Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 438: A meat grinder battle (V) The Podolsk Infantry Regiment's struggle
When Napoleon saw that Augereau's attack was not going well, he began to miss Lannes.

The Fifth Army suffered heavy losses at Pultusk and was placed behind the large army defending Warsaw, so it was not brought to Eylau.

Based on the current performance of Augereau and Ney, Napoleon could not bear to look at Augereau, but he still had some expectations for Ney.

Although this guy, Nanny, is reckless, his brain is not always short-circuited. His attack today made little Kamensky very uncomfortable.

If the Russian command had not made the right decision and deployed its reserves to Maly-Kamensky, Davout's detour from the north would have been very successful.

Under such circumstances, the Russian army's iron barrel formation will be pierced throughout the entire battle situation.

However, everyone in the headquarters can actually sit still now.

After observing the French movements in front of Kamensky the Younger, Langgeron initially considered sending the 4th Division, but the French were also moving in the southwest and northeast, and pre-war reconnaissance had already revealed the situation.

Therefore, even though Kamensky's 14th Division was in a tough battle, he did not take any action after seeing the battle situation on the scene.

Even if the 4th Division really wanted to move, it would have to wait until the Prussian troops led by Lestock entered the battlefield.

In the latest report, the Prussian army was very clear that they had escaped Bernadotte's pursuit, but due to the long march, it was indeed somewhat difficult to gather this force of more than 10,000 people.

However, the Russian army did not lack support from the Prussian army. There was always a Prussian artillery fighting alongside the Russian army in East Prussia, and it performed well in several rearguard battles.

At this time, the only Prussian cavalry units that could be deployed were those drawn from Königsberg.

They cannot even be called corresponding cavalry, because the cuirassiers have no breastplates and the dragoons lack carbines. Only the hussars are dressed in Hungarian style, but their numbers are very limited.

When seeing this reinforcement, Solovyov even felt that Prussia, which was already at the end of its rope, had no obligation to help them.

What makes such a teammate more reliable than Austria is that he can use all the little he has to support the Russian army's actions. If Prussia had not given away lives to France, this war might have been won.

The Austrians might even tear up the treaty and join the anti-French alliance, and the same situation as in 1806 might be repeated in 1807 or 1813.

For Russia, it seems that there are always German teammates who are setting traps for them.

Now, this Prussian cavalry was only placed on the right wing of the entire army, keeping an eye on the movements of Soult's French army while welcoming Lestock's corps to the battlefield.

The situation was indeed not very good. After a morning of fighting, although the Russian army held its position, the pressure was very great. By this time, Bagration and Kamensky the Younger had to withdraw their soldiers in turn to reorganize, replenish ammunition, accommodate deserters and the wounded, and then seek reinforcements.

"Let Bagration and Essen withdraw. Michel, send someone to convey this order immediately."

"If we let Augereau in here, we should still use artillery"

"Of course I know that. Now go and convey the order."

"I can't help but think, at a time like this."

"We did not retreat in the morning, but now we have to retreat again. Inconsistent orders will indeed cause confusion. But Count Kamensky the Younger cannot retreat. Let Bagovut go to him."

"All right."

Solovyov began to convey orders according to Langeron's instructions, and Bagration and Essen retreated from their current positions to the preset positions between Maly Kamensky and Eylau, where there were some artillery and reserve infantry to support them.

And Kamensky the Younger, on the premise of ensuring that he would not be outflanked by the French army, still gave the order not to retreat a single step and to block Ney for a day at the existing position.

At least we have to wait for the Prussian army and some Russian troops still outside the battlefield to join the battle, only then can the mission be considered accomplished.

But Solovyov could only briefly convey the specific details to the count.

There was indeed a lot of fresh blood among the Russian commanders in this battle, but they seemed to be a group of generals who had just shown their prowess in the Second Anti-French Alliance, and many veteran generals had been replaced.

They are all very enthusiastic, willing to accomplish a lot of things, and have strong initiative.

