Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 351 053 Austerlitz (II)
After the battle began, the entire battlefield was initially shrouded in thick fog, which was normal in winter. After the fog dissipated, it was time for the two sides to shoot at each other.

In the past battles with the French army, the Russian army rarely suffered losses. Even just last month, they successfully lured the enemy into a rearguard battle in Dürenstein, annihilated the French army, seized the military flag, and captured a French marshal and several generals.

Under such circumstances, it is inevitable that many Russian officers and soldiers will have illusions that the French are the same.

But after the fight started, this was obviously not the case.

Soult now led the Fourth Army to attack, and under the cover of artillery, he launched an attack on the Pratzen Heights with the Second Division.

Vandamme's division has five regiments, and when they advance directly, their firepower is also very strong.

On the Russian side, although the Russian army has begun to increase shooting training among light infantry and line infantry since the beginning of the year, and even in the previous few years, the effect is very poor.

The British were undoubtedly the ones who had the most comprehensive shooting training at this time, but the French "Grand Army" had already been fully trained in all aspects of combat skills when it was in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Therefore, their shooting was relatively good in the first few rounds, causing considerable losses to the Russian army.

At this time, Kutuzov could only order the Fourth Column in front of him to continue fighting around the Pratzen Heights.

Retreat was unlikely. The two columns had already advanced to the left wing according to Werosser's plan. There were insufficient troops on the front, but they had to hold on.

In this situation, the Tsar himself was still the nominal commander-in-chief, and Kutuzov's dispatch was more or less constrained, making it seem more like he was following Werosser's way.

This is an old problem of the Austrians. If the commander-in-chief and the quartermaster general disagree, or due to other problems, the entire command system will be in chaos.

The Guards were in the rear at this time and had no idea of ​​the situation in the front. After the fog cleared, the exchange of fire between the two sides became more intense.

But from the roar of the cannons, one could tell that the situation was not good.

Although the Russian artillery was more powerful overall and the artillery group was not small in size, the French had concentrated firepower and a slight advantage in front-line manpower.

“I just don’t know what’s going on over there.”

The Guards were ready to join the battle. Although Grand Duke Constantine had not received any orders, the current situation was that the exchange of fire was different from what Werosser had expected and it broke out directly in front of the Pratzen Heights. The Guards had to go in this direction.

But the order did not come, and the Guards still needed to wait here.

The three teams of the Guards were ready at this time. The Guards Cavalry and Horse Artillery were on the right, the Putin Regiment and the Semenovsky Regiment were on the left, and the Guards Chasseur Regiment and the Izmailov Regiment appeared behind them. Only the Grenadiers and Artillery were left in the position where Solovyov had been working overnight.

At this time, Grand Duke Constantine also quickly received information about the situation at the front.

When the two sides further exchanged fire in the center, a huge gap appeared due to the collective turn of the three Russian columns and the attack on the French right wing.

After the French Fourth Army had come up, the Grenadier Division, under the command of Duroc, moved in from this place.

Solovyov was actually somewhat familiar with the Battle of Austerlitz, but he didn't remember the details very clearly.

For example, Napoleon suddenly took out Oudinot's grenadier division, which filled the gaps in the French army and at the same time headed towards Plattsburg.

This deployment is such that even a time traveler who is familiar with history would never have expected the changes that would occur.

The French army's formation only showed one thing. Napoleon had made up his mind that he must kick the Tsar's pants today, so he made the grenadiers on Lannes' side maneuver in front of the Guards and pass behind the Fourth Army.

While the fierce battle was going on on the high ground, the French army was launching an attack on one side and advancing towards Plattsenburg, one of the two commanding heights on the entire high ground on the other.

By capturing this place, we can cut off the connection between the three main attacking columns of the coalition forces and the rest of the coalition forces.

Napoleon himself was in front of his headquarters, riding a white horse to observe the situation on the battlefield. He was very satisfied with the current situation.

"It's going well, Berthier, use our artillery to bombard the Russian positions!"

He is now also paying attention to the situation in three directions. The Pratzen Heights in the middle is naturally the top priority, so he has to increase firepower and at the same time place the main infantry forces here.

