Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The battle was obviously not going well, and even the coalition's logistics system was in chaos.

Since the gunpowder and ammunition used were basically interchangeable, these smoothbore muskets and muzzle-loading artillery should have been interchangeable. However, there were some problems with the logistics systems of the two armies. For a time, the supply of artillery shells on the Russian side was interrupted. In addition, the Prussian army's position was forward, and after their artillery fired for a while and blocked the offensive of the French Young Guards, they almost ran out of shells and had to leave the front line.

The remaining place is the village of Dagershen.

Except for the Prussian troops who stayed to defend the village, most of the troops had withdrawn from the battlefield at this time.

The issue the coalition forces are discussing now is whether or not to retreat.

A real retreat from the battlefield of Lützen would have been no more than a relatively minor defeat.

But for the French, as long as they controlled the battlefield, they could declare their victory, even if the victory was not happy, like Wagram and Borodino.

If we stay and continue fighting, we may face a lot of trouble.

Napoleon lit torches at night and gave encouraging speeches to the French soldiers.

"Soldiers! I am sincerely delighted with your performance! You have lived up to my expectations! Because you consciously obeyed orders, fought bravely, and completed all the combat tasks assigned to you. On the world-famous May 5, you defeated the coalition forces commanded by Emperor Alexander of Russia and the King of Prussia. You have added new glory to the glorious eagle flag of France. The Battle of Lützen will rank among the battles of Austerlitz, Friedland and Moscow."

My goodness, when he was speaking, he might have regarded Borodino as a victory. Of course, the French newspapers would probably have arranged his speech like this. However, the Russian newspapers, probably because they get second-hand information faster than first-hand information, always relay other people's reports.

On the coalition side, the situation is obviously not optimistic.

It seemed that if they moved faster on the battlefield, they would be able to ensure that the area outside the Great Gershen Village was in their hands. It was still unknown who would win the battle at that time.

Tormasov found Solovyov in the evening and wanted to talk to him.

"Misha, calling you here at this time won't disturb your rest, right?"

"It's okay. I don't know what you want to talk about."

"We all know that there are some problems with the Emperor's choice of commander-in-chief. Now that we have failed in the battle, it is difficult for us to predict what will happen next. I remember you once mentioned the Austrians..."

"The Austrians will not join at this time, Alexander Petrovich. They will not join. They will only come if there are benefits. In Italy, it was because they coveted the benefits of the former Austrian Netherlands that the coalition forces led by the Grand Marshal and Melas lost the advantage they had worked so hard to gain. As a result, all the previous efforts were in vain."

"But what can we do? Our armies are like this. The coalition forces do not fight in the same way, and the same is true when commanding the army. Our medical systems, logistics systems, and even command systems are all different. It would be a disaster to have two armies act together. But individual forces are not enough to defeat the French. If we can disperse the French forces on several battlefields and defeat their flank corps, making Napoleon run for his life, we may still have some chances."

After listening to what he said, Tormasov also became pessimistic and sighed.

"After a while, I probably won't be in the army anymore. I have expressed my opinion to the emperor and am very dissatisfied with the current arrangement, but there is no way to change it."

Tormasov probably had no hope for the war anymore, and he was not young anymore. Not all people over sixty were as energetic as the veterans Solovyov had seen before.

As for his intention to leave, although the excuse he gave was health reasons, in fact it was because he was dissatisfied with the current arrangement.

Especially with the Tsar's appointment, Wittgenstein was obviously not so suitable to be the commander-in-chief.

As the two continued to chat, Solovyov also learned that the Russian army was very dissatisfied with Wittgenstein's performance.

It is even worse than Barclays' situation at that time. Everyone finally recognized Barclays' strategic plan, but Wittgenstein just makes everyone dissatisfied.

From strategy to tactics, and the deployment of troops is like this, it is indeed a problem.

"But I'm still young, and I still have a long way to go. I can't stay away from the army like you did. And now is not the right time to leave."

"You are talented, Misha. Such talent should really stay in the army. To change the current situation, we need more people to do things. I am now a cavalry general and have received the highest level of medals. This status is enough. Whether we win or lose the war, as long as we defeat the French on Russian soil and drive them out, it will be a victory in the end. Maybe Kutuzov is right. There was more than one person who agreed with his strategy before."

"Including me, but now we have no choice but to retreat. Although this will have a great impact on morale, our army cannot continue to take risks. If we stay here, if we are still in the Great Gershen Village, we will definitely fail."

And it was a very tragic defeat. Solovyov knew it clearly. He also knew that because Tormasov's opinions were not accepted, he gave the Tsar a way out and returned to the country to express his dissatisfaction with Wittgenstein.

The Tsar was also aware of this. He arranged for Tormasov to be a state councilor and promised that he would serve as the governor of a certain place in the future.

Having seniority does have its advantages, but others have to continue.

There were indeed quite a few generals who expressed their dissatisfaction.

He did not return to the Prussian camp, but came back to see his adjutant and orderlies.

"Master, what should we do now?"

"Pack your luggage, and when the army is about to set off, we will be in the grenadier column and follow the army to retreat eastward."

Petya didn't understand this. Of course, he had been listening to the conversation between Solovyov and Scharnhorst that day and had moved positions several times, so the situation didn't seem so bad.

"Sir, it looks like you can still fight now."

"You are still a child, can you see the changes in the battle situation?"

"You look like you were my age."