The only problem may be their lack of patience. If they were asked to launch a counterattack now, they would probably act impatiently.

"It's really hard to get through this day."

Napoleon also discovered something strange.

The Russian army is in high spirits and is able to hold its positions, but from the current situation of the battle, it can be seen that the French army has the advantage.

But the French emperor also found it strange that the Russian army was so patient that they had not yet sent out their reserve troops.

"Your Majesty, the Russian troops in the southeast have retreated towards Eylau."

"They just had a brigade arrive there, why are they retreating?"

Napoleon was also a little hot-headed at this time, and did not understand the purpose of the Russian army's operation.

"Berthier, tell Augereau to pursue the Russians, stick to their retreating columns, and especially keep the rear guard. We are now going to open the door to victory here."

"Your Majesty, judging from the current situation."

"Convey the order, Berthier, and tell Soult to wait for the right time. At least the Russians are not active in the forest now, so our communication with him can remain unimpeded."

Napoleon also did not use Soult's troops, but waited for Davout and Ney to take action.

Now that the Russian army has retreated, it is necessary to let Augereau on the main road launch a pursuit to prevent the Russian army from effectively reorganizing.

However, it was not easy to break through Bagration's rear guard.

He left behind the Smolensk Regiment and the Moscow Grenadiers, both of which were very resilient units in the Russian army. The French charged in columns with bayonets at hand, but could hardly make any progress.

As a result, the French army had no chance, and Augereau's pursuit troops were beaten back by the Russian army. As for the Russian army, Langgeron was relieved.

"At this time, it is Bagration."

In addition to the bayonet charge that was repelled, the French cavalry also launched an attack and even went around behind the two regiments left behind by Bagration. However, they were quickly beaten back because of the new square formation formed by the Russian army.

The new Russian phalanx obviously had some effect. In a smaller area, with the help of the front bunkers, the artillery continued to bombard the French army to disrupt their actions, and the rectangular phalanx was also able to exert its firepower, causing considerable casualties to the French cavalry and infantry.

Even after the formation was reorganized, the Russian soldiers' shooting accuracy improved for a time, causing the French soldiers of the Seventh Army to even believe that they were being ambushed by the Russian Guards.

In the Battle of Austerlitz, the Russian Guards' new rifles gave them such a great sensory impact that although the First Army did not become a laughing stock, it also aroused the French army's high vigilance.

In fact, most of the Russian troops who stayed behind as guards are well-trained veterans, many of whom have served for more than 15 years and are proficient in all skills. Their physical fitness has declined a little, but experience can make up for many deficiencies and even improve their combat effectiveness.

Although Bagration accepted the "rectangular phalanx" invented by his junior fellow apprentice Solovyov, he still arranged the infantry into three rows according to the Russian army's tradition. The main task of the third row was to load rifles. In this way, the soldiers in the first two rows reduced the loading steps. If they were in a hurry, they could take out a rifle from the back row and smash the butt of the rifle on the ground. This would complete the final loading step and greatly increase the speed.

This is where the French army's illusion came from. They also knew the shooting skills of the Russian soldiers. Now those rigid and dogmatic things no longer existed between the French and Russian armies. They were all fighting with all their might.

As for the matter of accidental injuries to the front row, the veterans of the two Russian regiments are not too worried about this problem. They may be knocked down by enemy fire during the battle, but knocking down their own people, that is, stray bullets crossing the battlefield, and accidental injuries in the cross-fire between the two sides of the phalanx, will never happen in their team.

The Russian army's persistence now forced Augereau to readjust his deployment and even wanted to seek reinforcements from Napoleon.

"Your Majesty, the Seventh Army lacks cavalry and only has one Chasseurs Regiment."

"I know that the only ones who can be transferred to him now are Lasalle and Vatier. Otherwise, we can only let the Bavarian cavalry go to meet their relatives."

As these words were spoken, the two Russian regiments stood there motionless, like reefs covered with green moss, being hit by the blue waves on the peninsula.

