Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 539 051 Solovyov's Application of Concealment (Part )

"Bao Hong, what's the situation?"

"The commander-in-chief has approved the operation. You will set off tonight, but the direction of the operation must be kept secret. Do you understand?"

"Of course I understand. I just want you to go to the headquarters because I am still short of adjutants. Maybe you can be a cavalry commander in the future."

"Forget it. It's better for me to stay in the Cossack Regiment."

"Hey, maybe one day, I will need your help. It has always been the case."

"Here are the orders, Misha, it's time for you to take action."

Bao Hong handed over an envelope from Bennigsen. After removing the seal with the fire seal, Solovyov also understood the other party's intention.

In short, they were going to carry out their operations covertly, and their march would bypass the front of the Åland Islands. One or two days after they set out, they would launch attacks in several directions.

The only problem is that the temperature is about minus ten degrees Celsius now, so marching is quite difficult and the ice is relatively hard to walk on.

But the previous preparations were still effective. In addition to Kunev's detachment covering the left wing of the Finnish Division, Bagration attacked from the front and contained the enemy. The horseshoes used by the Russian army in winter were specially made, just like snow tires on a car.

In addition to these horses, he also prepared a large number of sled dogs. Although the Huskies are a little silly in some places, they are just right for use now.

According to the marching plan, the overall action of the Russian army and the entire marching plan of the Finnish division will exceed 200 kilometers. At the normal marching speed, it will probably take ten days. This is definitely not feasible.

He prepared sled dogs and horses to transport supplies, which indeed reduced the burden on the soldiers. The grenadier brigade of the vanguard, based on the training of the two elite regiments in recent years, could march more than 30 kilometers a day.

The more troublesome thing is that the whole journey is on ice, which is actually very dangerous.

However, according to intelligence and the scouts' investigations, the ice thickness is still sufficient in places along the way.

As for the situation along the way, the navy and engineers have surveyed the route in recent days and established some supply stations along the way.

With the Gulf of Bothnia being covered, it is unlikely that the Swedes can understand the situation comprehensively, so they can only focus on a few areas.

However, the Russian army came over on the ice in large numbers, and the Swedes were not well prepared. If a detachment of Cossacks or Hussars had come, they might have been able to deal with it.

Solovyov's marching route was also cleverly arranged, although he himself did not go to the scene, during the two receptions, as well as Bagration's previous actions here, he always had to survey the hydrology and geography.

As a general, it would be useless if you don't know astronomy, geography and meteorology.

However, in the Gulf of Bothnia, we had to pay attention to the weather conditions to the west and communicate with the French, and even a signal machine was not enough without a telegraph.

What's more, so far the Russian army's optical signals and "Morse code" are exclusive secret communication technologies, and are also "mobile communications" between regiments. They are not fixed and are not used in this occasion.

In addition, there is some information about weather conditions that cannot be disclosed to the French at least before 1815, even if they know it:

Oh my, the weather in Moscow, it's terrible!

Now, we can only judge by finding the winter weather data in Sweden. Fortunately, the Swedes’ own records were very complete more than ten years ago, and we can still find them after entering each city.

Therefore, Solovyov probably also knew when would be the most appropriate time to advance in January.

Since his 20,000 men stepped onto the ice, everything went very smoothly. Although the temperature made the ice thicker and thicker, it did not drop much. At night, the temperature usually did not drop below minus 15 degrees Celsius. They could barely maintain a high-speed march. After five days, the Grenadiers Brigade would be able to arrive first.

The issue he is worried about now is the ammunition supply of the Pavlovsk Grenadier Regiment. After all, this regiment is the core of the entire division's combat power, and the weapons it uses are different from those of the other five regiments.

Therefore, the most important thing for this regiment is the ammunition truck, which is always guarded by the Alexander Nevsky Hussar Regiment behind it. There are also several cavalry regiments in front, two infantry brigades behind it, as well as logistics troops and artillery.

After they left, Kunev's cavalry took action.

This time, the news reported to the King of Sweden was that the Russian army had sent a cavalry to harass the Southmanland Regiment and local militia stationed in the Aland Islands. They knew nothing about the situation on the ice to the north.

The Finnish division was indeed quite lucky. They had been gone for several days and there was no news from Sweden. Instead, Kunev's harassment attracted special attention.

Bagration ordered the Moscow Grenadiers and Cossack Cavalry to make a detour, and the Swedes were completely unaware of it.

It is in this situation that it is more conducive for him to start stealing
On the fifth day of Solovyov's march, he was walking at the front of the entire division's infantry unit. What he was more worried about now was the deviation in longitude and latitude. If he went astray, even if he saw land, there might be problems in his march.

In order to conceal the entire operation, the engineers did not open any markings or roads on the last third of the road.

But it is not without benefits. Because it snowed some time ago, there is snow accumulated on the ice surface, and you have to step on it to make it firm enough to walk on.

Russian soldiers always walked through places like this where there were no roads, and on the last day, the Russian army threw some non-essential supplies onto the carriages and sleds, so they advanced quickly and naturally had to hurry up.

And so the Grenadier Brigade and the two Hussar Regiments of Elizavetgrad and Izyum quickly approached the land.

"To be honest, this is sailing on the ice, and our actions always have to rely on the navy's direction."

"Mick, we should be on land today, right?"

"That's natural. What I'm more worried about is how the enemy will defend the Swedish coastline."

"It's probably a mixture of militia and the infantry regiments left behind?"

When he discussed this with Clausewitz, he was actually unsure. After all, the landing area was not far from Stockholm. According to intelligence analysis, it was sandwiched between several Swedish armies. The risk factor of this operation was actually very high.

If you go astray, that will naturally be a problem.