It's just the Guards? Now there are four battalions, plus an Italian Guards battalion, all stationed in the back.

He can't change this problem, but when the other troops are mobilized, they still have to make a big move.

But he saw through the telescope the thick smoke coming from Pratzenburg, and the artillery and infantry of both sides were fighting fiercely. It was obvious that the Russian army here seemed to be on guard.

"What's going on over there?"

"Your Majesty, it seems that a Russian army is bypassing there."

"These Russians are quite proactive."

Napoleon knew that it was not so easy to deal with the Russian army, as everyone from officers to soldiers were extremely tenacious.

Here is the Great Kamensky Brigade behind the Second Column of Langeron. After discovering the movement of the French army, they turned around and advanced towards the commanding heights of Platzenburg.

But this was only half of Langgeron's force, and the artillery and cavalry in the rear were also transferred there.

He was facing the Saint-Elais Division. The French discovered that the Russian army was coming from this side, and the two sides started a firefight on the hillside.

After discovering the exchange of fire on the Pratzenburg side, Napoleon responded quickly and ordered the Grenadier Division, which was changing position, to turn around and go to Pratzenburg.

The Grenadier Division itself has nearly 6,000 people, who are elite grenadiers drawn from various units and have strong combat effectiveness.

When they were about to be transferred here, Napoleon issued another order, directly manipulating the artillery behind the Fourth Army and the Grenadier Division, and asked the artillery commander of the Grand Army, de Coulbon, to directly cover the front-line operations.

The troop movement at this moment shifted the center of the entire battlefield to Platzenburg.

Of course, the battle at the old vineyard was also very fierce.

Solovyov rode to the side of Grand Duke Konstantin. Currently, several regiment commanders and battalion commanders of the Guards were waiting for orders here. The Guards were really going to take action.

"It looks like we need to go up as well, Malyutin. Ask the Putin and Semenovsky regiments to prepare to join the battle."

But Maliutin led the troops up and brought the artillery over, so the Izmailov Regiment was still vacant. As for the cavalry, they also had to be mobilized to go up and pass through the road between the two highlands.

The French army has just arrived here and the battle is still going on. Subsequent reinforcements are now advancing towards the Pratzen Heights. Even Bernadotte's First Army, which has always marched slowly, is now coming to support the Pratzen Heights.

Especially in the very important old vineyard area, on the north side of the Pratzen Heights, a French regiment has already appeared here.

Constantine also noticed the situation on the battlefield and found that although the formation of this French line infantry regiment was in good shape, it was some distance away from the French infantry and cavalry on both sides.

"Damn it, this gives us a chance to open a gap!"

He called for an adjutant and asked him to send orders to the squadrons of the Guards to attack the French corps.

These four regiments of the Guards Cavalry have a very complete range of arms, with all types of troops except lancers. Moreover, the junior officers and soldiers in the Guards are generally equipped with new cavalry pistols.

Those old flintlock pistols were obviously not as powerful as the new revolvers. When the Russian army charged, these new guns could even directly shoot at the French soldiers in the hollow square formation on horseback.

The attack of the Guards Cavalry was very sudden. When the soldiers of the French 4th Line Infantry Regiment discovered the Russian army, they had already rushed in with their cavalry.

Without having time to form a battle formation, one battalion was quickly overwhelmed by the Guards Cavalry, and the Guards Hussars and Guards Cossacks chased after the defeated French army, harvesting heads and capturing prisoners.

The other two French camps formed a hollow square at this time, ready to resist the attack of the Russian cavalry.

However, these Russian Guards Cavalry Regiments all took out their pistols and fired instead of launching the attack as they thought possible.

In this situation, the French infantry phalanx was first hit by the bullets of the Russian cavalry, and then bombarded by the buckshot of the Russian cavalry artillery.

The infantry of the French 4th Line Infantry Regiment were quickly defeated, and their flags were captured by the Guards Cavalry.

Napoleon also saw these defeated soldiers. Even when they ran near the camp and saw the emperor, they still shouted "Long live the emperor" and then continued to flee.

