Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 545 057 This time it is a fair battle (Part )

Solovyov would not wait in vain, in fact he was also considering deployment.

The number of cavalry under his command was obviously too large for a division. Even though the two dragoon regiments had only arrived in the past two days for supply and support of the new garrison in Jävle, he still had four regular cavalry regiments and three conscripted cavalry regiments.

Having a large number of cavalry is not without its advantages, but the more difficult part is probably food. There is always a supply from the rear, and Sweden can collect a lot of supplies.

It is not so easy to get fodder for horses, especially considering that there are relatively few villages in the area from Gävle to Uppsala. Even if we continue to collect food and fodder outside the city of Uppsala, the progress is indeed slow and can barely maintain the supply of fodder for the horses.

However, due to the current situation of the Russian army, it is better to let the Swedes take the initiative to commit suicide.

What Amfeldt is thinking about now is no longer how to win the battle, but to take the initiative, so that he can turn the tables in the court struggle. Solovyov could not have imagined this.

After all, he always considered winning, not those involved in politics, so he was still lucky, at least he could command normally.

Fighting at this time was indeed what he wanted, so he also made adjustments to his deployment.

The three conscripted cavalry regiments were placed on the left wing. Five of the six infantry regiments were deployed in the front. The Pavlovsk Grenadiers were replaced and placed in the back. The Pskov Dragoons were also left as reserves. The three Hussar regiments were on the right wing.

After seeing this deployment, Amfelt was relieved. At least now he had the advantage in terms of military strength, and the only unfavorable factor for him this time was morale.

After the battle started, it didn't seem as bad as he expected.

The fierce firepower of the Russian army in the previous battle left some impression on him.

But in this battle, it seemed that the firepower of the Russian army was no different from that of ordinary troops, and there were no "hunters" wearing otter fur hats, but there was a grenadier regiment behind.

According to what he knew, although the Pavlovsk Grenadiers were part of the Grenadiers series, their treatment was based on the standards of the Guards, and the bishop's hats on their heads were very clearly visible.

Therefore, Amfeldt can also confirm that even without the previous factors, the Russian army is still difficult to deal with.

For him, the advantage was probably the number of infantry, and with the city behind him, the Russian cavalry's outflanking effect might not be very good.

In addition, among the reinforcements there were also some chasseur regiments and infantry regiments that were split from the Finnish Legion, in short, there were some veterans who had fought in wars.

Sweden has not experienced war for a long time. The last time the southern cities were burned by the Russians was eighty or ninety years ago. These local infantry regiments have not participated in any battles in recent years. Many soldiers have not experienced the battle in Stralsund where they were surrounded and beaten by the French and barely held on.

As for some experienced veterans, Sweden has the same problem as Russia. Many veterans have reached the end of their service life or have lost their combat effectiveness due to old age, so they can only be replaced by new recruits.

Under such circumstances, the Swedish army's already weak combat effectiveness will have to decline to the next level.

Solovyov’s previous battle was only his second time commanding alone, but it was also the first time he had full command authority and was not just assembling a unit.

Now, he is also adept at mobilizing troops, but he has the same problem as his uncle, which is that he always likes to keep some reserve troops in the back in case they are needed during the battle.

Another problem is that his command post is relatively forward, which makes it more susceptible to stray bullets.

"Sir, I think your command post is still relatively forward."

"There's no other way. If we're not here, it's hard to grasp the situation. Besides, the reserve troops need to be deployed quickly, which also requires the commander to make a quicker judgment. I don't want to be left behind."

Now he has more than one adjutant, and these people may also consider safety issues, but his personality is similar to Bagration in this respect, and he will not choose to retreat.

If you think about your personal safety all day long, you won't be able to fight this war. If you become an army commander or corps commander in the future, you will have plenty of time to sit back.

As for when he is further forward, if it is a large-scale battle, he is probably in the infantry regiment in front with the soldiers.

You have to take responsibility for command, so you have to sit slightly behind.

"Karl, what do you think of the Swedes' performance today?"

"The formation looks good. There should be some veterans among them. However, their battle lines look uneven. There must still be weaknesses."

"Ah, if this were the time when Alexander the Great was on his eastern expedition, when the commander-in-chief personally led the close guards to attack and look for the enemy's weakness, we would be able to find the enemy's weakness very quickly."

"So, what are you going to do?"

"Fortunately, we are mainly arranged in two rows today. Although it may not affect Armfeldt's judgment, it is enough to deter the soldiers. More importantly, our soldiers have been trained and have won previous battles. They are more accurate and are not afraid of sacrifice."

"Yes, but I want it too."

As they were speaking, a 6-pound shell whizzed past them, but went into the snow.

Clausewitz was closer to the shell, so he was also frightened.

"So the adjutant's advice to you makes some sense. However, in the face of danger, the calmer and more courageous the commander is, the more encouragement it will give to our soldiers."

"That's right. We can't leave here. We have to go to the infantry regiment in front of us to take a look. Besides."

"When will the reserve troops be deployed to the battle?"

"Give Neverovsky an order to allow him to join the 1st and 2nd Brigades without orders when necessary. That place seems to be weak, and it would not be good if the cavalry attacked."

This was probably the only weakness of the Russian army's formation in today's battle. After the battle, because of the forward advance of the Selenge Regiment and the Kostroma Regiment, the gap between the two regiments became larger due to the terrain barrier. After passing that small hill, it became like this.

"Well, it is. Where shall we go next?"

"Go see how the infantry are doing!"

Solovyov's mentality was somewhat relaxed. At least after the battle began, his state was very stable. In some games, he should have the attributes of "excellent commander" and "excellent infantry commander". The cavalry on both wings did not quickly join the battle. The Kalmyks fired a rain of arrows at the Swedish light cavalry in front of them, and then gave their position to the Tatar cavalry.

