Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 725 027 The siege network is full of holes

The Russian army was still retreating, and Napoleon's pursuit, except for Davout's 1st Army, had generally slowed down during these days, and some even had to stop.

The reason is nothing else but that they have been facing supply difficulties since entering Russian territory.

Although we encountered supply difficulties when fighting in Austria, Poland and East Prussia, it was not like in Russia, where we often did not even have fodder.

This led to the death of a large number of horses, which were the most valuable to the French.

Even the cavalry's war horses were secondary; the most important things were the draft horses used to pull carts and cannons.

During the Revolutionary Wars, it was possible to find a fellow villager, or even an enlightened aristocrat, and easily get horses when fighting on the interior front. However, the farther away from the French mainland one went, and the fewer things one could get, as the French always took everything they had once they arrived at a place.

Some French soldiers had noticed the supply difficulties during the first few days, and they were now reluctant to advance without supplies.

What's worse is that the Guards and the 1st Army, which have always had relatively good discipline, have now begun to loot frequently. Even with the restraint of the officers, it is difficult to control them.

From this perspective, some people who do not have a good life may learn from the European military in the future, but end up learning from the shortcomings of all schools of thought, and adding to their own existing problems, the combination will definitely be very bad.

Napoleon now had a clear idea in his mind, and he had to order the pursuing troops to stop and rest temporarily, but the situation on Davout's side was different.

The "Iron Marshal" was advancing towards Mogilev at this time, preparing to cut off the Russian army's retreat.

If the 2nd Army can be eliminated, it will be beneficial for subsequent battles.

But whether the interception can be successful is another question.

At the same time, the Russian army was building a pontoon bridge near Bobruisk, and the 2nd Army was preparing to cross the Berezina River and continue to move eastward.

After seeing the Berezina River, Solovyov could also imagine that the last battle of the War of 1812 took place here.

He just didn't know if he would have the chance to participate in the final decisive battle in the future. He was now observing the situation on the river. In addition to the pontoon bridge built by his own 8th Army, he was also observing several other locations.

"The floating bridge we have built now is enough for our entire army of 5 people to pass through. Mick, why are you still interested in looking at this shallow beach?"

"Whether the enemy advances or retreats, they will probably pass through here. The only difference is whether they go upstream or downstream, and how large their scale will be."

Clausewitz certainly had no idea what would happen in the future, he just felt that Solovyov was a little weird today.

It's not like him to be crazy like this.

However, we must also take into account that the two of them had fought many battles together before, and even though Solovyov was not a "prophet", he had indeed always been paying attention to the terrain. Different geographical environments could indeed have an impact on the deployment of troops.

"But now we are in the process of retreating, and there are many things to be concerned about."

"It doesn't matter. The French blockade of us is actually full of loopholes. Although Davout has been able to lead his troops to quickly cut off our marching route, that is only one option. We have more than one route to choose from in the forests of Belarus. If going from Bobruisk to Vitebsk doesn't work, there are other places to go. They can't act so quickly every time, and we still have some advantages in supply."

Clausewitz also nodded in agreement. The Russian army still had sufficient supplies. The canned food they carried and the supplies they collected during the retreat could only meet the most basic supplies, but it was enough.

The French troops behind them might not have their next meal if they had one, and their condition was greatly affected.

Except for the Poles who may be more active, the armies of other French vassal states and allies were slow in action and some were just slacking off.

Even Denmark, one of the Twelve-Nation Alliance, sent a division of troops to join the expedition, but when the actual action started, they had just left Denmark. Since they had independent command, they finally returned home.

It was impossible for the retreating Russian army to know that such a thing had happened. Although they also knew that there were many slackers in the French coalition forces, they still did not expect it to be this serious.

After encountering several puppet army scouts and nailing them to trees, the Russian army rarely encountered enemies pursuing them from behind when they retreated, and even scouts were rare.

The Westphalians moved very slowly, and the Poles were distracted by the Cossacks, and Platov once again fooled them.

Even though they didn't gain much advantage, as long as the distance between the two armies was widened, it looked like a victory.

The terrible thing was Davout's journey. Bagration was a little angry when he saw that Davout was always wandering around his flank and trying to seize key towns on the road twice.

However, he was generally able to keep his composure and only ordered Rayevsky to remain on guard on the flank while he and Solovyov's two armies took turns to cover their advance.

After confirming that the main force had passed the pontoon bridge built on the Berezina River, Solovyov ordered the Little Russian Grenadiers Regiment, which was guarding the rear, to burn down the pontoon bridge.

In short, even if the French really caught up with them, they would not be able to advance easily.

He even wanted to set fire to the woods on both sides of the Berezina River to make it difficult for the French to find suitable wood.

However, this may delay time and waste Molotov cocktails and gunpowder, so there will always be people who try to dissuade you.

Moreover, setting fire to the forest is indeed not a good idea. The scorched earth tactic does not mean setting fire to every place. We still have to live our lives in the future.

By the time the pursuing French army arrived here, they would probably be able to see some remains of the fire.

At the same time, in the French 1st Army Headquarters, Marshal Davout was also collecting intelligence on the Russian army's movements. He was eager to fight, and before the two Russian troops joined forces, there was always some room for maneuver and he could strike a blow to the enemy.

If we let the Russian army go now, they will suffer in future battles.

The further inland they went, the more difficult it became for the French to move.

