Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

On the same day as the Battle of Katzbach, Napoleon was about to take action in Dresden.

Compared to the Napoleon of the past, he was now in the shape of a fat Italian man.

The report he received the day before was still annoying. After Oudinot's failure at the Battle of Grand-Beerem, his direction of action was "completely thoughtless", and MacDonald seemed to be going against his orders and pursuing the Allied forces.

The situation was not so optimistic, but in Dresden, the situation did not seem as bad as he expected.

Before the Battle of Dresden began, Schwarzenberg acted cautiously, and even he was somewhat hesitant during the three-day journey.

Radetzky felt helpless when he saw the situation of his commander-in-chief.

While he and Solovyov were discussing the issue of corps communications, the young general was still in camp near the Oder River, and he was also confused about the personnel arrangements of the Bohemian Corps.

Compared to the small scene of the Oder River Legion where the problem could be solved by hunting, now that all three monarchs are here, it is truly a wonderful palace drama.

Although Schwarzenberg's fighting skills are not very good, considering that his family has always been sensitive to political issues, this cannot be said to be a bad decision.

Radetzky knew this problem, but he did not expect that Solovyov would also give a very poor evaluation of the Russian army's performance in the Battle of Lützen, mainly targeting the generals of the 1st Army system.

Wittgenstein was still in the coalition at this time. His previous failures had been disastrous, due to his lack of determination and frequent requests for instructions from the monarch.

To the extent that the Tsar had to micro-manage the Russian army behind the scenes, and the situation on King FW's side was better, but the combat effectiveness of the Prussian army was indeed a mystery.

The situation of the Austrian army is another matter.

Maybe the situation is better for the Austrians now. After all, they did not participate in the battles in the past few years. In 1812, Schwarzenberg went to Russia just to create an atmosphere. He had a fierce battle with Tormasov for a while, and after covering the flank of the French army, he went back home.

Therefore, they had not experienced any large-scale battles, and some of the newly recruited troops included experienced veterans.

Compared with Napoleon's permanent losses and the old soldiers who are still sitting in prisoner-of-war camps in villages across the vast plains of Russia, the Austrian army is now in a better situation.

Therefore, although Schwarzenberg was cautious, he also believed that Napoleon could not win every battle. His army was no longer as large as before, and there were even many young men of fifteen or sixteen years old who were conscripted. Let's put it this way.
"Marshal, I think you still need to pay attention. The French may march quickly and some troops may come here to support. Napoleon has always acted quickly. In the past, General Werosser's battle plans always ignored the marching efficiency of the French. This was the case in Italy and Hohenlinden, and in 1805."

"That's your concern, sir."

Schwarzenberg had already stopped outside Dresden a day earlier. He had deployed his troops but had not yet launched an attack.

What is very strange now is that Saint-Cyr did not deploy his regular troops outside the city to fight as the Austrian army hoped, but instead kept his entire army inside the city. Except for the garrison left in the palace in the south of the city, many soldiers were even in the apartments in the new city area or behind the walls of the old city.

This was also because Marshal Saint-Cyr had no choice but to do so when he saw the Allied Forces were coming in full force. In fact, squatting in the pit was more efficient, as at least the rifles could be fired. Saint-Cyr also reinforced his own artillery positions and took some waterproofing measures.

With these skills, although the marshal's ability is not top-notch, his presence here has prevented the coalition forces from making any move for a while.

Seeing his boss like this, Radetzky had to do his best.

"The current weather is not suitable for our army's operations. In the rain, our heavy cavalry cannot fully exert their power on flat ground, and if the infantry is divided into three directions and each of them engages in battle, there will definitely be problems!"

"John, why are you more cautious than me?"

Schwarzenberg was still optimistic at this time. After all, Napoleon was not nearby, so a delay of one day would not be a problem. However, he also needed to occupy some peripheral areas to facilitate the subsequent coalition forces' siege operations.

"It's not prudence, sir. We are responsible for the outcome of this war. If we fail, His Majesty may hesitate again and let Mr. Metternich negotiate with Bonaparte!"

On this point, the two partners agreed that their own Emperor Franz did not have much determination and even seemed a little weak.

But he is the monarch, and that cannot be changed.

This is what happened in Austria in the past. Once it suffered a humiliating defeat, many defeatist counselors would stand up and say, "Your Majesty, let's surrender!"

Emperor Franz, who is easily persuaded, may also agree to this request.

Therefore, both the Austrian and Russian armies had a tendency to make up for what was lacking.

The Austrian emperor was weak and indecisive and generally did not interfere in military affairs. Russian generals preferred such a monarch.

As for the Tsar of Russia, his attitude was relatively firm, except that he sometimes had a small problem of micromanaging.

But this probably didn't matter in the Austrian army. After all, although the Austrian commanders had been in the army for many years, their level was not necessarily as high as that of their middle-aged or young chiefs of staff, and they were even worse than the Tsar.

This was somewhat of a two-way rush, so that at every meeting the Prussians would probably see the two friendly armies, each supporting the other monarch’s opinion.

In the midst of the wrangling, the coalition forces were now ready to attack or retreat, with arguments still raging in the rear.

At this time, Napoleon's reinforcements were only a day's journey from Dresden.

If you try harder, you can even move faster.

It’s just that although Alexander had sought war in the past, he was much more cautious this time.

He was willing to believe the plan given to him by Jomini and instead threaten Napoleon's transportation lines.

This was actually beyond the French army's plan. Napoleon had never thought that Schwarzenberg would dare to come so soon, nor had he imagined that this group was the main force of the coalition forces.

"Your Majesty, we should retreat. Napoleon always acts quickly. If he knew that Dresden was in danger, we would have to pay the price of time when storming the city."

