Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 433 010 The Necessary Battle of Eylau and Tactical Innovation

The full name of Eylau is Prishich-Eylau, which is located south of Königsberg. You will definitely not find it on a modern map.

Because, after 1946, this place was called Bagrationovsk, the German name of East Prussia, and it was completely de-Prussianized. However, many places on the Polish side originally contained a large amount of Polish territory, so the change was from "Dorf" in German to "Novo" in the Slavic language.

In this way, when others see it, they can roughly understand the situation.

However, in order to lure the enemy, Solovyov burned down a "Jewish town" called Jeziorany, which was a joke from hell.

Now, the main commanders of the Russian army have been meeting in the church in the city of Eylau to discuss future actions.

But at the beginning, when Langgeron just proposed the choice of fighting or retreating, no one was willing to leave except him, the commander-in-chief, chief of staff Solovyov, and Bagration, who always advocated fighting but was more cautious at this time.

Even Lieutenant General Count Ostermann-Tolstoy, who had an artistic temperament and came from a prominent family and was well-educated, held such an opinion.

Moreover, he was the first to speak as a division commander.

The 2nd Division was ranked first in the entire corps, so it was the first to speak. Langgeron had asked him to speak to play it safe, so that he would have some time to organize his thoughts before the Germans spoke.

"We have now retreated to East Prussia, which is getting closer and closer to the border. In the past few days, the brothers first set out from the winter camp to attack the French at the mouth of the Vistula River. However, they were discovered halfway, and Bonaparte has been chasing us with his army. We have only had a few small-scale engagements. If we continue to run like this, it will obviously be a mess. And the important point is that our army has now gathered together, and the French are scattered on both sides of the forest. We can only choose to attack the enemy in one direction."

As he said this, young Kamensky also stood up and expressed his opinion.

"We really shouldn't run like this anymore. We blew up the bridge over the Aare River in Yankovo, making it difficult for the enemy to resupply. We can still collect supplies along the way. The French only carry 3 to 7 days of rations. After running for a few days, I think they have almost consumed it. We should fight here."

Lang Jielong looked at them and also felt it was outrageous.

Those who were usually more stable now had to fight hard, but those who were more courageous, such as young Kamensky, now talked sense.

He looked at Solovyov. This kid had just come up from the "kids' table" and was not the commander of the troops, but only the corps chief of staff. It was obviously not appropriate for him to express any opinions, so if he wanted to speak, he would leave it for later.

As for the gathering of Russian troops, except for the friendly army Lestock which was on the way, all nine divisions of the army had arrived here. After several battles, the total strength of the Russian army was over 9 when it set out, and now there are still more than 10 troops, and 8 of them can join the battle.

But several division commanders were unwilling to leave. Langgeron now thought that if old Kamensky were still alive, he might be able to suppress them, but that would be very bad.

Baron Sacken and Baron Essen also agreed, but they did not express their opinions. Instead, they nodded frequently when Kamensky Jr. spoke.

The situation was more troublesome at this time. There were usually some minor conflicts between Russian and German officers, but today the views of both sides were similar, and he, as the commander-in-chief, obviously could not suppress them.

The remaining ones who did not express their views were Dokhturov, Tuchkov and Prince Golitsyn.

Although all three of them are of "Russian" origin, they also advocate war. The only difference is that they have to defend on the spot.

Langgeron looked at this scene and really wanted to complain.

According to his idea, the Russian army would burn down Eylau and then withdraw behind the border. If the French army dared to pursue them further, he could drag the French army to death in the ice and snow of Lithuania.

If the French army chose not to pursue, the only gamble would be whether they were heading for Königsberg.

This political problem was too serious. When Langgeron was in Austerlitz, he got into trouble because he and Kutuzov advised Alexander successively, and he was sent to Odessa.

In fact, fighting a battle here is also a political battle, as none of the Russian generals want to move further.

Fighting this kind of battle is likely to be thankless and not worth the cost.

As for Napoleon, although he had the desire to fight, Eylau was completely controlled by the Russian army, and it was not easy to take it.

Just looking at the determination of these Russian generals, it is obvious that in military meetings, the minority obeys the majority. Although Russia has an emperor, in general, its military capabilities have been questionable since Rurik.

Therefore, these generals on the front line would also hold meetings to discuss when the monarch was absent, and ultimately have a vote result, and few would act arbitrarily.

At this time, even those who advocated transfer would not be likely to give up the geographical advantages of Eylau, which were not very good but already had them, and move towards the more flat terrain along the coast.

"Count, I think everyone's opinion is that we should not give up Eylau and fight the French army here. After all, the town is in our hands, and the French are currently scattered on both sides."

"But this is not a suitable place to build a position, Michel. You can see that the terrain is so flat and open. We can't hide our troops in any way. The enemy can see them clearly."

"Then you have to trouble us, brothers. Before the French arrive here, build a fortress of ice and snow. You know what I mean. It's an ice city. And it's not friendly to heavy cavalry."

Solovyov has always been a little clever, and now he is holding back a smirk. Everyone knows that he probably has some ideas.

We just need the hard work of all the generals and colonels to command their troops and quickly make use of the relatively soft snowfall in the past few days and the hard or soft soil dug out from below to build the ice city.

In addition, the construction of artillery positions does require more consideration. The Russian army itself has a considerable number of artillery pieces. At most, a division can prepare 72 guns in the marching column.

Langgelon then ordered the artillery to be concentrated and the main frontal artillery group was deployed on a slightly higher ground behind the infantry position.

In addition, artillery companies were deployed on the positions under the charge of each division on the front line. Since Russia's horse management has always been very efficient, the number of artillery carried by the Russian army is indeed considerable. However, when placed together with the cavalry, the consumption of food and horse munitions is also there.