As they were talking, the cavalry had already returned. When it came to moving on the ice, the Russians' own special horseshoes were more useful.

"Sir, we have land ahead!" "How far is it?"

"We are still four versts away, which is very close."

"What about the enemy's deployment on the shore?"

"Sir, the enemy is not well prepared. The towns we saw were only guarded by a few militiamen. It should not be a problem to capture them."

"Mick, what are you going to do?"

"That's easy, Carl."

His idea was to let the hussars launch the first attack. These cavalrymen were equipped with muskets, and the Swedish militia would surely be vulnerable.

Even if there is resistance, the battle should be over soon if the Tafred Grenadiers are sent to provide quick reinforcements. As long as they don't encounter the Swedish regular army and only use hussars to fight the militia, they will still be able to win.

This has another advantage, that is, when the Russian army launches an attack, if the enemy reports the situation, the initial reinforcements sent will not be too large.

In this environment, the exchange of fire caused by information asymmetry can best turn the Swedish army into a fueling tactic.

As for the subsequent actions of the Finnish division, they must gain a foothold on Swedish soil, and when the enemy comes, they cannot rush over too much.

In short, battlefield fog is still very important.

Even now the Pavlovsk Grenadiers wear warm sheepskin on their heads, not the bishop's hat with greater wind resistance, not to mention that this thing is not warm at all.

No matter how you look at it, he wants to create information asymmetry. Even when elite troops cross the sea, they still have to maintain a sense of mystery.

However, to his surprise, as soon as the Izyum Hussar Regiment appeared on the edge of the town of Gävle, the local militia laid down their arms and surrendered, and even the local mayor directly handed over the keys.

In short, they did not intend to resist because the Russian hussars were too numerous.

However, the towns very close to Gävle had also noticed the movements of the Russian army and had an early warning.

However, only the Izyum Hussar Regiment came ashore at that time, so the Swedish coastal defense alarm was mainly aimed at the Russian cavalry harassment rather than the actions of large troops.

As a result, when the news reached Stockholm, it would naturally not provide any useful intelligence to Gustav IV and his generals.

In order to expel the Russian army, Gustav IV also ordered the Kalmar Infantry Regiment and a small number of light dragoons in the mainland to prepare to expel the Russian army.

"Your Majesty, the Russian Hussars are coming up from the sea, and we cannot confirm how many people are behind them. It is not wise to hastily send out troops to drive away the enemy now."

After all, the Amfeldt family has served the Swedish royal family for generations, from Charles XII to the present, so out of caution he still gave advice to the stupid king.

"It doesn't matter. The Russians launched surprise attacks several times before. This time they just went a little further. Didn't the report from the Aland Islands also say that Kunev's cavalry was repelled by us?"

"But it's unusual for someone to show up in Gävle. Perhaps we should prepare a little more. We can gather several other regiments on the mainland and organize a force to go over from Uppsala."

"Your Majesty, there is some truth in what Baron Amfeldt said." Count von Fersen agreed with Amfeldt's opinion at this time. Since he was a staunch absolutist and royalist, Gustav IV still trusted him to some extent.

"Okay then. The Kalmar Regiment and the Cavalry will go first. As for the other troops, it takes time to mobilize them. If we want to send a second army to garrison in Uppsala, we will need at least six infantry regiments and three cavalry regiments."

"Your Majesty, I think it would be safer to gather a large army."

"Amfelt, since you are so worried about what happened in Gävle, you should take the command of the general."

After the previous attack on Denmark failed, Baron Amfeldt lost his command. Now that he has the opportunity to lead the troops, he is ready to go north to deal with the Russian troops in Gävle first.

He felt that the appearance of the Russian army to the north of Stockholm must be a bigger conspiracy. A hussar unit crossed the ice and even acted in the opposite direction of Kunev's detachment, appearing in two different areas. This should also be a precursor to a large-scale Russian offensive.

By the time he had selected his troops and assembled four infantry regiments of the home army to arrive in Uppsala and join up with the local garrison and the cavalry that had arrived here earlier, he received new instructions from Stockholm.

The Russian army launched an attack on the Aland Islands and quickly captured the local garrison barracks. The Southmanland Regiment was forced to surrender after only symbolic resistance. The local population and supplies that were not relocated eventually fell into the hands of the Russian army.

And it was Prince Bagration who was in command personally, but Amfeldt had no intention of returning and wanted to go directly north from Uppsala.

By the way, the private letter that Count von Fersen wrote to him was also about his concern for the situation in Gävle.

This court steward, a friend of the French queen, was a court noble, but his participation in wars dates back to the American Revolutionary War, so he might have been out of date. However, he also gave his own opinion, which was not to follow the king's wishes on this issue.

They were both members of the Royalist Party, and von Fersen had a relatively high status and a certain social prestige. More than 20 years ago, he had fought in North America and participated in the Battle of Yorktown.

This old minister was a relatively cautious person. He believed that the Russian army had always been cunning and that the entire conspiracy could not be determined based on the current activities of Russian cavalry in several directions.

Therefore, he still had to lead these troops, gather in Uppsala, and continue northward, without obeying the orders of Gustav IV.

At the same time, Count von Fersen himself would persuade the king to give Armfeldt more full command authority, and was prepared to transfer General von Essen to the front line to lead the Guards to join him.

After reading the letter, Baron Armfeldt at least knew that he could do things his own way, so he also ordered the Kalmar Regiment to keep watch near Gävle.

So, the ambush that the Russian army had originally designed was of no use because of Amfeldt's new order.

But Solovyov was not worried. After all, during the two days when the Swedish army was gathering, the entire Russian army had arrived in Gävle and used it to establish a rear base.

After the Finnish division completed its assembly, it was finally ready to take action.

(End of this chapter)