Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The pressure on Neverovsky is indeed very great now.

The French cavalry rushed over like a tide, posing a huge threat to the Russian army.

Although the 27th Division was composed of a group of new recruits, they did not retreat and were still holding their ground. Even though Krasnay ​​had been attacked by Ney, these cavalrymen continued to attack them.

Even Ney, a brave warrior, expressed his admiration for the tenacity of the Russian army.

"I heard that many of these Russian soldiers are new recruits, but they are also good guys."

He also did not forget to pull Jomini over to watch the battle. Obviously, based on the principle of making full use of useful staff officers, he also tried to maximize the exploitation of the assistants sent by Berthier.

"At least it proves that they are well-trained. The 27th Division belongs to the 8th Army. In fact, it is a unit commanded by the emperor's relatives."

That’s right, Solovyov, the most capable gigolo in Russia, the stepson of Empress Josephine’s cousin, who always stood against the Emperor and opposed them.

"That kid. Here he is again. He has been causing trouble for us ever since we knew about him. If all the emperor's relatives, except Eugene, were like him, we might not have to come to Smolensk."

That’s right, Jerome’s actions were too slow, and he was tricked by the Russian army. Besides, the others were equally unreliable. If one wanted to find a few reliable ones among the emperor’s relatives, one would probably have to look for them in the next generation.

As he spoke, the French cavalry launched a further attack on Neverovsky.

The only Kharkov Dragoon Regiment in the Russian army attacked from the flank at this time, trying to force back the attacking cavalry.

However, their fighting power was limited and their numbers were small. They were obviously unable to resist the French cavalry who rushed forward in a swarm, although their personal martial arts were secondary but their bravery in fighting was important.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, Colonel Julian has captured Krasny and driven out the Russian light infantry there. And we have captured all the artillery left by the Russians there!"

The 24th Light Infantry Regiment performed very well. One of their battalions rushed directly into the town. The Russian army was outnumbered and had to retreat with part of the 27th Division's 3rd Brigade in the city to join Neverovsky's main force.

This is also a very bad situation for the Russian army.

But Ney was not in a hurry, because of the marching speed of the troops, his 11th Division and Württemberg Division were still lagging behind, and only part of the 10th Division was involved in the battle.

"Julian did a good job, but now we can't use the Portuguese regiment. There are too many cavalrymen blocking the road."

Ney couldn't help but criticize Murat's cavalry for occupying the road. Grouchy's dragoons were okay. When they launched the attack, they always gave up some space to other troops behind them.

These French cavalrymen all fought and charged fiercely, hoping to gain merit in the battle, so there were some problems with their organization.

They were all old problems. Ney was also well aware of the characteristics of the French cavalry, which was even as reckless as himself.

Neverovsky's situation was very difficult. The dragoons initially tried to help their infantry brothers drive away Grouchy's dragoons, but were driven back by the French of the same trade. They could only rely on the protection of the infantry to avoid being completely wiped out.

What is giving the Russian army a headache now is that they, together with the Kharkov Regiment's counterattack waves, have repelled six French attacks, but these French cavalry are still on the edge of the effective range, making it difficult to attack them for the time being.

Some impatient recruits will choose to shoot directly, but after the bullet is fired, no one knows where it will fly, and it may even go up a tree.

This would even boost the morale of the French cavalry, who would then launch an attack with the assistance of the horse artillery.

At this time, if they were not careful, the Russian division of 6,000 people might be swallowed up by the French cavalry that was at least twice their number.

However, the French cavalry also witnessed the resilience of the Russian army. Although they surrounded the Russian army, they caused considerable losses to the enemy.

However, this seemingly shaky front line was not broken through by the French cavalry, and there was still a lot of terrain that could be used along the way.

There were bushes on both sides of the road and in the ditches that could be used. As long as they formed a battle formation and fought and retreated at the same time, Neverovsky's division would be able to hold out for a while.

Therefore, due to the terrain and the tenacious resistance of the Russian soldiers, the French cavalry could only kill or capture some Russian soldiers who fell behind during the transfer. If they got closer, they might even be hit by the Russian volleys.

In the melee, the 27th Division was eventually separated from the battle. After losing a quarter of its personnel, it was brought back on the Moscow Highway by the 2nd Grenadier Division that came to support it.

As for the grenadiers' attack, surprisingly no exchange of fire occurred when Christian responded.

Perhaps it was because the French cavalry had been entangled for such a long time along the way and launched more than 40 attacks, but in the end they only achieved this result.

In the end, they were unwilling to cause trouble directly, and seeing this "small number" of Russian troops from a distance, there was no need to attack such a long distance in one day.

But the French did make mistakes at this time. Ney was tricked by the officers of the cavalry corps in front.

When they reported the intelligence, they did not mention other Russian combat units at all.

Ney's light cavalry was still lagging behind, and only a brigade of his 10th Division joined the battlefield first, and it only captured Krasnoy.

The French cavalry was in the front, and they chased the Russians for a while before withdrawing, which seemed to be a serious mistake.

"It seems that the Russians have limited forces in Smolensk. We should hurry there!"

To this end, Ney also called his chief of staff, General Gure, to redraft the battle plan.

Jomini was somewhat worried, but because the intelligence was one-sided, he did not say much and only reported Ney's performance to Berthier.

Murat's cavalry, apart from fighting and charging fiercely for a while, actually did nothing.

Even according to the revised intelligence, there were only a few garrison troops in Smolensk, and the rest was Neverovsky's division. With such a small number of troops, the French army would of course launch an attack.

