Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 420 062 In just one night, the Marshal becomes old

The Russian army gradually gathered towards Pultusk, and intelligence from all sides was now gathered.

"It was still useful to have this optical communication before the war, but the Hussars sometimes misspelled words, so we still need to pay attention to this in the future."

"Michel, your method is indeed effective, and it can be mastered quickly, but spelling errors are inevitable."

"Even Bonaparte has a lot of spelling errors. I heard this in Paris."

"How is Paris now?"

"It is better to transform the garbage dump in the northeast corner of Paris, otherwise the city will smell bad when the northeast wind blows. This is far worse than St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg is better, but it is too cold in winter."

"Okay, let's not talk about this for now. It seems that an order should be issued to ask all divisions to move closer to Pultusk."

As they were talking, they saw a lancer riding a horse from the window.

"It's from the Polish Lancers. It looks like there's some news ahead."

As for the cavalry officer who came in, Soloviev did recognize him. Isn't this Durova?

But he never exposed Nastya's identity, and he always used male titles when addressing her.

"Second Lieutenant, where is the news you brought?"

"When our squadron met the Mariupol Regiment in the woods, we encountered the troops withdrawing from the 2nd Division. Count Stroganov needed a volunteer, so I volunteered to come."

"Okay, Second Lieutenant"

But Soloviev would not say that he lost to a girl in a single fight on horseback. He might still be considered a mother, after all, she had given birth to a child, and you can tell from her buttocks. Even if she can walk in a man's way, you can tell where the flaw is if you look closely.

It's like the men in the regiment, when performing a mission, no matter whether it's charging, reconnaissance or other tasks, if you lose to a girl, you will feel more embarrassed no matter how you look at it.

".You go and have a rest first, I will send another messenger."

Working for Solovyov's staff is a relatively easy job. He will arrange the work in an orderly manner. An orderly command structure will not bring the traditional chaos to the Russian army.

In the past, Austrian staff were always used, which was the lack of staff in the Russian army. Now it is a great improvement.

At least, this is a very orderly staff. After the logistics department was taken out separately, the operation of both departments was very normal.

Soloviev looked at the news brought by Durova and had some confidence in defeating the French in a place like Pultusk. As long as Napoleon himself did not come with the main force, Osterman-Tolstoy's 2nd Division could reach Pultusk, which meant that most of the Wittgenstein army had arrived, and only a few troops could not be concentrated now.

This is enough. Solovyov calculated the troops at hand. Now there are 50,000 people who can be mobilized and assembled. The entire Wittgenstein Army has more than 60,000. In addition, he also asked for an infantry brigade as a reserve, which is on the way from Russia and is expected to arrive in the next two days.

The troops Solovyov wanted were the Selenge Regiment and the Smolensk Regiment. He had led the former when he was in Smolensk. As for strengthening the reserve of a brigade.

He always felt that he had learned from his uncle. It would be uncomfortable if he didn't have some soldiers to visit the battlefield, even if they were ordinary troops.

This matter went smoothly, probably because he had a good relationship with General Apraksin. The other party sent this temporary brigade, as well as the Novorossiysk Dragoon Regiment formed by drawing troops from the Smolensk Lancer Regiment, and an artillery battalion urgently needed on the front line.

When Count Osterman-Tolstoy was leading his troops to come, Solovyov took another job.

"Are there still Cossack regiments?"

"Yes, you and Major Bao Hong need to go there. They will appear east of the Ukla River."

Cossacks.

Soloviev thought about it. It was because Russia didn't have many regular military schools now, otherwise he would have to recruit some non-commissioned officers.

But this was not the Mozhaisk Line of Defense, but he might really go there in the future. According to Napoleon's practice, there would definitely be an armed parade in 1812.

Then, he and Bao Hong brought a squadron of hussars to "pick up the station" and saw these cavalrymen wearing Cossack cloaks.

Good guy, it's really a whole regiment of Cossacks, and there are also helmeted dragoons behind them.

It's just that the soldiers are a little embarrassed, but many of the soldiers of the Selenge Regiment are still the original old guys when they were formed. They met the original regiment commander and greeted him there.

It's just that the problem mentioned is always related to women.

"Young commander, have you found a wife yet?"

He was engaged to little Katya, but it was a secret engagement, so he couldn't tell anyone about it.

"If there is any news, I will tell you!"

