Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

If we evaluate Ney's personal abilities, his courage is definitely beyond doubt.

However, this person is really too excited.

If the French army could be as brave as he was and continue to be brave, it might be a different story.

Although the French army would choose to join the battle at this time under his encouragement, they also had to consider the situation and the number of enemies.

Soon, Miloladovic's first line of defense was put to the test. The French rushed in at once and even opened part of the defense line.

Many veterans worked particularly hard when launching the attack, because they still felt there was some hope that they could break through the Russian positions with the bayonets in their hands and catch up with the supporting troops.

But as the fight went on, something started to go wrong.

Miloradovich's military strength was far greater than Ney's, and he also deployed reserve troops, so the French army could only open a path by relying on their courage.

But the subsequent counterattack by the Russian army would not be so easy to deal with.

The Russian army was also accustomed to bayonet charges. If the French had been fighting against the Germans, who the Russian veterans believed were "lazy people who didn't know how to fight," they might have already broken through the front line.

But the fact that both sides are capable of hand-to-hand combat is another matter.

The French were ultimately unable to break through their positions. Although Ney's troops had recovered some strength, they were also extremely tired. The Russian army had also suffered considerable losses in the pursuit, but because Kutuzov was slacking off on the road, the situation was somewhat better.

Therefore, facing the powerful counterattack, Ney could not hold on.

But the current situation of the 3rd Army is actually much better than the previous miserable friendly forces because they are in a desperate situation. At least they can form a formation to protect themselves.

When Miloradovich saw this situation, he knew that the other side was afraid of retaliation, as the previous actions of the Cossacks and guerrillas had proved.

So he sent a messenger to Ney.

This Russian general still had some chivalry, and he guaranteed with his personal honor that Marshal Ney's troops would be treated well after surrender.

Although the French soldiers below might want to surrender, this is not the Paris of 1814, 1871 or 1940. Marshal Ney's answer was very straightforward.

"The Marshal of France will never surrender!"

Seeing this attitude, the messenger reported it to Miloradovich after returning.

The general was not troubled, but his level of French was not good enough and the other party might not understand him, so he called his secretary and adjutant.

"Sir, what do you want us to do at this time?"

"Although Marshal Ney is unwilling to surrender, we can still speak out. Not all French soldiers are like him. We can undermine their morale and make them lay down their weapons."

As they spoke, an officer fluent in French came to the front of the position and spoke, and some captured soldiers from the 1st and 4th Armies were sent to the opposite side.

After seeing this scene, many French soldiers were devastated.

After hearing this, Martial was unwilling to surrender even though he had no men left.

Because his brother was the only one left, he was not even in the front combat troops, but was with a young French officer.

"Mr. Lieutenant, did you hear that?"

"I don't intend to surrender. His Excellency the Marshal probably doesn't want to either, otherwise they wouldn't have shouted."

"I don't plan to surrender. I want to go back home. I'm an old soldier, but I still haven't found a wife."

"You are here just like us, relying on your faith, but you also have some research that has not been completed yet."

The engineer lieutenant who was chatting with Sergeant Martial was actually still interested in mathematical research at this time.

He was even bold enough to take out the patterns from his backpack and show them to Martial. Although Martial was not illiterate, he could only do the math on his own. How could he learn these patterns in geometry?
"I know that His Majesty the Emperor also likes to do these things. You are an engineer, sir, and a college student, so you must have a lot of knowledge. But a country bumpkin like me can understand that you are drawing circles and triangles, but I don't know what you are going to do with them. Maybe it can be used when firing artillery?"

"You at least think this theorem is somewhat useful, but I still need to prove it. This is just the simplest part, and I'm afraid you don't understand it. There is a circle outside and another circle inside. If it touches these two circles, it is the same triangle and the shape will be the same."

"I can imagine it."

"If you had received an education in the country, you might have achieved something, at least become a surveyor, and then you would have been able to earn money to support your family, and it would have been easier for you to get married."

The lieutenant who said this was Jean-Victor Poncelet, a future famous engineer and mathematician. He was also a soldier and would become a general. He was a member of the Royal Society and the future president of the Academy of Sciences.

He actually tried to use easy-to-understand language to explain mathematical theorems to an old soldier at this extremely dangerous moment, and the other party actually understood some of it.

"What if it's a polygon, like a pentagon?"

"That's what I want to study. It's a pity that education is not universal. If we can return to France, you should find a place to learn some skills. Maybe you can get a good job in the city. If you are willing to go to the Polytechnic Institute, I may be able to write a letter of recommendation to our professors."

"I heard all this knowledge because you used the language of the common people so that I could understand it. If it's the language of mathematics, forget it. If I can, I will learn some of your figures."

"Geometry, really. Where do you think it's useful?"

"I think it would be useful when I'm a carpenter or helping to build a house in the countryside."

"That's fine, you can learn a little. But at this moment, we have to stay alive first, but we can't be captured so easily."

Several of Poncelet's men around were also listening to this, but what were they thinking about now?
Many French soldiers finally chose to surrender under the continuous shouting, that is, those around Ney were probably still preparing to retreat desperately.

So Ney also knew the situation, and he decided to move north, perhaps he could find a passage.

At this time, there were still about three thousand French troops willing to follow him here.

