Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Everyone knows that the emperor has a bad temper.

It is also a recognized fact that he did focus his energy on military affairs and won battles repeatedly.

But he sometimes also liked to do micro-management. When the French army was chasing the Bohemian Corps, he received reports from two other directions.

To this end, he gathered his troops, but only gave orders to Victor and Marmont, who were in pursuit.

Vandamme, who had divided his troops before, was unaware of the situation at this time and was still advancing towards Kulm.

He even saw the Russian army in front of him, so he gave the order to launch an attack.

Here he encountered the troops led by Osterman-Tolstoy, who were clearing the way for the retreating main force of the Russian-Prussian coalition forces. Behind him was Yermolov, who was in charge of commanding the Guards Infantry.

This was also the retreating force that Barclay had arranged before, to avoid the coalition forces' retreat being cut off by the French.

After all, Barclay knew that he could not defeat Napoleon, but he still knew the opponent's marching characteristics. He always liked to cut off others' retreat and then launch a decisive battle and rush forward.

However, this ideal battle situation was rare in the dozens of battles of varying sizes and other battles during Napoleon's military career.

The Russian army had made preparations for this retreat in advance. Osterman-Tolstoy and Yermolov went ahead with elite troops to lead the way, followed by Raevsky's grenadiers and the Guards Cavalry commanded by Grand Duke Constantine himself.

When Ostermann-Tolstoy saw the French army, he immediately ordered his troops to deploy from the marching columns and also to find favorable firing positions for the artillery accompanying the troops.

Vandamme was very excited. If he could repel the Russian vanguard in Kulm, he might be able to use the more than 30,000 people in his hands to block the coalition forces here.

In this way, even if the emperor withdrew his troops, he would order them to fight again and deal a decisive blow to the coalition forces.

It was also for Vandamme himself, so that he could have the opportunity to obtain the marshal's baton and, according to his merits, gain a few more decisive victories on the battlefield.

Not only himself, since the Russian army was already retreating, the French soldiers were also eager to establish merit.

When the emperor was not present, these people would often get carried away and always think they were capable.

So they launched an attack, the French infantry quickly formed up, and the battle broke out after only a brief contact between the two sides.

Even while Yermolov was still marching, he had already heard the sound of artillery near Kulm.

"Damn it, there's a fight ahead. Karpov, take the scouts to the front and see what's going on."

It was impossible to tell whether the sound of the artillery came from France or Russia, but we had to attack forward anyway, no matter whether the purpose was to attack or retreat.

Some Prussian troops who retreated further ahead, as well as some Allied forces not on the main battlefield, were also defeated by Vandamme one after another, which made him somewhat arrogant and underestimated the enemy.

Therefore, even if they encountered the Russian Guards, they would take the initiative to attack.

What they encountered face to face were the three most experienced regiments among the Guards, and the Guards Chasseurs were on the flanks at this time.

Then the French troops in the front experienced the familiar free shooting of the Russian army, and many of them were shot and fell.

The reason was nothing else. After all, the Russian Guards had popularized new weapons and had no experience in combat before. Because of the battle in Dresden, they could only watch from behind as the stupid Austrians in front of them ruined the battle, and they were always very angry.

Therefore, they encountered the French army here and fought very hard. The dense rain of bullets caused the French troops in the front row to fall one after another, not only the line infantry, but also the scattered vaulters.

As a result, Vandamme ordered artillery support to the front line, and he also realized that the opponent was not easy to deal with.

After the artillery opened fire, it was directed directly at the Russian infantry lines.

For a moment, the entire battlefield was shrouded in smoke. Soldiers from both sides shot at each other, shouted, fell down after being shot, and wailed because of their injuries. All kinds of sounds intertwined together.

Some people seem to like expanding territory, but if you think about the environment on the battlefield, people who have not experienced it probably have a different feeling.

There were still many new recruits among the French. After all, the expedition of 1812 had caused too many losses. Even the 1st Army, which had a higher number than the others, had men when Davout led it to Russia, but only a few soldiers returned. It could also be seen from the serial numbers of these infantry divisions and infantry regiments that many of them were no longer experienced veteran teams.

The officers on the French side saw young people falling one after another, and then they might be the ones to fall as well.

However, after fighting for a while, the French soldiers also began to attack.

Seeing this situation, Ostermann-Tolstoy ordered his troops to hold their positions and brought out the reserve troops in the back to try to suppress the French on the flanks through firepower to force them to retreat.

However, the effect was minimal, and the French artillery continued to fire at the Russian army, with shells flying from all directions.

It was not the first time that the nearsighted Ostermann-Tolstoy encountered such a dangerous situation on the battlefield, especially in Borodino, where he was first wounded in hand-to-hand combat and then was sent to the hospital by French artillery, where he stayed in the hospital for two days.

At this time, he also rode on a horse to boost morale, but he did not hold a bunch of medals like Yermolov.

"Brothers, there is nothing to be afraid of. We are going to teach them a lesson!"

The encouraged Russian Guards, after firing a few rounds, also launched a bayonet charge in return, driving the French soldiers back, and the effect was quite good.

Ostermann-Tolstoy was also happy that his men had driven away the French army. More importantly, Yermolov arrived with the follow-up troops of the Guards.

"Sashka, it looks like the French didn't do anything to you."

"You mean the French? I can't even see them clearly. You know I'm shortsighted."

Yermolov ignored his joke and prepared to ride forward to lead the follow-up troops to join the battle.

Then, a round of French artillery fire came, and grenades exploded in the crowd.

Yermolov was also hit by fragments of the shell, but his tall and strong physique always gave him some advantages. The shrapnel only scratched his skin, and no one knew where his hat was.

