Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 771 The mess of Tarutino
Napoleon's stubbornness was not entirely unreasonable, but being trapped in Moscow for a month delayed the best opportunity.

If you choose to fight, you should keep fighting. Even after Moscow has become like this, there is no point in going to St. Petersburg.

Instead, they should advance southwards, where they might be better off relying on the enemy for food in Russia's vast southern region.

Napoleon had read a lot of history books and literature from the classical era. He also knew that the Black Sea coast had been the granary of the eastern Mediterranean world in the classical era. The land here was fertile. Although the climate might be far inferior to that of the Mediterranean coast, the local output was still good.

First in Kaluga, and then in other places, there are still many Russian military warehouses here.

He had this plan before Murat was beaten.

But the reality is that Kutuzov took action in advance and began to seize the initiative in the war.

After the end of this war, the more standardized memoirs all came from the Russian army. The French data was almost completely lost, and Napoleon's later recollections on the island were very one-sided, giving people a sense of beauty that copied the data from the Gallic Wars. Other than that, it was probably just exaggerated military achievements.

Fortunately, not much is known about this content in China, otherwise it would always feel like there is a collision when comparing it with another island owner.

After Kutuzov discovered that something was wrong, he sent a signal to the front and the army was mobilized.

If anyone was to blame, it was Yermolov, who said that Christian almost made a mistake because of drinking in Smolensk, and attended a banquet before leaving, which delayed the arrangement of the task.

When Kutuzov saw the big guy Yermolov, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry after asking him the reason.

At times like this, perhaps only someone like Solovyov who can't drink much would go about his mission as long as he's clear-headed.

However, ever since he started leading troops independently, even though his staff work was still outstanding, he was unwilling to assist others.

When he was chief of staff, Clausewitz was in charge of the main staff work. Now he has been transferred to the General Headquarters, and there is no chief of staff there for the time being.

Solovyov took the lead in leading the new staff team and got the job done, like a Russian version of an excavator.

The news that Kutuzov received now was that the Russian troops were slowly advancing forward and had already exchanged fire with the French rear guard.

The meaning of this reply is very clear, that is, the French army is going to escape this time.

But what Murat did could never be understood by normal people.

This time he was reliable and issued orders in advance. He was planning to take advantage of the Russian army's slow movement to escape and reunite with Napoleon.

Unfortunately, he sent his adjutant to the artillery and baggage train, but the artillery unit's action was delayed because the artillery commander overslept.

Ah, this is what the brigade commander has seen in Vietnam, and it’s not the first time the French have done this.

In comparison, although the Qing's fighting skills have been going downhill since they reached the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and they are definitely not good at fighting, but they are still able to endure hardships. When marching on the road or sending troops, as long as you pay, they probably won't be vague.

And these predecessors, one of the wonderful opponents in the jungles of Vietnam, are now delayed in their departure.

On the Russian side, Yermolov drank yesterday, which caused some troops to be delayed in arriving at their locations.

The two sides are now fighting, and even Bennigsen and Miloradovich are cursing, and probably also want to greet the adjutants who are letting them down.

Although, the main responsibility still lies with Yermolov.

When the Russians made a documentary later, they only said that Kutuzov was very angry because the people he sent out did not give instructions, but they did not explain the real situation.

In addition, there are Germans who fought hard here. If they are from other places, it seems that many people are hidden, except for people like Bennigsen who cannot be avoided.

It is better for Lasi to keep praising Kutuzov than to poop, as if the Germans in the Russian army were all grown in the ground.

The most terrible thing here was probably that Bagowut's group encountered big trouble right from the start.

Bagration had always relied on Bagwut in the past, but unfortunately he was transferred to Barclay before the war began in 1812. Now Barclay left because of illness and dissatisfaction with the two veterans who controlled the army. Bagration himself died in Vladimir due to serious injuries.

There was nothing to argue about, for just as Bagowut arrived at the battlefield, he was taken away by a shell and killed on the spot, without even having the chance to demonstrate his skills in this battle.

At this time, Queen Mother Maria's good nephew, Prince Eugene of Württemberg, temporarily took over the troops. When the morale was shaken, he personally came to the front and urged the soldiers to advance forward, which avoided any chaos.

After all, unlike Bagration who was killed by shrapnel, Bagowut was killed by a single shot.

Even the French artillery was not sure whether they were firing seriously or not, because of the chaos at the scene, no one knew how the artillery fired.

In short, when Murat was running away, he saw that the Russian army formation on the side was somewhat chaotic.

When the 2nd Army's action was delayed, he found the opportunity, turned his guns and fired at the pursuing Russian troops. He no longer cared about accuracy, but just fired all the shells to cover the retreat of the large group of troops.

As a result, great chaos broke out during the battle here.

While the two sides were fighting, Solovyov's marching column was still 15 versts away and probably would not be able to catch up with the march today.

Solovyov knew the situation ahead, so he was not in a hurry. He would not act like Suvorov did in Italy, trying to seize the opportunity.

After this battle, there will be more battles to fight.

Murat's outpost is just a part of it, the bigger one is still to come. Napoleon has not left Moscow yet. If he wants to fight, he may have to fight a good battle somewhere later.

Kutuzov was annoyed by the delay in the action at the front, but he did not blame Yermolov too much. In fact, it didn't matter if the French escaped. He was even a little slack in fighting the war.

As for why, it was because he knew very well that completely eliminating Napoleon in Russia would only benefit the British in the future.