Among the rest, many were wounded and had lost their combat effectiveness, or had lost the courage to continue fighting in this desperate battle.

Seeing this situation, Ney also rode on horseback and personally urged the soldiers to move to the forest in the north.

At this time, Miloradovich could not let him get away easily, so he personally led his men to pursue him. Martial followed the engineering team. They were at the front, the real "vanguard". The rear guard was still in fierce exchange of fire with the Russian army, but they rarely saw Russian cavalry.

Moving along the edge of the woods, it was obvious that these cavalrymen were having difficulty walking.

So they had to make a detour from the flank, while Platov, who was operating in the north, was also operating on the other side of the Dnieper River, but because the river was not frozen, he could not come over immediately.

It is obviously not suitable to go to the river in this kind of weather. After getting ashore, the places that were submerged by water during swimming will probably be frozen.

That would be fatal. Now for Ney, his troops must be able to escape from the Russian army's pursuit and eventually escape from here.

In the melee, the Russian cavalry that had made a detour soon appeared next to the French engineers in front.

Those who still had weapons in their hands continued to shoot at the Russian cavalry.

Martial saw the lieutenant, who had just been explaining geometry to him, knock down the horse of a pursuing Russian hussar with his flintlock.

He himself was not vague. After all, he was a veteran with rich combat experience. He fired another shot at the hussar.

"Sir, let's not stay here any longer. Let's run."

Seeing this, Poncelet also led the remaining engineers to flee towards the Dnieper River.

The reason why he led the army was that when the battle started, the colonel of their unit had been killed. In addition to the casualties in battles along the way, he, a college student who only graduated in February 1812, became the supreme commander of this engineering corps.

But he still had some courage. At least he led these people to the ferry and found a shallow beach where they could barely cross the river.

But it is hard to say what the outcome will be for those who manage to cross the river.

Ney led the 3,000 men who fled here, but soon lost most of them in the pursuit of the Russian army.

However, the remaining French troops, in order to survive and inspired by the marshal's courage, were still prepared to cross the Dnieper River under such circumstances. Even the freezing cold water could not stop them.

The people who actually "winter swim" here are actually French. It's a very ironic story.

But after crossing the river, Ney found that there were still troubles, and even a team of Cossacks came to stop them.

Platov had picked a seemingly weak target this time, but he did not expect that Ney would personally lead the remaining cavalry and a few officers who still had war horses to rush over.

The Cossacks never expected that there would be such desperate Frenchmen. Even though they were surrounded, they were still willing to risk their lives.

Since the remnants of the defeated soldiers following behind had made up their minds to escape, they naturally rushed out with bayonets pointed.

Martial was really lucky. His body was covered in ice, and he was able to charge forward after crossing the river.

As for the engineers who were with him just now, they were dispersed after crossing the river.

Poncelet was captured by the Cossack cavalry. Since he was an officer and had the insignia of an engineer, he would obviously be taken seriously, so he was also escorted aside.

Martial didn't know this. Their team consisted of only 700 to 800 defeated soldiers. They had managed to break out of the encirclement, but they were exhausted. But they managed to escape and even followed the marshal to the emperor's temporary residence.

Napoleon was now advancing towards Borisov, and he did not know Ney's situation, but some remnants of the army managed to break out of the siege.

They can even rest in the warm house for a while. Borisov seems to be a good place, although it is a little remote and there are no Russian troops chasing them for the time being, but it is also full of dangers.

"His Majesty."

"Kolangu, I didn't listen to you before, but now at least we are here. As long as we cross the Berezina River, no one can stop us."

"But we still need to cross the river. We also need engineers to build a bridge there. The only bridges are under threat from the Russians."

"It seems Berthier has told you everything."

"Yes, but there is some news from the 3rd Army. They were surrounded in Krasny, but some of them escaped."

"Ah, this is also a victory, under such desperate circumstances"

But when he opened the door, Napoleon was also shocked.

"Who are you, sir?"

The man was dressed in rags, and his winter coat was tattered. Only from his hat and collar could one tell that he was a French general.

"Your Majesty, I am Ney. We finally escaped from Krasne and brought back some people."

Seeing this, Napoleon himself was shocked.

"Hurry up and prepare some hot drinks for the Marshal. He needs to warm himself up at this time, and then change his clothes."

Ney sat down. Although he looked embarrassed, his thoughts were clear and he could even describe the course of the battle.

"It's a victory that you've made it this far, Ney. Things are very grim when the road is blocked."

"But these are the only ones we have, Your Majesty. Our troops have suffered heavy losses. We should leave Russia as soon as possible and not even stay in Borisov."

"You are right. We should retreat, although we were reluctant to say so in the past. But one day, we will win the victory over the Russians on the battlefield."

He said this very firmly, even with his usual mysterious confidence.

Next, Berthier came to him and reported on the current situation of the army.

There is no doubt that even the French Guards have suffered huge casualties. The number of troops they can fight with is extremely limited, and they are dressed in rags, like an army of beggars, and even a little sharp.

What's even worse is that they are being blocked by the Russian army in several directions. It's just the beginning of winter, and the rivers haven't frozen yet. Even if they do, they are not solid and there is no way to pass through. (End of this chapter)