This is indeed a bit funny, and Napoleon felt a little helpless.

The next order he gave was for the French Guard Cavalry to intercept the attacking Russian cavalry and to bring cavalry artillery with them.

The actions of both sides were generally the same. The counterattack launched by the French army was to drive the Russian army back.

The Russian army that launched the first attack suffered little loss, but they then continued to attack the nearby French infantry. Two of the four cavalry regiments were entangled, and the remaining cavalry had to face the French cavalry who had been waiting for them.

The battle was very fierce. Now the French army had a better position for their cavalry guns, and in this situation they fired a round of shotgun shells at the Russian army.

The Russian artillery had not arrived yet, and after the shotgun shells were fired, the counterattack of the French cavalry forced the Russian Guards Cavalry, which was at a disadvantage, to retreat.

The two Russian Guards Regiments were currently assisting the Fourth Column, which was struggling in the battle.

However, the Russian army still suffered heavy losses. As a last resort, these more combat-capable infantrymen had to retreat to reorganize, replenish ammunition, and reorganize their formation.

The fighting capacity of the Austrian soldiers who were replaced has always been a cause for concern.

Unfortunately, those Hungarian infantry and grenadiers with stronger combat effectiveness are not here. As for the Austrian troops in front of them, each regiment is not only not fully staffed, but most of them are just a battalion. Not only are they incomplete, but most of them are new recruits.

The strength of a battalion was as large as nearly a thousand, and as small as only four hundred. After these Austrian troops came up, they were soon overwhelmed.

In this situation, Kutuzov was somewhat relieved when he saw the Guards coming up from the flank. After all, Grand Duke Constantine had experienced the test of war, and he knew how to seize opportunities and step forward in times of crisis.

Alexander himself had already started wiping his sweat with his handkerchief. He had not expected the battlefield to be so tense. Moreover, according to Werosser's report, the Allied forces had the advantage on the left wing; the French army in the center had already captured the Pratzen Heights, so the French still had some advantages.

Bagration's right wing, at this time serving as a feint attack force, was entangled with Lana's troops. Under the flank cover of the Fifth Column commanded by Liechtenstein, the battle was fairly evenly matched.

However, Murat, who was with Lannes, and his cavalry, namely Nansouty and Kellermann the Younger, joined the battle, and some reserves had not yet been put into battle.

The situation is not good, and he is under a lot of pressure now, but he still doesn't know his own strength and whether he can fight.

After all, Werother seemed to be feeling good.

However, on the Pratzen Heights, the Russian army attacked the two divisions of the French Fourth Army from both sides, while the French Grenadier Division came to flank Bolshaya Kamensky. The Second Column, a very proactive unit, could not resist and was driven down from Pratzenburg by the French.

The battle at this point was not going well for the coalition forces.

The battle on the top of the hill was still going on, but the French army was now pressing forward, and it seemed that they were ready to drive all the troops off the Pratzen Hill.

At this time, the two regiments of the Guards that had not yet been put into action were behind the heights and had not yet been put into action.

The problem for these two regiments at this time was that if the strength of five battalions were deployed to the Pratzen Heights, it would obviously be a drop in the bucket.

With Grand Duke Konstantin and Malyukyo both going to the front to command the battle, these five battalions needed a senior officer to command them, and only Solovyov was qualified.

As Constantine ran forward, there was no established order of command here.

But at this time, Solovyov took the initiative to stand up.

Although he is young, his qualifications and experience make him very suitable for the battalion commanders.

However, Solovyov had no intention of going up to the high ground to fill the hole. It was obviously unwise to go up now, and he should instead retreat conservatively.

Now, what he thought of was to send an adjutant to Constantine.

The distance was still very close, and Constantine quickly responded, asking him to get stuck on the main road.

In addition to blocking the road, there were also retreating cavalry artillery, and it was obvious that the Guards Cavalry could not hold on either.

When Solovyov saw this situation, he knew what he should do.

Although they did not retreat to the camp set up by the Guards yesterday, they built the first line of defense on the main roads and between the villages.

(End of this chapter)