Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The French artillery fire became more and more fierce. It was obvious that Napoleon was taking advantage of the active offensive and the width of the battlefield was suitable for deploying more troops. He transferred several armies and prepared to make some progress in the Salient Redoubt.

The artillery also concentrated here, but some passages had to be left for the infantry, and they could not directly provide fire coverage.

After several rounds of artillery attacks, the French had reached the point where they would load any type of shell into their cannons as long as it could hit the bastion.

When the effectiveness of grenades and solid bullets was similar, unless the French artillery's follow-up ammunition caught up, they would probably have no choice but to use shotgun shells.

If it was shotgun shells, these artillerymen could only fire within the range of the Russian infantry.

Unlike regular Russian infantry, the grenadiers' rifles were more accurate, and they could use their volleys to knock down these artillerymen.

For a time, the Salient became not only the grave of French cuirassiers, but also the grave of Russian grenadiers, infantry, and French artillery.

Solovyov was commanding the battle on the artillery position. The news he received was very bad. Bagration was currently in a tough battle, and his own commander and Christian's commander had both withdrawn from the battle.

Even if the cuirassiers counterattacked, it would be the same.

Except for Duka, almost all the Russian cavalry officers were injured.

The current bad situation of the 8th Army is that the casualties of generals are greater than those of officers, and the casualties of officers are also higher than those of soldiers.

Almost all positions had to be maintained by veterans, and some junior officers were shot and fell to the ground.

The French were also blood-thirsty. After several rounds of artillery fire, more French infantry rushed up to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

This also offset the advantage of the Russian grenadiers' weapons. Even though the veterans in the front row threw out grenades and killed many French soldiers at close range, they could not stop the enemy from rushing up.

Fortunately, the hand-to-hand combat skills of the grenadiers have been explored for a long time since Tsar Paul, and finally, in addition to shooting training, they have very professional hand-to-hand combat skills. If they don’t have a bayonet, they can use the butt of the rifle. If the butt is broken, some veterans have spare daggers, short knives, and even sabers. Senior officers will bring their own pistols and sabers, while junior officers will have a variety of weapons in their hands.

Napoleon himself was still in Shevardino. He could not see clearly the hand-to-hand combat on the bastion through the telescope. Because of the previous exchange of fire between the two sides, the smoke had not yet dissipated and was even thicker.

"These Russians are really tough."

Napoleon himself was even ready to mobilize the Young Guards to join the battle. If the fighting continued like this, the Russians might be able to hold on to the Salient and even drive the French soldiers who rushed up out of this dilapidated position.

"Your Majesty, are you considering sending out the Young Guards?"

"That's not necessary yet. If we send out the Vaulters, we'll only suffer greater losses. As for those who want Claparède, I won't give it to them. I'll ask Friant to join the battle."

The former is correct. Even for the vaulters in the Imperial Guard, their height is indeed a bit short.

But in the case of the latter, the troops led by Clapared were indeed among the Guards, but these people belonged to the Vistula Army and were essentially a group of Poles.

Napoleon was a little too confident about the situation on the battlefield.

When the fourth attack was repelled by the Russian army and the French infantry that rushed forward were driven back, the French army once again opened fire in the gap.

The effect of this shooting was also very obvious. Many Russian soldiers were killed or wounded, and the grenades were fired.

Solovyov was about to go find Bagration when a shell came and he was knocked down from behind by an old soldier. After a burst of explosions, there was still noise on the battlefield, especially the wailing of the wounded soldiers.

The old soldier who knocked him down, when Solovyov stood up and saw, was the old Semenov who had returned from serving beyond his term.

He used his body to shield his superior from shrapnel and the impact of the explosion, but he himself was seriously injured.

"Sir, you don't have to worry about me. I have already killed 11 Frenchmen with bayonets today, which is enough. You are still alive and can lead the battle, which is much more important than my old bones."

However, he was visibly weakening rapidly due to the bleeding.

"Igor, take the two slightly injured brothers and take them to the hospital. Do you understand me?"

The Igor he saw also had a bandage on his head, and his grenadier cap was nowhere to be found. He looked seriously injured.

Being called like that by the general, Igor knew what he meant.

So he called two veterans to find the stretcher team. It was obvious that Solovyov wanted to leave a few veterans for the regiment, and he had a somewhat pessimistic attitude.

However, these lightly wounded soldiers had no intention of leaving at this moment. If the most senior veteran in the regiment had not been so injured, Igor would not have been able to lead them.

Together with some soldiers who were able to recover from previous battles, the Moscow Grenadiers Regiment always had some sparks left.

But when he stood up and looked towards where Bagration was, he could no longer see the prince on horseback.

However, the 2nd Brigade fell into a brief chaos, which allowed him to figure out what was going on.

At this moment he also saw one of Bagration's adjutants coming over and finding him breathlessly.

"Sir, the prince asks you to take over the troops temporarily."

"So what are you going to do?"

"The prince himself was seriously injured. We asked him to leave the battlefield, but he refused and insisted on watching his brothers fight the French."

"This is not good. I know what to do now."

Solovyov jumped back and forth from the edge of the trench to avoid becoming a target for the French. His hat flew away and no one knew where it went. Although his beautiful general's uniform was fine, it was also covered with gunpowder and dirt.

As for when he came to Bagration, he was able to see his situation.

"Mishka, go and command the brothers to drive the French out."

Solovyov's nerves were strong enough. Today he lost many of his good subordinates, some killed in action and some wounded. He even lost a regimental commander who was easy to use.

When he recalled it later, he would probably say with some self-mockery that in the past he was able to command the grenadiers to continue fighting according to the Russian army's organizational structure, but now he had to follow the Prussians and Austrians' approach.