"Sir, I know that time is the most precious thing to him, and he will act quickly."

Jomini is now just an advisor, and many people actually dislike him. He came from the French army and was given a high position and generous salary, which made many people jealous.

Moreover, the proposal he proposed did not seem to have any outstanding features and was even a bit conservative.

"Don't think about fighting in Dresden at this time. We should retreat. The right time will be in the future, when a French flank is severely depleted." Jomini had actually given a version of the answer. He just didn't reveal Napoleon's plan. It could be regarded as a kind of loyalty to his former boss.

Alexander could understand his thoughts, but for the monarchs of Prussia and Austria, it might be a different matter.

Emperor Franz knew that he was not very knowledgeable, so he generally would not express his opinions on military issues.

King FW, who was separated from his wife, seemed to have borrowed the courage of the queen and strongly demanded to go to war in Dresden.

When the discussion among all parties resumed in the conference room, there was still no unified opinion on whether to fight or make peace.

But the king was still cautious. He took into account that Napoleon was running very fast and was merely deploying his formation rather than launching an attack. This meant that there was always some chance for him to pull his troops back.

Therefore, no formal orders were issued on either the Prussian or Russian side.

Especially on the Russian side, although a resolution was finally reached in the early morning of August 8, the Russian army did not receive any orders.

Alexander even thought that he could get away with it this time.

Because past experience has shown that when the monarchs of all parties are present and a resolution is reached but no order is given, the coalition forces will remain inactive.

But Alexander overlooked one factor, that is, the current commander-in-chief was not Kutuzov and Blücher, but Schwarzenberg.

It was not until he heard the gunfire that he realized the problem.

"Where is the artillery firing?"

"Your Majesty, in the direction of the gardens of the Saxon Palace."

"Why is it over there?"

Following the direction pointed by Count Arakcheev, Alexander indeed saw smoke rising over there, and someone seemed to have started an attack.

But in addition to the Prussian army, there were also Russian chasseurs. It was obvious that Schwarzenberg had taken measures, but the monarchs
Although he sometimes wanted to scold these Austrian generals as being more like French undercover agents than their monarchs, Alexander always had to hold back, after all, they were still allies.

In fact, when the Allied forces launched the attack, Saint-Cyr was already on high alert around Dresden.

Although the population here is only 30,000 at that time, it is also the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony and is close to the Elbe River. It is obviously a strategic location. The roads passing through here and the shipping on this section of the Elbe River alone have very important strategic value.

Dresden itself could not be given up easily, after all, Saxony was still an ally of France at that time.

The French army had made strict deployments in front of important city gates and drawbridges. The only flaw was that several large buildings outside the city that could provide some cover for the Allied forces were not destroyed. Even if cannons hit these places, they would not be able to do anything to the Allied soldiers hiding behind them for a while.

But overall the defense was sound, and Saint-Cyr even had time to seize all the ships, leaving the Allied forces unable to use them.

In such a place, there are still some French troops in the city, and the buildings are relatively solid. It doesn't look like it can be captured in a day or two.

What's more, the Kingdom of Saxony has expanded the city of Dresden over the years. The newly built apartments and theaters in the city have very solid exterior walls and cannot be seized in a short time.

The battle first started in the garden.

From the moment the Prussian army launched the attack at daybreak, the artillery fire from both sides began.

Because of the humid environment outside the city and the continuous rainfall, the coalition forces chose to launch a direct attack when launching the attack.

The location of the palace garden is indeed suitable for such operations, but the three main French artillery batteries are hidden behind the garden and have been carefully arranged. They can pose a considerable threat to the coalition forces that are attacking the palace, and they are also firing grenades all the time.

In short, given the situation, the progress is not smooth.

Napoleon had not yet arrived, and it looked like the Allied forces would be able to quickly clear out all those areas south of the Elbe River with their fierce attack.

However, the attack was not very smooth. When Schwarzenberg ordered the attack, the coordination between the coalition forces was not very good.

The Prussian army struggled against the garden for the entire morning, but progress was slow.

The Russian army rushed into the garden from the other side, but faced with the firepower of the French and the constant shooting of the rear guard troops remaining in the palace, they had to split into two groups.

The attack on the palace was continued, and another force was sent to the Mill Hill, where artillery positions were built to threaten the French troops in the city.

At six o'clock in the morning, the Austrian army also launched an attack and cleared several French positions on the periphery.

It seemed to be going smoothly. Although the French artillery positions were well hidden in various fortresses, the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 batteries lacked coordination and could only fight on their own.

The most troublesome thing for Saint-Cyr was that his military strength was equivalent to that of the citizens of Dresden, and he had to allocate a small number of troops to maintain order in the city.

When the citizens of Dresden heard that the Russian and Prussian armies were both badly disciplined, some of the old men who had experienced the Seven Years’ War said that
Well, all in all, the impression that the Prussians left on their fellow countrymen in Germany was not very good.

This panic also prompted Saint Cyr to leave some people in the city.

His three divisions now have to face an enemy that is seven times larger than their own, and they don’t even have a complete city wall on their side.

If the King of Saxony had retained all the walls of the old city when expanding the city, the city might have been able to hold out longer relying on the walls and the sturdy buildings in the new city.

But the reality is that this condition does not exist.

Part of the city wall has been destroyed, but a lot of it is still preserved. At least some artillery positions can be set up facing the outside of the city in the old city.

Saint-Cyr was very worried about the current situation. The enemy had too many troops. He sent a messenger across the Elbe River to the north bank, which the Allied forces could not reach, to urgently ask Napoleon for help.

He also said that without reinforcements, the French army in Dresden would have a hard time holding out for more than 24 hours, as they were much smaller in numbers than their opponents! (End of this chapter)