Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Let’s not talk about what happened in Bessières for now. At this time, the coalition forces had already realized that the French were coming.

However, Wittgenstein's actions were obviously not as fast as Blücher's.

You know, this grumpy old man was ready to take action after he sobered up.

In terms of intelligence, he is brave; in terms of appearance, he is still brave; and in terms of other things, he is probably brave too.

While Wittgenstein was still determining the direction of the French army's movement, Blücher was already preparing to advance towards the Saale River, ready to deal a heavy blow to the "dwarf".

Although both of them advocated an advance, Blücher only cared about fighting, while Wittgenstein actually wanted to divide the troops in several directions.

The two of them put together really make a perfect pair, and they probably can't get things done.

Wittgenstein's actions had to be approved by the Tsar himself, and this was also the morale of the Russian army since Alexander - even when Nicholas II was about to eat the whole family bucket, the Tsar was always near the army.

Compared to Paul who stayed in St. Petersburg by himself and did not directly micro-manage, but only made the final decision on the specific strategy, and other than that he mechanically played the post-war review on the training ground - it was not a good thing that Alexander was too close to the army.

Even the later tsars did not necessarily perform better than him. At least the four brothers received a relatively comprehensive military education. Constantine himself was also a brave cavalry general.
If it was the one in history, he might have a simpler mind.

Now, he is still the "stupid son of a landlord", but because of the strict education of his masters, he always has some ideas.

The Queen Mother didn't want Nicholas to go to the front line in the first place, which led to the fact that although he followed the commander-in-chief's troops all the way, he finally returned to his brother's camp.

He saw that Wittgenstein would send an adjutant or messenger back from time to time to ask for instructions, and then his royal brother would have to discuss with the King of Prussia before giving any instructions.

Although the King of FW is indeed a bit useless, he is quite clear-headed and knows that he is not cut out for it. He still feels scared when he thinks about the tragic scene of being overwhelmed by the French in the "Kimchi Field".

In this way, he was basically a nodding machine in the oil field, nodding in agreement with whatever Alexander said, but he also mentioned the problem.

"If that's the case, the French will attack us very quickly. Should we just let the generals at the front do it?"

Alexander thought it made sense, but he couldn't make any decision right away since the French were right in front of him.

Soon Wittgenstein sent someone back to report that the French were crossing the Saale River and the Allied forces on the front line had abandoned the areas they had controlled along the river.

This was not good news. If the French continued to move, they would have to cross the Saale River and head towards Lützen near Leipzig. In addition, another key point was the village of Großgerschen.

Ney's troops have already advanced, and he is engaging Blücher's troops. Once the action begins, it will be exciting.

After all, both of them used external brains to join the battle. Under the attack of the two sides, even if the coalition forces in front were only composed of a few light cavalry, it was still a big shock for these French recruits.

They had joined the army with great enthusiasm, but now they had to face the attack of the Russian cavalry.

However, the training still worked. When the Russian cavalry approached, they also formed a hollow square formation and fired at the rushing Russian cavalry.

Even if they were fully armored cavalry, considering that horses are actually very smart animals, they would have a certain degree of self-awareness to avoid danger. If they really had to charge directly, they probably would not charge directly into the enemy's formation.

If it were an elephant, it would probably be even worse.

But in Europe, there were probably no elephants, except that when Blücher was drunk, he would always talk nonsense.

Moreover, when the Russian cavalry attacked, they did not rush forward directly. They also had to look for the weaknesses in the French formation, and only then would they launch a fatal blow.

There is no cavalry that can charge directly into the enemy formation, and there is no infantry that can shoot accurately without being affected by external factors.

The actions taken by the Russian cavalry were to avoid areas where the French troops were heavily concentrated. At the same time, the French shooting seemed to be able to figure out their strengths for some experienced old cavalrymen.

Although free fire is often chaotic, some veterans are very accurate and will not fire hastily like this.

During the test, the Allied cavalry discovered that these French were always in a hurry to shoot, and some of them even lacked commands. Because of nervousness or personal enthusiasm, these factors exceeded the control of military orders.

Therefore, many shots are ineffective and may even injure friendly forces, more than once.

French statistics after the war also revealed this point: many French soldiers would inevitably accidentally injure their own comrades while in lines and formations.

The fighting between the two sides became increasingly fierce. After withstanding the coalition forces' attack, Ney's five divisions began to counterattack.

After fighting for a while, the coalition cavalry finally chose to withdraw from the battle and reorganize due to insufficient manpower.

At the same time, the French army advanced in several directions, and their target seemed to be the area around Lutzen.

This time Wittgenstein discovered the movements of the French army, but he still underestimated the enemy's strength and thought that they were just the vanguard.

He did not know that Napoleon was already on the banks of the Saale, and that thousands of French soldiers were crossing the river.

The battle between Ney and Blücher was still going on, but the French side soon received reinforcements. The follow-up troops of the Allied Forces had not arrived yet, but the French troops they saw, at least their formations looked very neat.

Even if the opponent is a rookie, we cannot underestimate him at this moment.

Solovyov was a spectator again today, just as he had been when he first arrived on the battlefield, beside the Austrian General Krei.

But he is also a general now, and has served in the army for a long time, so he can always see some clues.

The morale of the French was really high. At this time, they were able to rely on their own courage, line up and launch an attack, which made people feel that they were still very motivated.

"It looks like our opponent has brought out a huge army again, but we can't see these people clearly. Maybe there are a lot of young people among them?"

