Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 417 The Coming War is French vs. French

The day after the Russian army received the order to set out, a strange thing happened at the Russian Army Headquarters.

When Solovyov found out, he felt very embarrassed.

It is true that Davydov is Bagration's adjutant, but there is a problem: he is too prone to trouble.

Marshal Kamensky was not young after all, and his rash entry into the commander-in-chief's room caused quite a stir.

"From a fact that can be confirmed from one side, our commander-in-chief does not have the command ability."

"And he knows it all. Michel, wouldn't you like some wine?"

"I rarely drink alcohol except for champagne when celebrating."

Like the French, Langgeron prefers older wines, but unfortunately he could not import them from Bordeaux during the war.

He had long known that Solovyov seldom drank, and although he was still somewhat capable in socializing, he would not be in such a good state if he drank a little.

"And Shirley?"

"Ah, Shirley. What's important now is not Shirley, but our old village chief. He obviously knows that he doesn't have the ability to command a modern synthetic corps, and he would be too strict if he were to be the Minister of War."

Yes, Marshal Kamensky was a man of extremely strict conduct. In fact, if he were to be the Minister of War, considering that he did not need to look at maps and that he was decisive in his work, he might be better than Sergei Kuzmich.

"At least that Arakcheev won't send all the military police and secret agents into the War Ministry in Petersburg. We can still rebuild the army according to the original plan."

Langeron always spoke without restraint, and the reason was simple. After all, he served in Russia, unlike those Alemanni or Visigoths. He was French, so he always gave people a sense of superiority, but he always suffered a disadvantage in terms of promotion and salary increase.

That's especially true considering his usual loud mouth.

"Let's not talk about Arakcheev for now. He and the housekeeper are having a hot affair."

When Langgelon heard this, he was very concerned.

After all, he was French and was always interested in the affairs of men and women.

"You mentioned this"

"Arakcheev did not take good care of his young wife. He divorced her soon after marriage and lived with the housekeeper. Count, I thought you knew it a long time ago. After all, the French are the best at finding out about this, and you were also proud of it in Brest."

After hearing this, Langgeron also knew where Solovyov got the information from.

After all, he used to be an adjutant and was very familiar with the adjutants of various generals, including Davydov, who frightened Kamensky.

Even between Davydov and Bagration there was a problem with the nose.

"But it was your hussar friend who frightened the commander-in-chief, and we now know what to do."

"According to the order of things, you should be the one commanding this army. Wittgenstein will not object. He is just brave but not wise, but he still has a clear mind on important matters. Otherwise, the emperor would not have favored a German officer."

"It's Bookholden again. But there is a way. For example, we can ask his staff to come up with a battle plan, and then make modifications based on this plan, even if it was proposed by him."

Langgeron had been Buckholden's subordinate and knew the general's vain nature, otherwise he would not have talked about his daughter hanging out with the Queen Mother all day long.

These generals always sent their daughters to the palace, and it was also a common practice to please the Queen Mother.

Since Solovyov said so, he was happy to do so.

However, Langgeron had no idea about directly confronting Napoleon.

“The question is how to fix this.”

"We will move toward Poland from East Prussia, establish a forward base in Pultusk, and then have Wittgenstein's troops move forward. The only question is whether Buchholden can lead the Second Army to play a role here."

"Are you doing a hammer and anvil tactic like this?"

"Use more of Buckholden's veteran troops to join the operation, so that when we attract the French, we will have enough troops to strike at their flanks and rear."

Solovyov's idea was to have a serious confrontation with Napoleon, but only in a piecemeal manner to deplete the French's manpower.

In November 1806, a favorable thing for Napoleon was that the Poles launched an uprising in Warsaw. Now the cavalry led by Murat could quickly enter the city of Warsaw. In this way, Poland and Silesia on the southern front were almost in the pocket of the French army.

But there were problems. At this time, 100,000 Russian troops appeared in East Prussia and had been moving freely on the east bank of the Vistula River, showing signs of joining forces with the remaining 10,000 Prussian troops.

Napoleon's winter advance faced enormous difficulties at this time.

His soldiers were constantly complaining about the bad weather in Poland and the current supply difficulties, and they were also unclear about the movements of the Russian army.

At this time, if some means are used on the battlefield, a temporary advantage can be gained, and a certain part of the French army can be attacked.

"But the coordination of the legions is also a problem. Even if you improve the means of communication, there will still be problems."

"At times like this, our Cossack and Hussar Regiments are needed to play a role. Some of them will remain in the divisions, and we need to deploy these cavalry in squadrons. Towns along the river, such as Charnovo and Pultusk, are also our main targets. The enemy will also mobilize troops to attack here, so we need to do a better job of reconnaissance and harassment."

Solovyov even thought that this was a rehearsal for 1812. Even though Poland was not that cold, soldiers on both sides would definitely not want to fight in winter.

However, Russian soldiers are more resilient and have adapted slightly to the environment here.

At this time, the resilience of the soldiers on both sides also needs to be tested. After Warsaw was liberated from the Prussian occupation, the nature of the war by the French also changed.

That Dombrovski and his Polish Legion returned to Poland, but outside the city of Kolberg, they began to attack the locals. In terms of discipline, their situation was even worse than that of the French.

As for what he did, we probably need to mobilize the small boss first.
It was obvious that the French and the Poles in the French Allied Forces were no longer in the best condition at this time, and the Poles had never even entered a suitable combat state.

At this time, the East Prussian Corps, which had been resting and training for a long time, could still fight.

