Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Some of Platov's Cossacks dismounted and fought on foot, which was indeed very confusing.

Whether it was the convex corner fort with corpses everywhere or the multi-faceted fort that was being fought over, they now had time to catch their breath.

Kutuzov originally planned to have Dokhturov take over as commander of the Salient, replacing Prince Bagration who had to leave the battlefield due to serious injuries.

However, when he learned about the battle situation from Bibikov, he did not send reinforcements, but only deployed two Guards regiments to the battlefield of the Salient Redoubt, and sent several Guards officers to temporarily replace the wounded officers to command the battle.

It is not enough to rely solely on the courage of the soldiers and the encouragement of the generals. Officers are always needed to maintain discipline on the battlefield and execute the intentions of the generals.

The loss rate of officers on the salient was alarmingly high, and not just on the Russian side. Except for the two Lieutenant Generals Solovyov and Konovnitsyn, the army commanders above and the senior officers below were either killed or wounded. Even the two who survived, one had an icon invited by his wife to block the bullet, and the other was also injured, but not seriously, and was able to continue to command the battle.

If I were to eat at noon, I'm afraid I would have no appetite because the entire battlefield was filled with a mixture of the smell of blood and gunpowder.

"It all smells like rust. If the battle is over, the crows will probably come over. These black birds come over to clean up the corpses at times like this."

Solovyov had been fighting fiercely for a whole morning, and even just commanding the battle made him quite tired, so he wanted to lean on the removed saddle and rest for a while.

For him, it is probably a huge misfortune that he still has to be on the battlefield. No matter how you look at it, the position of the Salient Fort will be lost in the end.

He is now also reorganizing the defense. After Bagowut's troops arrive, the Queen Mother's nephew Prince Eugene will bring his 4th Division from Tuchkov's position to cover the flank of the bastion.

This way he would have the opportunity to gather the combat-capable troops and shorten the battle line so that he could fight hard.

But it seemed that this could only delay the situation for a while. Clausewitz, who was at the edge of the trench, monitored the French actions instead of him and found that the French were gradually mobilizing their troops. Although they had retreated for some time, the cuirassiers and infantry were still reorganizing at a distance.

Everyone on the battlefield knew that the French would attack again, they were just taking a temporary break.

Although the previous general offensive caused considerable losses to the Russian army, it ultimately failed to capture the Salient Redoubt position.

At this time, it is always necessary to regroup and then launch another attack on the Russian positions.

The Redoubt itself was not completed and was later severely damaged by the French army. Many of the positions here have even become temporary fortifications.

If the attack continues like this, it will be difficult for the Russian army to hold this place in the next round of attack.

However, controlling this position is also crucial for the Russian troops on both sides. At least it can provide cover for friendly forces on the Old Smolensk Road. In addition, it can prevent the polygonal redoubt from being threatened by the French flank. It seems that the battle can continue, and the outcome may not be determined until the next day at least.

Therefore, both sides gritted their teeth and persevered despite extremely heavy casualties, and it all depended on the final determination.

However, since the Russian army is already in the heart of its own country, it is relatively easier to replenish its troops.

If they rest for a while, they may be able to recover some of the energy they incurred in this battle.

But for the French, the journey from Vitebsk to Smolensk was already difficult enough, not to mention continuing to reinforce their troops in the Russian hinterland.

Even when they stopped in Vyazma, they got nothing.

If there were a few more battles like this, it would naturally be a heavy blow to the French, and it would be difficult for their elite troops to be replenished in future battles.

Based on the principle of exhausting as many enemies as possible, the Russian army will defend this position strictly until they receive the order to retreat.

Napoleon had to mobilize his reserve troops to deal with the Russian cavalry's attack on the flank, but who knew that such a group of strange guys would appear.

After a period of nervous waiting on the bastion, the French attack began again.

Napoleon still had to achieve his strategic goal. No matter whether Kutuzov ordered the cavalry to attack his flank in order to win or to delay the attack, he would focus on the front.

Even the Poles and Westphalians who were in the woods now rejoined the attack, aiming at the left flank.

Solovyov had also considered this situation before the war, that is, the French army would make a major detour, which was the plan that Davout strongly advocated.

However, considering the situation in the Utica Forest and the salient redoubt on one side, the Russian army had begun to mobilize troops to the flank since morning, in addition to the nearby reserve troops.

In a battle in the forest, even if it was a historical model, the French army would probably not be able to advance too quickly. On the contrary, they might be hindered by the terrain when attacking from the forest, resulting in the failure of the entire plan.

The fight between the two sides now was even less skillful than in the morning. The troops that were firing were almost all relying on the skills they had mastered in daily training, and there was a look of numbness on everyone's face.

Looking at the wars known to Europeans, it was difficult to find a battle like today's battle in the past where the fighting between the two sides in a local area was so brutal and the number of casualties was so shocking.

If we count the battles in which one side won, perhaps only Hannibal's Battle of Cannae could surpass it, where tens of thousands of Roman soldiers were killed in one day.

But there is no Hannibal here, and the fighting between the two sides revolves around the high ground in the center of the battlefield.

Subsequent troops were still joining the battle, and when the Guards came up, the French were repelled twice by their firepower. However, the subsequent French soldiers, under the cover of cannons that fired at closer range, and with the concentrated cuirassiers, they made a roundabout attack on the flank of the Russian army and finally captured a salient and planted a French army flag on it.

However, they did not shake the Russian position in the center of the salient. Although the military flag planted there when Solovyov took over the command had several bullet holes, it was still fluttering in the wind.

"The Russians' resistance today is very tenacious, Your Majesty, and I think it's time..." Napoleon knew that more marshals and generals from the front had sent people down, hoping that he could make a decision and finally put the Old Guard into battle.

