Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 469 Bagration's Actions (Part 046)

Ney was still in Gudstadt's base at this time. After he detected Gorchakov's actions, he was on high alert. After all, the Russian army had already shown signs of taking the initiative to attack, and the first blow might fall on him.

No one probably imagined how abstract the Russian troop movements were.

In fact, Bernadotte was still quite far away from the battlefield, and he didn't seem to be the one who would be the focus of attention in the first round. Moreover, it was not easy to advance in his direction.

Even Napoleon, who was always extremely confident, hesitated at first after hearing this report.

"What did you say? Bernadotte was attacked? And it was the Russian army disguised as the Baden Army that captured the pontoon bridge?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, that is what Marshal Bernadotte reported."

"Savari, this is incredible. I have considered the Russians going directly to attack Davout's base, but I have never considered the Russians going directly to attack Bernadotte. Does the Russian commander have any personal grudge against him? I have never heard of any feud between Langeron and him?"

As for his adopted nephew, although he competed with Moreau for women, the two seemed to have a good relationship. According to Fouché's report, the military attaché of the Russian embassy once had a private conversation with Moreau, but Moreau was always loyal to the Republic and did not reveal any useful information to Solovyov.

If you have a good relationship with Moro, getting along with Bernadotte won't be too bad.

But this cannot be measured by the grudges in the social circle, purely because Bernadotte's army was beaten, which was the most unexpected solution.

As for Dokhturov, whom Soult encountered head-on, Gorchakov, who bluffed in front of Ney, and the Prussian army that appeared to the north of Ney, they were all diversionary attacks. To directly attack Bernadotte in the village of Spanden (Polish: Spedy, literally translated as gathering?) was always a rather unexpected and bold action.

After thinking for a moment, Napoleon came up with a good idea.

"If we go directly to support Bernadotte, the Russians will probably hope that we will take action here. Their mobility is not as good as ours, but they have carefully selected the battlefield and want to attack Bernadotte. Berthier asked Davout's Third Army to support Bernadotte after receiving the order. What we have to deal with are the Russian troops that are harassing Soult and Ney."

Napoleon had obviously noticed the Russian army's tricks. If no action was taken, Solovyov's tactics would not be figured out for a while.

But if he had already taken action at some point, his intention would be easily discovered.

Therefore, Napoleon only asked Davout to go for the rescue, while he himself led a large group of troops and prepared to launch an operation from the front. He wanted to cut off the front of the Russian army and directly cross the river to attack the vital point.

Solovyov's calculations had led him to believe that Napoleon would gather his main forces because he would attack the enemy and rescue them, but he did not expect that Master Napoleon would directly cut into the center.

If Dokhturov had not been left behind to bluff, not only would his disguise have been exposed, but his entire existence would have been lost.

However, the Russian army did not need to worry about what Napoleon was going to do. The troops led by Bagration included the reorganized vanguard division and the guards of Grand Duke Constantine, in addition to the Osterman-Tolstoy Division and the Sacken Division, with the Kamensky Division behind to cover the flank.

Langgeron also had his own purpose in deploying his troops in this way.

On the one hand, the main force taken away by Bagration would indeed deal a heavy blow to Bernadotte. On the other hand, the Russian divisions that suffered heavy losses in the winter could also be replenished while bluffing, creating the illusion that the Russian army would act from the front.

Moreover, this action was indeed true. Dokhturov was restraining Surt so that the Fourth Army, which had the largest number of troops in the army, could not easily move northward, even if he kept chasing Dokhturov to fight.

On Ney's side, the actions of Lestock and Gorchakov can also provide support.

Now, the focus of the entire battle came to Bagration.

"It seems that the French are preparing very quickly."

"Mishka, if we don't take the initiative, I'm afraid the French will take the initiative to attack us in a few days."

Bagration said this, and everyone present nodded in agreement.

"Fortunately, we have at least disrupted the French deployment. But what should we do next?"

Konstantin was standing by, and he was only responsible for mobilizing the Guards to join the battle. It was Bagration and Solovyov who were responsible for planning.

Last night's bridge-taking operation was so successful that they couldn't believe it.

Moreover, Stroganov not only deceived the French troops guarding the bridge and sent them back to the barracks, but also repelled the French cavalry who dared to approach the pontoon bridge and the stone bridge over the Pasager River.

By the time the Grenadiers reached the bridge, the French had no choice but to set up camp near the main camp.

"Your Highness, you can lead the guards in the second formation."

"As for you, Sasha, I think it's you who should initiate the attack."

"Why is it me again?"

"Because the 2nd Division has performed very well in the past when fighting the French. And if the French left wing is destroyed by us, we can either drive them out of the battlefield or drive them back to the Passague River."

"If there is no river, we can use two-wing encirclement. Since one side is a river, we will naturally drive them to the Pasager River."

Solovyov's addition was not clear.

Even what he wanted to say was probably the foundation of military theory for future large-scale deep warfare, which had already been laid when humans began to skillfully use horses to join combat.

"Well, we've fought the French many times, and this time is no different!"

But when he saw Sakken, Bagration did not let him directly command the 3rd Division, but instead put the vanguard division of the center army and the 3rd Division under his command, so that he could launch an attack from the front.

When Bernadotte saw this situation, he realized that the Russian army had ill intentions.

Moreover, in the first round of firing, the 60 standard artillery pieces of the Russian front line bombarded him.

Although Solovyov adjusted the artillery organization according to the changes in the battle situation, there is one thing to note. He did not intend to kill the generals and guards after a few rounds of artillery fire. That approach of Total War players is not advisable.

The main target of the artillery is still the French infantry on the front line, cooperating with the actions of the Russian infantry.

