Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 430 007 The French and Russian fishing competition begins (Part )
When Napoleon set out with the Grand Army, he was still thinking about Countess Walewska. Although she was not pretty enough, she smelled so good!
But his attention has been adjusted back. An energetic person usually has a strong desire to control others.

When others say that one should focus one's main energy on the military, it will always lead to a farce, but Napoleon was different. Sometimes he was even too martial.

In fact, he had noticed a long time ago that the Russian army had been more fond of spying recently, sending out small groups to frequently conduct reconnaissance activities in various areas. Before and after the French army entered the winter camp, if there was any movement, the nearby Russian cavalry would take action.

For example, eight messengers were sent to Bernardot to convey the same order, but in the end only one completed the task, and the remaining seven were captured by the Cossacks.

Six of them had time to destroy the letters they were carrying before being captured, but the last guy had the letter picked out of his mouth.

Moreover, this letter with traces of saliva provided important information about the movements of the French army.

After discussion, Langeron, Bagration, Wittgenstein and Solovyov decided to use a fishing tactic against Napoleon and use the same trick against him. At the same time, at the military meeting, they also asked all generals to fully understand this tactic and to fish for the French in any way possible.

When he said this, Langgelon didn't care that he was French.

Both sides saw an inconspicuous area on the map, which was near the village of Yankovo. However, although this place was inconspicuous, there was a relatively important bridge.

Kamensky the Younger led the 14th Division and placed it in such a place.

But when the army started to move, Solovyov, as the corps chief of staff, actually came to him.

"My friend who fought alongside me at Ghost Gate Bridge, what are you doing here?"

"Kolya, do you know where I am from?"

"Let me see, you are from Ryazan?"

"Yes, there is a Ryazan Infantry Regiment in your division. They are actually from my hometown!"

"Why didn't you serve in the Ryazan Regiment? I know your resume. You started in the Suzdal Regiment. No wonder old man Alexander Vasilyevich favors you. Let's not talk about your background. You came to me because you have an important mission to be deployed, right?"

"There's not much to say. We must ensure that the bridge is destroyed."

"You always pay attention to bridges and roads. If you lead the Hussars to attack the enemy's rear, I'm afraid you will be a good hand."

"But I am an infantryman, don't forget that."

"Okay, what do you think?"

"Go and call the commander of the Ryazan Infantry Regiment. I just happened to bring some coffee. Wouldn't it be good for me to make some coffee here?"

"When we were marching and fighting, we almost forgot the taste of coffee."

"Yes."

"But where did you get this thing?"

"Don't forget that the two cavalry commanders who attacked Bernadotte's convoy are both my friends."

Little Kamensky also remembered this, but when he asked the orderly to make coffee, he was still thinking about his girlfriend, holding a small portrait of the girl in his hand.

His girlfriend, with whom he had always been in correspondence, was a girl from the Orlov family, the only daughter and heiress of a wealthy family.

Since his father was still alive and his eldest brother was the main heir, Count Kamensky Jr. did not get much, so he really hoped that a rich girl would fall in love with him. However, when he wrote the letter, it was not because of the wealth, but because of the real feelings.

As for the small statue sent by the girl, it was probably her admiration for this heroic figure. After all, he was the brave man who led the charge on the Ghost Gate Bridge under the bombardment of French shotgun shells.

"Let me take a look. Ah, Kolya, you are really lucky. Miss Orlova is not ordinary rich. The property reserved for her by her father, Count Alexei, is estimated to be worth 200 million rubles."

The concept of this property was probably that in that era, it was converted into silver rubles. Since she was a girl from the Orlov family, she was naturally rich and there was no need to discuss it.

You have to know that the emperor's uncle, Count Alexei Bobulinsky, inherited a huge fortune from his biological father.
After all, he is the Queen’s biological son and Paul’s only brother.

"You kid, I remember you seemed to be very rich, and your father is a professional manager."

Count Kamensky the Younger was quite familiar with him, and they would inevitably have verbal fights.

"Yes, in Petersburg, rich girls would stay away from Prince Vasily of the Kuragin family. Who knows what he is planning."

"I know about this. The son of the King of Prussia is also your friend, right?"

"We used to be adjutants of the same duty group, so we know each other. In fact, he was my leader at that time, but now I am a general."

"This is different. You have been at the front line the whole time, and luckily you have not been injured or captured. Therefore, you are a general now, and you have been sharing the joys and sorrows with the rest of us."

“I’m always a little short.”

"Yes, the French soldiers always cut off your hat, but they can't hurt you."

When the two of them talked about this, they started laughing out loud.

You know, Count Kamensky the Younger had just celebrated his 30th birthday.

"You better hurry up, that chubby Aniya. I heard her father is very ill recently. If you can make it in time, it would be best to get married in the summer."

"If you say that, do you want to get married too?"

"Yes, with Prince Krimsky's granddaughter, it's just a secret engagement." Everyone Solovyov talked to were close friends. Count Kamensky the Younger had been through thick and thin with him, and he had a strong character and was very tight-lipped, so there was no problem talking to him.

"That slim little Katya, you have a good fate, such a lovely girl. Although the family has a lot of debts because Vasily Vasilyevich is too enthusiastic when entertaining guests, your father's ability should be able to help his family." Count Kamensky could not help but admire that Solovyov's fiancée is a good girl. Even though the Krimsky family has many manors, they are indeed more in debt. Although 20 rubles can be borrowed from the family property, the consumption is also quite alarming.

While they were arguing, Lieutenant Colonel Benzer, the commander of the Ryazan Regiment, also came over.

