Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 435 012 A battle in a meat grinder (II) Young people cheat and steal without moral integrity

Yermolov was an artilleryman, and was also the artillery commander in charge of a cavalry artillery group.

Solovyov called him over just to seize the initiative and make Ogero, who was currently closest to the Russian army, uneasy.

According to his estimation, Napoleon's four armies were on one side, and Soult was in the southwest. The two troops were separated by the terrain, but they could still communicate with each other through the forest. If they insisted on launching an attack, opening up communication, and compressing the Russian army in Eylau, this would be very unfavorable to the overall situation.

However, considering that Surt's combat effectiveness was relatively strong and he had a large number of troops, Solovyov was not sure about using a fishing expedition against him.

When he made the suggestion, Langgelon had also read the reconnaissance report and knew that a night attack could not be launched against Soult.

No matter how you look at it, this side is more suitable, and if you want to turn the tables, it would be most appropriate to cut on Augereau.

"Misha, do you need our artillery again?"

"This is not a communication. Although I have thought of a way, I am afraid it will be too late to make such an oil lamp temporarily. How many cavalry guns do you have?"

"There are 36 guns. Do you want to change the deployment of the artillery?"

"Pull out 12 cavalry guns and those useless mortars, take the artillery, don't go to Essen or Sacken, those Germans, transfer the reserve troops over there, you have to cooperate with them in the attack. However, you have to abandon those mortars, it's best to destroy them all."

The fat man Yermolov guessed what Solovyov was thinking.

"You want to lure the French into attacking?"

"If it was Napoleon, he wouldn't fall for this trick, but we are not attacking the camp of his Guards, but Augereau of the Seventh Army. You know, I once captured General Scherer, the former Minister of the Army, and was able to obtain a lot of intelligence about the Italian Army and the Rhine Army from him. This trick might be useful for Augereau."

"You, a Ryazan, really like to play tricks. How about you trick the French?"

"That's what the French like to do, but we're a little more cunning."

The task that Solovyov assigned to Yermolov seemed to be to lure the enemy.

As for taking the initiative to attack, this is more proactive. The French flanks are completely scattered, and squatting cannot solve the problem.

Then, these artillery units need to be mobilized.

As for the infantry, the 2nd Division cannot always be the model worker. Now this division is deployed on the flank to carry out defense and support the Russian troops on the east.

Another point is that the 2nd Division has to be brought out last.

At this time, the only option was to call in the 6th Division.

However, the division commander was injured and another person was needed.

Bagovut did a good job in Pultusk, so Bagration valued him very much and suggested that he be promoted from the position of brigade commander to lead the 6th Division into the battle.

As for the subordinate infantry regiments, only the Bagowut Brigade was on the battlefield.
It seems that this brigade commander is actually the division commander, there is no difference.

As for this attack, in order to ensure the situation on the battlefield, Solovyov had to go to Baron Essen in person. After all, his defense zone was blocking the intersection, and if Bagovut and Yermolov wanted to withdraw, they would need his division to support them.

"Bao Hong, let's go to Baron Essen's camp at this time. Maybe we can have a good meal."

"Are you having a feast?"

"Cossack, don't you want to eat?"

"There are no women here, so it's really boring?"

"You Cossacks have a song about Cossack girls slapping horseshoes. You should have heard it, right? Your moustache is very suitable, but you are also a leader. You should find a better girl."

"Your sister is too young and still in a girls' school, otherwise I would have proposed marriage."

Solovyov's face changed when he heard this.

"You Cossack, you have never seen my sister, how come you are still thinking about her? And for this kind of thing, you have to find my father, Sergei Osipovich, and get the consent of this retired major."

"Ah, I know, I know. I was just saying that. You're going to get married soon, so you should settle down and stop going to that French vixen. That little widow is quite coquettish."

"But Madame Recamier is one of the three goddesses in Paris. God knows what the French standards are. I like her only as a lover, and I am the only one who can enter her boudoir. General Moreau and Lucien Bonaparte did not do this when they were in Paris. They were only in the reception room."

After hearing this, Bao Hong whistled to cheer.

"Well, new general, it's time for us to get ready and go to the Germans for dinner."

As for Baron Essen, he was indeed cooking something.

It was almost nightfall when they arrived. Before the night attack, they had to complete the deployment of Baron Essen's troops and organize defenses on the spot in the fortifications.

The most regrettable thing is that there is no suitable reverse slope here, so the suppression of the French artillery is not that effective.

"Baron, what are you cooking here? I came here without eating. Do you mind an extra set of tableware?"

"It's your can, Misha."

When Solovyov saw the empty glass cans, he understood.

"It seems that there is nothing better."

"If you want fresh meat, you don't have to kill the horse. My mount was killed by the French."

However, when it comes to the issue of horses, Solovyov always thinks of Duke Mu of Qin and King Zhuang of Chu. The relationship between the two of them and horse meat is very interesting.

"Give me some sweet wine. I don't mind horse meat."

"That's great, but in this weather, the meat will probably freeze."

"That's better than frozen fish. The brothers have been working hard. We should give them some meat. It's better than the French over there who can't even dig out an apple."

"I remember you said that if it sprouts, it will still be poisonous."

"Then the 'earth apple' becomes a 'poison apple', which is very hard for the French. So, I came to thank you, Zapriyev, if it was rum..."

"For a general like you who doesn't drink strong liquor, this is good enough."

"Thank you." Solovyov was not in a hurry to drink, but was assigning tasks to Baron Essen.

"Are all your soldiers behind the bunker?" "We are following your plan. Do you want us to take the initiative to attack? You always want to catch the French, but now they are all here."

Apparently, the baron still had some complaints about his previous attempts to escape.

