Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 745 047 The Salient Fort and the Raevsky Battery
Pierre's reason for coming to the battlefield was simple. He sponsored a fully armed regiment.

As for the scenery his carriage saw along the Smolensk Road, it might be another story.

Many wounded soldiers were being evacuated at this time. When he arrived, the battle of Shevardino had already ended, which was the next morning.

Yesterday it was Shevardino, and tomorrow it will be Borodino. Although the previous battles were brutal and fierce, they were too small in scale. Both armies had more than 100,000 people fighting on the battlefield, and it was a life-and-death battle.

Pierre didn't know this at the moment, he just kept going forward.

As for the carriage carrying the wounded passing by, it is inevitable that a few words will come from it.

"Look, a young man."

"If this gentleman goes to the front, he might give the French a good scare."

After all, he is so tall and strong, yet he is dressed like a young man and looks very respectable. It’s just that the green tuxedo matches the front-line environment.

The uniforms purchased by the Russian army were generally green, unless they were specially made, like the white one Andrei had worn before.

Maybe the meaning of green is not the same in Russia.

Pierre saw that some of the soldiers were militiamen who had come from Mozhaysk and nearby areas. Although they were not combat troops, they could serve as transport teams, carrying supplies to the military camps at the front and bringing back the wounded and retreating civilians.

Some people are now being sent to Moscow, but it is hard to say what will happen in a few days.

After walking for a while, Pierre finally met a military doctor, who was an acquaintance of his.

The other party told him very clearly that in this war, the current manpower is already stretched to take care of 6,000 wounded soldiers, but after a war, there will inevitably be 20,000 or even more.

This is not wrong, and it is even more serious. Even officers may not get good treatment.

Then the doctor went about his business, and Pierre went on, and when he reached Gorky Village, Count Kutuzov himself was not there, nor were most of the staff, except for a few guards.

Everyone was praying because the icon of Our Lady of Smolensk had been brought out.

Even Soloviev, who seldom prayed and perhaps only pretended when he did, now knelt down.

You can't be unsociable, and it's also a way to find something to rely on.

When Katya sent him away from St. Petersburg, she stuffed him with statues of the Virgin Mary and a bunch of Orthodox items, and she was just short of openly preaching to her "unpious" husband.

"Mishka, you should pray at the critical moment, otherwise something bad will happen."

My wife also hopes that when she reaches God’s side, she can meet him.

Speaking of which, the fact that his wife is so generous is probably related to the social atmosphere in St. Petersburg. A wife sometimes has to tolerate her husband's amorousness. A virtuous couple like Count and Countess Stroganov are indeed rare.

At this moment he was probably over there in the woods, where Tuchkov's Third Army was lying in ambush and was also placed under the overall command of the Second Army.

In Solovyov's view, this was a good plan. The 3rd Army and the 8th Army each had an elite grenadier division, and Solovyov also had a combined grenadier division. The 8th Army would block the French attack from the front, and when the opponent's strength was exhausted or the Salient Redoubt position was in danger, the 3rd Army would launch an attack from one side, and the French would be unable to take care of both ends.

This might be a good idea. Although the German officers always called Kutuzov "old gentleman" and "old man", which made him look old and his hair was still thick, Solovyov's inner reaction was probably that there are no bald Russians who like micromanagement! ?

But Kutuzov's method may sometimes be a good idea.

At this moment, Solovyov was unaware of the changes in the deployment. After looking at the deployment in this area of ​​the forest, Bennigsen actually moved this ambush.

In his opinion, the terrain of the wooded area was still conducive to covering the whereabouts of the 3rd Army, and it could even directly attack the enemy's flank when the Polish Corps and some other troops on the right wing of the French front were dispatched.

When it comes to micromanagement, sometimes the relationship between the head coach and the chief of staff is not very good.

Although there may be many officers on their side and Barclay's side who support Kutuzov, what is the situation in the headquarters?
Bennigsen does have some characteristics, which can be seen from the fact that Natasha used to like Boris. Maybe Boris is still very good to Pierre who helped him, but if we talk about other aspects, that would be a long story.

Bennigsen might have done this. If it went well, he, as the chief of staff who commanded the battlefield, would have made a great contribution, while Kutuzov might still be the one who had to take the blame as the main person responsible.

He must have thought that if Kutuzov could be driven away in the future, the Russian army would probably be in his hands.

If the gambler Bennigsen were to take control of the army, who knows what would happen.

Mrs. Soloviev is still here in the Salient. Now she has to speed up the construction here. When the French attack tomorrow, probably the first place they will target will be here and Raevsky's artillery.

If we make a detour from the right wing, it would not be like Napoleon. He would either come from the front or from the left wing, as the road to the right wing is too long.

But now he was only a corps commander, and all he could decide was to follow the deployment of Kutuzov and Bagration and complete his mission in the salient fortifications.

He knew that Andrei was in the position behind the village of Semyonovskoye, and that Clausewitz had gone to the headquarters today and was not here either.

Maybe Pierre and he would meet there, maybe Pierre would come to the position, but that was none of his business.

Deputy Commander Polozkin is also here, but what is his role? Even if history is to be restored, he will only be in the 8th Army, and his military career is not even outstanding. His younger brother has performed well in the cavalry.

Solovyov didn't care about him. After all, he was the commander who had to defend the Redoubt.

He had told his subordinates before that if necessary, they would hold their ground even if all their men died. This time, it was very likely to be the case.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little worried. Katya, Madame Recamier, the children, his father, his stepmother, and his brothers and sisters, apart from these relatives, probably Louisa.

