Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Originally, Davout was planning to wait for Ney. Although Davout had bad relationships with many people, he was okay with the straightforward Ney. Therefore, unless something unexpected happened, he would probably wait for a while.

But Eugene's failure had already made Davout's bald head start sweating.

His troops also suffered heavy losses, and although they nominally consisted of five divisions, their current size was only five regiments plus a small number of cavalry, and even the artillery was limited in manpower.

If we didn't retreat along the road, we would obviously be doomed.

And it is probably that the 1st Army and the 3rd Army were destroyed together. Under these two numbers, no matter whether they are the original old troops or the ones commanded by the current generals, they also have a glorious history in the large army.

This may not even be a shock to the French.

I'm afraid the French will start their propaganda machine and say that the war was lost to the weather, and it seems that this is the intuitive feeling.

Davout's actions actually disrupted the Russian army's deployment.

After a terrifying night, when Eugene fled to a nearby village and got rid of the pursuit of the Russian army, he found that there was no one covering his retreat, while Napoleon and the Guards were advancing rapidly in front, leaving the troops behind by a large distance.

Fortunately, the French did not have much business to close in Moscow, so they were acting quickly at the moment.

The three generals who had been preparing to take action based on the village in the morning now discovered that Davout was about to escape, so they quickly chased after him.

Although Davout took into account that the Russians would pursue, he ignored the speed of the Russian army's pursuit. When the French troops were well fed, their speed of action was far faster than that of the hungry French troops.

As for him, while he was watching Golitsyn's approach, he also saw the Russian artillery positions on the road.

This is not good. Even the retreat route may have been cut off.

Davout was prepared to fight to the death, but how much combat effectiveness did his troops have?
When Napoleon commanded 4 to 6 troops, he was able to use them as easily as an arm. When the number of troops increased, he was unable to use his power due to limited communication conditions. Although some optical signals could be used, the signal towers and signal machines he used were different from the optical signals used by Solovyov.

In winter, optical signals may not be very useful, so during winter pursuit operations, the Russian army resumed using messengers to deliver messages. Such signals may only be used in places where there is not much snow.

This vast expanse of white land is really clean and it’s no joke, it’s the same for the locals as well.

Davout now asked Morand and Friant to cover the flanks, Gerard and Compin to lead the way, and Desaix's Division to cover the baggage train and the civilians who followed along the way - many of whom were French expatriates, and some were family members of the army.

During the French army's retreat, there were too many things to be thrown away. It was a huge disaster to come all the way from Moscow. Bringing these people out always slowed down the march.

Moreover, when the Russians escorted the prisoners, they were not polite at all.

Except for Solovyov who was able to control 12 grenadier regiments and prevent them from doing anything reckless, the military discipline of other Russian troops really depended on the quality of the generals and their subordinates, as well as the attitude of the civilians towards the invaders.

Although the Russians have been very restrained, the French are also very scared because they have done so many bad things before.

Some people are saying that when they were chasing the Russian army in the summer, they saw some Russian traitors nailed to the wall.

During the entire war, thousands of Russian soldiers did defect to the enemy, but this number was insignificant compared to the soldiers who fell behind.

The identities of the traitors were varied, and the rotting corpse nailed to the tree this time only showed one thing, that is, the Russians would not hesitate and would probably be ruthless to traitors.

Although that was a more brutal method used by the Cossacks to deal with traitors during the 2nd Army's retreat, if you really want to compare them, the Russian army is still better than the French.

At least when the Russians went out to fight, they were a civilized and polite army compared to their barbaric behavior at home.

The Russian army and navy that went on expeditions to Italy and Corfu received unanimous praise from the Italians and Greeks respectively.

When they arrived in the Balkan Peninsula, they were the royal army of the Slavic brothers who were resisting the tyranny of the Ottoman Empire, so they always had to make a gesture.

But when they returned to their own land, the Russians seemed to have become more wild and began to treat their enemies cruelly again.

