Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 456 033 Danzig and the New War

The new round of war has not yet begun, but when the ice in Eastern Europe began to thaw and the roads became generally muddy, the French had already begun to prepare.

"According to reports from Danzig, the French have already begun preparing to blockade the city outside the city, so a siege will be launched."

"Is there any hydrological data there?"

"No, Michel, you can still find it if you want, but I don't know if the chart is accurate. It was made by the British."

When Langgeron said this, it really proved that the French would criticize the British whenever they got the chance, and they could do it to the point.

“Well, if there are unmarked reefs, that’s a big problem.”

Moreover, this happened more than once.

If you ask the Prussians, I'm afraid they don't even have a proper navy anymore, or in other words, this country with an army doesn't have any naval tradition.

Prussia and Austria, as powerful countries in Central Europe, had navies that were better than nothing.

Solovyov would not expect to get any nautical charts from here, but he had read a lot of books and could still remember what had happened in Courland.

That’s right, when the Principality of Courland still existed independently, this country once owned Gambia and Tobago as colonies, so it must have had some skills in navigation.

If you don't know that there were small countries like this in America that were once colonized, the Knights Hospitaller also once had a piece of land in the Caribbean Sea.

As for why there were no colonies after Courland, one reason was that the national strength was too weak, and the other was that Gambia was taken away by the British, and the colonization of Tobago Island failed.

This is also a small country in the Baltic Sea. Naturally, its colonies spanning three continents should be counted. However, it is really unethical that Britain even robbed Gambia.

Therefore, Solovyov still wanted to get some information from the Principality of Courland, but unfortunately, he got nothing in the end.

These are all things that happened in the 17th century, and the Duchy of Courland changed owners several times, so there are a lot of missing archives.

After finding nothing, Solovyov looked at the military map provided by the Prussians and fell into deep thought.

If we were to take action now, even if we sent reinforcements, it would be very troublesome.

The port of Danzig is located at the mouth of a river. If the French blockaded the delta area, even if the British were willing to help, it would be difficult for their warships to enter the port of Danzig.

And although the French have always been weak in naval warfare, they are very good at coastal defense artillery tactics, and in terms of the actual quality of their seafarers, they are actually better than the British.

If the British relied on traitors like the Duke of Orleans, France would no longer develop its navy, leading to Britain's dominance and monopoly, which would easily lead to all kinds of ugly phenomena.

Nelson brought it back to England in a rum barrel, but his trusted secretary was killed in the naval battle and the money was thrown directly into the sea. After all, he was just an insignificant person, and even Nelson's friends received the same treatment.

The deck stained red with Nelson's "blood" was actually left when he was torn to pieces by a cannonball.

Monopoly things actually don't have any good results.

As for those who work behind closed doors, it may be even more ridiculous and always embarrassing. These naval talents in Russia only emerged as a relatively stable naval talent system in the country when Admiral Ushakov came to power.
Many naval generals during the Empress's era were foreigners or had switched careers from the army or military engineers.

If you want to defend Danzig, you need to ensure that the estuary is in the hands of the local Prussian army or reinforcements.

After careful consideration, Solovyov decided to submit his plan to Grand Duke Constantine, who then passed it on to the Ministry of War.

If the Minister of War doesn't understand, it will be in vain.

If it were Sergei Kuzmich, he would probably submit it directly.

According to Solovyov's estimate, the French army should launch an attack on Danzig between March and April, and the main direction of the siege will be to cut off the supply line.

He had thought of this matter before the Russian army went to war in Eylau, and before recuperating from his injuries in the Jelgava Palace, he had also raised this issue to Langeron and Lestock.

At that time, Lestock managed to pass the information to the Prussian army in Danzig, but there was a small problem.

That was the intervention of the King of Prussia.
In addition to Danzig, Kolberg in Pomerania was also under the control of the Prussian army. Frederick William III sent Gneisenau to take charge of the defense there, replacing the command of the local garrison commander.

The King of Prussia attached great importance to both places and did not want to give up either one.

According to Solovyov's idea, Kolberg could not be kept. The Russian and Prussian troops, as well as part of the Swedish troops transferred from Pomerania, must be concentrated in Danzig. Temporary fortifications must be built at the estuary and the army's deployment here must be strengthened. At least 8000 Russian and 3000 Swedish troops must build fortifications here.

Although it is a pincer attack that is most easily broken in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it can ensure the supply of the port and fortress of Danzig, and there is a greater possibility of defending the city.

As for the Russian troops in other directions, they should actually also move, so that the French army will be busy coping in several directions.

However, Solovyov's tactic of changing homes, which was to use the empty city of Königsberg to lure the French army to move in and then attack the French transportation lines, was strongly disagreed by the Prussian king, and Alexander was soft-hearted. He saw that this tactic might threaten the French flank, but he remained indifferent.

Then, the only option was to follow a more eloquent approach and use East Prussia as a battlefield to fight the French.

After returning to the headquarters, Solovyov raised this issue with Langeron and Bagration separately.

"There is still some time. If we can send two regiments of hunters to Danzig in advance and build fortifications at the river mouth, we can at least ensure that the French army cannot capture this place now. If we want to hold Danzig, it is best to hold out until July and prevent the French army from using this place as a rear transit station. At the same time, we can use the Baltic Fleet to threaten the enemy from behind."

"That makes sense, but it's too late. The Admiralty also has a Kutuzov, but that one is either pretending to be confused or really confused."

When Langgeron said this, Bagration was also hinting to Solovyov, and he understood what he meant with just a glance.

These brothers have worked together for eleven years, so they still have some tacit understanding.

Even according to Solovyov's idea, the Baltic Fleet's mobile battleships were formed into a squadron to cover the transport ships, and there would not even be a need for the British to provide support here.

