Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 540 Solovyov's Waiting for the Enemy (Part 052)
Another reason why Solovyov was not in a hurry to advance was that he was sending cavalry to scout the situation on both wings.

He had long heard that Sweden was not a united front, and even had plans to invade Finland. The War Ministry learned about the situation through a general from Sweden, and then issued instructions to the General Staff. However, although the plans of Peter Volkonsky and Solovyov were adopted, they were not fully implemented.

The Swedish army's speed was indeed beyond the expectations of the Russian high-ranking officers. Apart from the victory of Sanders, who posed no threat to the flank, in several battles, the Swedish army rarely had any outstanding performance.

However, Solovyov always needed to rest because of the rapid march on the ice, and immediately throwing his troops into battle was not what a qualified general should do.

He also had a basis for this point. When the Russian army marched quickly to Verona, it failed to catch up and join the Austrian army in attacking the French army. During the subsequent march, there were many rest periods between small battles.

What's more, this time we crossed the sea and drove 200 versts on the ice to get here.

When the Hussars' reconnaissance report came back, Solovyov was very satisfied.

"It looks like the Swedish army in the north won't make any moves. They can't easily contact Stockholm while we're here."

"Sir, what should we do?"

"Lebu, do you want to lead the Selenge Regiment to achieve first merit?"

"That's not the case. It's just that the brothers have come here, and it would be unreasonable not to fight a battle."

"Don't be anxious, and don't be anxious for everyone here. We must be patient and let the Swedes act first. After we cross the ice, the soldiers must recover their strength. And we must have determination. Although I don't appreciate the performance of the Prussians in the Seven Years' War, they are right about one thing: Russian soldiers are the most resilient. We have such good brothers. We don't go to war now, and we also want to let the brothers have a good rest for a few days. After walking such a long distance in five days, we must rest for two days. Moreover, we have no advantage in marching to Uppsala."

Especially the road to Uppsala, many places in the middle are covered with snow. People who have suffered losses once in Sweden in winter will naturally be more careful. If you really want to drive on this road, it is not that easy.

There are 20,000 people marching in with baggage. The roads in Sweden are probably not as reliable as icy ones, especially with so many forests here.

Therefore, he still had to understand Gustav's eagerness to fight.

What he didn't expect was that the scouts reported that they had seen a Swedish infantry regiment appear in Tieppe and even heading north towards Gävle and Sandviken.

Solovyov even came up with an idea, asking the Pavlovsk Regiment to use its weapon advantage to set an ambush on the road.

But before he could mobilize his troops, the Swedes suddenly retreated southward, and even the Grenadier Brigade only had time to assemble near the church in Sandviken.

He even thought that there was a problem with his information gap. He really didn't expect that Amfelt wanted to gather troops to prevent the Kalmar Regiment from advancing too far, and then gather troops together to attack.

However, it would not be a problem for the Russian army to fight such a battle. Before the battle, Solovyov had also looked at the terrain of Gävle and Sandviken.

In fact, Gävle may be even more important. Sandviken is an industrial city that developed in the second half of the 19th century. Its topography connects the narrow plains along the northern coast of Sweden and the wider forests and plains on the Stockholm side. It is a key point that strangles the country.

Due to the limitations of communication conditions in Sweden at that time, there was no effective communication between the north and the south.

Gustav was indeed very anxious and wrote to Armfelt several times, urging him to go north.

Finally, under urging, the baron finally assembled an army of 18,000 people and marched north, including the Swedish army's guards infantry and some Swedish light cavalry.

Such an army finally looked relatively presentable. Amfeldt had to march more than 100 kilometers before he could reach the vicinity of Gävle.

At this time, Solovyov was already estimating the movements of the Swedish army, but he had to take the main road, the road along the river. When the Hussars of the Elizabethgrad Regiment passed by there, they found that it was not suitable for company-level troops to march here.

Therefore, the main target of defense was the road extending out of the forest. There was a small river in the middle, which just divided the preset battlefield into two parts.

"How about we fight the Swedes here?"

He looked back at Clausewitz, who had also taken down his telescope.

"If the enemy is willing, the river ice is very thick in winter, and this is a battlefield that will not be divided. If they have enough people, they may have to fight a very fierce battle."

"Although the enemy's supply line is behind us, the villages along the way seem very poor, which is indeed a place where we can use our strength."

"Of course. You have occupied the oldest city in Nordland, so it will be difficult for the enemy to get supplies."

"The church and the small town of Sandviken to the west look more like a village. We can station the Kostroma Regiment here to attract the attention of the Swedes. Although the main battlefield is along the middle road, there must be deployment on both sides. And it is also suitable for the Kostroma Regiment to serve as a reserve there. In addition, the Pskov Regiment and the Kazan Regiment will not move and serve as reserves."

"If you do that, you'll be short of two thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry."

"The battlefield is too narrow, so naturally we have to deploy reserve troops. Whichever side is forced to deploy reserve troops first will be almost defeated in this battle."

"But you still need to be fully prepared and not do things according to your own ideas."

"Karl, of course I know this, but the climate here is very similar to Stockholm. We are lucky that we didn't choose a landing site and garrison point further north or south."

"Just think about it. The final plan and marching rules are my business."

"That's right, otherwise how can I get you here?"

At the same time, Solovyov pushed Clausewitz's shoulder.

"Hey, you guy."

"It's nothing, Karl. Just remember one thing. We have to wait until the enemy approaches Gävle before taking action. The pre-set positions must be within the distance from Gävle and Sandviken to the battlefield."