However, after Solovyov took over Bookholden's plan and modified it, Langgeron discovered a problem.

It is indeed not a good idea to let the elderly Kamensky command such a battle. At least he needs a sharp mind and stay awake at all times so that the army can concentrate its forces locally to fight the French.

And it’s not without problems.

"Michel, if you do this, each of our regiments will have to carry a large amount of supplies, which will inevitably affect the marching speed in winter. In particular, you have to consider that in Poland, it is okay to fight in the summer, but it is difficult for us to get food for the horses in the winter. Even fodder needs to be supplied from the rear."

"I know this very well, but we need to scout where the French winter camp will be located. On the one hand, we need to plunder and destroy the enemy's fodder, and on the other hand, we need to expand our own supplies. At this time, we actually need to ensure that there are always Prussian troops or our troops stationed in Königsberg, control this place, and use it as our support center."

"It's a good idea to use the reduction of marching speed in exchange for the guarantee at the front."

"But this is mainly for the infantry. The cavalry still has a large range of activities. If the people eat and the horses chew, the amount of supplies they need is still too much."

"It's a good thing that the Operations Department and the Quartermaster Department under the General Staff are separate."

"But you will probably become the actual commander-in-chief now. And our marshal, Mikhail Fyodorovich, will probably have to give the order to retreat on his own, or someone will prove that he is not capable of commanding an army."

"Well, then the responsibilities will be unified again. Perhaps His Majesty will indeed allow a colonel to be the chief of staff."

There was a hint of joking in Langgeron's tone when he spoke.

His meaning was very clear. The "Prussianization" that Paul had not completed at that time was realized in the East Prussian Corps. However, the commander was a Frenchman, and the actual person in charge of the general staff was a disciple of Field Marshal Suvorov, who had always opposed military reforms. The two army commanders under him were of German descent, which made the configuration quite ridiculous.

Using the French to fight the French sounds funny, but this kind of thing is not strange to the French. The Prince of Condé's family is an expert in this regard.

The Grand Prince of Condé had once fled, and the Prince of Condé in the royalist party probably has the same attitude now. Langgeron was an officer in this legion before.

As for Bookholden, he knew his own strengths and weaknesses, so he would not have much objection to letting Langgeron command him. After all, if the emperor had listened to him, perhaps the defeat would not have been so terrible.

The only problem is that Bookholden’s qualifications are clearly superior to those of Langeron and Wittgenstein, so it is inevitable that problems will arise in the future.

This kind of shit happened quite often in Europe at that time.

Solovyov is now 25 years old and a colonel. He is often criticized by officers who are older than him.

Although being the disciple of the Grand Marshal could bring him some advantages, he was too young. He was not one of the wealthy nobles like Count Vorontsov's family who could be promoted on the fast track, or one of them who could be promoted quickly because of his noble family background. It was inevitable that he was called "the gigolo kept by a French widow."

But in fact, Madame Recamier lived in St. Petersburg, and the house she rented was found by Solovyov's stepmother. Regardless of who supported whom, Solovyov's military achievements were there.

His problem was probably that as a colonel, when he gave orders, his level was not enough to control the generals.

In other words, he was lucky. Count Ostermann-Tolstoy, Baron Sacken, Prince Golitsyn and General Sedemoraki under Wittgenstein, and Tuchkov, Dokhturov and Baron Essen from Buchholden were all familiar to him. Only Lieutenant General Anrepe, the commander of the 14th Division, was not so familiar to him. Unlike some places, it took a lot of time just to deal with the rumors.

Under the current circumstances, he actually needs the identity of a general.

However, if you want others to feel that this identity is undisputed, you still need to have military achievements to support it.

Moreover, instead of adopting Kamensky's tactics that could break up the Russian column, Solovyov was indeed a little worried about having to carry out a series of high-intensity operations.

Although Osterman-Tolstoy, who had already gone out as a vanguard, repeatedly assured him and reiterated that he could control the frontier strongholds, he was still not at ease.

According to current reconnaissance, the French army is taking advantage of the freezing of the Vistula River, and some troops have already crossed the river in advance, so they are likely to attack us.

After all, forcing the Russian army to retreat to a certain distance can make them safer during their winter camps.

When Langgeron approved the 2nd Division to go to Charnovo, he still hoped to form a deterrent to the French.

You know, the use of light cavalry was very critical in this Russian expedition.

The cavalry squadron that had already set out was searching along the French army's marching route, which was not good news for the French messengers.

At this time, Solovyov improved the Russian army's communication equipment in Jelgava from October to November, and used Morse code + optical communication methods, which was able to greatly improve communication efficiency.

Even the signals sent by some cavalry communications officers were encrypted and required a special code book to be successfully deciphered.

The first important information Solovyov received in the general staff came from the Alexander Hussar Regiment. The regiment's commander, Colonel Yurkovsky, reported that they had captured an important French prisoner carrying letters.

Unfortunately, this was the messenger sent by Bernadotte to Warsaw, and he sent more than one person. He stated the same problem: the supply of the 1st Army was very difficult.

After Langgeron and Solovyov obtained this information, they quickly handed it over to Marshal Kamensky.

But the old marshal's situation is obviously very bad now. Even he himself is aware of it. His eyes are blurry and he can't see the map clearly. Although he is very familiar with these places, he can't command any war.

So the responsibility of issuing orders and commanding battles was given to Langgeron, in order to use the French to deal with the French.

(End of this chapter)