Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 743 045 Before Borodino (Part )
The grenadiers are on the fortress of Shevardino, whose commander is now Prince Gorchakov, Suvorov's nephew.

He began to serve as the infantry commander of the 2nd Army during the retreat. To hold a place like Shevardino, it was naturally necessary to assemble troops.

In order to defend Shevardino, two grenadier regiments of the 2st Brigade of the 1nd Grenadier Division, the Moscow Grenadier Regiment and the Kiev Grenadier Regiment, part of the 27th Infantry Division, held their ground here.

Chasseurs were deployed at the front of the fortress, also serving as outposts and as guard troops during the construction of the artillery battery.

This place was so important that several generals supervised the construction of fortifications in Shevardino.

In reality, the Russian army would be taking great risks if it built such an artillery position in Shevardino, which was beyond its own firepower range.

However, in order to be able to repel the enemy, the deployment of this place is very important.

According to the order conveyed by Kutuzov's adjutant Prince Kutashev, who was also his fourth son-in-law, the 8th Army was required to defend two important mud fortifications in front and behind.

Solovyov thought about the problem and felt that this battle would probably be the most severe test for him.

Of course, before he had time to think it over, the brainless Murat had already caught up with him and directly crossed the Kolocha River to attack the Russian positions.

Then, the richly dressed French dragoons and cuirassiers in the front row came under the precise fire of the chasseurs in the front row and the grenadiers in the back row on the heights.

If Murat had not been so stupid and fallen behind during the charge, the Moscow Grenadiers led by Shatilov would have at least given him a "preparation".

But after the cavalry's charge, both sides probably realized that something was wrong.

The French cavalry charged too fiercely, while the Russian fortifications were still under construction, so the enemy just rushed over.

What's even more terrible is that it is still morning. If the French had arrived in the afternoon, the two sides could have fought here for a while, each deploying their positions and then getting ready to decide the outcome the next day.

However, Murat's charge had directly attracted the nearby troops. The French troops that had arrived included Eugene's Italian Guards and some light infantry under Ney.

After assessing the battlefield situation, part of Eugene's 4th Army was the first to cross the river, including the Italian Guards and part of the 13th Division.

Solovyov had seen the flag of the Italian Guard from afar through the telescope. He couldn't help but sigh that his relationship with Eugene was pretty good, as they had to fight twice on the battlefield, not to mention the encounter in Poland.

Now this time, in a fight that may determine the fate of this war, the encounter between the two people in this place is full of black humor.

After all, no matter what, they are both the most promising relatives of the French emperor.

Although Platov was often unreliable in rearguard battles, he led four Cossack regiments at this moment and tried to drive away Eugene's vanguard troops, but was beaten back by the opponent's dense rotating volleys.

"Mick, it looks like there are people in France who play the same way as you."

"Yes, it's Eugene, my dear cousin. Last time he led the Bavarians to defend the bridgehead, I suffered a loss. This time it's my turn to compete with him."

Clausewitz could only shake his head. Solovyov always faced stronger opponents, and they were his own family, especially in the current battle, if the women of both sides were here.

He remembered that on the way of retreat, Solovyov mentioned the legend of the Romans robbing the Sabine women. He felt that he was hinting at something at that time, but he didn't expect to end up here.

But it is not a boomerang yet. After all, when the war broke out, this fate seemed to be predetermined. It would probably never end unless it ended somewhere.

Platov's cavalry was driven back, and the French cavalry and infantry followed, so that the Russian army was forced to engage the French in the village and battery of Shevardino.

The French cavalry artillery followed up quickly, and just when the Russian army deployed a skirmish line in front of the fortifications, their cavalry 6-pound artillery had already fired shells at the Russian army.

As for the French soldiers at the back, they were more like waves than neatly arranged in formation, with the infantrymen arranged in three horizontal rows, followed by follow-up troops.

If you were to go into battle for the first time with a formation like this and were not mentally prepared, you would probably feel the opponent's strength.

But there was no time to think about this now, as the French army took the lead in attacking the flank of the fort.

For the Russian army, this was a tough battle, not only the 4th Army on the flank, but also the main French 1st Army and cavalry units in the front. After they arrived, they did not take action because both sides were out of the range of the crossfire.

As for the fight between Eugene and Platov, it was because after the French infantry crossed the river, they ran directly into the patrol area of ​​the Russian Cossacks, making it difficult for both sides to avoid fighting.

Napoleon himself soon arrived at the other side of the Kolocha River at noon. He was not in a good condition because of fatigue from the long march, a cold, and bladder inflammation.

However, Solovyov still thinks that the stationmaster's golden words are more accurate. When people get older, they will naturally rebel every few days, especially Napoleon who left his wife, ex-wife and lover at home.
With so much pressure on me, and I'm in my forties, it's natural that I'll get angry if I have no way to vent.

Now that he saw this position, he actually sat on a stool and looked at the situation ahead.

"Is there a map of this place?"

"Your Majesty, there is no detailed map of this area. The Russians have built fortifications in the village ahead called Shevardino. Prince Eugene's troops have already gone up there, but the Russians are resisting stubbornly and are even daring enough to launch a counterattack."

What was even more terrible was that the ones who launched the counterattack were probably not the grenadiers, but the chasseurs who were deployed on guard outside the artillery position. The two sides had fought for the position several times, and it was only at this moment that both sides sent out their troops.

"So what are the Russians going to do now?"

"Your Majesty, it looks like the Russians are prepared to hold this fort, but they have not launched a counterattack, and their firepower is not as good as expected."

After hearing Berthier's statement, Napoleon realized the problem. As a veteran artilleryman, firing artillery was naturally his priority.

