Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

After Pickton's death, command on the British side was quickly restored, but not as Wellington had anticipated.

Uxbridge was capable of deploying cavalry into battle, but it also included a unit of "Scottish Grey Horsemen," which, although well-trained, had not seen combat for a long time.

Moreover, the counterattack would be launched against the La Hire Saint side, where the French brigades that were fighting for control of the farms were now engaged in battle on the other side, which was a very bad situation for the British.

The French army's relentless attacks, even resorting to hand-to-hand combat without firing a single shot, caused the British army considerable hardship.

This looks like a battle between the British and French royal armies during the Seven Years' War.

However, the people on both sides were doing the work in reverse.

The British troops opened fire, while the French troops continued their attack despite casualties and falling soldiers.

Moreover, this was not the royal army, but the French Imperial Army, which, although weakened considerably by previous wars, was still a powerful force.

The British forces suffered heavy losses, losing their front-line positions in the fierce hand-to-hand combat.

However, the situation might be different when it comes to facing the challenge later.

After all, a significant number of British heavy cavalry had been deployed, and Wellington, seeing the cavalry on this side, was hoping that the heavy cavalry could break through the enemy lines and, ideally, drive the French away.

But things don't always go as planned. Although the cavalry charged fiercely, the British army shattered the lines of the 45th and 105th Regiments, which had hastily formed a square, and even captured the French eagle standard.

But after they came down from the high place, they were crowded in disarray on the high ground and in front of the rolling hills.

Napoleon wasn't unaware of this; he had just moved to a new location when he witnessed the British counterattack.

This is where the advantages of communication become apparent.

Although the British are quite technologically advanced, they haven't yet reached the advanced stage of using Morse code for optical communication.

Moreover, after Demid sent the signal, he also used flag signals.

This was Napoleon's signal to order the heavy cavalry to launch a counterattack, and two lancer regiments belonging to the 1st Army also joined the battle.

It's hard to say about other types of troops, but lancers are always very useful when dealing with various types of cavalry.

Lancers, as a type of cavalry, are very complex to use and require a wide range of training subjects.

However, it is very useful in practice. Apart from the lance sometimes getting in the way, it is actually a very effective shock cavalry weapon on the battlefield.

The British cavalry broke through the French infantry lines and huddled together in disarray.

They clearly used cavalry too infrequently, which some French cavalry commanders found somewhat laughable.

The original plan was to provide support and strike the French troops in front of La Hire, so that they could either form an attack arrowhead or turn back and retreat. However, the British cavalry seemed to have gone mad, and those gray cavalry even took initiative and headed towards the French artillery behind them.

Some artillerymen were thrown into chaos by the sudden attack, and many immediately abandoned their artillery positions.

When the British cavalry charged in, they were initially pleased with themselves for their victory.

However, what followed was going to disappoint them.

French cavalry appeared before the Scottish grey horsemen and launched a counterattack.

For these gray cavalry, military fortune was just that short-lived.

They were attacked one after another by the French cuirassiers and suffered terrible losses.

When they encountered the Scottish Grey Horsemen's cuirassiers, they attacked them without mercy.

The next to be attacked were the Combined Brigade and the King's Guards, whose officers were also the primary targets of the French during the battle.

Hamilton, the commander of the Grey Cavalry, was caught in the melee and hacked to death by the French cuirassiers. However, since the attack was not intended to be decapitate, what was seen on his body were the horrifying wounds left by the sabers.

But because it was a red uniform, you couldn't really tell that he had turned into a bloody mess.

The commander of the King's Cavalry Regiment behind him was also killed in battle soon after.

The most unfortunate was General Pompeo of the Combined Brigade; his horse was fine during the charge, but now it was unfortunately stuck at the edge of the mud.

The relentless pursuit of the French cavalry scattered his bodyguards.

Upon realizing that Ponceby was a general, the lancers stopped their horses, indicating that he could surrender with dignity.

But the general was unwilling to surrender.

Moreover, there was a troop of British cavalry nearby, attempting to rescue their commander.

So the lancers killed the general with their lances, especially the one aimed at his back, which was a deep, hard stab into his kidney.

Although the British cavalry did not suffer the exaggerated annihilation depicted in literature, except for the Guards regiment, all the officers who were supposed to be killed in action were killed. The cavalry regiments that charged ahead also suffered staggering losses.

Of the 2500 cavalrymen who launched the attack, more than half have been lost under the French assault, and casualties continue to rise.

"Although the British assault looked impressive, it was meaningless."

"Your Majesty, are they in Elau and Leipzig?"

"At that time, we at least achieved some results. If it weren't for the Russians' tenacity, it could have been a glorious victory."

Napoleon's statement reveals that he still harbors resentment towards past battles.

Murat's cavalry charge at the time was also described as having great momentum.

While this may seem like a double standard, it's not a major issue considering that French cavalry were always able to turn the tide of battle.

Aside from breaking through a French division and threatening the flank of the 1st Corps, the British did not achieve much else.

The greater contribution likely came from the heavily damaged Scottish Grey Horsemen, whose losses, though foolish, disrupted the French artillery's bombardment of the English infantry phalanxes.

But things are always changing. With the help of these young people from the École Polytechnique, the French rocket artillery barrage had reached Wellington's command post.

The Duke also liked small gadgets like the Congreve rockets, but he didn't expect the French to prefer something more powerful, at least not before this battle.

However, its range was limited, only able to reach the front of Wellington's command post. Otherwise, Napoleon would probably have done something similar to what Solovyov did in Sweden, launching a major attack here.

He and Wellington can be seen as an upgraded version of the Swedish rivalry between Russia and Britain.

