Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 462 039 This time, the fish didn't take the bait
This great victory was not a humiliating defeat for the French.

However, Solovyov's fishing enforcement tactics have become the biggest topic within the French army recently.

Even Napoleon mentioned this issue when he was doing fitness exercises with Countess Walewska.

After all, there were more than 10,000 Polish troops, and they were almost defeated in a day. According to the description of the few soldiers who escaped back, the Russian army's thundering attack made them, who had the upper hand in the morning, surrender in less than an afternoon.

As for Solovyov's trick, the Poles did not notice it. They just described how they hid in the bushes to avoid the Russian search.

"What a Arminius, gentlemen. Fortunately, we didn't lose a legion, but only the newly recruited Polish soldiers. But this also proves that the Russians are really dangerous."

"Your Majesty, I think at this time, we should re-evaluate the Russians' combat effectiveness."

As soon as Napoleon finished speaking, Berthier added that he had already thought of his words before being summoned.

Although the problem was that after the Bavarian army repelled the Russian army at Pultusk, Massena did not send the French army to pursue, but instead sent Polish recruits to pursue, which led to such a farce.

But Massena, the old soldier, was always a non-stick pan. He had asked his staff to write down the orders, also taking into account the possible ambush by the Russians.

This was an open-book test. The French troops that went out for reconnaissance had already been defeated, as mentioned in the order.

Napoleon couldn't even punish Massena. After driving Moreau away, the only commander who could command legion-level operations was this old soldier. Although he was greedy, lustful, and capable of making trouble, he was still needed now.

As for Berthier's question, he answered: "These Scythians are not like the Germans who can be divided and disintegrated. It is not very useful to send assassins. Who knows what kind of person the Russian Tsar will send as the commander? A Frenchman is the commander-in-chief, accompanied by a young chief of staff who has not learned any skills from his teacher, and he has won the victory under our noses."

After hearing this, Berthier didn't know what to say.

Is this a compliment or an insult? Napoleon also said that Suvorov had strategy but no wisdom. In short, there are still a lot of dirty words.

Solovyov is also a talkative person. Although the two are related by blood as Polina's second son, there is no necessary connection between them.

Of course, Napoleon would not regret not using his second sister to keep this kid. It sounds unlikely, and he is not a prophet or a druid.

On the Russian side, the stronger the opponent, the more excited he becomes.

"Your Majesty, Prince Eugene is here."

"Rustam, it's good that he came. I want to talk to Marshal Berthier about the situation on the front line, and have an intuitive analysis of why Eugene was able to let this young general, who claimed to be a relative of my wife,

"Your Majesty, this is what you are talking about."

"Berthier, only capable opponents are worth studying. The young man who can defeat Moreau and my brother Lucien and win the heart of a beauty is not a playboy, but a difficult enemy. He can cause so much trouble to my marshals and generals. It sounds very interesting."

Of course, Napoleon was still very confident, and he thought that the only one who could defeat him was himself.

After being summoned by his stepfather, Eugene also entered the office in the palace.

"Eugène, it seems that you did a good job in Pultusk. At least you stopped the Russian attack. This is a great improvement. I have always told your mother that you are very disciplined. On the battlefield, you must first control your own army. This is good. You will continue to improve in the future. One day, you may be able to stand on your own."

"Your Majesty, I have to say that we only achieved a small victory in defending the pontoon bridge. Marshal Massena was worried about the Russian ambush and did not send the main force to pursue."

"Yes, who knows how many men the Russians will mobilize from the woods? What do you think of Solovyov? In the circles of Paris, and in our little army circles, there are rumors of the Empress's Russian relatives, or her cousin who has been away from Martinique for many years, and her family."

“This kind of thing may be just hearsay, but there is sufficient evidence.”

Napoleon knew what Eugene said, and he had actually heard the rumor.

"Eugene, if it were you, how would you lead the Russian army in the next stage?"

"Your Majesty, can I simulate the actions of this Russian Chief of Staff?"

"That's perfect. But you may not be able to imitate the thinking of young people, Berthier, but Eugene knows something about Langgeron."

"Yes, I have seen him before at my father's place, but he was a boastful person at that time, a little older than I am now. And he always spoke in a sarcastic way, which may have been a factor in his running away."

"But Langeron is familiar with us. To defeat the Russians, we need to analyze the actions of their commanders. Also, Russian soldiers are very resilient. We cannot analyze them the same way we have done with any coalition opponents in the past. Our Grand Army is growing in strength, but the Russians are also improving, and in some ways they are unexpected."

"For example, your majesty, they love fishing operations, using bait to attract our attention."

Berthier's words illustrate the point.

The victories of the Russian army since the Second Anti-French Coalition to the present, except for the victory won by the Russian army led by Suvorov in Italy, generally have one characteristic, that is, luring the enemy deep into the battlefield and finally delivering a fatal blow when they think it is appropriate.

"Then Langgelon is likely to resort to this method, and we need to be on guard."

As for Napoleon's idea, it was not a question of whether to take the bait or not, but to take advantage of the French army's greater mobility in mobile warfare to forcefully dismantle it.

This is probably another form of not taking the bait.

At the same time, Solovyov, who was on his way back, was not happy at all.

Although the results of this ambush can be said to be a relatively brilliant victory in division-level combat, it also exposed the consistent characteristics of the Russian army, which is that they like to fish and engage in extreme tug-of-war with their opponents.