There was not a single infantry regiment commander left, and those like Shatilov had to withdraw from the battle after being hit many times.

Bagration's wound was still bleeding, but he was still conscious. If there was no serious infection, he might have a chance to survive. But in such an environment, it seemed that he was in great danger.

"Pyotr Ivanovitch, just look after me."

"Don't keep talking about death. The brothers still need a strong and smart commander like you."

Bagration was taken to the back by his adjutants. The fall of the commander also caused a brief chaos among the Russian troops on the position.

Not only them, but also Barclay, who had moved to the flank of the redoubt to support Rayevsky while the fierce fighting was going on in the salient, was in a very dangerous situation. His horse was killed and he himself was wounded by a French soldier. However, he was lucky as the bullet just grazed his knee and flew out.

On the other hand, back at the Salto, Solovyov had a hard time finding a suitable warhorse. After a series of chaotic battles, there were few warhorses left among the Russian infantry.

He usually took good care of his warhorse and always placed it behind the position when not riding it. For a while, he had no way of letting the soldiers see him.

So he took a very risky approach and raised the military flag.

"Brothers, as long as this flag is still there, we must hold our ground!"

When the commander comes to fight with the military flag in hand, it is usually the most dangerous moment on the battlefield.

He no longer had time to devise any schemes to deal with the French; now he could only fight head-on at the fort's position.

At this moment, the French launched a new wave of attacks, and some of the defeated infantry regrouped and launched an attack on the position of the bastion.

But to the French, it seemed that the Russian army, which had just experienced a brief period of chaos, had already experienced a whole morning of fierce fighting, whether it was shooting, artillery bombardment, or hand-to-hand combat, which made them even more bloodthirsty and crazy.

Even the blades of the engineer shovels were bent, and some soldiers would pounce directly on the French, bite them with their teeth, or even dig out their eyeballs.

It was only because of this brief "madness" that they were able to hold their position that morning, but many soldiers were also exhausted.

If there were no further reinforcements, the main infantry force of the 8th Army would probably have been killed here.

At this point, when he took inventory again, Solovyov also discovered that he did not even have an officer above the rank of lieutenant colonel under his command.

Kutuzov sent several experienced officers from the Guards to temporarily take over the troops, and Mokhnatin replaced Shatilov in command of the 1st Brigade and the Moscow Regiment.

Among the several regimental commanders, only Lieutenant Colonel Golovin of the Fanagoria Regiment was still on the position, but his arm was in a sling, his head was wrapped in a bandage, and his leg was wrapped in a piece of white cloth torn from somewhere. It was hard to say how long he could hold on.

"Where is your brigade commander?"

When Solovyov mentioned this, he found that Golovin's eyes were full of tears and he was pointing at the ground in front of him with his arm that could still move.

There lay John Buckholden, also motionless, evidently dead.

"What the hell."

Solovyov probably didn't notice it himself, but a bullet hit the icon that Katya had bought for him, right in his chest pocket.

It was the soldiers who reminded him that he realized his situation.

"My lord, you are really amazing. This bullet is stuck in you."

Solovyov sat in the trench, looked down, and discovered the bullet.

"It seems that God favors my wife and couldn't bear to let her become a widow at such a young age."

But fate is so cruel. These soldiers on the battlefield are also someone's father, son, brother and husband, and of course some are lovers.

If possible, everyone should oppose such a war, but given the circumstances, we cannot stay out of it.

The French offensive was temporarily retreated only because of the Russian army's frantic resistance.

Moreover, fierce fighting is also taking place in other parts of the battlefield.

In just one morning, both sides suffered staggering losses.

Napoleon also learned of the losses of his subordinates. In front of the Saloon, General Montbrun, who commanded the cuirassiers, and many officers of the cavalry regiment were lost. The 2nd Cuirassier Division and the front-line artillery suffered alarming casualties. As for the infantry who were driven down from the Saloon, some of them were in a state of mental breakdown.

Compared with the previous battle of Shevardino, today's Russian army looks a bit barbaric.

They were at the edge of the trench and had no time to find cover, so they piled the bodies of the dead French soldiers and horses there to make a temporary position.

At this moment, the French army did not launch any large-scale attacks, and the front of the Salient Redoubt position was temporarily calm.

Solovyov went to find Konovnitsyn, and when the two were discussing what to do, they also discovered that the four divisions on the Salient Redoubt position had suffered such heavy losses.

If the fighting continues today, the position may be lost. It is hard to say how much French blood will be shed, but on the Russian side, the 2nd Army will probably bleed to death on the two main positions.

Moreover, they had no idea about the situation of the 1st Grenadier Division and the Bagovut reinforcements in the forest.

"We should prepare for the worst and stop the enemy at the village of Semyonovskoye. Misha, the French are just frightened by our desperate counterattack. They still have some troops that have not been put into battle, such as the Guards."

"We have only sent two guards here. Let's see. An adjutant is here."

The person who came was Bibikov, the nephew of Kutuzov's wife. He came here on the orders of his uncle to understand the situation on the position.

"You two are here. I came here on the orders of the commander-in-chief to check on the situation at the Salient."

"This place is still in our hands, but our troops are in a terrible state. We are the only two generals left, and the officers have suffered heavy losses. We have suffered heavy losses of soldiers, with some regiments losing more than one-third. If possible, Dimitri, I need the commander-in-chief to send the Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment here!"

Bibikov could see that Solovyov was anxious, otherwise he would not have asked for the Russian army's current trump card.

"I will convey your opinion, but the commander-in-chief means to reorganize the troops on the battlefield."

After he finished speaking, he turned and left, heading for the division of the Prince of Württemberg. (End of this chapter)