When he saw Ostermann-Tolstoy, he saw that his horse was fine, but the man had fallen to the ground.

"Sashka!"

When he came over to check the situation, one of Osterman-Tolstoy's arms was hit by a shell. Although it was still connected to his body, it could not be saved.

"Don't worry about me, Alyosha, continue to command the troops to fight back, don't give in."

"You are injured, don't talk too much!"

As friends, Yermolov always had a tacit understanding. He immediately went back to command the battle. Although this fat general was also a deputy general, although he was always injured, it was usually not serious and he always appeared on the battlefield in full swing.

Among them, he was the only one who lived to see the outcome of Russia's defeat in the Crimean War, and he did not die until Alexander II launched his serfdom reform.

As for what happens next, it will depend on Yermolov's command here.

As long as the Guards can withstand the French attack in Kulm, Vandamme will be caught in a jar once Kleist's Prussian and Russian troops arrive.

As for Ostermann-Tolstoy, he was quickly carried to the field hospital.

"Sir, please bear with it. It will be very painful when we operate on you. Do you want alcohol?" "Ah, doctor. This is not my first time in the hospital. I don't want this stuff. Misha, this kid, even wrote a book and didn't forget to praise the Khitan miracle doctor."

The count did not forget to complain about Solovyov, and the example he mentioned was scraping the bone to cure the poison.

He was about to have the front part of his arm amputated, and his military career would probably end here. If he continued in the army, he would probably be in the military governor's district in the rear, or he would have to be the commander-in-chief.

"My Lord, what do you want us to do?"

The adjutant and several veterans who carried him over also asked the count if he had any requests.

"Sing me a song, something exciting!"

The soldiers also knew that this operation would be very painful. In the past, they had taken officers and soldiers injured by explosions down to have their arms or legs removed on the hospital's operating tables with unsanitary conditions.

The commander's request was somewhat unexpected.

But it was understandable. Although this thin general Ostermann-Tolstoy looked like a cultured person and was severely myopic, a defective soldier that no modern army would want, he fought very bravely and was injured more than once. In the recent defeat in Bautzen, a French bullet had grazed his shoulder.

"This"

The soldier said nothing, but the adjutant had already gone out to make arrangements.

Oster-Tolstoy was also very satisfied when he saw this. He gritted his teeth and gave his brothers a smile.

"It's no big deal. You soldiers are more likely to get shot than I am."

At this time, he still had the mind to comfort these veterans, as if he was not the one who was injured.

Then the adjutant returned.

"Sir, the singer is ready."

"Wait, Doctor"

In short, some preparations were needed, and the doctor brought a bandaged stick and asked the count to bite it.

There were no anesthetics, and he refused to drink vodka, but instead listened to the singers of the infantry regiment.

"Brothers, have fun,

You won't get drunk no matter how much you drink.

Sing praises to our Savior,
The red sun is about to come out.

We defeated the Swedes in the field,

Frederick did not steal our victory.

"

The operation continued. Although Ostermann-Tolstoy struggled on the operating table, it was very painful to have an amputation without anesthesia, but he did not utter a word. The doctor was somewhat shocked when he put the saw on him.

At the same time on the battlefield, Yermolov gathered the Guards troops and prepared to launch a counterattack against Vandamme's troops.

The troops he could muster at the moment were only 10,000 men, while Vandamme had more than 30,000 men.

If it were an ordinary battlefield, Yermolov probably wouldn't have chosen to fight so hard.

But now the French are blocking the road ahead, and this is a battle that must be fought, not to mention that the main force is still behind.

Soon the King of Prussia and his entourage arrived near the battlefield and saw the action at the front.

At this time, the Russian soldiers shouted "Ura" and rushed towards the French army. It was obvious that they wanted to drive the French out of the battlefield. This courage really shocked the French army.

So Vandamme chose to give up part of the front area to allow the Russian army to move forward further.

But Yermolov was not willing to give up at this time. He drew his sword and shouted.

"For the faith, for the emperor, for the motherland, forward! Ura!"

Inspired by the fat general, the soldiers near him charged towards the French formation.

The Guards were still attacking fiercely, which was somewhat beyond Vandam's expectations. The opponent had fewer troops than him. Even as the Russian Guards, their combat effectiveness would not be much higher than that of the regular French troops under normal circumstances. Not all guards were like the old guards and still had some deterrent ability.

Now the Russian army's fierce attack forced the French to retreat some distance.

The fierce fighting on the front line soon attracted the attention of the approaching reinforcements from Russia and Prussia.

Even the Tsar himself, who appeared in the marching column with Barclay and Volkonsky, some distance away from the battlefield.

"Which unit is that over there?"

"Your Majesty, it was the Guards led by Yermolov. They encountered the French."

"Send them reinforcements!"

When Barclay heard this, he was pleased with the Tsar's own progress.

Your Majesty, even if you are just micromanaging, you have finally figured out the situation.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to command the troops at the front and mobilize reinforcements to support Yermolov."

"Very well, take Raevsky's grenadiers and the cavalry guards. Constantine, you will follow the command of General Barclay."

Alexander even sent out the cavalry guards led by his brother, and it was obvious that he attached great importance to this battle.

Before Barclay left his temporary residence, he stopped the general and spoke briefly to him.

"You can't fail again, sir."

"Your Majesty, it was not a failure in Dresden before."

However, Barclay is a cautious person, so when he speaks, he will not exaggerate or add any big words.

Previously, the French had been able to achieve a glorious victory in Dresden, but as always, when in doubt, they would just hit the Austrians a few times. However, when it came to fighting the Russian army, the French always felt it was very difficult, even since the War of the Polish Succession.

Barclays believes that there is still a chance to defeat the opponent. (End of this chapter)