Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 404 Recommending the Commander-in-Chief is like a farce

In Berlin, Alexander exchanged views with Frederick William III. In principle, Prussia wanted to go to war with France, but just like Russia joined the last anti-French alliance, it was waiting to see what price Britain and Russia could offer.

Especially the British, who had a close relationship with Prussia, it was natural for them to support as many thalers as possible in terms of military expenditure.

As for the Russian army, they naturally sent troops.

However, the Prussians were thinking in the opposite direction, just as Suvorov had done in the past in supporting Krei.

Suvorov rushed to support Krei, on the one hand, for war considerations, to create a more favorable situation for the coalition forces, so that the previously passive Austrian army could receive support; on the other hand, he also hoped to share the honor of the victory of his Austrian comrades.

As for the Prussians, they were mysteriously confident in their own strength.

Using the same idea, the Prussians were like this: they believed that they were strong enough to challenge the French, and did not want the "barbaric" Russians to come to their support.

This kind of thinking itself is inappropriate, and when Russia and Austria joined forces before, they were unable to win.

A strange sentiment emerged among the young officers in the Prussian army, who simply wanted to start a war as quickly as possible to teach the French a lesson.

However, the Duke of Brunswick is now a little worried. This is not the time when he was young and followed his uncle to fight on both fronts, beating the French army at Rossbach and the Austrian army at Leuthen. After several years of entanglement, Peter III suddenly turned against him, which allowed Prussia to survive by chance and ensure that it had gained benefits.

Among the Prussian officer corps at that time, very few had participated in the Seven Years' War, and many of them did not rise to power by virtue of their military exploits and abilities, but rather by virtue of their Junker status.

Although they were all people with connections in the past, their generation, as well as the older veterans, all came from a pile of dead bodies. They are indeed very different from the arrogant young people of today.

But even with such an army, he had to bite the bullet and command it. The young king thought his nephew was very incompetent, but his wife Queen Louise was very opinionated. It was a pity that this girl was not the king, and important matters still had to be issued and decided through the king.

The old duke was apparently not familiar with the current situation of the Prussian army. The army he led to suppress the Dutch uprising was no longer the powerful army of his uncle's era. It was on the decline and was later blocked by French militia in Valmy.

No matter how experienced the old duke is and how capable he is, the army is not well-equipped.

No matter whether it is according to the military principles of the new era or the old methods of King Frederick the Great.

Under such circumstances, the Duke of Brunswick had no choice but to put the bridle on the horse and reluctantly command an army that did not fully obey his orders.

"Father, if we start the war now."

Before his son the Black Duke could continue, the old Duke interrupted him and said, "Son, you have to know that we can only go with the flow. If it was more than a decade ago, when I was in control of this army, perhaps I could persuade His Majesty the King to withdraw the army and wait for our friendly forces to arrive. But what is happening now? If you use your brain, you can know what will happen."

"Even if we wait for the Russians, I'm afraid it will be too late."

"Yes, His Majesty, I'm afraid that our King will take action before the Russian Emperor is ready. This will definitely be disadvantageous to us, but even though I am the elder, I have no say."

Queen Louise, who invited him back, was only influential, but could not withstand Frederick William III's love of taking advantage of others.

As the head coach, he can only take things one step at a time.

However, compared to his peers, at this age he still maintains the energy and sufficient physical strength to command an army, which is not easy.

"Also, my son, Frederick William, when you return to the army, you should be diligent in managing the troops and not be like those young people who are just pretending to be cultured."

"Father, you know me well. With the way I look, other women will stay away from me except Mary."

"Send her to Sweden or Russia for asylum. The Russian Queen and the Swedish Queen are both her sisters and are willing to give her asylum. The Baden family is also interesting. The relationship between the sisters is really good. Maybe you can use this relationship in the future."

Although the Black Duke didn't say it, he knew that his father had no hope for his aunt and second sister in England, but wanted to make something of his brother-in-law.

His brothers-in-law do have a powerful team, including the Prince of Poland, the King of Bavaria, the Emperor of Russia and the King of Sweden. Although they may not be of any use now, they may be of use in the future.

On the contrary, in Britain, although Brunswick and Hanover have been relatives by marriage for generations, and Brunswick is still a subordinate of Hanover under certain legal relations, this has nothing to do with Britain. Moreover, it would be fine if George III was mentally normal. If he went crazy again, the British cabinet would only use the power of the Brunswick family.

At this time, the old duke himself was more inclined to arrange his funeral in advance.

This is what he thought in his heart, but the war has not officially started yet. Prussia and France are still in a delicate peace. It is necessary to see what the British are doing.

At the same time in St. Petersburg, after Alexander returned, Arakcheev proposed his candidate for commander-in-chief.

"If it's Mikhail Fyodorovich, he's a tough veteran, but he's a little too old for our commander. He's older than Kutuzov. It's impossible for our commander to always be chosen from the 'old man club', right?"

"Your Majesty, our Ministry of War and the General Artillery Department have made precise calculations and have taken into account the past victory rates on the battlefield and the prestige of German officers. Marshal Kamensky is undoubtedly the most suitable. He and Alexander Vasilyevich were the only two commanders who maintained a very high victory rate, and among the marshals, we can only choose him."

Alexander still trusts Arakcheev more. Moreover, when it comes to winning rate, Kutuzov does not look that good. However, this kind of behavior of judging heroes by statistics will still arouse his suspicion.

"He is still too old. He is 68 years old."