"We will not take the initiative to attack, but use night attacks to disturb the French and disrupt their deployment. Yermolov's cavalry artillery and Bagovut's infantry brigade will sneak up on your flank and attack Augereau's flank. If he can't resist this provocation and directly launches a counterattack, it will be perfect."

"You want us to stop the French attack?"

"Hold it for now. I remember the Moscow Grenadiers are here with you."

"I have seven groups, but they are seriously short of personnel."

"A battalion can gather six companies, and we can also form a rectangular formation. If we are shooting, we can form two rows. At least we will look like there are a lot of people."

"You've taken over my brain, Misha. No wonder I let you be the chief of staff. When will you lead the troops alone?"

"I will not be allowed out for a while, Baron. Your mission is still to stop Augereau's attack and retreat in an orderly manner when necessary. After Bagovut's retreat, the commander-in-chief will send a brigade under Tuchkov to cover you to Eylau."

After the soup was ready, the generals and officers no longer cared about their eating manners because they were all hungry.

As for Augereau, he would never have imagined that the Russian army would attack at this time.

The French army is not in a good situation now. They lack food supplies and have to watch the smoke rising from the Russian army.

They could only share some of the looted food. The supply had already run out. The bridge over the Aare River and the damaged roads along the way had not yet been fully repaired. The amount of supplies that could be transported was also extremely limited.

At this time, Augereau's own food was not much better. It was very difficult to catch a chicken in the ice and snow in Poland and East Prussia.

I couldn’t sleep well even when I was resting, after all, I only had a pittance to eat.

Augereau had just covered himself with a blanket and was about to fall asleep when he heard the sound of cannon fire.

"Where is the artillery firing?"

"Your Excellency, Marshal, the Russians are shelling our camp from three different directions!"

"These Russian bastards really don't let me sleep well!"

Augereau could hardly conceal his anger, but there was nothing he could do better. He could only organize the French soldiers who were sleeping in their clothes and line up to fight.

The Russian artillery bombardment was divided into four groups. Yermolov divided the cavalry artillery he brought into three teams. He had planned the retreat route in advance, and the Cossack cavalry would cover the retreat behind the infantry.

The mortars were deployed in advance and destroyed after the attack. The artillerymen only cared about their shells falling into the French camp and abandoned them after the attack, creating the illusion that the Russian army launched an attack and then retreated in a hurry after the battle.

Therefore, they had to do something similar here. Bagowut sent out the chasseurs to attack in a skirmish line, continuously shooting at the French troops that appeared.

In this situation, Augereau got hot-headed and ordered his troops to form a line and launch a pursuit.

The French soldiers were indeed very annoyed by the Russian attack, so they first formed into a column to charge, and the battalions and companies behind them quickly formed into a horizontal formation to shoot, and then launched a bayonet charge.

However, the battle situation at night was still rather chaotic. Solovyov could not confirm the battle situation and could only make a rough judgment based on the firelight from the French position.

At this time, the order he gave to Bagowut and Yermolov was to fight and run.

As for organizing the retreat of the troops, he went to Baron Essen to allow the troops to retreat safely to his flank and then return to the starting position during the day.

To the southeast of Eylau, Bagration was urging his troops to build positions. One part of the positions was a new position prepared for Yermolov's cavalry artillery, which would be placed in the entire Russian artillery group. At the same time, Bagvut's troops would join in the defense of the city of Eylau.

This place was so small that many Russian soldiers were still setting up tents in the wild or finding places to camp on their own. They had to dig trenches and a bunch of potholes, cover them with blankets, light a bonfire inside, and huddle together for warmth.

But compared with the French army, at least they still have enough rations to supply for a few days, and even enough supplies to support their retreat to the north.

Moreover, except for the Russian troops that launched the night attack and Baron Essen's guard troops, the rest of the Russian army could still sleep well that night.

The Russian artillery fire also attracted Augereau's attention, especially the mortars that ran right under his nose and provoked him.

The French 14th Front Infantry Regiment launched an attack, and the Russian army quickly retreated. Augereau's division commander was worried that this was not a fishing expedition, or that the Russian army was cheating and escaping after another night attack.

So they asked Augereau for advice.

"Your Excellency Marshal, our general thinks we should launch a pursuit. If it's like what happened at Frankovo, the Russians will probably run away again."

"No way?"

Although Augereau has always been brave but not wise, he is not completely brainless, and now he has some doubts.

However, judging by the situation at the front, both division commanders suggested launching a limited pursuit, at least to drive out the Russians, and then launching a pursuit if all went well.

"Sir, this is not the first or second time that the Russians have attacked us. In Pultusk, they even dared to hide their forces and launch a counterattack, causing the Fifth Army to suffer. This time, I think we can fight back."

Augereau thought about it and issued an order that he later regretted.

"Launch a pursuit and drive all the Russians out from around our camp!"

However, no instructions were sought from His Majesty the Emperor.

Although Napoleon had gone to bed, Berthier was still on duty. After hearing the sound of artillery fire, he quickly sent scouts to Augereau to find out the situation.

After reaching the conclusion, he couldn't make the decision on his own, so he had to tell Diroque to wake up the emperor himself.'

"Waking up His Majesty at this time, isn't it?"

"Dirok, don't worry about it. His Majesty only needs four hours of sleep anyway. Even when he has sex with a woman, there is a time limit, regardless of whether the intimacy is good or not."

If Solovyov knew about this, he would probably complain that his uncle and aunt couldn't have children because they lived too regular lives. After all, it's not that they are completely infertile. Madame Staël is in her forties and can still have children!

"Well, I'll call your majesty."

Then, after learning the situation, Napoleon was furious.

"How could Augereau launch a pursuit without asking for permission? There should be a request for permission. What if Langeron is trying to lure him into a trap?"

(End of this chapter)