Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 524 036 Solovyov's Finnish Infantry Division (Part )
"I have already made the request to see these groups."

"You are so interesting. Why did you choose a grenadiers regiment?"

"This Tafred Grenadiers Regiment was once led by Katya's grandfather, and I know their commander to some extent. And I chose you as the chief of staff. As for the Kostroma Regiment, the Murom Regiment, and the Shlisselburg Infantry Regiment, I also chose them based on the actual situation."

"Why is this?"

"You have to know that many of our officers are of German descent, or even German. Even my wife, who has pure blood, is descended from Vikings from Northern Europe, from the Varyag Guard. Russians like me, whose family is from merchants in Arkhangelsk, are relatively rare. But I can't tell exactly where my mother's bloodline is."

"It's really hard to explain your green eyes."

Clausewitz also knew that Solovyov's mobilization of troops had to be coordinated with himself to some extent, and German could even be used to issue orders directly to officers to prevent them from making a fool of themselves.

Speaking of which, when Solovyov was an adjutant, there were often regimental commanders with language barriers, some who could speak Russian but could not understand German, some whose native language was German but could not learn Russian, and there were also some young people who could not even learn French. It was always necessary for the commander to know several more languages.

Well, that's how Russians are. Generals usually have to be familiar with at least two or three languages. If it were Austrian, it might be even more troublesome in the future.

At least in Russia, most soldiers speak Russian, and as long as you work hard to learn the words to give orders, you can still make the army run.

Then Clausewitz also saw why Solovyov made such a choice and even prepared a list.

The commander of the Murom Regiment was von Richter, as you can tell from his last name.

The commander of the Kostroma Regiment was Ivan Heidenreich. You can’t tell from the “Ivan” in the front of his name, but you can tell from the last name that he was also of German descent.

There are many Baltic Germans in the Baltic region. Some of them have the word von in their names. They may have come from Europe to serve in the army, or they may be Germans who have become local nobles.

Finally, there is the Shlisselburg Regiment. Judging from the name, it is located near Solovyov’s home. The commander of this regiment is Ivan Lelen. So in terms of infantry regiments, except for the two regiments that Solovyov is more familiar with, the remaining regiments were chosen for a reason.

"Well, now we can consider cavalry and artillery."

"I think in an environment like Sweden, we don't need hussars. What we mainly need are dragoons and hussars. Mick, you should have discovered it, right?"

"I know this. I defeated the Poles in Ostrolenka. The main players were the cuirassiers and dragoons. Lancers are not useful anywhere in the forest."

Solovyov also agreed with Clausewitz's idea, so they were also selecting some cavalry regiments, and if they were to be configured, they would also choose the configuration of hussars and dragoons.

As for the relatively strong cuirassiers, there were also Cossack cavalry regiments and local cavalry regiments. It was obvious that the heavy cavalry was not that flexible.

"Then why do you not want the Cossacks?"

"It's a matter of discipline. Although my former adjutant was a Cossack guard, they sometimes... When they arrived in Sweden, it was not just a matter of striking the enemy and weakening the enemy's war potential, but also about making the Swedes resist, unlike in Finland."

In fact, Finland's situation was not very good at the beginning, but the subsequent actions of the Cossacks and generals also led to very fierce resistance in Finland.

"But besides dealing with the Swedes, if you go around the south of the Aland Islands, will you encounter the British at this time? I know from Scharnhorst that there are always some German regiments among the British army."

"A war is inevitable. How much intelligence can we get from the Hanoverian Legion?"

In fact, Scharnhorst came to Prussia very late and did not join the Prussian army until 1801. His father was even a sergeant in the Hanoverian army.

"It's just the deployment of the British army. We don't have any channels to find out."

"That can only be analyzed from the British army's daily habits. However, they are also an army that uses whips to maintain discipline, which is even worse than ours. I think their army, like their navy, is afraid of their superiors' whips."

"Hey, you're not going to prioritize attacking officers, are you?"