If the Russian army is allowed to complete their rearguard mission, the French army will still need to gnaw on the Russian army's hard nuts one by one, and the price to pay will be very considerable.

After thinking for a while, Napoleon finally decided to send Lasalle's Hussars to go up and bypass the Russian army.

In such a narrow space, Lasalle's Hussars actually squeezed through and ran into the Levitsky Brigade which was still in the retreating column.

The Russian troops who were attacked were mainly the infantrymen at the back. The Arkhangelsk Regiment was attacked first, and because they did not have time to form a square formation, an entire battalion was dispersed by the French cavalry.

Although the losses were not great, there was a certain degree of chaos among the Russian army. Even the 7th Jager Regiment, a relatively old Jager unit, was thrown into disarray by the scattered infantry and had to work hard to maintain order.

"It's really shameful. If this group of hussars rush over, Bagration's retreat will be in trouble."

Langgeron was also sweating with fear. He had even made preparations to have the Russian cavalry that had retreated rejoin the battle and drive Lasalle's hussars back from the main road.

However, this worry was unnecessary. Solovyov saw a Russian army that had deployed three beautiful battalion formations, forming a V-shape on the spot and shooting at the French troops who dared to enter their range.

"It looks like one group has managed to withstand the pressure. They should be safe now, right?"

"Michel, we are still far from being able to defeat our infantry even if five light cavalry regiments charge at us together. But who knows what will happen if we charge like this? What if the French army deploys the Guards?"

"Deploy the Guards? I don't think Napoleon will deploy the Guards given the current situation."

"Not now, but Bonaparte will certainly place a bet, and then we will have to follow suit."

Indeed, the Guards had not yet been put into action, and on the Russian side, the 4th Division was the only force that could be counted on.

However, Solovyov was also curious. The Podolsk Infantry Regiment had only been in service for less than ten years, and the combat effectiveness demonstrated by this regiment was far from the level of a rookie regiment.

Even though I gave special training to the Selenge Regiment and improved the training methods, and continued to do so, I still couldn't achieve such an effect.

"The Podolsk Regiment is really amazing. They managed to hold out for such a long time under the impact of the French cavalry."

"This regiment was transferred from the Marine Infantry."

When one of the staff officers said this, Solovyov couldn't help but think of a steel-plate image of Russia.

The Russian Navy is invincible when it comes ashore!
The Podolsk Regiment not only repelled the attack of the Lasalle Hussar Division, but also protected the retreat route of the rear guard.

The only difference is probably that nothing strange will come out of the woods.

Augereau was able to see through the telescope how Lasalle was being pushed back.

He now had no way to deal with the two regiments left by Bagration and could only allow the enemy to form a square formation of six battalions and withdraw from the battlefield.

Even when the French reached the positions left by the 8th Division, they only captured a few damaged cannons, a pile of empty glass jars, empty wine bottles and a pile of broken glass.
The Podolsk Regiment, after responding to the retreat of Bagration's two regiments, also withdrew from the battlefield during the French army's adjustment period.

Speaking of which, both sides were very dissatisfied with the battle here.

The Russian army had to abandon several pre-set positions southeast of Eylau on the first day of the war, especially two built in the village. They were even attacked by French cavalry during the retreat, causing part of the troops to fall into chaos without being prepared.

But they finally completed the mission. The 8th Division and the reinforced reserve brigade finally withdrew after losing more than people.

As for the French army, they captured the Russian positions, but problems also arose.

The French army did not capture any major positions before the Russian army took the initiative to retreat. In addition, Lasalle's Hussars were repelled by the Russian army during the detour, which was also beyond Napoleon's expectations.

He knew that Russian soldiers were extremely resilient, but he did not expect that at this time there would still be a regiment that could withstand Lasalle's attack, causing this brave divisional general to be shot and wounded and forced to withdraw from the battlefield.

But the battle had to continue, and he had to find a way to break through the Russian army's iron formation.

(End of this chapter)