Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The division led by Marchand, together with the neighboring troops, has a considerable number of troops.

However, the quality of the troops there was obviously uneven. His division was mainly composed of soldiers from the German princes of Baden and Hesse. There were some French officers, but most of them were of German descent.

If they were to go to war, referring to the performance of the Westphalian army during Napoleon's expedition to Russia in 1812, it could only be said to be sometimes good and sometimes bad.

This is still a large-scale force. In comparison, the Württemberg Division should be regarded as the most powerful among the main forces of these German princes. The Saxon army has been on the flank since entering Russia. Although it has not suffered any loss, it is sometimes ignored when referring to its combat effectiveness.

In the past, these allied troops were rarely seen in such large-scale battles. Poland was the most active in fighting with the French and had done a lot of bad things in Spain.

The rest of the German princes' armies were also habitual petty thieves, while the French army itself preferred robbery.

Under such circumstances, it is extremely difficult to maintain military discipline. If the needs of some soldiers to "have some fun" cannot be met, even combat discipline may not be maintained.

The poor discipline of the French and Prussian armies is often related to this.

Think about the Americans on the other side of the ocean, perhaps their army will have this characteristic.

Then, it is the Russians who are notorious for their "barbaric practices," although they do indeed do these things.

But compared with Britain, France and Germany, these are probably just a small matter. They have probably done just as much.

Even under such circumstances, Marchand's troops' outer security was relatively loose, and the Tatars sent by Solovyov before easily bypassed the edge of the cordon without alarming the front guard posts.

Perhaps because of the bad weather during those days, the French army did not think much about it, and even believed that the Allied forces were probably on the other side of the Katzbach River, and the size of the Allied forces nearby was limited, so probably no one would take the initiative to attack.

But they had Solovyov, who loved the unexpected.

And there is no Napoleon nearby, so we can do it with confidence.

But this time he was more cautious. Before taking action, he wore the uniform of the Prussian dragoons and went to the nearby high ground for reconnaissance.

"It seems that the enemy's defense is still a little loose. This is a good opportunity. We must take this position after the battle starts. Let the main force of the legion bypass here and directly attack the enemy's left wing."

Solovyov always talked about infantry tactics because the environment was rather harsh.

"And the artillery?"

"Bring all our Unicorn Cannons here and bombard the French lines hard. All the artillery firepower that can be used must be used here!"

His goal was also to move quickly, concentrate his forces on one side, strike hard at the French flank, and then defeat the Marchand Division in front.

The troops behind would be the targets of the next stage of attack, but Solovyov still hoped that they could get away from him and not delay his efforts in seizing food and supplies while also attacking the French army.

However, it is still difficult to realize his idea.

A group of French cavalry discovered Prussian cavalry activity on a small hill and attacked in this direction.

However, the weapons used by Solovyov's adjutants and staff were always more powerful, and he himself had a carbine hanging on his saddle.

After a burst of shooting, some French veterans who had suffered in the past also realized the problem and turned away.

However, this level of firepower would more or less expose the target, and Marchand also knew that there was a light cavalry with very strong firepower operating here.

He was on guard and was calling for support, especially to find Gerard, who had not crossed the river and whose division was relatively intact.

What is important is not that this place is the flank of the legion, but that a lot of French supply materials are here. If the coalition forces arrive quickly, the supply of MacDonald's legion will be threatened.

He had originally only considered that there might be a cavalry regiment, or several large Prussian or Russian guerrilla groups attacking.

But in the afternoon, when the fighting was still fierce on the Katzbach River and many French troops were driven to the riverside, a large number of Allied infantry suddenly appeared in an orderly manner on the ground in the distance.

The uniforms on the coalition side are of various colors, and they look like several independent units. But if you really think about it, the battle line is wide and the number of troops is not small.

Even in the opinion of Gerard and Marchand, who had no idea about the battle situation on MacDonald's side, this might be the main force of the coalition forces, and it might even have a greater depth.

They asked Rochambeau about this, but the gentleman probably didn't know either.

"The Russians attacked us, about a division, but now it seems..."

"The flags and uniforms on the other side are quite complicated. Those are the Russians, and what are they over there? The Turks?"

Gerard knew that the Russian army always had some strange troops, but he did not expect that the size of the Serbian Volunteer Army had expanded a lot.

He only made a basic judgment based on their clothing. At this time, General Sebastiani, who had served as ambassador in Constantinople, was leading the cavalry to launch a counterattack against Blücher's troops. It was unlikely that anyone was particularly familiar with the situation in Turkey.

The Serbs and Greeks were dressed like the Ottoman army, so it was inevitable that they were misjudged.

The situation on the other side was better. The Prussian army's black clothes made them easy to recognize.

The French were now ready to fight, and the French generals present also realized that this time their opponent would be difficult to deal with.

That high ground was also controlled by the vanguard of the Gerard Division. If the Allied Forces wanted to capture it, they had to attack from above first.

But the French also had a problem, that is, Gerard's troops came in a hurry, the artillery was still lagging behind, and only the infantry troops climbed onto the high ground.

Moreover, given the current situation of the French army, each division lacked individually assigned cavalry to provide support.

The Russian army is much better in this regard. In fact, the Cossack cavalry, an irregular cavalry, can be deployed in several directions without even all of its members being deployed.

However, Solovyov was not allocated that kind of troops. Instead, he was allocated Tatar cavalry from the Cossack Corps.

Also because of the good reputation in previous wars, Solovyov might be able to get more cooperation from these people when commanding the Tatar cavalry.

According to the custom of the Kalmyks, they even called Solovyov "Grand Master" in private, and the meaning was very clear.