However, from his point of view, the Young Guards have already joined the battle, and if the Old Guards launch an attack on the Salient Redoubt, they will inevitably suffer heavy losses.

He would not rashly use the Guards in a place thousands of miles away from mainland France.

Even though the battle situation had improved a little, the Russians were no longer able to defend the polygonal redoubts as they had been in the morning, and one of the seemingly unlossable positions, such as the salient redoubt, was also captured.

However, with the French army so depleted, Napoleon would not act rashly for possible future battles.

There might be another battle later in Mozhaysk, or somewhere in the suburbs of Moscow, or somewhere else, and he had to make sure he had some fighting power.

At this time, the Old Guard did not move, but the cavalry had already begun to move forward.

He sent Auguste de Caulaincourt, the Marquis de Caulaincourt's younger brother and his own aide-de-camp to replace the fallen General Montbrun in order to unify the command of the 2nd Cavalry Corps' operations.

But he led the cuirassiers to charge into the position, and although the battle seemed successful, the cuirassiers suffered even more serious losses under the attack of Russian artillery fire.

Then, he himself was hit by Russian soldiers and fell off his horse while in the ranks of the 5th Cuirassiers Regiment, and died in the trench at the core position of the Salute.

This place now seemed to be filled with the bodies of soldiers from both armies, but the French's achievements were still limited.

The fierce battle lasted until 2 p.m., the hottest time of the day. Now the French were gathering more and more troops in front of the fortress, and the Russian army seemed unable to resist.

Kutuzov knew that the losses of the 8th Army were very serious. If a group of veteran grenadiers and two regiments of the Guards had not been sent to the front, the French would probably be in the Semyonovskoye Gorge by now.

That would mean the complete failure of the Russian army.

However, after repeated battles, the Russian front-line troops had been replaced in many places. When he asked Kutuzov for reinforcements, he only had the strength of one regiment, the Guards Naval Infantry Regiment. The Putin Regiment and the Semenovsky Regiment were both transferred to Raevsky, ready to join the battle at any time.

"Sir, Count Soloviev requests that the reserve troops be sent to the bastion, where the French are now attacking fiercely."

"Misha, please be aware of the situation. Our positions are currently in the midst of a fierce battle. The French left wing has been shaken, and the enemy has also suffered a defeat on the front. Son, go tell the count that he needs to hold out for a while, as reinforcements will be coming later. We will launch a counterattack tomorrow!"

If this had been said to Solovyov at any time, given his familiarity with his father and Kutuzov, he would have known immediately that the old man was lying.

But now that the battle has come to this, we naturally need to boost morale, and there is nothing wrong with saying some encouraging words.

What's more, even if the Russian army retreated into the canyon, Laevsky was like a nail, always in front of the French, so it was not impossible to launch a counterattack.

From the perspective of deploying troops, even if it means deceiving the soldiers sometimes, it is naturally useful.

But the position of the salient now seemed to be unsustainable. Solovyov and Konovnitsyn withdrew their forces to the core position, abandoned the right salient, and then, under the cover of Prince Eugene of Württemberg who had already formed a battle array behind them, retreated into the Semenovskoye Gorge and redeployed a new position near the village.

The Bagovut side was still in the woods, and after the Poles were repelled by them, they did not dare to act rashly there.

Although Bagovut really hoped that they would attack earlier, he could still use the positions near the village of Utica to kill the Poles.

It now seems that the balance of victory and defeat on the battlefield has begun to tilt towards the French, but in the overall war situation, it may be a different story.

After attacking for a while, Uvarov on the northern front did not choose to expand the results of the victory. He led the Guards Cavalry and Platov to provide alternating cover, attracting the French to attack along the Kolocha River.

The sneak attack failed, so the Russian cavalry had no choice but to attract part of the French forces to their side to reduce the pressure on the front.

But what was different from usual was that Platov, who sometimes tended to slack off and was distracted, made the French army a little shaken today.

However, Uvarov, who is usually quite active, performed poorly. The performance of the Guards Cavalry was mediocre. If they had been more active when the Cossacks took action, from the perspective of hindsight, there might even have been some chances of a reversal. After all, the number of cavalry on his side was comparable to that of Platov.

Seeing the progress made in the Salient, Napoleon asked Davout and Ney to continue the attack. They were now going to attack the Redoubt and Semyonovskoye. If they took these two positions, the final result would be to drive the Russian army to the other side of the Moscow River, which would be a decisive victory.

However, on the Polyhedron side, Dokhturov has now sent the 24th Division to join the battle. Although there are many new recruits, the morale of this unit is obviously extremely high.

Before charging up the redoubt, the division commander, Major General Likhachev, said these words to the officers around him.

"Brothers, Moscow is right behind us!"

That's right, the first version of this sentence appeared in the war of 1812. The morale of the Russian soldiers who heard this sentence was high. They rushed up to the polygonal fort with bayonets, not only repelling an attack by the French army, but also almost driving the Italians on the flank back into the river in front of the Borodino village. If the 13th Division had not fought back desperately to block this wave of Russian troops, the previous efforts of the polygonal fort might have been in vain.

However, the 13th Division lost a brigade commander in the morning, and in the afternoon, another brigade commander was shot dead on the front line.

At this time, Eugene was still playing hide-and-seek with the Kalmyk cavalry and had no time to pay attention to the situation in front of the polygonal redoubt position.

After he escaped from danger, he found General Lecce, the commander of the Italian Guards, and reorganized his troops to block the village and the polygonal fort, which stabilized the situation.

For the French, their final attack of the day is about to begin. (End of this chapter)