The only difference is that the Royal Navy cannot land; the commanders, troops, and weaponry have all been upgraded. Napoleon wanted to check on the situation at the Vendée Division and Grouchy's reinforcements, but due to the previous battles, he now needs to redeploy.

Moreover, when to deploy the Imperial Guard and how to reorganize and deploy the 1st Army into combat are also questions.

Davout was able to ensure that the three divisions formed a square formation, forced back the British cavalry, and then restored their formation to charge the British.

But his two flanks are indeed a problem now.

From the outpost troops, their officers could already see the Prussian follow-up columns through their binoculars.

Although the 4th Corps was ambushed by the Vendée rabble on the front, Blücher also dispatched the 1st and 2nd Corps. Even though these two corps had suffered heavy losses due to the previous French attacks, they still had a considerable number of troops.

However, there were problems as well. The road between Vavre and Mont Saint-Jean was muddy and unfriendly to the Prussian army.

However, their timely arrival was a lifeline for Wellington.

For Napoleon, what he was waiting for was Grouchy's reinforcements.

Even if an adjutant were sent, and he arrived at top speed, it would still take time to deliver the message.

Therefore, while the sun was still setting in the west and had not yet reached its full westward position, Napoleon instructed Demid to send signals in all directions in which Grouchy might be located.

Grouchy has seen this signal and is getting somewhat anxious.

If he cannot reach the battlefield in time, given the current battle situation, it could be disadvantageous for the emperor.

Because this set of signals included the coded message "enemy reinforcements" at the end.

At this point, the only support available to the British forces came from the remnants of the Prussian army and perhaps from those Prussian troops who had not yet joined the battle.

However, this is also a huge problem, which is why Grouchy previously refused to divide his forces.

Moreover, the situation is quite different between the 33,000 reinforcements already on the battlefield and the troops far from the battlefield.

If it weren't for the Vendée scoundrels sniping the Prussian troops from the sidelines, and Lamarck's division forming a defensive line behind them, employing the same tactic the Russians had used to delay the French, having already set up positions and waiting for the Prussians to advance, Napoleon would probably have sent up all his remaining reserves—the 6th Corps and the Imperial Guard.

The Imperial Guard was now at full strength, and it was indeed useful to Napoleon.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?"

Soult was also getting anxious, after all, Ney and Davu in front were struggling due to the British defenses and could not even spare many infantry reserves.

Even Dawu had to take care of the actions of Wangdaishi. He could push up the ridge, but it would take time.

Meanwhile, Ney still had cavalry under his command, which allowed him to launch attacks on the British positions.

However, Napoleon's own advance was also to take control of the battle and redeploy his forces.

He ordered Ney to send a cavalry division to launch an attack and probe the British positions, which had now become loose.

At the same time, Drouot was instructed to unleash all the explosives his artillery could muster on the British positions.

Napoleon was being pushed to the limit. By 3:30 p.m., he had not received Grouchy's signal, and the Prussian army had begun to advance towards the main battlefield at Mont Saint-Jean.

If Grouchy had arrived late, it could have put us in a very passive position.

If he cannot reach the battlefield today, the final outcome will be a crushing defeat.

Fortunately, the Vendée civilians served as Caesar's veterans in the Battle of Pharsalus, managing to hold off the Prussian army.

However, it is indeed difficult to expect these guerrilla fighters to play a greater role in regular warfare.

Napoleon had not yet made up his mind. If the Imperial Guard attacked at this time, he even thought that Soult should be sent to the front, but that would leave the position of Chief of Staff vacant.

The advantage of having Dawu at the front was that the 1st Army had a strong backbone for command in battle, so even though all four divisions suffered losses, they were still able to regroup and continue the offensive.

Meanwhile, Ney also sent out his cavalry.

However, this time, because the emperor gave clear instructions for micro-management, the other heavy cavalry did not charge out all at once.

Whether it's Mont Saint-Jean or Waterloo, things are now quite delicate.

Moreover, although Wellington and Blücher cooperated, they still played tricks on each other after the war, which ultimately led to the battle being named after places that had little to do with the main battlefield.

However, given the fierce battle at this time, the British, regardless of victory or defeat, would be interested in the deadly fight at Saint-Jean.

"Your Majesty, look over there!"

An adjutant spotted the signal, an optical signal that was now only being used by the French.

The main reason is that the Russian troops are all crossing the Rhine River and it takes time to assemble, so it has nothing to do with this.

“It’s Grouchy, but it will take him some time to get here. But that’s enough; at least we still have a fresh force.”

But for Grouchy, being able to form ranks and engage in battle at dusk was already considered fast.

For Napoleon, the only way to achieve his desired victory was to deploy cavalry and the Imperial Guard in the final stages of the battle, combining them to strike the British front line.

So he looked at the Imperial Guard, left Frion behind, but sent Morland instead.

As for Frion himself, looking at the emperor at this moment, he actually had a very strong desire to fight.

If Marshal Bessiere were still alive, he would probably have advised the Emperor to deploy the entire Imperial Guard except for the essential guards.

But the emperor himself must be in charge of the command at the front, regardless of his position.

Meanwhile, Ney's cavalry was also being deployed to probe the British situation.

Wellington saw the French troops' activities and ordered the artillery to take action.

The French cavalry suffered heavy losses from the firepower, but this also made Ney realize that the British forces ahead still had considerable fighting power.

The French army's current advantage lies in its absolute superiority in artillery. The British have fewer than two hundred cannons, while the French have more than three hundred, and their artillery firepower is also stronger.

On the British side, they had more mobile cavalry guns.

Fortunately, the Imperial Guards and the rest of the heavy cavalry remained stationary. Now Napoleon was mobilizing the frontline troops again to deliver another blow to Wellington. (End of Chapter)