Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 368 010 The Russian Army Needs Comprehensive Reform

In the past, the Russian Army's combat operations were guided by the Military Commission, but this system had been criticized even when Suvorov was alive.

The Austrian generals also strongly agreed with this point.

Moreover, he also had the support of the Tsar. After Alexander came to power, he reorganized the Military Committee into the Ministry of War and set up a Minister of War.

But according to multiple sources, Sergei Kuzmich is not very suitable for holding both positions, and the overall military department of the Russian army has problems in this regard.

As early as the time of Peter the Great, the Russian army had begun to build a staff system, but with limited results.

Even in Paul's time, there was a serious regression.

Now, it is necessary to rebuild the system throughout the Russian army.

Because of this problem, Grand Duke Constantine called over a few old friends from the Guards.

All the commanders of the Guards, Peter Volkonsky, and some of Alexander's close aides have gathered at the Guards headquarters to discuss this issue.

What Solovyov was more curious about was that Konstantin also called Nikolai and Mikhail.

"Your Highness, I think you have to take this into consideration at times like this."

After all, he was one of the teachers of the two archdukes, so he had to consider things more carefully.

"Considering what?"

"Although this is a military meeting, Your Highnesses, as the commander of the Izmailov Regiment and the commander of the Guards Artillery Battalion, have the right to attend the meeting."

After Solovyov said this, Konstantin understood. Fortunately, General Langzdorf was called today, so the old man could take the two children out.

"Then, we can now begin discussing the reorganization of the Guards' command structure. In an occasion like this, you can speak freely regardless of your rank."

Solovyov did not want to speak in advance, although he already had some plans in his mind, and he and Volkonsky had already been working on solutions. However, because they both had to serve as the young grand duke's teachers and as Alexander's senior aides, this led to a problem. They could not focus all their energy on the work at hand.

At the same time, Peter Volkonsky has a wife at home, and if he has a young and beautiful cousin as his wife, it would indeed take up more of his energy.

As for Solovyov, things were fine. He had recently been corresponding with Madame Recamier and explained his current situation. As an "older sister", Madame was quite considerate and could understand his busy military affairs.

Anyway, one thing is certain, that is, Madame Recamier has always been like that and will not go to bed with anyone easily. She and Solovyov had spiritual communication first and then physical contact. It was a bit difficult for her to complete this process. Solovyov was qualified only after he translated lyric poems that satisfied Madame.

As for the first ones to speak out, it was the commanders of the Guards Cavalry Regiments. They all had quick tempers, and Constantine said they could speak freely, so they all mentioned the problems encountered in this battle.

The Russian Guards have indeed not participated in a battle for a long time. Although the problems encountered during training can be solved, they are obviously not completely consistent with those encountered in actual combat.

It's just that the common problem with cavalry officers is that, like the examples they often boast about in the taverns and in front of women, they are somewhat one-sided.

As for what can be reflected, it is also the problems encountered by the cavalry during the charge.

The Russian cavalry had performed very well, but they were out of touch with the cavalry artillery during the battle, which resulted in a failure to stop the enemy as much as possible in local battles, as well as overall command problems, which prevented them from being able to perform to their full potential.

But their discussion did quickly introduce a key issue.

The command organization's orders cannot be effectively communicated. The organization is bloated, the orders are confusing, and there is one thing that even Constantine cannot talk about casually.

That is, every time at a critical moment, you have to interfere with the command, and you will not win the battle this way.

But in this war, the main blame lies with the command organization headed by Kutuzov and the staff composed of a group of Austrian foreigners.

"That's the problem. We have also thought about it. In the past few years, our military command has always used the Austrian staff during the expedition. The problem caused by this is that the orders issued are inefficient, and there are problems in it."

Everyone would agree with this, after all, there were many problems with the German orders issued by Werosser.

"But the Austrians cannot be blamed entirely. The plan drawn up by General Schmidt from the beginning was very useful."

"Oh? Soloviev, you were not in the Guards at the time, but in Kutuzov's headquarters."

"Indeed, Count. I was there at the time, and I worked with both General Schmidt and General Werother. I even worked with Werother in Alexander Vasilyevich's headquarters when he was still there."

"Ah, young scholar, if you keep talking, I'm afraid you'll have to write a paper about it."

"But I already have a monograph. The problems we are looking for are all covered in it."

Solovyov was not in a position to continue to argue with Count Peter Tolstoy about some details. What he needed to focus on was not the summary, but the future reorganization of the command and administrative structures of the Russian army.

This time is very critical.

For the Russian army, there was no large-scale war in early 1806, and the relationship with the Ottoman Empire was only tense. The battle with the Persian Empire had not yet been concluded because of a murder that had just occurred.

There will be some time to make initial adjustments.

If possible, Prussia should not continue to be involved in the European war, but given the relationship between Prussia and France, and the relationship between Prussia and Russia, it is difficult to say what will happen.

But this was not something they could decide, nor even the Tsar could decide.

After all, with Napoleon's ambition, he wants to do much more than what he has now.

In the Fourth Anti-French Alliance, I am afraid that Russia will be forced to fight because of its own stupid teammates.

"So, what did you write?"

Peter Tolstoy said so, and Solovyov had to accept the challenge.

"In the military theory textbooks published in the past, our country's Ministry of War should be divided into the Army Department responsible for military construction and administrative dispatch, and the General Staff Headquarters responsible for military command. In addition, there should be supporting military academies, in addition to those in St. Petersburg and Moscow, there are also various military governorates, as well as camp academies in the army. Although camp academies have not been clearly established, they have been reflected in our country's staff tradition since Peter the Great." Indeed, adjutants and staff in the Russian army can often embody this role.