He was still cunning and sly, and he did not hide this even when a British representative was in front of him. But this time, he expressed his dissatisfaction and even had a bit of acting intention.

We can't even not attack Murat's cavalry outpost, right?
In order to stop the Russian attack, the French cavalry and artillery fought at the risk of their lives.

When Murat's former adjutant was trying to stop the Cossack attack, he was surrounded and hacked to death by several Cossacks. The battle took place in the area where the cavalry fighting on both sides was the most intense, so naturally his body could not be found intact.

The Polish soldiers who had not yet withdrawn were also providing cover on the side. They were facing pressure from three sides. Since the Poles had fought to the vicinity of Moscow, they were very clear about how the Cossacks would retaliate.

If the French soldiers are still valuable, maybe there will be a reward for capturing them.
But they were overthinking. If the Polish cavalry and infantry who turned back were caught, the Russian army would at most send them to the Orenburg Cossacks. In fact, the climate there was much better than that of the Siberian Farmhouse and Kazan People's University. If they were caught, they could get houses and land, and even have the opportunity to marry wives there.

After all, Poles are all well-educated, and there is no serious language barrier between Polish and Russian.

This even made Miloladovic, who was always known for his bravery, confused. He wondered what these Poles were up to today.

He even saw a tall and strong Polish lance lieutenant holding his lance and fighting in all directions, and he managed to break out first. Seeing that many of his teammates were still left behind, he rode back and jumped over an obstacle temporarily set up by the Russian army. After knocking down two Cossacks, his lance was useless, so he drew his sword and killed again.

This opened up a path for the dozen or so remaining teammates to chase after Murat's retreating team in front.

Miloradovich could not help but praise the Polish lieutenant for his good fighting skills. He himself had fought his way in and out of the French army under the protection of a group of adjutants and cavalry.

Although it was "also", his charge was indeed brave enough. Today, seeing him fight two rounds alone, I couldn't help but admire him. Because I was a general, it was unlikely that I could let go at the beginning.

Moreover, when the Polish cavalry was fighting in a group, they never provoked the infantry. The postures of several regiments of the 2nd Army had already blocked one side of the battlefield, which put the Cossacks under great pressure.

This gave the Poles a chance to break out, but they suffered heavy losses. The artillery of the Polish Army and Murat Cavalry were basically all lost here.

The Russian army's own losses were not great. The unfortunate French baggage trains and artillery trains at the back were basically wiped out. More than a thousand prisoners were captured alone, and the number of enemies annihilated would have been even greater.

In Borodino, the French captured 24 Russian cannons. By the time they got here, it was just a small battle on the front line, but the French flags and cannons they captured actually exceeded the results of the battle that the French used to swear in Borodino.

Even when the victory was reported, this battle between the two perfect men actually became the turning point of the war, which was an unexpected surprise.

Solovyov was still 15 versts away in the morning, but by the evening he finally caught up with the team and approached the battlefield ahead.

Kutuzov did not blame him for his actions, because this action was enough, and he just wanted to have a good talk with him.

"Misha, do you want to come to me?"

He looked at Konovnitsyn and von Toll, who were now working together, blaming each other and Bennigsen.

I seem to have seen this episode. Kutuzov has actually made it clear that he hopes Solovyov can come to help him.

"Commander-in-Chief, I thought about coming to you. But I also like being in the army. I have more freedom there. As you know, since I arrived in the Balkans, I have been leading troops alone on the frontier for a long time."

Kutuzov also nodded, but sighed again.

"But you left all the staff officers with me. What about your operations?"

"In fact, in this state, operations at the military level must always be carried out according to the instructions of the commander-in-chief, and operations outside are more like those in the past when there were only a group of adjutants and followers."

"Yes, the enemy is tired now, but you still have to make arrangements in the future."

"Please send Saint Prix to me. Although he was seriously injured at the time, he has recovered quickly in the past month."

Solovyov's brows were twisted in a somewhat uncomfortable manner. He also knew the news of Bagration and Tuchkov's death.

"Okay, I'm going to send you to the 3rd Army. After the 8th Army was disbanded, Konovnitsyn came to me as the general on duty. The 3rd Army needs a good general to command it. Count Stroganov is an outstanding nobleman with good character, but unfortunately he is not a soldier. If we really need to send someone, you might be more suitable."

Especially since the two grenadier divisions are now in the 3rd Army, this elite force really needs someone who is more suited to tactics to lead the team.

"Sir, this is your trust in me."

"Yes, good officers are in short supply. We have already lost many men. Now we need you to step up. Go and do your best, kid. I hope you can teach Napoleon a lesson."

"Will you drive the French out, or will you destroy them?"

Solovyov's remarks were directed at the British, and even General Wilson had some expectations.

After all, this guy had caused huge trouble to the British army in Sweden before, and even captured more than 10,000 British prisoners.

If he had acted sincerely, it would have been of great benefit to the progress of the war and to defeating Napoleon.

"That depends on the battle situation, Misha. You can return the 17th and 24th Divisions to their original structure. As for the staff."

"Can I choose a group of young lieutenants? I always have to train some young people. They are brave and energetic and willing to do a lot of things."

"Of course you can. What you are going to do is exactly what we should do in the future. We should not only focus on the present, but also make some arrangements for the future. It is not like we will never fight again after this battle."

"Yes."

In Solovyov's current situation, he will go directly to the 3rd Army to take charge of the grenadiers.

As for Moscow at this time, Napoleon had already received the news of Murat's defeat. He had decided to leave Moscow before, and now he decided not to stay any longer.

(End of this chapter)