"This is just a fortress extending from the Russian defense line. The reason they do this is that once the monastery and several villages here are controlled by us, their left wing will be unprotected." Of course, Napoleon could not see Kutuzov's formation yet, and he was only expressing his opinion on the Shevardino fortress.

"Your Majesty, shall we continue the attack?"

"If both Davout and Poniatovsky are to advance towards Borodino, they must first destroy Shevardino so that the Russians cannot get a single arrow here."

Sometimes, there were still some strange things in his speeches, but the chief of staff and the secretary could always understand his thoughts.

Now Napoleon asked the 1st and 5th Armies to launch the attack after the 4th Army.

Thus, the troops commanded by Prince Gorchakov at Shevardino, including Konovnitsyn and Neverovsky, and the grenadiers behind them, would face a fierce attack launched by the main French force.

Solovyov was also on the position. Since Gorchakov was the infantry commander of the 2nd Army, he could not intervene. Instead, he reminded Vorontsov and Colonel John Bukhotyn who stayed behind that they should not sit idle even without orders to support Shevardino, but should reinforce the rear fortress in time and store ammunition in the blind spots behind the artillery.

Now that they have seen the place called Borodino, even those who have no idea what is going on in their heads should know that this battle must be fought.

Then, French soldiers were everywhere, and Davout's troops attacked from two directions, with the vanguard of the Polish army arriving at the battlefield on the flank.

Morand and Friant were attacking the village of Shevardino, while Compin's division was attacking from the front.

The two sides fought repeatedly over the positions. The French opened fire and then attacked, while the Russians fought back with bayonets.

Then the French rushed back, and such a fight between the two sides only made the battlefield more bloody.

The situation at the front was so tense that Gorchakov realized that he could not force the French to retreat, so he had no choice but to order the grenadiers to attack.

Not only the 1st Brigade, which had been deployed behind the position, but also four other grenadier regiments joined the battle.

Just considering the weapons used by these infantrymen and the density of their firepower, some French veterans could be reminded of the Russian Guards and some grenadiers that had given them headaches a few years ago.

There seem to be more of these Russian soldiers now.

But the French did not retreat. Instead, they launched a bayonet charge while the Russians were firing freely.

This time, a situation occurred that Solovyov had not expected. The French charged under fire at this time, obviously determined to capture Shevardino. Moreover, the Poles had already threatened the village of Shevardino from the flank. Once the troops in the village were driven out by the Poles, the Russian troops on the artillery position would be exposed to French fire attacks from all directions except for a road connecting to the fortress behind.

There would be no point in defending the Shevardino Fortress in that way.

This had to at least delay the French army, so Bagration asked Major General Duka to lead two cuirassiers regiments to launch a counterattack targeting the attacking flank of the French army.

In addition to them, the dragoons originally belonging to the 8th Army and the Cossack cavalry commanded by Karpov also joined the counterattack.

This finally drove the Poles out of their positions, and the Shevardino positions seemed to still be in Russian hands.

However, both sides suffered heavy losses in the battle. Surrounding the fortress were piles of corpses, wounded soldiers, and broken limbs.

During the day, the Russian army managed to hold its position, but it came at a heavy price.

The Russian army lost more than 4,000 people that day. The battle outside the fortress was so bloody that neither side intended to take prisoners, and the enemy's wounded would be killed on the spot with bayonets.

As a result, Kutuzov also realized that such an action was meaningless and would only continue to increase casualties. Even the influx of reinforcements would become a mere addition and would even lead to unnecessary losses of precious reserve troops.

The left wing where the 2nd Army was located had to ensure that the troop structure was roughly intact. Now Kutuzov ordered Bagration to ask Gorchakov to withdraw all the troops from the artillery position and Shevardino village and move to the rear positions.

In addition, the 1rd Army belonging to the 3st Army was incorporated into Bagration's left wing, and Kutuzov was preparing to redeploy troops on the Borodino battlefield.

On the French side, they had also realized the trouble. Caulaincourt rushed back from the front and chatted for a while with his brother, General Auguste Caulaincourt, who served as their adjutant, and then went straight to the emperor.

"Caulaincourt, what's the situation now?" Napoleon temporarily arranged his headquarters at the base of Eugene's 4th Army, but he did not rest and was now a little impatient.

"It was worse than the encounter in the morning. The Russians maintained their fighting spirit during the day. They did not give up any position and took no prisoners."

"No prisoners? These Russians are really tenacious, but it is unfair to attribute this to the brutal battles they have been fighting against the Turks. We have also fought against the Turks, fought against the Mamluks at the Pyramids, and fought against the Turks at Gaza, Acre and Aboukir. This only shows that the enemy is still determined to fight us, and it is this confidence that we want to destroy."

He was planning to take further action, and the morale of the Russian army had recovered after a day of fighting.

Although the losses were heavy, for the Russian army, this time they took the initiative to withdraw from Shevardino, but did not allow the French to gain an inch of land. From the perspective of defensive operations, their performance was even better than in Smolensk.

Further fighting is also what the entire Russian army calls for.

It's just that the performance of both coaches looked very strange. Napoleon hardly rested that night, and Kutuzov actually went to sleep.

However, the younger generals were still busy drawing up new battle plans, as it turned out that fighting based solely on the terrain was no longer feasible.

At this time, it is not only about deployment, but also about the morale of the troops.

No matter how good the weapons and equipment are, they are still operated by people, and morale is always an important factor.

It seems that the officers and soldiers of both sides have now realized that a decisive battle is about to break out in this place.

(End of this chapter)