However, many of these shells hit the back of the infantry in the first round of shooting, and some grenades even exploded directly near Bernadotte. Although the shrapnel injured his adjutant first, the power was enough to injure him.

This situation of being beaten right at the start was very similar to when Jubel was killed in Novi.

But Bernadotte's luck was not something that ordinary people could get. Although his face was covered in blood, his injuries were not serious, and he was even able to command the battle.

But such a direct round of bombardment is indeed scary enough.

The Russian army was not aware of this situation. Osterman-Tolstoy was very active in his actions, and when allocating troops before the war, he assigned both cuirassiers and dragoons to his side, hoping to give full play to the advantages of cavalry.

Then, he did live up to everyone's expectations. When the infantry and the French army confronted each other, he did not rush to launch a bayonet charge, but patiently dealt with the French army at the beginning of the war.

After a while of fighting, the dragoons were to make a detour and attack the French army's flank.

This series of attacks was aimed at the First Army's insufficient manpower and hasty response, with the intention of breaking through or defeating the French army on one side.

However, the French were still extremely tenacious when defending.

Bagration saw this and was worried about the 2nd Division.

What he saw through the telescope was that both sides were shrouded in smoke from the gunpowder, and in this situation, experienced generals knew that there would be a stalemate for a while.

However, on the Russian right wing, when the cavalry was deployed on the battlefield, it was decisive.

Looking back at the center, Bagration placed the Guards on the second line because the front line could not accommodate so many of them, and they were indeed kept as a reserve force.

However, these reserve troops are elite guards. Except for the Guards Cuirassiers Regiment which is included in the 2nd Division, there are too many people "watching the show" on the second line.

Even Bagration wanted to complain that Misha, like his cheap uncle, liked to hold the reserve troops in the back and launch a decisive attack at the last moment.

If the Guards had not arrived, it would probably have been the reserve brigade that had caused the French army so much trouble before to carry out this task.

But he agreed to this deployment, so he made arrangements according to this pre-war deployment.

After the Russian and French troops on the front line have been exhausted for a while, the Guards can be mobilized to launch an attack.

The battle in the morning was somewhat of a test of the patience of both sides.

The French reinforcements would not arrive so quickly, and Napoleon's operation was very clear. He had to clear out the Russian troops in the front first, and then advance to the Heilsberg line, or choose to cut off the Russian troops that were attacking the First Army's base.

The main point is so clear, so it is really exciting that both sides are going to show their cards to each other at the beginning of June.

Bernadotte had no choice but to continue fighting the Russian army. Davout, who was closer to him, would need some time to join the battlefield no matter how fast he advanced.

Now he can only rely on himself. Even Bernadotte can notice that the scale of the Russian army is probably more than what he sees.

"How did these Russians pull such a large army out of the swamps and forests?"

"Sir, Virat is now seeking reinforcements, and the Russians are putting a lot of pressure on him with their frontal attacks."

"Dupont can't go up at this time. If the Russian army launches an attack from the front, looking at their huge reserve force, how long can we hold out?"

Even Bernadotte wanted to complain that his luck had always been bad. Since being shot in the face by the Russian Guards at Austerlitz, he has encountered unexpected situations on the battlefield more than once. At the beginning of the year, his luggage was looted by Russian cavalry, resulting in the loss of documents from his headquarters, as well as a lot of personal property and taxes extorted from Prussia.

Fortunately, no one bothered him in the winter camp. However, when the war resumed, the first blow of the Russian army was aimed at him.

Before, the Russian army had been targeting the First Army under his command, and now they are still targeting him.

If this is hair pulling, then it won't be long before his hairstyle becomes the same as Davout's.

But at times like this, you really have no choice but to bear it.

Although Virat was promoted from brigade commander to division commander after the Battle of Sour Cabbage Field, his dispatches were still very methodical.

He sent someone to ask Bernadotte for the only reserve troops he had, as he was also trying to guard against the Russian army attacking from his flank.

The Russian heavy cavalry was still hiding behind the infantry and Cossacks at this time and had not been deployed to the battlefield. They had never had any cavalry units and were ready to charge directly at the enemy at the beginning of the battle. The French phalanx was always fast in forming a battle array.

As a result, the battlefield remained in a state of confrontation for a long time with bullets flying and gunfire roaring.

Neither side pushed forward because they considered that the other side's formation had no obvious flaws. Even though the French army had fewer troops, their formation was tight, so cavalry could only attack from the flanks. It was not easy to attack from the middle of the frontal regiments.

As for Bernadotte, he was holding Dupont hostage and did not dare to counterattack easily, but he was indeed considering a way out.

If the war is not going well now, the DuPont Division can still play a life-saving role for the entire army at the critical moment.

But if Dupont attacked together and gave up, then there would be no need to fight this battle, and the First Army would be pursued by the superior Russian forces, just like the Battle of the Trebia River.

After all, Bagration and Solovyov were both disciples of Suvorov. They were on the right wing in the Battle of the Trebia River, and the offensive posture was very obvious.

At the same time, we must also take into account that the place where the two sides are fighting today is separated by a river, just like the battlefield in Italy. The terrain is relatively flat, which is suitable for both sides to set up their formations and fight.

"I think it's time."

"Don't be in a hurry, Mishka. You have to let the French have less patience. And we should go ahead and have a look. Ask Sarken to move forward a little. His side is the river bank, which is always a safer direction."

"Well, I'm just worried about his team, which is moving slowly. You know, although he is good at commanding the 3rd Division in defense, his offensive means are very poor."

"There's nothing we can do about it. After all, that's just his level."

Even, Sakken could become an army marshal in the future!

Moreover, Bagration knew that the morning's test of the French was almost over, and in the afternoon he would have to find a way to resolve the battle.

Who knows how fast Dawu, who is close to here, can run this time?
(End of this chapter)