However, the East Prussian Corps had no ability to mobilize the navy, and the navy's ships were always in poor condition. Those battleships were all in the port at this time. Except for Seniavin's fleet operating in the Atlantic at this time, no large-scale fleet could operate here.

As for the transport ships, Solovyov learned from his acquaintances that they had sufficient capacity.

However, while his plan was still under discussion, the French army had already begun mobilizing troops in February.

By March, the coalition forces were still wrangling, and Marshal Lefebvre had already led the newly formed Tenth Army to appear outside the city of Danzig. By the time the Prussians discovered this problem, there was still time.

After all, the terrain in West Prussia has always been the worst, and the surrounding swamps and woodlands are natural defense measures. However, the French army has now established a foothold on the periphery with the help of transportation lines.

At this time, the people who should feel the crisis are the Prussians.

Frederick William III was originally short of military talent, and the more capable Prussian troops had been killed in last year's battle.

As for Clausewitz, he felt that although this man was loyal, he talked too much, so he just started to serve as a teacher to the crown prince in the palace.

Although this is the best use of resources, Crown Prince Frederick William is the kind of person who can't stand up as a monarch or a man, so it's better to rely on Prince William and Prince Frederick Karl.
This is probably the only area in which the King of Prussia has not played a negative role so far.

As for his response to the proposal to strengthen the defense of Danzig and increase the defense of the Vistula estuary, it now seems too late.

However, in April, taking advantage of the window of thawing in the southern and western Baltic Sea, Britain and Sweden should send out naval support. Sweden is still defending Stralsund, which they control, and it is difficult to mobilize a fleet for the time being.

As for the British, although they could be very arrogant off the coast of Copenhagen, the number of fleets they could come over was limited.

The maintenance of the Royal Navy has always been a problem, and how much support can be provided from Prussia is indeed a question.

Just dealing with the French privateers is already a very time-consuming task.

Now, asking Prussia to do it alone is indeed not a good idea.

Moreover, the French army was already at the gates of the city, and was now advancing westwards from East Prussia and Brest. Because the Russian army had suffered heavy losses and was in the process of replenishing its forces, only a small number of reinforcements could be dispatched at once.

However, the mobilization of ships is also a big problem. This is not the game battle report of Europa Universalis and Victoria. Dozens of troop transports alone need to be requisitioned. Even some warships of the Swedish Navy cannot travel because of the freezing of the northern Baltic Sea.

In addition, the mobilization of Russian troops also faces considerable difficulties.

But in this situation, I have no choice but to grit my teeth and do it.

However, the terrain imposed strict requirements on both sides. Langeron ordered Baron Sacken to have the 3rd Division make a feint first to attract the attention of the French army so that the main force of the army could not be easily mobilized.

The next step was to dispatch transport ships from the Gulf of Riga to take the Kamensky Division to Danzig.

However, after the order to requisition the ships was issued, problems arose on the Swedish side.

Fighting was also underway at Kolberg and Stralsund, and four Swedish Navy ships had set out to provide support there.

The three battleships that could reach Danzig still needed to mobilize sailors at this time.

Although the British naval system is very bad, Solovyov sometimes wants to say something.

If we could get a sailor off the streets of Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö for 20 shillings apiece, we would have to raise a fleet.

But Gustav IV did not have this ability, and if the Swedish Navy's warships faced the French army's temporary artillery, with its 12-pound guns and naval guns, they would probably have no good solution.

Time passed, and at the same time the French Ninth Army was besieging some cities in Silesia that had not yet surrendered.

Although Marshal Lefebvre had the advantage in terms of military strength, the fighting in Silesia had been going on for a whole winter, and the heavy siege artillery was also occupied there.

If the war in Silesia ends, the French army will be able to quickly mobilize artillery to Danzig, and whether it can be defended is also a question.

In addition, the French can also take over the Prussian strongholds that have not yet surrendered one by one, open up transportation lines, and seize the supplies that Prussia still has in these cities.

The most important of these are probably the ammunition and food in the city of Danzig.

The Prussian transport captains did a good job, and by 1807 the French army had begun to use a large amount of captured Prussian equipment, some of which was captured from Austria.

So much so that by the time of the Battle of Eylau, the Russian army had noticed that the uniforms of some French infantry regiments now looked more like those of their allies.

If it weren't for the different logo on his hat and the French he was speaking, I would have thought he was a weak German.

As for the grain seized from Prussia and the stored gunpowder, they were in huge quantities.

It can be said that these bullets that hit the Russian army were probably inseparable from the strong support of Prussia.

As for what will happen in the future, it is indeed embarrassing now.

What Solovyov was more worried about was how to transport people up.

So he boarded the "Neva" and prepared to go to Danzig to observe the transportation of the first batch of supplies.

Moreover, we must also pay attention to the current offensive posture of the French army and how Lefebvre intends to conduct this siege.

For this purpose he also went to meet Kamensky.

But Count Kamensky the Younger also had a sullen face now, and he said as soon as he arrived: "You have seen it all, I have not been able to replenish in time since the rearguard battle in January."

"But after the battle of Eylau, everyone is like this. But I can't blame anyone. If the situation in Danzig is not good, we should try our best to preserve the troops we have. In the summer, the battle with the French will be decisive."

"Okay, I will try to get as many brothers back from Danzig as possible, but you have to arrange the ships by then."

"If the ship doesn't arrive in time, you have to pay attention to the land east of Danzig. I've seen the Prussian map. In addition to the port of Pillau, there are several places along the coast where our army can retreat. I will send two liaison officers who are proficient in signals from the headquarters to go with you."

"Thank you, Mishka, you are really nice."

Young Kamensky was about to lead his division to Danzig, where there was also a new war.

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(End of this chapter)