"Your Majesty, I know you are worried about this, but Alexander Vasilyevich was about the same age at that time. We can't give up a military expert just because of his age."

"Okay then, but we still need to make proper arrangements at the level of commanders of each legion and the staff."

When Arakcheev saw this situation, he knew what was going on. He just wanted to choose a suitable chief of staff, but he was afraid that there was no suitable candidate.

Essentially, this matter was Paul's fault. The Russian army had an apprenticeship system, or promoted suitable staff officers from the "servants". However, in the current situation, with Kamensky as the commander-in-chief, there was no suitable Russian chief of staff.

Then he had an idea and thought of a candidate: "I think we can let General Langgeron be the chief of staff. After all, the French are more knowledgeable about staff work."

"Well, always use the French against the French."

Although Alexander did not like Langeron very much, especially his advice before the Battle of Austerlitz, it made him somewhat unhappy.

But now there is no one to use him, so he can only use this guy. Anyway, he is not going to command a legion. What Arakcheev said makes sense. Someone is needed to assist Kamensky. But at this time, Alexander also needs to send one of his own to the army.

"Arakcheev, according to our current staff arrangement, there should be departments below it, right?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Under the Legion Staff, there are the Operations Department, Intelligence Department, Quartermaster Department, and Communications Department."

"So the Operations Department is responsible for making plans?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Who will you appoint as Chief of Operations?"

"Soloviev can do it. He is doing staff work all day long. Sukhteren has also praised his ability in this area."

Arakcheev thought this candidate was not a bad choice. Solovyov had already proved his ability. The only problem was that he was young.

Also, his military rank is only colonel, but it is highly consistent with the position of chief of operations.

According to Arakcheev's plan, the chief of operations would be a colonel, or at most a major general. Solovyov would be very suitable to be placed in such a position.

After the person concerned found out, he invited Lang Geron to have coffee downstairs of his house.

"How's that appointment?"

When Solovyov heard Langgeron's joking tone, he knew that something bad was going to happen.

"Maybe they think that since you are French, you are more knowledgeable about military theory, and that the French military's staff, whether it is the Bourbon army or the current French army, is quite capable."

This also includes the Jacobite counterattack on London, when the Scottish-French officers' excellent organizational skills frequently led the English by the nose.

"It's a damn thing, they made me chief of staff because I'm French, and that's a hell of a job."

"That's also a recognition of your ability. Look at me, the Chief of Operations, but the Intelligence Department, Quartermaster Department, and Communications Department are arranged by three officers with completely different backgrounds and different native languages."

Anyway, there were not many customers in the cafe today, so the two of them basically rented a private room here.

"This is a test of our abilities. If it doesn't work, let's all speak French together."

"Well, the worst thing is that he used a rusty sword. And I'm afraid he himself is unwilling to unsheathe this sword."

This is a very appropriate evaluation of Kamensky. He is indeed very capable and had a great reputation in the army in the past, but he has not directly commanded the army for more than ten years. Because Potemkin did not trust him and handed over the command of the army to Kakhovsky, he went home in anger.

"Michelle, it seems that you have mastered the art of speaking. This is a very appropriate description."

"But we have no choice. When the Prussians are defeated and flee to East Prussia, it will be our turn to take action."

"Yeah, there's not that much time for us to prepare."

"I remember you mentioned those Prussians when you first met me."

After hearing this, Langgeron also laughed and said, "Aha, that's right. At that time, you were still serving in the Guards. After a few years, you were promoted to colonel at the age of 25. And, you should get married, right? Although Madame Recamier is a good girl, her arms can only provide comfort, not an ideal wife."

Considering Langgeron's age, there was nothing wrong with him saying this to Madame Recamier, and he even sounded a little joking and envious when he spoke.

This boy is no longer at the age where he looks like a girl, and is still very popular among the ladies. However, he is also quite "picky", and the only person who knows about him is Madame Récamier.

For the French, this is unavoidable, they are just that relaxed.

"But I'm already engaged. I have to keep it a secret from that girl, so she can have more freedom in her choice."

"Well, I support this point. Although I am a little curious, I am also looking forward to it, so I won't ask about this secret."

These Frenchmen, the ladies love to gossip, and the men are particularly passionate and gossipy. Langgeron not only has a wife, but he also has a mistress to accompany him wherever he goes.

"When I get married, I will definitely invite you."

"Ah, there will definitely be a lot of acquaintances coming over, no matter if they are close to you or if they are your enemies."

"The more people hate you, the more successful you will be!"

When he said this, Solovyov himself laughed. He had indeed offended many people in the past.

The verbal dispute with Langgeron was a case of "mutual harm" between old friends, but Marshal Kamensky's words
Because Solovyov was Suvorov's last disciple, even if he fought side by side with the marshal's youngest son and had some friendship with him, it did not guarantee anything.

Both Langgeron and Solovyov knew that Marshal Kamensky actually did not want to come out.

When the old marshal, the last marshal who could command a legion during the Empress's era, received the order from St. Petersburg at his estate in Orel, he was resistant in his heart.

Unlike Suvorov, Kamensky still commanded the army through strict discipline and effective organization, rather than being as popular as the field marshal.

Moreover, he had been out of the army for so long that he was well aware that he was out of touch and might as well have been living this "Asian tyrant"-like life in Oryol.

However, he had to go, as it was an order from the Tsar himself. Even Alexander knew that he had messed up his job as military governor in St. Petersburg and had to go home, but Arakcheev swore that administrative management and military command were different.

However, we also need to look at individual abilities and the course of history.

(End of this chapter)