"It's great here, but you said it, and action can be taken in both directions."

Solovyov was so focused on the inevitable terrain that he neglected what he had said before.

As for the Swedes, Armfeldt did not take the coastal route.

In addition to the terrain, the baron also believed that the only suitable places for the army to deploy were the river valleys that emerged from the forest. This was due to the geographical factors of Sweden, and in the past, Sweden was always attacked in the south, while the north was always protected by forests and various favorable terrains.

If the Russian army takes further action, it will most likely come from this road.

The two sides had the same idea, but before setting off, Solovyov had to go to the toilet first and let the troops get enough rest.

Another big advantage is probably that the port of Gävle still stores a large amount of food.

Solovyov did not requisition it directly, but purchased it with checks from a bank in St. Petersburg. The money was exchanged for silver rubles. Moreover, after the war, Russian banks had to be opened in Stockholm to make it easier for Russians to do business here and to cash the checks written along the way.

The reason for doing this is simple. Solovyov believes that Sweden is a country with serious internal strife. Although the special system of the Four-Level Conference allows farmers to have certain powers, the rigid operation of the national system also leads to a serious sense of direct division among all classes.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that many Russian nobles are now fawning on foreigners, the former boyars would still be more willing to take on lawsuits from civilians in the litigation court.

It was only from the late Rurik dynasty that the serfdom of the dual relationship of personal dependence and protection turned into the serf trade, and even a large number of free people became serfs, leaving only personal dependence and exploitation.

The master here?
It would be best if we could win the support of the farmers.

Therefore, he required Russian soldiers not to plunder, and even officers to uniformly manage the collection issue. Such checks had to be issued according to the specified amount, even if it was lower than the price.

He just had no idea what the outcome would be if he just carried it out.

However, judging from the fact that Gävle had confiscated the frozen fish in the warehouse and the excess food reserves, it seemed that the other party was very satisfied with the price.

After returning to Yevle, Solovyov actually went to the Selenge Regiment to see Stachenko, the officer in charge of logistics.

This guy is still working as a logistics officer, and indeed hasn't made much progress, but he is still a decent level of profiteer.

"General, at least according to the exchange rate of Swedish krona before the war, even if we give them paper rubles, they will be satisfied."

"Is it?"

"Even the locals said that if it was Sweden's own army, their stupid ass army, that was collecting the money, sometimes they wouldn't pay at all."

"That's good, we seem to have grasped some key points."

"But, sir, this will only cost you money."

"It doesn't matter if we lose a little. We must let the Swedes know that this war was initiated by their king and upper nobles, and our emperor was just passively responding to the war. We must also let them see that the Russian army does not plunder every time it goes out to war. The army led by Mikhail Solovyov is the most disciplined army in Europe, no doubt about it!"

"Sir, what about housing?"

"What should I do? If you have confiscated the houses of ordinary people, shouldn't you pay for them? You can still afford the rent, right?"

"Yes, Your Excellency."

Solovyov left with satisfaction. It seemed that the hostility of the civilians in Yevle towards the Russian army was not that serious.

As for the movements of the Swedish army, he was still paying attention to the issue of the pre-set battlefield. Clausewitz had also continued to survey the terrain and found that the areas to the south were all frozen swamp wetlands, which were not suitable for military operations. Even for the Swedes, it was very uncomfortable to rest there during the march.

They would still head north and get through these places as quickly as possible.

Sweden is a big place, but due to the latitude and terrain, the population north of Uppsala is mainly dense in the coastal areas. However, it is still considered low by the standards of this region. It is not good enough in Europe.

Given the current situation in Sweden, Solovyov was glad that in addition to the necessary supplies, he had also opened up a transportation line on the ice, which should now have been protected by Kunev and Platov's cavalry.

In order for him to fight a battle, he needed the cover of two outstanding cavalry generals, which also shows the importance of this operation.

Of course, the enemy also needs to receive it well.

After four days of marching, Amfelt passed through these river valleys. There were forests on both sides, which made large-scale troop movements inconvenient. His men suffered casualties due to the bad weather, and many of them were frostbitten on the road.

Some Swedish infantry guards even thought it was a chore, worse than...
There have always been people in Stockholm who wanted to overthrow the king, especially some middle and senior officers in the Guards. Unfortunately, when they were planning, Gustav IV received a report that Gävle was attacked by the Russian army, so he mobilized the Kalmar Regiment and Baron Armfeldt, and also withdrew two Guards infantry regiments.

If they want to overthrow the king, they will probably have to wait for a chance to go back.

After passing through a series of swamps, they finally came into the sight of the Russian observation post.

In order to catch the enemy, the Russian army gave up the area of ​​Overhard. The southern intersection was not suitable for retreat because of the narrow forest.

If the Swedish army came, they would be exhausted and would most likely choose to camp here or in Tavern further back.

This is a very suitable time to start a battle. The goal is not to annihilate the enemy completely, but to launch a direct attack when the enemy has just arrived and has not yet established a firm foothold.

In short, this time the Russian army was well rested and its morale was high after the rest. Moreover, the fatigue from several days of marching on the sea ice was gradually dissipating.

In this situation, it is indeed suitable to launch an attack.

Solovyov looked at the situation of the Swedes and made some deployments, but the original plan to station a regiment in Sandviken was cancelled because there was a river blocking the main battlefield and the road was also very narrow.

"It will turn into a full-scale attack?"

"Yeah, in this situation, how can we not use our full strength?"

(End of this chapter)