Then he paused for a moment and continued.

"In the army, the headquarters should also be under the jurisdiction of the General Staff. The Chief of Staff should assist the Commander-in-Chief in his work. It is best to arrange this staff in the corps, columns, brigades and regiments. However, it cannot imitate the Austrian quartermaster general system. Instead, it should be divided into the following points."

Solovyov started talking like this, and everyone became interested, because it made some sense.

With the tacit approval of Grand Duke Constantine, he could also continue to perform.

"Under the command and staff organs, there are military staff, intelligence staff, logistics staff and reconnaissance staff, each with its own duties. Military staff are mainly responsible for assisting the command, completing map operations and the final execution of military orders. Intelligence staff are responsible for collecting and analyzing various intelligence, and providing effective intelligence for the commander and chief of staff to analyze. Logistics staff. This involves the supply of military materials, as well as the replenishment and deployment of troops. Reconnaissance staff are responsible for pre-war reconnaissance, and their functions overlap with the first two types of staff, but reconnaissance operations are still very critical."

"That makes it much better."

Malyutin's wound had not yet healed when he was called by Konstantin. As the infantry commander of the Russian Guards in the Battle of Austerlitz, he also expressed his support for Solovyov.

After all, he had read Solovyov's post-war report, and the issues involved therein, and this kind of institutional adjustment could indeed play a role.

"I think so, Your Highness. What about you?"

Bagration also agreed, and Grand Duke Constantine also thought it feasible after analyzing the pros and cons.

"However, this can only be set at the regiment level and the guards level."

The Archduke himself considered that the Austrian-style staff organization was bloated, and the Russian army's own structure, regardless of Paul's military reforms or not, had actually been imitating Prussia and Austria in terms of the regimental command structure.

"The command structure should also be adjusted. I think four infantry regiments can form a division, similar to the French command structure."

This is indeed feasible.

"Your Highness, if we take divisions as units, the infantry regiment of the Guards can form a division, and the cavalry can also form a cavalry division."

"But everyone, you are not only the commander of the Guards, you have also served in the local areas, right? Our Russian army is not only the Guards, but also has local troops, and these infantry and cavalry regiments can also form this kind of organization."

"If possible, I think so."

Seeing that Solovyov still wanted to speak, Konstantin gave him the right to speak and asked him to continue.

"Misha, you can speak freely. It's okay if you say everything today."

"Then I will continue, Your Highness."

Solovyov actually had his own ideas, but they were more radical.

"We can cancel the brigade-level command structure. Each division can have three infantry regiments and one cavalry regiment, as well as an attached artillery unit, which can be a battalion or a regiment."

"Well, it's interesting, but with this structure, I'm afraid that generals at the brigade level will be out of work."

In the current era, it is still feasible for a division to have two to three brigades under its command, and each brigade to have two regiments under its command. After all, the Russian army's infantry battalion structure is not as bloated as the Austrian one and is relatively flexible.

A more appropriate battalion-level unit of the Russian Army, even if it suffers losses in battle, is usually kept above 400 people, so that it can maintain a certain level of combat effectiveness.

The general battalion-level unit, according to the earliest infantry phalanx arrangement during the expedition of Alexander the Great, usually has between 500 and 600 people. Today, 600 to 800 people are more appropriate for a battalion, but a battalion of 1200 people like the Austrians is very uncomfortable.

As for the transmission of commands, there were indeed problems, because there were no radios or airplanes at that time, so effective micro-control and airdrops of orders were impossible. Therefore, a certain command level must be maintained, rather than being flattened.

At the same time, radio technology will not progress too quickly.

It is unlikely that we can micromanage a radio in our lifetime, so we should be thankful to have the telegraph and railways.

You have to know that Russia's progress in developing railways is not as good as that of the British. Even though a large number of technical personnel have been poached, the railways used in the coal mines in the Donets Basin are still pulled by horse-drawn carriages instead of steam locomotives.

Steam locomotives are still in a state of difficult development.

Since technological progress is so slow, we should maintain some existing structures rather than make any innovations.

However, Grand Duke Constantine also agreed with Solovyov's opinion, but the five infantry regiments and several cavalry regiments of the Guards could not be adjusted according to this organization.

The problem is that the Guards Cavalry Regiment will form the Guards Cavalry Division, and the expansion of the Guards itself will also soon increase the Guards militia battalion, and then expand it into the Guards Finnish Regiment.

To do things, you still need to do it step by step.

He motioned for Solovyov to continue, and the latter did not hesitate.

"Your Highness, we also need to make adjustments to the staff organization. The main issue here is the transmission of orders. Since we are going to use our own staff, we also have to consider the ratio of officers in the army. It is best to convey orders in Russian. After all, the letters we use are like a kind of encryption measure for people who are not familiar with this language."

At this point, even the German officers couldn't help but laugh.

Indeed, if you have never been exposed to Russian, you won’t be able to understand anything from the note.

But on the other hand, since most Russian officers were familiar with French and German, they were still able to understand what the other party was saying.

Everyone will agree that learning a foreign language is useful.

As for the Russian order, there was one more thing that Solovyov did not mention.

That is what Suvorov always emphasized, that orders should be given concisely.

However, many of the Guards officers present had some relationship with the Grand Marshal, so they tacitly approved this point.

(End of this chapter)