Solovyov almost came up with a witty remark like "all come to XXX", but the Chinese, French and Russian jokes have nothing in common, so that's it.

"Lieutenant Colonel Benzer, I have a difficult mission for you. You must destroy the bridge. You must set up the explosives now. When the whole army retreats, you must ensure that there is sufficient destruction."

"Sir, I understand what you mean, but we don't have enough explosives right now. If we want to set fire to the village, we have enough Molotov cocktails."

The grenadiers of the Ryazan Regiment carried half grenades and half Molotov cocktails, but the preparation of explosives was definitely not enough, and the power of black powder was really hard to describe.

"Well, I will send a messenger to find professional engineers to help you complete this mission. This bridge is of great significance. If our army can escape safely, the French will definitely pursue us along the main road. They will use this bridge, so we will blow it up no matter what."

"Yes, General, I will arrange the manpower, but you will also need to send engineers and professional engineers to cooperate with the operation. If the situation is the worst, we must complete this mission even if we fight to the last man."

Well, there are indeed many heroes in the Russian army. Although Lieutenant Colonel Count Benzer is not very famous and may not become a general in his lifetime, his attitude shows that he is indeed a very brave soldier.

"Although your determination is good, don't talk like that. The life of every officer and soldier is precious. Don't die easily!"

As for the regiment commander, Major General Alexeev, he is also a brigade commander, so this kind of task should be assigned to the regiment.

After Count Kamensky the Younger's troops arrived at Yankovo, the Russian officers and soldiers were busy setting up positions. The artillery needed gun emplacements, the infantry needed bunkers and trenches. In addition to these, some obstacles had to be set up to prevent the French army from passing through easily.

No matter what, we should set up camp on the road, control the main traffic lines, and don't rush to the high ground.

Of course, there is no shortage of water nearby, but the problem with going up to the high ground is that it is easy to be surrounded.

Solovyov and Count Kamensky the Younger observed the terrain in this area together. If the French army came from the south, they would definitely have to pass in front of the position they had chosen.

When Napoleon scouted the situation, he judged that the Russian army should be active in the northwest direction, so he prepared to seize Allenstein and then launch an attack.

It’s just that the signal delay on the French side is relatively high. After all, communication relies on messengers and their signal machines, so the efficiency is compromised.

When Soult arrived here, Murat had not received the order yet.

Moreover, while the French army was arranging its troops, a large Russian force had already crossed the Aare River and left. Moreover, the only bridge that could be used in this section of the Aare River, the bridge to the west of Allenstein, had been destroyed. Although it could allow infantry and cavalry to pass, judging from this dirty trick of the Russians, it was obvious that they did not intend to allow heavily loaded artillery vehicles to pass.

After receiving the report, Napoleon could only shake his head.

"The Russians are really cunning. If this is the case, we have to repair this bridge while paying attention to the two bridges downstream. We can't let them destroy both of them."

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The Russians have not destroyed the two bridges yet and have already established positions on the west bank of the Aare River."

The report that Soult received was also from Saint-Hila.

"Very good, Soult. What you have to do now is to seize the two bridges with the cooperation of Murat's cavalry and attack the Russian rear guard in front of you. As for Davout, he can cross the river first and track the main Russian force heading east."

Davout's Third Army did not cross the river from this section, but went directly from the upper reaches of the Aare River.

As for Kamensky Jr., his rearguard battle this time was extremely dangerous.

Solovyov came to him to arrange the entire strategic formation before leaving.

Even when he crossed the Aare River eastward with two squadrons of hussars, he encountered French dragoons on the way.

This is because the Hussars are pure light cavalry and have left behind the Dragoons who are very brave in charging but, like their cavalry commanders, sometimes only think about muscles.

After escaping safely, Solovyov was still a little worried about Kamensky Jr. After all, he had to go through a series of operations and confuse the French army's actions to buy time for the main force.

For this purpose, part of the cavalry of the 5th and 6th Divisions was left on the Aare River side in an attempt to mislead Napoleon.

This little trick would certainly be discovered, but after seeing the Russian positions, Napoleon was determined to get Soult and Murat to take action.

But the problem was that they discovered the Russian army early in the morning, and there were no Russian troops between the Guards and the headquarters and Murat to capture the messenger, but the transmission of the order was delayed until the afternoon, and it was not until three o'clock in the afternoon that the French army was ready to attack.

At this time, even if Solovyov had always been worried about not having enough explosives to destroy the two bridges over the Aare River, it was enough for them to continue preparing.

The Ryazan Infantry Regiment actually sent its most valuable grenadiers to the bridgehead to guard it.

Count Kamensky the Younger saw the situation of the French army and actually had a rough idea of ​​it.

Even before Solovyov left, he told him the French attack method predicted by Langgeron.

Soult's deployment was just as Langeron had said. The Saint-Hilal Division would attack from the front, with troops sent out on the flanks to make a detour, then attack from both sides, drive out the Russian army from the east and west banks of the Aare River, and after defeating them, pursue and destroy them in this way.

However, Count Kamensky the Younger was a wise, brave and very calm general, a typical commander in a situation of adverse circumstances.

He was even prepared to act out the scene more realistically in order to divert the attention of the French army.

When the French 6-pound gun opened fire, it meant that the battle was about to begin.

These days, due to the snowfall and lower temperatures, the road conditions are obviously much better. Even when the French sent La Salle's Hussars to cooperate with Saint-Hilal in the attack, they felt that the situation was much better than two months ago when they were entangled with the Russian army in that damn mud.

However, there is a problem here. The terrain is fair to both sides. The Russian cavalry naturally moves much more smoothly, so a fierce battle is inevitable.

(End of this chapter)