Under such circumstances, the Russian artillery could carry their own snacks on the vehicles, which was indeed envied by the infantry. However, because the Russian army began to build canning factories in Ryazan and Moscow in 1805, and the Russian soldiers made their own glass cans, the soldiers on the front line could still carry more rations as long as they did not consume their reserves in advance, and even pickles and canned meat that were in short supply on the front line could be brought with them.

As for the French army, everyone knew that their rations were almost used up.

In this situation, if we want to fight a battle, we can barely be considered to be waiting for the opportunity to tire ourselves out.

You know, the Russian army's losses are actually very serious.

When Eylau was arranging the battle line, these locations in the north, if history is restored, are where the battle took place.

It was simply because the Russian army had maneuvered to its position in advance, and most of its troops were assembled here when the French army was still on the Frankovsky line trying to capture the Russian rear guard, giving them ample time to build their positions.

Apart from the artillery, the cavalry under each division is currently in good condition.

However, in the infantry phalanx, if a regiment adopts a configuration of 6 or 8 companies, it is obviously necessary to consider more when arranging the hollow square.

If troops were to be deployed on the battlefield, a 2×2 square formation was a common practice, but Solovyov was somewhat displeased when he looked at this square formation.

The same 8 companies can be arranged into a 1×3 formation. If there are three companies in the front, it will be beneficial to exert firepower.

He thought about this problem, which was actually somewhat similar to the "Egyptian Square" used by the French army after 1808, but that was a battalion square formed after the French army was reduced to a 6-company system.

And there is another point, that is, he estimated that if the French army could not break the situation, they might use heavy cavalry to charge.

Considering the current depth of the Russian army's lineup, this phalanx that occupies less space is obviously more advantageous. It is even possible to place two companies as reserves in an 8-company unit.

This is even a solid one. Whether it is the "Egyptian Phalanx", Solovyov's own "elongated Phalanx" or the solid Phalanx, more infantry can be placed in a smaller area to increase the density of troops to resist the impact of the French cavalry. The French artillery is not like the Russian army, where a division comes out with dozens of guns, so there is no need to worry too much about the artillery.

If the troops are poorly trained, this method can be used to deal with them, so that a large number of mass-produced cannon fodder can be quickly produced.

However, in the Russian army, the regiments formed before 1804 usually do not have to worry about this problem. What needs to be considered are usually the new infantry regiments that appear later. But the Russian army is not the Prussian army. Even if they are all serfs, they will not do what the Prussians did.

After inspecting the front-line positions, he quickly returned to the headquarters. In Langgeron, there were still several division commanders who had not returned.

He also happened to continue discussing the issues with these teachers.

"How's it going, Misha, have you chosen the artillery positions?"

"I'm afraid the French will have a headache when they see us setting up our positions. In addition to placing our artillery in the open and accompanying the heavy artillery of each division, we also have a reserve artillery group directly under our command. We must give full play to the power of these artillery. Therefore, our artillery positions must also be carefully arranged, and in some places we can even do better. But this is not the point. What I'm thinking now is, since we have to fight, can we change the shape of the battalion formation on the battlefield? Just like this, we are no longer arranged in a square, but in a rectangle. When our officers give orders, they mention "phalanx", which means a square arrangement, and "new phalanx", which means this kind of rectangle. If it appears diagonally on the battlefield, it can also strengthen our firepower."

"Your idea is not bad, but we don't have enough time to rehearse and deploy every regiment now."

"King Frederick the Great's oblique tactics were also conceived before the battle began. Although I do not support the Prussian approach, the revival of tactics such as the oblique tactics is always accompanied by changes in infantry formations. Moreover, this is not the stupid 'innovation' of the Prussians. That is simply the unreasonable behavior of a group of arrogant people."

"It has some practical value, but crossfire is still quite troublesome. When you use your firepower like this, it is more likely to cause accidental injuries on the battlefield. In a square formation, when you shoot in units of five, it is also difficult to control, and not everyone can shoot freely and accurately."

"If I wasn't worried about the French cavalry's attack, Corea, I would have used two rows of troops. That would have given the French an illusion that our strength was unexpectedly greater than expected given the width of the battlefield."

"Next time, if you meet an opponent other than the French, you can give it a try."

When little Kamensky said this, Langgeron knew what he was talking about.

If the Russian army did not fight the French army, it would fight the Turks on the Danube.

The Caucasus battlefield was not suitable for these practices. It was often the Cossacks and scattered Russian troops who confronted the Chechens or Turks and Persians.

Other places are in Age of Empires 3, the Age of Emperors, but they are still in Age of Empires 2, or maybe even the Castle Age.

At this moment, the only new tactic that can be used immediately is probably the "stretched square formation", and the commands need only be adjusted, and all the company commanders need to do is to bring the people to the positions.

Even for the company commanders of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th, 6th, 7th companies in the front, such a square formation is very comfortable. Even if they need to move forward, they can just move forward a little distance. It is probably like this in a world where only the 1st or 8th company is injured.

They need to walk a longer way to reach the designated location, and may even need to walk faster than a quick walk to get there.

But there is no way around it. If there is a shortcoming of the new formation, it is that it is more tiring to run at short distances.

However, considering the benefits that this tactic can bring, some losses are still worth it.

As for the larger regimental phalanx, Solovyov had no idea of ​​adjusting it. After all, there was no tactical need for it now.

The French on the opposite side are indeed a real threat.

But Napoleon was really overwhelmed when he saw the orderly deployment of the Russian army.

Of course, he has a big head.

(End of this chapter)