Only those who are good at fighting and can convince the Mongols can be called "Taishi", which is also a title borrowed from the Central Plains dynasty.

By the way, when Qi Jiguang was stationed on the Great Wall, he was called Taishi. It was good enough that his name was not pronounced as "Qiqige" by the homonym.

Maybe the more powerful a person is, the cuter the name should be. Qi Jiguang used both kindness and force to convince people, while Solovyov took some Tatars out to fight, which gave them a lot of experience.

Therefore, the name "Grand Master" had already spread privately without his knowledge.

These Tatar cavalry in the Russian army quickly moved to the flank.

"Ah, it looks like we still have to attack the high ground, but this time it's our turn."

Solovyov was still a little confident. After all, he now had the advantage in terms of military strength, and the enemies on the top of the mountain had just arrived there and had not yet established a firm foothold, so they could be attacked in a wave.

The artillery also hurriedly took up their positions. Their original intention was to take advantage of the high ground and pour grenades on the French positions at will.

That’s no use now, because the French have reached the high ground first, and Gerard’s division is there.

It’s just that because they had taken the time to maintain their weapons before, the “fire sticks” in the hands of the Russian soldiers are now able to fire.

The French also fought back. At least the campsite of Gerard's division was relatively dry in the past few days, so the rifles were not unable to fire.

The battle began like this. The Russian cavalry took a longer and circuitous route, going around the back of the high ground.

The French were lacking cavalry, a problem which was to plague them until the end of the war.

The artillery of Gerardo that was still stranded behind was the first to be attacked by the Tatar cavalry.

When they saw the French artillery, they rushed over waving sabers. Some of them were carrying muskets and bows and arrows, ready to shoot at any possible resistance from the French.

Although the French had seen some strange types of troops in the Russian army before, they were still unprepared for these Tatar cavalry.

Especially since some people actually use bows and arrows. Although they are self-provided weapons, considering the power of these things, the damage caused by a skilled archer can still cause considerable trouble to the opponent.

Before any direct fighting took place, the French artillery was dispersed and their cannons were abandoned.

The Tatars did not nail the cannon down, but went a step further and removed the wheels from one side.
This was also because they did not carry gun nails, unlike the regular Russian cavalry who usually had to steal cannons.

In addition, the tasks assigned to them by Solovyov had nothing to do with these artillerymen.

So they set off and headed straight for the baggage train's four-wheeled cart.

The supplies parked and stored there are the targets of this attack.

Because they had eaten too many biscuits before, when the coalition forces launched the attack this time, they were all aiming to defeat the enemy and obtain supplies, and at least have a few good meals.

With this mentality, you will naturally be very brave when you attack.

But the French resistance was still very tenacious.

The six regiments of the 9th Division launched a direct attack on the French troops on the heights, but progress was not that rapid.

But Marchand and his German soldiers on the front were soon unable to resist the two brigades of the "Black Duke" and Schwerin.

It was also a game of "Beast Chess" in the German region. Although the Prussian army might not be able to defeat the French, under normal circumstances, they still had some confidence in dealing with the armies of these small princes.

But this time, it was because the Oder Army always had some time to maintain its ammunition, and there were always ammunition trucks following the Prussian army.

Judging from their shooting speed, even the new recruits who have just joined the team seem to be very skilled in masturbation.

In fact, the most ideal ammunition projection was probably the continuous shooting of the Prussian army. Although it was not a volley, the amount of ammunition delivered seemed pretty good in this era when there were no mature machine guns.

If they were to use the rifles of the Russian Guards and Grenadiers, God knows what their firing rate would be.

Although Marchand's troops seemed okay, they were only not afraid of hand-to-hand combat. The local men in Hesse were likely to become mercenaries, so their combat power seemed okay.

However, there is a problem with mercenary forces. That is, when they have suffered heavy casualties and the battle seems to have no benefits, problems will arise on their own.

The Prussians' continuous shooting could indeed cause them considerable chaos.

What's more, the Tatar cavalry made a big circle and appeared behind the French army, which also caused a chain reaction.

At first, only the Hessian infantry regiment began to retreat, but later, even the French troops on the two wings were affected.

However, the Baden infantry ran slower and some even resisted.

On the contrary, it was the Gerard Division that came later, who continued to resist on the high ground, and Solovyov's progress was very slow.

If we consider that if Gerard had not defended the pontoon bridge at the Battle of the Berezina, Napoleon would have found it difficult to save even the remnants of Eugene's troops in the subsequent Polish campaign.

He is still quite resilient in defense.

Solovyov had already sent out the 9th Division and the Balkan Division, and the "Black Duke" had also achieved considerable results. With Tillman's cavalry also following up, Gerard was forced to give up his position.

But the French were also puzzled. Why didn’t the coalition forces pursue them this time?

The reason is very simple, that is, Solovyov really came for supplies for his brothers.

After losing more than a thousand people, they only wiped out more than two thousand enemies, including the prisoners.

If they pursued, the French losses would be even greater after nightfall. However, there was still some order in Gérard and Marchand, unlike the French troops on the other side.

The one who came to support this time was Luo Shangbo, who had been seriously injured a few days ago. After seeing this, he shook his head helplessly.

It seems that it will be difficult to see scenes like the French army sweeping across Europe in the past decade or so.

Within a few days, the French army had suffered a series of defeats. You have to know that when his father was in the New World, His Majesty the King was determined to fight the British at the cost of his life. At that time, the US military had been losing battles. It was only after the French arrived that they helped them defeat the British army and finally won the battle in York.
The French nowadays don’t look so impressive.

Moreover, a big fire broke out in the place where the supplies were stored. It seemed that the Tatars had done it. (End of this chapter)