However, many French troops were still on the road at this time, and the Polish army, which was on the far right of the entire army, was also rushing towards Krasnoy.

According to Napoleon's latest deployment, the French army will launch an attack on Smolensk from the southwest.

During the initial engagement, the French army discovered from top to bottom that the Russians seemed to be running away again. Although there were some complaints, this was also a great opportunity to establish merit. The French seemed to have come such a long way and wanted to vent their anger on the Russians.

But at the same time, in Smolensk, the Russian army had already learned of the French army's movements because of Neverovsky's successful retreat.

Barclay's men haven't come back yet, and the 1st Army's troops have already been deployed. To defend Smolensk, the first thing to do is to rely on the 2nd Army, because they are closer.

Bagration had a bad temper. He knew that Barclay was hesitant and that the French army had crossed the Dnieper River in the southwest and appeared near Smolensk. His reaction at this time was very intense.

Seeing that things were not going well, Rajevsky quickly called back his chief of staff, Saint Prix.

"It seems that Peter Ivanovich is complaining about the actions of the Minister of War."

"There's nothing we can do about it. If we had attacked aggressively earlier, we might have gotten into even bigger trouble and our retreat would have been cut off. If it really doesn't work, maybe Solovyov has a solution. He has always been against active attacks."

"Is it a good time to find him now?"

"I'll talk to him when he gets back from the Grenadiers."

The morale of the 2nd Army was very high. Solovyov also witnessed that these new recruits were able to escape from the French cavalry. They only lost 7 cannons deployed at the intersection of Krasnoy, and all the military flags were brought back.

But now is not the time to be happy, because it is obvious that the French army is heading for this city.

Smolensk has many fortifications built from the Polish to Tsarist Russian periods, but there were not many cannons at that time, so although these walls looked good, artillery could not be deployed on the top.

Probably just put the field artillery under the city wall, so it looks like the operation in the game.

But there are also suitable places for defense. When the Poles ruled here, Sigismund III left behind a five-sided fortress.

Although the name "Goryokaku" sounds a bit unlucky, having such a fortress still allows the infantry and artillery to exert their firepower.

It is a relatively late defensive construction, but at least it is not out of touch.

But Solovyov did not like relying on the city for defense in this way. If he were left to his own devices, he would probably let one wing of the enemy in so that he could find a way to attack it from the flank.

But the situation in Smolensk did not allow him to do so, and now he had no choice but to continue to obey Bagration's orders.

Although Bagration was dissatisfied with Barclay's performance, he had to look at the overall situation and not create conflicts at this time.

He only complained in personal letters, and even said that he would not mind going to the Caucasus to fight the Persians, but when he was on action, he did his best to mobilize troops.

It happened that at this time, Rayevsky took the lead in maneuvering the 7th Army back to Smolensk, and his action was faster than Solovyov who was closer.

It was after Solovyov became concerned about the safety of the southwest that he sent the 2nd Grenadier Division to support the 27th Division and return to the Moscow Road, which made it a little late to enter the city.

He rode to Bagration's headquarters, also waiting for further orders.

But Saint Prix told him in advance, so he was always prepared.

"As the chief of staff, you are always by the commander-in-chief's side, so you have to bear a lot of responsibilities. I don't have any good solutions. If we want to solve the problem, we have to wait until the two armies are together. Only then can it be solved."

"You should tell the prince about our current situation."

"More importantly, we still have to defend the Soloviev Ferry. What are you laughing at?"

"How come you are so famous that there is a ferry named after you here?"

It's not the chief of staff from France's fault. He doesn't know the situation in Russia either. He has lived in Turkey since he was a child, and because the nanny hired by his parents is of Greek descent, he is quite fluent in Turkish and Greek.

But Russia. He only knew about the capital and the army. What about the Soloviev Ferry?
"It has nothing to do with me. The ferry was named in honor of Ivan Soloviev, who built the Old Smolensk Road from here to Vyazma and Mozhaysk, and it was called this when the Lithuanians were still active here."

Only then did Saint Prix know the origin of the ferry, and he just smiled for a while.

"I see. However, this place is still a little critical. We need to ensure that our troops occupy this place so that the two armies can escape safely and continue to retreat eastward."

"Retreat is the right thing to do. We cannot avoid fighting a battle. Running all the time will affect morale, just like the 1st Army before."

Speaking of which, during the Battle of Smolensk in 1941, there was a bloody battle at Solovyov Ferry, and Rokossovsky paid a high price to ensure that this place remained in the hands of the Red Army - in short, it is a very important place.

Solovyov looked at the map and couldn't help falling into deep thought.

Napoleon actually took the action of crossing the Dnieper River to cut off the Russian army's center. It was not suitable to continue to hold on in Smolensk at this time. If he took action.
Naturally, after the final rearguard battle, the supplies in the city had to be destroyed and more than 10,000 civilians in the city had to be evacuated, leaving the French with an empty city.

However, the performance of the local governor and local officials is hard to describe.

Previously, the 2nd Army came from the south, and it was Yermolov who had contact with the local governor.

But he had already set out for Rudnia with Barclay, so it was unlikely that he could communicate with him.

The supply of materials in Smolensk is very strange. The incompetence of the local governor is shocking. However, the noble leaders and some retired generals are very active. At least they organized the militia and helped the Russian army to transfer the wounded and transport supplies.

Faced with the fact that the French have already reached the heart of Russia, it is clear that some decisions need to be made.

For this purpose, he still needed to find Bagration, and the two of them had to have a good talk, at least to allow his senior brother to make a rational judgment.

The next actions will also determine the fate of the country, the nation and many individuals. (End of this chapter)