The French were very scared, but they were also a little surprised that the Russian army could have blocked the road, but they made way for it.

Miloradovich faithfully carried out Kutuzov's advice. Even if he could achieve brilliant results by pursuing the enemy, he still insisted on attacking the enemy while letting them escape and picking up the spoils behind.

For this reason, he personally blocked the troops that attempted to cut off the French army's retreat. Although he had some complaints about this, once the battle started, it would not be that simple.

Davout, who was always strict in his discipline, now found it difficult to control his troops. Once the French saw an escape route, they moved forward along it. The only 15 guns they had were left behind, and the entire marching column came under fire from the Russians.

As a result, the speed of the French defeat obviously accelerated.

Miloradovich did not expect that Davout, who had been difficult to deal with before, would be defeated so quickly by the troops he commanded.

But one thing must be pointed out, the speed of the battle here in Krasne is so fast now that the comparison object is probably the speed of their attack in Austerlitz.

Davout arrived at the battlefield in time many times to turn the situation around, and although this time he suffered a serious defeat, he managed to escape the pursuit of the Russian army to some extent.

After learning of Eugene's defeat, Napoleon also called back part of the Guard to support Davout's retreat.

The French army had exhausted its fighting spirit after the tragic defeat at Little Jaroslavets, and the Guards were obviously in a very critical situation when they were thrown into the battlefield at this time.

However, when Mortier brought the Young Guards to support, he also discovered the Russians' movements. Of course, he was only there to help Davout's troops withdraw from the road to a relatively safe area.

But the battle turned into the Russians harassing and pursuing along the way, while the French just fled. If this continued, Napoleon's last few troops would probably be buried here.

For this reason, the veterans also saw a familiar figure among the infantry of the Guards.

The emperor returned to the Guards, and this made the old Guards shout "Long live the emperor!"

This cry was very useful. Even when the French were defeated, they shouted "Long live the Emperor". They probably felt powerful, although it sounded more gracious.

When the Guards joined the battlefield, they knew that if they had won a battle in the past, they would not be held accountable for running away from the emperor. But if they were to run away in a defeat, they would probably become ice sculptures on the Russian plains in the winter of 1812, or die at the hands of the Russians for various reasons.

This did encourage the 1st Army, but the situation was very bad. During Davout's retreat, his army's convoy was cut off from the main force by the Russians.

Well, it wasn’t just baggage and personal belongings that were seized, it was also said that Davout’s marshal’s baton was taken by the Russians.

The marshal was unaware of the chaos in his rear at this time, and he just led the troops in front of him to try to break out.

Because of the deployment of the Guards, Kutuzov also began to be cautious.

The news he received was that Golitsyn's vanguard had to abandon the village of Uvarovo at the intersection due to the powerful attack of the Young Guards.

In this case, Kutuzov's choice was to bring the troops of Tormasov, Golitsyn and Miloradovich closer together, especially Miloradovich who was attacking Davout.

Kutuzov's judgment at this time was somewhat problematic. As before, he estimated that the enemy had more troops, and the Guards had joined the battle.

Judging from the situation that the Guards and Grenadiers on his side had been withdrawn, one was hurrying forward at the rear and the other was flanking, if the French used the Guards to break through his front line, not only Davout, who was being attacked on the way, but even Ney, who was at the back, would probably escape.

Therefore, he also issued a new order, asking Solovyov to lead the grenadiers to complete the detour as soon as possible and attack Napoleon's flank. This time, he wanted to force him to continue retreating westward along the road and no longer care about the French troops behind him.

If the battle really turned out like this, it would probably be a glorious victory.

However, the old marshal's deployment made these active young and middle-aged generals somewhat dissatisfied.

After all, it seemed that they could encircle Davout's 1st Army and wipe out the nearly French troops left behind at one time, which would be more glorious than the victory at Vyazma.

Now there has always been a route for the French to retreat, and many generals are dissatisfied.