In the areas near the border, many of these places used to be Polish and Lithuanian lands, so it was relatively easy to mobilize. When collecting supplies locally, at least the local nobles were very welcoming. But once they entered the inland areas, the Russians were always difficult to mess with. From the many battles in the past, even in the few battles where they defeated the Russian army one-sidedly, the French did not gain much advantage. The resilience of their opponents really impressed them.

If the battle continues, the French army will naturally act more cautiously, and he is almost reaching his limit.

But even so, he had to try his best to cut off the Russian army's route of action. If he could not eliminate Bagration, he had to drive him towards Bryansk and not let them easily join the Russian army led by Barclay.

The 1st Army itself was larger than the other armies, but it was not without troubles. In order to pursue quickly, Davout's actions also caused a large number of soldiers to fall behind, and he even had to pick up the stragglers during the march every day.

Therefore, if he wants to block the door, he must also consider whether he has sufficient troops.

Bagration was in a meeting and had also paid attention to Davout's condition.

After the 2nd Army crossed the river, he called another meeting of generals.

It was not like when they were stationed near Grodno, where there were nice houses to live in. The place where Bagration lived was a common wooden house in Russia.

"We still need to join up with the 1st Army as soon as possible. If we stay here and move eastward from Bobruisk to Smolensk, the distance is obviously too far."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nikolai Nikolayevich, I hope you can find a way to drive Davout out of Mogilev. It is better for us to go directly to Vitebsk and join Barclay. Everyone knows this."

There was a reason for sending Rayevsky. The 8th Army commanded by Solovyov had been following behind, and they also had to ensure the next direction of retreat, whether it was building bridges over several rivers, erecting pontoon bridges, or dredging roads. The engineers of the 8th Army had always performed well.

The 7th Army took the lead. They had already arrived here and rested for a day, so it was only natural to let them join the battle next.

The French army should have divided its forces by now, and sending Raevsky over was also a test for both sides.

The 8th Army always has to serve as a backup to ensure operations. Although Bagration is known for his bravery, it does not mean that he does not use his brain.

Solovyov did not intend to fight hard at this time. He actually wanted to slack off. This attitude was rather strange.

However, an order came from Barclay that the 2nd Army should move closer to the 1st Army as soon as possible. If the Mogilev area was controlled by the French, they would have no choice but to take a detour.

If he were to deal with Davout, he would have to mobilize his own troops, otherwise it would be difficult to deal with the French army.

The forces of both sides were dispersed, but the French were advancing eastward, Davout was cutting off the Russian army's retreat in several directions, and Bagration was on the move.

The actions of both sides were actually on parallel lines at this time. If the Russian army chose to advance northward from near Bobruisk, it would have to pass through the routes of two French marching columns and would inevitably engage in battle with the enemy.

This would be bad, for if the French gathered quickly, even if the Russians had more troops than the French at the beginning, they might get into trouble later.

While they were arguing, the Cossacks had already encountered the French cavalry.

The 3rd French Chasseurs Regiment, as the outpost of one flank of the troops, encountered the Cossacks and was severely defeated. Even the commander of the regiment became a prisoner of the Russian army.

Now the situation is different. Both sides were not sure about their positions before. The French army did not know the exact position of Bagration, and the Russian army did not know the size of the French army.

"It looks good. If we take action now, we will really have to fight the French head-on."

If Bagration had not seen the order, he would probably have chosen to take a detour.

But the order came, and as the commander of the army group, he could not choose to fish in vain like Solovyov did, but continued to retreat eastward to ensure the passage of the entire army group.

So he gave instructions to Rajevsky to always have a clash with the French.

Rajevsky took his sons with him, even his younger son, who was not yet an adult but was able to act with the army.

He was quite confident and was ready to take action.

The 7th Army set out. Bagration looked at Solovyov and raised his own questions.

"Mishka, you are always positive."

"You think my attitude today is weird, don't you?"

"We have received orders. We must find a way to reunite the two armies."

"We don't know the number of enemies. Even if the Cossacks severely damaged a French cavalry regiment, the intelligence we have obtained is currently limited. The enemy may be 20,000 or more. They may be scattered, but if they can gather quickly, it will be very troublesome for us. You know, Peter Ivanovich, Moreau defeated the Austrians in Hohenlinden and made use of the terrain to some extent. If we suddenly encounter an enemy rushing out in the forest, or the enemy uses the temporary terrain to stop us..."

"You think too much. If I didn't know you well, I might think you were afraid of fighting."

"We can only take things one step at a time. If we engage the enemy, we must ensure that our own people can escape safely. If only the 7th Army goes, they may not be able to defeat the enemy, but if we all go, what will the enemy do?"

What Solovyov was thinking of was probably the situation of fighting in the dark at the "fork in the road", where no one could see each other clearly.

What he was worried about was that the number of enemies exceeded his own ability to bear. According to pre-war intelligence, Davout's army still had a lot of troops. If there were other troops on their marching route, or if the French troops were divided and could reach their destination within a day, it might be a tough battle for the Russian army.

Others are easy to deal with, but Davout has Friant under his command, and whatever troops he commands will run fast.
He thought too much about this. Rajevsky had already left here and returned to the 7th Army’s base, preparing to launch an attack.

The first large-scale exchange of fire between the two armies was about to begin.

(End of this chapter)