These Tatars were not in a hurry to launch an attack. Their foolish act of letting the Ming army catch the rabbits and cut off their heads was simply due to some people not being smart enough. They were also looking for an opportunity.

At least looking at the performance of the infantry, Monlik also saw a group of people wearing Guards uniforms moving forward.

"It seems that this count deserves the title of Bartel. When commanding a battle, not many Russian generals are willing to take the initiative to move forward, especially at the beginning of the battle."

While he was making this comment, the Tatars had already advanced a distance ahead and seemed ready to engage the Swedish cavalry.

Therefore, Menglik also chose to lead his men forward, at least to cover the two conscription groups. They usually had a good relationship with the Astrakhan Tatars, and there were rarely any disputes over pastures. This was probably because the grazing areas were vast and sparsely populated, and there was also some barter trade between the two sides - some of the Tatars were now settled.

Solovyov had not seen his actions yet, but according to the pre-war deployment, he naturally needed to recruit cavalry to attack the Swedish cavalry in front of him, no matter whether they were hussars or dragoons.

If they can defeat the Swedish cavalry on both wings, they can then outflank them and attack from the side. For the Russian army, which is mainly composed of light cavalry, everyone will be able to fight smoothly if the battle goes well.

Now, when we arrived at the Kostroma Regiment, everyone in the headquarters could also notice that the Swedish army on the opposite side did have some combat effectiveness during the shooting phase.

"Well, Colonel, it doesn't look like it's going very well."

"Yes, but their shooting accuracy was too poor and they didn't cause us any damage. At times like this, it seems that courage is the most important thing."

"Don't rush to launch a bayonet charge. Wait until the smoke from the shooting rises."

"Okay, but at that time."

"The accuracy of both sides is declining. If our cavalry and reserve troops are deployed on the battlefield, we should be able to win quickly. The enemy is not strong. We just need to show our strength on the training ground. Brothers, you need to show courage and patriotism, as well as honor as a soldier. In this battle, victory is still in our pocket."

That being said, Solovyov was indeed willing to give his soldiers something to do in normal times.

However, considering the special system of Tsarist Russia, we can only talk about patriotism and religion. In a country that has been influenced by Eastern Orthodoxy for a long time, if you talk about something new, most people will still not be able to accept it.

Although his approach was smarter than that of the Decembrists, and perhaps even more advanced at its core, he was clearly more cautious.

And it is even clearer that given Russia's current situation, if there were a revolution and chaos broke out, it would be a chicken-eating contest.

For him, it is probably still too early and he doesn't need to worry too much about it for now.

As for encouraging soldiers to establish meritorious services, it can indeed give them a sense of honor. Among the older infantry regiments, there are veterans who can lead new recruits. Now, their role is reflected.

On the Swedish side, due to the smoke produced by the shooting, they could no longer see the situation on the Russian side clearly.

The Russian army's shooting would also be affected, but fortunately the wind was blowing between the two armies at this moment, so it would only create more smoke, and the troops on the downwind side would be more affected.

The artillery bombardment is obviously Arakcheev's greatest achievement. After all, he is relatively familiar with the organizational structure of artillery. Coupled with the Russian army's current proactive adjustments, the infantry artillery and Unicorn artillery on the battlefield have demonstrated very high efficiency.

At this point, the battle situation seemed to be more favorable for the Russian army. Solovyov then went to the other three infantry regiments and found that the situations were similar.

By the time they returned to the headquarters, the Hussars had achieved another victory.

The Russian cavalry artillery accompanying the Elizabethgrad Hussar Regiment deployed in front of the Swedish cavalry, fired several good rounds in succession, and began to use solid bullets to attack the Swedish cavalry, causing a lot of casualties.

Later, when the Swedish infantry and cavalry approached, their artillery took the initiative to advance forward and fired two rounds of shotgun shells at the opposite side. The casualties caused by this made the Swedes waver.

The Swedish army performed well today. They took the initiative to form a battle line before dawn and prepared to fight the Russian army. Both sides were exchanging fire for the entire morning, and the cavalry also launched tentative attacks.

That is, the Russian regular cavalry had been following the cavalry artillery, first defeating a Swedish hussar regiment, and then causing chaos on the enemy's left wing.

Some defeated Swedish cavalry were fleeing to the rear. They didn't care about the city of Uppsala and only considered their own convenience and wanted to go into the forest.

Of course, this would not disrupt the infantry, but would only cause confusion among the Swedes' own cavalry on the left wing. They had more than one cavalry regiment on the left wing, as well as some combat-capable troops and infantry behind them.

"Mick, I think you should press on now."

"There's no rush yet."

Clausewitz advised him, but Solovyov was still able to remain calm and he wanted to see the situation on the battlefield.

Whether it is to put the Pavlovsk Regiment into battle or to let the cavalry strengthen the flank attack, the cards must be played.

What he was concerned about was the movements of the Swedish artillery.

In today's battle, the Swedish army deployed three artillery regiments split from its oldest artillery regiment. The total number of artillery pieces did make up for the loss, but due to the lack of personnel, the artillery of both sides was roughly equal.

The Russian artillery performed well today. The new firing table and new tactics introduced before the war are finally effective.

And if it comes with shooting, the French have taught them a lesson before.

In today's battle, the Russian artillery has been firing along the way.

Commonly known as bayonets on cannons, both infantry guns and cavalry guns were fired in this way, causing increasing casualties to the Swedish army.

"We need the cavalry on both wings to attack and outflank the enemy. This dish should also be served."

(End of this chapter)