Although on the battlefield, if the soldiers on both sides are confident in their shooting skills, they will snipe at the opposing officers.

However, Clausewitz rarely heard of such things being told publicly, but the injury and death of the old Duke of Brunswick were more or less the serious consequences of being hit by a bullet from the enemy.

"Of course you can. You have to consider that the Pavlovsk Regiment is in a special situation. The Guards have not yet replaced the Solovyov rifles, but this regiment is fully equipped. In addition, each soldier has four grenades in addition to 60 rounds of ammunition, which can fully implement new infantry tactics. It's just that..."

"You are not satisfied with the grenadiers' bishop's hat on his head?"

Clausewitz said this, and he nodded in agreement.

"This is not conducive to activities. I would like to change them to new military caps, or even more convenient caps, but this is a favor from the emperor. The Pavlovsk Regiment performed well in the battles of 1806 and 1807 and won this honor." Alexander's order was also issued after the reform of the grenadiers' uniforms. Even the Moscow Grenadiers and Yerevan Grenadiers, which were older than the Pavlovsk Grenadiers, were changed to the new style. Only Pavlovsk was upgraded to the standards of the Young Guards and was qualified to wear a bishop's hat-style grenadier cap on any occasion, from the regiment's commander-in-chief to the grassroots officers and soldiers.

However, the Tsars probably could not have imagined that the Pavlovsk Grenadiers would later become the most glorious of the four major regiments of the Guards, and that its garrison barracks were the closest to the Winter Palace among all the Guards regiments. After the Aurora fired a cannon, regardless of the actions of other troops, the Pavlovsk Grenadiers were the first Russian Guards regiment to join the revolutionary sailors, and they also assisted the sailors in opening the gates of the Winter Palace.

Just because they were the Tsar's Guards, few people tell their stories. As for the military talents that the Guards contributed to the later Red Army, the most famous one was General Antonov, who came from the Guards Jager Regiment.

Even more than that, the Grenadiers and Guards were the most active in joining the Red Army as a whole - except for the Semenovsky Regiment which attacked the most brutally in 1905. Even if they were "revived" in the White Army, these regiments were nothing more than skeleton troops composed of veterans of the White Guard. In terms of purity, they were not as high as the Smolny Girls' School which moved to Yugoslavia. After all, the faculty and most of the female students of the girls' school were still the original ones.

As for the descendants of the Dolgorukov princess joining the party in the UK, the Beauharnais becoming the leader of the White Russians, a group of patriotic veterans such as Brushilov joining the Red Army (including the descendants of Bagration's brother, many princes and nobles joined the Red Army), Count Stroganov's family donated their property and left in a leisurely manner, and the Tsarist noblewoman and widow donated her property to the Red Army, it seems abstract but we always know that patriotism is the theme.

The Russians never like foreigners to tell them what to do, even if some Germans have lived with them for a long time. The most unlucky one is undoubtedly Barclay. Although everyone knows that he is Scottish, he is always looked down upon by Russian and neutral officers because he is also of German descent.

Solovyov was also clear about this, so the Finnish Division was always a special case. Fortunately, there was no doubt about his bloodline. His grandfather's generation rose from civilians to nobles, and his wife was from a prominent family. In addition, his father-in-law and grandfather-in-law had some influence in the army, and he also had personal military achievements.

If you want to question it, you have to ask yourself whether you are a better fighter than him and whether you can make the French lose face several times.

Solovyov's biggest problem now is that all the victories he has won were either defensive battles, where he lay in wait for the enemy to make a mistake, or where he faced a weaker opponent and used ambushes to defeat the enemy.

His image is pretty good at ordinary times, but when he fights, he wears a monocle and a riding whip, which always makes people worry whether he will attack or not.

In fact, Solovyov was aware of this. After all, the defensive battles and diversion operations he planned were all carried out under circumstances where the enemy had an advantage. Operations such as the Battle of Spandau also defeated Bernadotte in an active attack.