The soldiers were very happy. At least this time the trick was successful. They used a month's salary and a pile of captured tattered spoils to annihilate the enemy and get some Polish silver coins.

Unfortunately, the currency used in Poland is still mostly silver coins, so it is a small pity that I was not able to obtain gold coins.

"I think the French may not be fooled by this level of dispatch in the future."

"What should we do?"

"Since they won't be fooled, we have no choice but to push the situation back to the time before Pharsalus." Soloviev had seen many battle examples related to Caesar, but Napoleon was considering how to win after the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, a fake one, while the problem Soloviev was worried about was not at all at hand.

When he speaks like this, naturally some people who are not educated enough may not be able to understand him.

Seeing these generals, who obviously didn't read much, he had no choice but to put out the map.

"We are returning to East Prussia. Danzig has not been captured by the French yet, so we don't need to worry about the French changing their transportation lines in West Prussia. But if there is a change in May, our summer operations may be very disadvantageous. In winter, we can lure the enemy deep into our territory, on the one hand, and take advantage of the gaps in the French winter camp preparations to make them restless. In addition, there is one point I have to mention."

Solovyov then pointed to the line of the Aare River, where the three routes of the French pursuit in the previous winter passed.

"The method we adopted this time may not make the enemy fall into the trap. But if we take the initiative to attack? Then we will fall into the trap of the French just like the Prussians did before."

"You're not fishing, you're hunting dangerous prey, like bears."

"Ah, bear."

Now that he had been interrupted, Solovyov could also rethink.

He was already very dissatisfied with the concept of the entire battle. Although he won the battle, more and more problems were exposed.

Although Russian generals have many connections, they are generally very brave, which to a certain extent offsets the problem of backdoor dealings.

However, many of these people are only at the level of regimental commanders. If the army is not immediately upgraded to a division-level organization, it will not be able to form combat effectiveness.

The French had a first-mover advantage in this regard. They had sorted out the organizational structure of the army earlier, so they also had a certain advantage, coupled with the commanders' superb command art and the high morale of the French officers and soldiers themselves in order to defend the Republic.

That’s right, although France has an emperor now, before 1808, France was still a political system under the lifelong ruling system of the late First Republic. It was not an empire in the full sense of the word, but just like the Romans, it had an additional first citizen.

Moreover, this word originally means "Marshal", so there is nothing wrong with using it to describe Napoleon.

Generally speaking, although the Russian army can mobilize more troops, the force that can be used at the same time is still not enough.

It would obviously not be a good idea to fight the French army alone in East Prussia.

Solovyov even had always considered attacking from the Brest line, but because of the troop mobilization and the fact that many north-south roads in Russia were extremely difficult to travel, and because the Prussian king opposed abandoning Königsberg, the Russian army had to act in this small circle and had actually lost its spatial advantage.

You know, when it comes to bad places like Russia and Poland, the locals are more adaptable.

"The situation is not good. When we return to the headquarters and prepare to launch another operation, perhaps we can discuss some results."

However, when he arrived in Königsberg, Langeron told him the bad news with a stern face.

The British Royal Navy's HMS Daring attempted to provide supplies to the besieged Prussian army, but ran aground in the river and was captured by the French.

Subsequently, the Russian army's several steamships failed in their transport missions because the French army reorganized its firepower and blocked the mouth of the Vistula River.

Moreover, a steamship was also taken on board, but the structure was already known to the French, so its capture had no technical significance.

In this way, the defenders of Danzig were completely cut off from the outside world, and Kamensky the Younger's position on the coast was isolated and unable to establish communication.

Failure is just a matter of time.

"It seems that we may have to pay even more to keep the city of Danzig in our hands."

"You have only exterminated these Poles. What are you going to do with them?"

"Can the Poles send them to Siberia to cut wood? Or send them to America, so they can out of sight and out of mind."

"You are becoming more and more interesting, Michel. Now we have to consider confronting the French head-on next month. If this allows the French to complete their transportation lines in Poland, as long as the French pull out the nails in Silesia and Danzig, they can come to us."

"At times like this, it looks like we still have to be passive and attack."

"But you always want to fish, and the other party is also using bait to attract you."

Lang Jielong said this, which shows that he has a clear understanding of the current situation.

"Königsberg cannot be abandoned now. Instead, it is a burden. The King of Prussia might as well stay in the arms of his wife."

"You have met Queen Louise at the Jelgava Palace, haven't you?"

"Her Majesty the Queen is very charming. This indecisive king is really a happy man. If it were the Queen, she might have ruthlessly destroyed or transferred the supplies in Königsberg, so as to facilitate our mobile operations on a wider battlefield. If we can delay Poland and East Prussia for a longer time, the British will always be able to do something, right?"

"Maybe they won't, but I know better than to deal with France."

Solovyov also knew that Langgeron was a Frenchman whose greatest pleasure was to mock the British.

At the same time, he was also very clear-headed. He knew that it was unlikely that the British would land in Western Europe without a foothold at this time. That was not their style.

But now there is not even a telegram, so the speed of transferring money will be affected.

Besides, Solovyov has been causing so much trouble for the French that he has become famous and even appeared in The Sun in London.

It was just on page three of The Sun. If the first generation of The Sun had not been a political newspaper leaning towards the Conservative Party, rather than the famous tabloid after the 20s, the shame would have been overwhelming.

Even if you Brits pay more attention to the statue of Venus with Paulina as the model on page 3, it would be better than turning this page into a political commentary page.

(End of this chapter)