However, he had already arranged everything. Even if he would really die here, he must hold his position and let the French bleed to death.

After all, he knew the French too well, and it was even more excessive that there was a group of guys who lived a good life.

On the other side, the construction work at the Rayevsky Battery was progressing faster than here and was barely completed.

After losing Shevardino, even though the construction of these salient turrets was accelerated, Solovyov went to Borodino village in advance to requisition serfs and vehicles from Davydov's family, and transportation was still very tight.

He had only completed one turret, one was nearly finished, and one might have to be worked on quickly tonight.

Napoleon's main forces were already in place, and the battle would not be delayed; their artillery would open fire early in the morning, perhaps as the first rays of sunlight rose over the horizon.

However, it is hard to say which side will be attacked first.

"Sir, you seem to be in a bad mood today."

"That's probably true. When I think about fighting a defensive battle here, what matters in the end is courage. We have to use the bodies of countless people to fill the trenches, just like in Shevardino. Shatilov, you are my senior in the Moscow Regiment. You don't have to call me 'Your Excellency' or 'Your Excellency' all the time. That way, you sound like those people in our headquarters who flatter the old man."

"You mean Count Kutuzov?"

"That's it. It's just that we have served in the same regiment for a long time. Speaking of which, my brother-in-law Christian still needs to rely on you. We are either a family or as close as a family. This is a wonderful fate."

"Yes, but you probably mean Count Bennigsen and the people around him, right?"

"I saw that Tuchkov's grenadiers were moved, but there are already enough people on the high ground and the fortress. It would be useful to have some ambushes hidden. If the troops cannot be fully mobilized on the battlefield, or if the weather is not good and even the communication is affected, or if our adjutant responsible for sending signals and delivering messages is killed, then it will be another matter."

Along the way, the 2nd Grenadier Division suffered the most losses from its young messengers. Except for the battle at Shevardino, even in Smolensk they only used their rifles to fight the Poles and drove them far out of the suburbs.

Therefore, Solovyov has always been worried about the smoothness of communication, and when the battle is fierce, all his optical signals will be wasted. After all, this time it is not a small army of tens of thousands of people as before. Even if the source of the signal is complicated, it can always be handled.

There are at least 120,000 Russian troops, so the situation is not so easy at this time.

"Don't worry, Misha. We will all stand here firmly. Moreover, we will not be the first to come forward this time. We grenadiers will serve as the reserve in the second line. As long as Prince Bagration and you are in any danger, we will definitely rush here as ordered."

"You said it, and I feel relieved. And how are the old guys feeling?"

"They were quite good. They all put on white shirts and had a good meal as you ordered, but they didn't drink vodka."

"Not to emulate me, but because this day is a day of great responsibility for us. We have too much to bear, and these two fortresses will decide which side the scales of victory will tilt towards. Ivan Yakovlevich, you too should go to sleep well. I will also put on a new shirt like my brothers."

But Solovyov's new shirt was made of silk, with a white base and very light embroidery. He had always liked this style of shirt and had ordered many of them.

But when changing clothes, it is inevitable to bump into those old soldiers.

Their mentality today is probably much more relaxed than mine.

As a general, you have more things to consider, while a soldier just needs to take care of himself.

"Sir, you finally put on the new shirt that your wife sent you. The material is really good and it suits your status."

"Although the material of the clothes is like this, everyone has changed into new clothes, and now we are back on the same page. Everyone should have a good meal today and have a good rest. Except for those on duty, everyone should have a good sleep. Tomorrow is a big day for all of us."

"If we survive, what will you do, my Lord?"

"That will have to wait until my relative the Emperor returns to his old nest in Paris. But there is one thing that I have to worry about. His son was born from Her Highness Catherine's belly, and he is also the Emperor's nephew."

He was somewhat more unrestrained when he spoke, and was no longer as polite as he used to be.

"Your Highness Catherine, when I first joined the Guards, I was still a little girl. At that time, when the princesses were playing together, they called us over. Forget it, if we talk about this kind of story, there are too many. She really loved to play at that time. She wrote letters to Prince Bagration, played in the garden with my good friend Prince Mikhail Dolgorukov, and begged Her Highness Maria to farm with us. Then she was clumsy and couldn't do anything well, so she sat on the mud and made herself look like a mud monkey and cried there, not caring that her hands were covered with mud and turned into a little cat. It is said that Her Highness the Queen Mother Maria Feodorovna personally put her in the bathtub at night to wash her clean."

"You are reminiscing about the past when you say this. My Lord, if we old fellows are gone, you must not forget us old fellows when we go to the fortress to trouble God tomorrow."

"Of course. I know my brothers will fight to the death. If anything happens to me, my wife and children will be taken care of. But you soldiers with wives are all in the countryside. I will arrange how to take care of them. Moreover, in our regiment, the soldiers and officers are not far from home. No matter whether they are in Tver or Kaluga, I will never forget it."

After saying this, he found the camp bed on the haystack by himself, lay down there, and actually fell asleep.

In the past, he would have a lot of things to think about, but he was not able to fall asleep as quickly as he did today.

It seems that he, like his brothers, has let go of the issue of life and death at this time.

No matter where Napoleon attacks from in the end, we will have to fight a bloody battle to the death with him in the end.

But this battlefield, in front of the position where he is currently lying, will be unexpectedly fierce and cruel.

(End of this chapter)