbol was the golden bee, and what was even worse was that they were relatives, but this could not be said out loud.

"Ah, no wonder I have such an idea. The embroidery of this pattern is very skillful. Whose craftsmanship is it?"

"When I was in Paris, I took in a little girl who sold flowers and asked her to be my cleaning maid. While she was with me, she learned the skills of embroidery and tailoring."

Schmidt did not say anything after hearing this. After all, some Russian nobles also kept French girls as servants, tutors, and housekeepers.
Of course, it is not ruled out that there will be further progress.

As they rode further forward, they heard the sound of volleys, and from a great distance they could see small units of the Russian army exchanging fire with the French, and the white smoke rising from the firing of flintlock rifles.

The only difference is that Schmidt used a monocular telescope, which was held by his attendant, while Solovyov used binoculars hanging around his neck.

There was no chance to use the new invention when I went to Bavaria with Mark, but now Solovyov could see it clearly from a high vantage point.

The craftsmanship of the craftsmen in the Royal Factory is indeed top-notch.

"You always have something new to offer, Colonel. Is this another newly invented telescope?"

"Yes, when our emperor and his sister went to the training ground to watch live-fire shooting, I got the inspiration from the monoculars and theater glasses. These are the first batch of newly manufactured ones, and only some officers can be equipped with them."

"That's great, can I try it out?"

"Of course, you can take a look at the distance."

After Schmidt looked at it through binoculars, he also thought it was pretty good.

"Ah, that's all very well, but it's your invention, and it's your favorite thing, isn't it? You've already lent me your coat, so I can't bring this new thing over. Besides, I prefer to use a single-tube one."

Schmidt has told Solovyov a lot of things these days. After all, he was the chief of staff of Archduke Karl in the past. He witnessed the growth of Austria's only famous general and even assisted and taught him a lot.

Because Solovyov had a good relationship with Archduke Karl, Schmidt was relatively caring towards him.

After saying this, Schmidt ordered the column he led to continue advancing, but he also sent a message to Dokhturov, asking him to lead his troops to launch an attack after the French army chased into the valley.

The French made very smooth progress along the way. Mortier also discovered that the Russian army was not keen on fighting, which was different from his previous impression. He also determined that the Russian army was not willing to fight the French army here, so he ordered Gazan to lead his troops to continue the pursuit.

Although Gazan was full of doubts, he still sent troops to continue the pursuit. After all, the Emperor's instructions to the Eighth Army also included pursuing the enemy, and so far, no Russian ambush had been seen.

In addition, Gazan was very confident in the combat effectiveness of the French army. After all, before his division came to the Eighth Army, it was the Second Division of the Fifth Army. The combat effectiveness of the troops under Lannes would not be bad.

What's more, V in Roman numerals also represents victory, so he decided to give chase.

At this time, because the last three cavalry squadrons of the Gazan Division were lured away by the Russian Cossacks, the French army actually lost its eyes and fell directly into the pocket set by the Allied forces.

The Russian artillery on the mountain was still camouflaged at this time. Of course, the weather was good during the day and the French did not discover these hidden artillery.

It was covered with a layer of shrubs, so it was a bit damp, but it was fine as long as it didn't affect firing.

"See, they all came in."

Tushin's artillery company was in a good position, but he was in no hurry to open fire. The twenty or so cannons on the mountain and the hidden chasseurs were all waiting for the order. The Russian flag was raised from the top of the mountain, and there was also the half-Unicorn cannon on the other side.

That thing is much more powerful than his quarter unicorn cannon and 6-pounder cannon.

"Captain, what do you think the French will do?"

"They will still come in, and then they will be beaten. All of you return to your posts and wait for orders to fire." The French began to enter the Dürenstein area from the west side of the valley. After Mortier saw that the Russian army had fled, there was nothing left in the valley except villages, farmlands, and wineries.

"Sir, it looks like there are no Russians here."

"Then let's set up a command center here, inside this castle."

Considering the location of Dyrenstein, Mortier planned to build a logistics center here, including a command center, a field hospital and warehouses. Obviously, the castle where Richard the Lionheart was once imprisoned was still a good place.

It was captured and partially destroyed by the Swedes, and reinforced during the War of the Austrian Succession, but it was not a very large fortress.

As a temporary command post, it is very suitable, and there is no need to worry about the Russian field artillery, which can blow the place down with just a few shots. It is still a relatively suitable command post.

Most of the troops of the Ghazan Division have now entered the river valley, and their rear route has actually been exposed to the coalition forces.

The columns of Bagration and Dokhturov were well hidden and not noticed. At this time, the other three columns of the coalition forces had already set up pockets under Schmidt's arrangement.