But this principle is probably just like how Zhuge Liang chased after Cao Cao's defeated troops.

More and more Russian troops were put into battle. Kutuzov had to shrink his troops, which were larger in number than the French, into a group to resist the attack of the Guards. This method always looked familiar.

Solovyov was not on the battlefield. He was still leading his troops on a detour, with the goal of west of Krasnoy. He wanted to set up the same farewell formation as Miloradovich, on Tormasov's left wing.

It’s just that his marching route has changed, which means he has to walk more distance, and now he is still close to the battlefield.

He heard the sound of artillery fire, but he was too far away to catch up in a short time.

At the same time, Napoleon's personal appearance among the Guards also gave the soldiers confidence.

The emperor is back, and he even said, "I have been emperor for too long, and now I have to go back to being a general."

Therefore, even the intensity of the French has changed.

They assembled at 9 a.m. and drove out the two battalions in Uvarovo in just a short time.

The fighting capacity of the Guards was indeed extraordinary. The Young Guards and the Old Guards formed the two wings, with a small number of Guards Cavalry and Grenadiers covering the operations. Napoleon also used all the cannons he could get his hands on.

The Young Guards were in Uvarovo, while the Old Guards went to the road in the direction of Smolensk. It was obvious that Napoleon wanted to launch a counterattack, not only to open the road but also to drive out the Russian army.

The Russians launched a counterattack against the French Guards from three directions, and the shelling of Uvarovo also caused heavy losses to the front-line Guards vaulters.

But the Guards continued to advance, even pushing their artillery forward and using the little firepower they had left to launch a counterattack.

For a moment it might be unclear whether the French were retreating or attacking.

At this time, Kutuzov's deployment had made the Russian army lose the opportunity to eliminate Davout. After all, the passage was opened, and even Napoleon was still fighting back. The combat effectiveness of these old guys in the Guards was not to be underestimated.

Soon the Russian army was driven to one side of the road, and the French passage was still preserved, but now they had to move all the way while being hit by artillery shells.

Of course, it was also quite embarrassing.

It was now noon on Davout's side. After the passage was opened, he finally got in touch with Friant, who was still fighting. The two of them, with a rear guard of less than a thousand people, finally walked on the passage while being pursued by the Cossack cavalry.

Seeing the Guards fighting back desperately, the Russian army had already issued an order to retake Uvarovo. This decision was made at the suggestion of Bennigsen, who had now been actually relieved of his command.

But progress was slow, and with the French increasing in number on the roads, it now seemed unlikely that these enemies would be destroyed.

Those people in the headquarters would also feel puzzled. What on earth was Kutuzov doing with this posture?
He was patient and cunning, had good strategy and rich experience, but there were always some strange orders, and it seemed that he didn't even want to destroy Napoleon.

But patience is also useful. If it were someone else, they would probably be impatient and try to swallow up the already weak opponent in one bite.

He waited for the Russian Guards Cavalry from Golitsyn's side, who launched a counterattack against Napoleon's Guards.

The battle situation became fierce again. Both sides were fighting along the entire road. Even for both sides, the decisive action at this time might be whichever side's 3rd Army that was not on the battlefield arrived first.

Although Ney's 3rd Army was already a defeated force, it would still be a force if it joined the French army.

But the distance they are guarding the rear is quite far, and they probably can't get there in a short while, maybe not even today, after all, they are the rear guard troops.

The grenadiers on Solovyov's side are now in a critical position.

As shown in the picture, to the west is the road to Orsha. The defeated French troops are now on this road to Smolensk. Krasnoy is the transportation hub in the middle, blocking the roads in three directions.

The larger black block is Krasnoy, where Napoleon deployed to the east of the city. Davout was flanked by Miloradovich on the road. The black square at the confluence of the river is the village of Uvarovo, where Golitsyn's vanguard is. The one flanking below is Tormasov. In this book, Solovyov's position is to the west of Tormasov. (End of this chapter)