However, in general, this action was attributed to Prince Bagration's resolute actions - Solovyov was very clear about this, as his senior brother was indeed a resolute man.

After talking with Clausewitz, Queen Louise also opened the door of her bedroom, but from her clothes, it could be seen that she had just fed her child and was holding little Princess Louise in her arms.

"Colonel, I heard you were going to Count Soloviev?"

"Indeed, Your Highness, I am just a freeloader here, and it is impossible for a soldier to stay in the Queen's court forever. Mick happened to come here, and he suggested that I become the chief of staff of the newly formed 'Finnish Division'."

"If it were someone else, I might not agree to let you go. But as a colonel, you will be demoted to Russia. Perhaps the count can get you a transfer at the same level. This is not like being in Prussia. Besides, General Scharnhorst admires you very much. Wouldn't it be okay for you to go to his reform committee?"

"I want to gain some experience, Your Highness. If I stay in the army now, I may not have the opportunity to gain experience. At least with Count Solovyov, we can plan and discuss frequently. He just introduced me to the composition of the Finnish Division, and we are also making further adjustments to the organization of the cavalry."

"Then I wish you all the best, Colonel. But although Russia can provide you with such an opportunity to display your talents, don't forget your homeland."

Queen Louise was very courageous. After she said this, Solovyov, who wanted to keep Clausewitz in Russia for a long time, could not refute it.

This is probably a true portrayal of the saying “I would rather have a handful of soil from my hometown than ten thousand taels of gold in a foreign land.” Moreover, Clausewitz’s temperament also destined him to be unable to settle in Russia. This is different from Gauss, who was engaged in academic research. Gauss’s benefactor is no longer with us, but those who appreciate Clausewitz are still in office.

Especially this queen, her ability to unite the Prussian generals is somewhat stronger than that of her FW husband.

"Your Majesty, I am helping Mick as a friend for three to five years. When I have gained experience, I will return to Berlin and continue to serve Your Majesty and Your Majesty."

Solovyov found this magical. It seemed that a plump figure really helped to unite people. The queen was able to win the support of all the generals simply by relying on her personal charm and glorious maternal love.

What she said now was all about paving the way for her son, but she didn't have much to say about her husband. This was probably because of the turmoil some time ago. King FW completely hurt her heart. Therefore, even if she took her daughters to live in St. Petersburg, she was not willing to go to Königsberg to be with her husband.

At the same time, here she could also get in touch with Russian noble ladies and learn more or less about the developments in St. Petersburg.

The queen was also very clear that only by winning over Russia could Prussia hope to restore its strength and that it would be impossible to oppose France without Russia. Otherwise, it would have no choice but to lie dormant.

As for the affairs of the British, she had no intention of paying attention to them. After all, Prussia had been weakened to only half of its original territory, and most of its tax-collecting areas had been lost. Except for Silesia, there was no difference from before Frederick the Great ascended the throne.

In order to restore Prussia, at least the domestic forces had to be united, but she also knew that her husband had betrayed some patriotic Prussian officers who were unwilling to submit to French control, and even cut off the heads of some of them to please Napoleon's brother Jerome.

She was indeed very disappointed with her husband's actions.

As for Solovyov in front of her, she admired the young count very much, but it was a pity that he was Russian, and considering the identities of his wife and lover, he could only be regarded as a helper in opposing France.

She was indeed very smart. She knew that Solovyov's promotion to the title came from his non-blood aunt, Empress Josephine. Therefore, for the sake of Josephine's status, she was likely to privately oppose the marriage between Russia and France. Such an attitude would always be helpful in the future.

A woman's intuition is also very scary, especially for such a talented queen. She also discovered clues about Solovyov and Louisa, and that Maria had been having an ambiguous relationship with him after returning to the country. However, Solovyov often kept a distance too deliberately, except in work. If others did not pay special attention, Queen Louise would always be aware of it.

(End of this chapter)