"I was also an adjutant at that time, Petya. But it was not until two years later when I followed the Field Marshal on his first expedition that I gained some military experience. Since then, I have learned how to fight and can judge the situation on the battlefield. If we don't leave tonight, tomorrow may be a disastrous defeat. Don't even think about defeating the French in the future!"

What he said was very clear. Now that we have joined the battlefield, we must consider how to win in the end.

Of course, if it is like today, there will probably be failures in the future. The mobilization of troops alone is a big problem. At least the Prussians are really fighting for their lives. Those Austrians are often full of bad intentions, and they are stupid and bad.

Although he had friends in Austria, considering that Metternich was a bad guy who slept with his senior brother's wife and raised poison for his friends, it could be said that he was not wrong to let him get close to Austria.

If they come, who knows how big a problem it will cause.

Then he looked at his orderly, Uncle Prokhor's grandson, Valodia.

"Go get some medicine, Valodia. We might need it someday. Put it in the first aid kit."

"Yes, sir."

Compared to his grandfather, this kid is quite clever, probably because of his youth or the simplicity and cunningness of a country boy.

There were still many things to do next, and Solovyov was unsure. He knew that the army's retreat this time, heading directly towards Dresden, was also because of the loss of Leipzig.

They were unable to gain any advantage on the battlefield, the Allied forces were deployed in a relatively scattered manner, and the French were approaching, so the situation was extremely unfavorable in all aspects.

At this time, the only option is to run away.

The morale of the Russian army was not very high. Although Solovyov was the commander of the Selenge Regiment and had inherited some symbolic military power from his father-in-law, he still preferred to be with the grenadiers. He had served in at least two of the regiments before and had deep feelings for them.

He even met Igor again
"After so many battles, there are new faces here. You are not bad. You are now a sergeant. If you become a second lieutenant, you will be an officer."

"You said so. I am also lucky. Too many old guys didn't return to the team due to injuries. Even if an old soldier like me can become a sergeant, it is only with the rifle and bayonet in my hand. Also, sir, we should fight less such cowardly battles in the future. If it's like what happened in Borodino, we lost a lot of people, but everyone is still energetic! If it's like this, we just wait there. In the end, if the adults over there didn't let us join the battle, I'm afraid it would be even worse."

"I heard that your new brigade commander set up a skirmish line to bluff, pretending that his brigade was a division, so that the French retreated in front of the skirmish line. This is a good way to use troops, especially since our rifles are fast and accurate."

"It's no use just killing a few Frenchmen. It's better if we can win the battle. For example, when the Grand Marshal was still here, I was still a new soldier, but when the people in the regiment heard that they were going to the battle with him, they all felt that they could win. When I was with you in the Balkans, we drove 100,000 Turks into the river and drowned them. I have never fought such a satisfying battle in my life."

Although Igor always exaggerates this number.

Solovyov was willing to listen to his complaints. Among the old soldiers, there were not many who were familiar with him and were willing to talk.

Even the Moscow Regiment was filled with many new faces, some of whom might have been new recruits brought in during his time in Warsaw.

And Igor hasn't finished yet, and what he said might even be the truth.

"If we had driven out all the Krauts in the headquarters, we might have won the war, but your Krauts on the staff were capable, and they all went home. It doesn't make sense!"

It was obvious that he was also very dissatisfied, and he vented his anger by talking to his old superior.

"But this is how it is now. Just fight well. We will call it a day when we reach Paris. Otherwise, my relative, the emperor's brother-in-law, will not stop and will always send out his army to fight us."

"So, you and the emperor are also relatives?"

When soldiers talk about this, they can't help but whistle.

Although the "Little Tsar Father" holds a high status in their minds, it is always acceptable to make jokes about him in the army, as long as the words are not offensive.

It is true that Solovyov and Maria also have an inseparable relationship.
As for the future when his son grows up and marries the Tsar's daughter and becomes in-laws, he cannot say that now. After all, the children are still young and he just has the intention of getting engaged.

Igor didn't mention anything about his relatives, but when these recruits spoke, that was the truth.

"But that's it. How many twists and turns does this relationship have to take?"

"It's quite far, but there are some close ones. His Highness Nicholas served as your adjutant some time ago. He is your student since he was a child."

In the Russian context, the word "student" may mean an "illegitimate child" if the child is raised at home.

"You're being a bit rough when you say that."

But it was true that Nicholas, holding his textbooks and following the study plan he had drawn up, could at least understand some of the principles. Moreover, he had seen the contents of civil and military affairs by his side some time ago, and had seen the battle situation on the front line in the Tsar's headquarters, so he had some understanding.

Alexander was also worried about some issues. Except for his fourth brother Mikhail who was too young to come with him, the other three brothers were all here.

There was no doubt that Constantine was his assistant; he had always been loyal, and he knew very well that he had no interest in the throne.

And Nicholas' words always gave him some insights.

Although I didn’t learn enough from Mr. Laharp when I was young, I was always able to master some knowledge.

It is definitely not good to be pushed into the position of monarch like some people are without being prepared for it.

That's why he asked Nicholas to come here as well.

My younger brother also performed well here, and he was even able to realize that there was a problem with the dispatch of his own troops.

Nicholas is a rookie on the battlefield. The fact that he has such insight, apart from his qualified education, probably means that the problem is really big.

As for the generals who were suitable to take over, Bennigsen was unemployed, Barclay was on the road with the follow-up troops, Langeron went to Silesia to besiege several Polish fortresses, and Tormasov seemed to be quitting his post, so he was given a high-ranking idle job.
We still have to grit our teeth and fight this battle. (End of this chapter)