"What are you thinking about now?" Scharnhorst was now with him. The two were riding horses not far away from each other, and both were looking at the area ahead where the two sides were fighting through binoculars.

The only difference is that Solovyov used binoculars, while Scharnhorst used a more traditional monocular telescope. Binoculars can always be hung around the neck and are more convenient to carry.

"Napoleon, the islander from Corsica, does have some magical powers. Although this army is not yet mature, after going through the test of war, it may become a huge problem for us."

"It has come to this. We can only give up some areas and let the enemy in, and then wait for unified arrangements. Perhaps the current commander-in-chief of our coalition should make the final decision."

"If he goes from the southeast to the northwest, he will probably be like Wallenstein back then. Do you want to beat a drum?"

"You really do understand a little bit."

"That's about it. Hey, hey, Caesar, Hulla, Wallenstein is leading the army, but we're not facing King Gustav of Sweden. The enemy has more troops and is stronger. This battle is not easy to deal with. If it were me, I probably wouldn't choose to take action in such a troublesome place. If Napoleon was still a general, he would probably decide to repel us and then march to Dessau and go straight to Berlin to end the war. This is a familiar formula, he has demonstrated it once."

"You are so rude. You sound like you were talking about an unpleasant experience."

What Scharnhorst mentioned was the humiliating defeat of the Prussian army in 1806. The fact that Prussia was in such a miserable state now was largely due to that war.

"But this time the coalition forces are all here, and Napoleon is now the emperor. He will consider more political issues. Especially the group of Austrians who were defeated before. They are still armed and neutral and are not on either side. If we win, they will join in. Therefore, even if we fail, it can't be too bad, and the orders must be clear."

"Yeah, I hope nothing goes wrong."

Blücher basically handed over the command to Scharnhorst. He looked like an old general who came here to boost morale. The old cavalryman was still able to command the battle on horseback, but there was a problem. He was over seventy years old and it was impossible for him to lead the army in an attack personally like he did in the past.

Of course, there have been such fierce men in European history before. For example, the one-eyed Antigonus was over eighty years old when he was stabbed to death by a javelin on the battlefield.

But as for the Allied Forces, there are only two armies at this time. If the Austrian army is to be added in the future, it would be better to have someone like Archduke Karl who is good at fighting, rather than the reckless Blücher on this side and the complacent Wittgenstein on the other side.

The performance of these two commanders-in-chief was indeed outrageous. Miloradovich's more than 10,000 men were still in the south of the battlefield, where Wittgenstein deployed them. As for Blücher, he was fighting against Ney, but the lack of troops always forced his troops to retreat.

The French finally controlled some important areas at the front of the battlefield, and they were now full of confidence. Many French recruits went to the battlefield for the first time, and although they were nervous, they were also excited.

Seeing the enemy retreat, especially the wounded soldiers and corpses abandoned on the battlefield, will also increase your confidence.

On the Allied side, there were more veterans in the Russian army, but on the Prussian side, their situation was worse. Only half of them had received military training, and many of them had only received basic military training.

The situation is not optimistic either. The failure of the coalition forces will always bring problems and morale will definitely be affected.

The French, on the other hand, became more and more resilient, and cheers even broke out among the army, which could be heard from far away.

"Damn it, my uncle is here again."

Solovyov even had a teasing tone when he spoke now. Of course, there was nothing he could do about the current situation.

Napoleon himself appeared at the front of the battlefield. Some soldiers recognized him from the emperor's iconic coat. The reserve troops in the back began to cheer, and the morale of the soldiers in the front also increased.

"It's hard to imagine that one person has such an impact on the morale of the army. He is such an amazing person. If he hadn't been so arrogant, he probably wouldn't have failed before."

"But we have a chance, maybe we can beat them this year and win in the end."

Solovyov told Scharnhorst that he agreed with the general's admiration for Napoleon.

A real man likes to lead thousands of troops and win every battle. He has a lofty status in people's minds.

But you must have the ability and the opportunity.

"You think we can beat him?"

"Yes, and it's not like David defeating Goliath, nor is it a warrior fighting a dragon. Instead, if we have enough people on the battlefield and a suitable strategy, we will be able to defeat him in the end and drive him back to Paris. We will have a military parade on the Champs Elysees. As for the corpses that can often be fished out of the Seine, forget it."

Scharnhorst didn't get his point, so he just smiled and agreed.

Although the other party has no command power, he speaks very well. In fact, this kind of smart general is also very popular. He will make judgments quickly, then devote himself to the war, and he is diligent and tireless.

The French continued their attack, and the day's outpost fighting was almost over.

"It looks like Napoleon"

Although it cannot be said, he is also the monster in Corsica, and this time he brought his army to Saxony to hunt with the Allied Forces near Leipzig.

The battlefield chosen was the area from Lützen to Großgerschen.

The French wanted to attack, and the Allied forces also wanted to attack.

The French were pursuing their strategic goals, but on the Allied side, they only realized at this time that the emperor himself had also arrived.

But this was only the situation that the Prussian army could see on the south side of the battlefield.

Wittgenstein was still unclear about the direction of Napoleon's actions.

He decided to attack, and to attack the next day.

But there was a troublesome problem at this time, that is, a large number of troops were still crowded on the road, and the mobilization of the coalition forces faced huge problems in both directions.

Napoleon's victory every time may be thanks to the frequent traffic jams on the coalition side. This is inevitable in battles, but if it happens frequently, it is a problem of ability. (End of this chapter)