Mortier was still unaware of it. The only thing he felt now was that the bridge over the Danube had been destroyed and could not allow the army to pass through. The current in this area was not suitable for swimming, and the only way to communicate was through the ferry in hand.

This is not very good, as it seems that there is no movement on the top of the mountain.

Fortunately, Motier was not Boss Cao. He did not laugh and suggest ambushing a group of troops here. He simply sent two regiments of Gazan's division to move forward.

Just at the bend in the village, they finally discovered the Russian army, and some of them were wearing grenadiers' bishop's hats on their heads.

This is the Kiev Grenadiers Regiment in Bagration's column. In addition, the 6th Jager Regiment, of which Bagration once served as the regiment commander, is hidden on the flank. Both regiments have strong firepower and fired salvos.

Well, the French army didn't expect that there would be such people squatting in the bushes. They were a little prepared for the shooting of the Grenadiers, but these chasseurs happened to be wearing caps on their heads, squatting in the bushes and reloading in advance, which caused considerable losses.

But what Bagration didn't expect was that the French army actually launched a bayonet attack at this moment?

He usually did this. The French army now had the courage to attack, and they were also facing the Russian grenadiers who were always known for their tall stature and good bayonet fighting.

Then, among these two regiments, one is the 4th Light Infantry Regiment of the French Army. When selecting light infantry, they are always similar to vaulters.

They dared to rush forward like this, obviously they were very confident in their fighting ability, but they were attacked by the butts of Russian guns.

The Kiev Grenadiers were arranged in three rows to face the French army. Since the French dared to rush over, they would fight back. After all, these people were far inferior to them in terms of size.

Many French soldiers had their heads broken by the butts of Russian rifles. These light infantrymen were indeed a bit overconfident and even lost a military flag once the battle began.

This was not good. Gazan was a little annoyed watching from behind, but he also knew that the Russians might have an ambush. Seeing this situation, he prepared to reorganize his formation.

He was even worried that the artillery would fire shells from the top of the mountain. The French army had done this to the Russian army before at the Gotthard Pass, so their deployment was relatively covert. With the cover of the castle and after reorganizing their formation, they deployed all four regiments and launched a counterattack against the Russian army at noon.

At this time, Bagration also sent out three infantry regiments and the Pavlograd Hussar Regiment, and launched a counterattack against the French army under the cover of artillery.

After the two sides engaged in battle, the artillery on the mountain finally saw a good opportunity and fired at the French marching column.

Tushin's artillery company fired quite well. Although the muzzle-loading guns were not accurate enough, the solid bullets from the first round of shooting landed in the French infantry lines, smashing the French soldiers into pieces.

However, there were some problems with the fuses of those quarter unicorn cannons. The efficiency of grenades in this era was not very good, and they could only be used as solid bullets. After all, it was too humid the night before.

As for the ones that exploded, the delay was too high, and it even gave the French who were not hit time to escape.

The Russian ambush now made Motier realize that this time the Russians were going to make a big move, at least to teach him a lesson in the valley.

Taking advantage of the opportunity before his back was blocked, he sent messengers to find the Dupont Division and the dragoons attached to the Gazan Division in the rear, asking these troops to come quickly to fight against the Russian army together.

At this time, it was Tushin who turned his guns around. He received a new order directly from Miloradovich.

Tushin planned to use the unicorn cannon of his own battery to fire a few shots at the castle to intimidate the French commander.

This move was somewhat effective, but the French army's impact was too strong. Even when they were hit by Russian artillery, they still lined up to attack, causing considerable losses to the Russian army.

In the valley, the forces of both sides were roughly equal, so when a stalemate occurred, the other several columns of the coalition forces would need to take their positions.

What the French now hope is that the Dupont Division, which is 30 kilometers away, can come to support quickly.

Then, after receiving the order, Dupont actually ordered his soldiers to advance quickly and support Motier and Gazan as soon as possible.

After the Russian army gained the upper hand in the initial hand-to-hand combat, they also found that the subsequent French army was also quite tough. Although Bagration captured a military flag, he was also able to discover the problem.

The opponent was also quite tough, so he asked Kutuzov for help, hoping that each column would join the battle.

When the order reached Schmidt, his column had not yet reached its position. As for Dokhturov's column, it still had half an hour to go before it could reach its designated position.

This was, of course, a great opportunity to attack at the cost of a loss. The Allied forces still had the advantage, and even if the Dupont Division could arrive, the French army would still be at a great disadvantage.

However, the Russian army was also impressed by the French fighting power, so Kutuzov ordered all troops to surround the river valley as quickly as possible and find ways to eliminate the French.

The war is now on the verge of breaking out, and it is also a very critical battle, which even determines whether the coalition forces can continue to carry out military operations smoothly.

(End of this chapter)