Prince Vasily Dolgorukov was an officer in the old Selenge Regiment. If the grenadiers in the regiment knew about this, they would not find it strange.

After all, the "young commander" married the daughter of the old commander, who was his own leader and his own leader's son-in-law, so he must help.

But Solovyov was also a little worried, that is, although the equipment of the Novorossiysk Dragoon Regiment looked good, there were too many new recruits.

They just transferred several squadrons from the Smolensk Lancers Regiment. They were originally Ulan Lancers, but now they have changed their profession to become dragoons. It feels awkward no matter how you look at them, and they need to adapt for a while.

But this fresh force that came here did not suffer any losses, and the road they came from crossed the river and reached the town of Pultusk.

After returning to the headquarters, Langgeron was still arguing with Marshal Kamensky about which type of plan should be adopted.

But today, the marshal seemed to have entered the Irish old mode and was always dozing off.

"Now, this landlord who likes to use a whip has started to doze off."

Solovyov also heard this kind of witty remark, which did not sound like something that those German officers could say.

But Langgeron pulled his face, looking like he wanted to complain, but he was helpless.

"Michel, have you brought back all the troops?"

"Two cavalry regiments, two infantry regiments, and an artillery battalion. Fortunately, they are all 6-pound guns, so they won't get stuck in the mud. And the combat effectiveness of the Smolensk regiment is still guaranteed."

"How do you plan to arrange it?"

"It's still a two-layer formation. Talk to Wittgenstein. Bagowut will deploy the troops on the Pultusk side. Put the hussars and Cossack squadrons on the front line to be on guard, lure the French army in, and then give them a blow."

"This is only the south, so what about the west?"

"West. Wait for Barclay first. His brigade didn't suffer much loss, so it's just right to be placed here. As for the reserve, the new brigade and the Cossack regiment are placed behind Barclay. Put the Sacken Division on the far right of the entire army. Be prepared for an ambush on the front or flank. "

"Are you going to use these light cavalry and Bagvout as bait?"

"Although we can't underestimate the French. Ah, sorry, count, you are also French. What I mean is that Bonaparte's army can't be underestimated, but they may attack with their own strength. If we are too confident in the army's combat power, we will have the opportunity to use this battlefield, just like in Dürenstein."

"Ah, there is no terrain to use here, you have to set up ambushes and baits, right?"

"Yes, let's fight the French army here."

Seeing that he was so confident, Langgeron was also ready to strongly recommend this plan after Marshal Kamensky woke up.

However, when they were responding and deploying troops here, they did not take into account the movements of Marshal Kamensky.

Wittgenstein went to inspect the 4th Division and was not at the headquarters.

When he returned to the headquarters at night, Marshal Kamensky had already left.

"Why did the commander-in-chief leave?"

"As a son, I don't know either. I only left an order and a handwritten letter that I dictated."

The face of Count Kamensky was also full of embarrassment. His father was the commander-in-chief. In terms of prestige, he was the last field marshal who made a name for himself in the era of the empress. He could suppress these young people, but he left Wittgenstein's headquarters on his own, but left the entire staff.

"This is amazing. Don't blame yourself."

Langelon didn't want to make jokes. After all, the commander-in-chief left here. Now only one of him and Wittgenstein can be responsible for commanding the entire army, and he has to find a way to contact Buchholden.

Soloviev couldn't complain when he saw this.

It's really a wonderful combination. There is no commander-in-chief in the Russian army headquarters now. The two army commanders are a brave and simple reckless man, and a drunkard who drinks all day long. The more reliable one is still this Frenchman.

Obviously, Langeron can only be in charge of the battle in Pultusk.

After Wittgenstein came back, he was also scratching his head when he saw the situation.

"Ah, it's late at night now, maybe the French will attack tomorrow."

"The problem is that when the commander-in-chief left, he left a letter asking us and the Buckholden Corps to retreat to the border. This is unacceptable."

Langeron took out the letter and showed it to Wittgenstein and Berg. After they read it, they circulated it to the division commanders.

"It's not easy to explain if we retreat without fighting now. We are all preparing for a battle with the French in Pultusk. If we retreat rashly, our morale will be affected."

Baron Sacken said this, and Osterman-Tolstoy also expressed his support. The two of them commanded a division each, and they also represented the opinions of the generals present.

Even the more cautious Barclay said that a battle should be fought in Pultusk.

Everyone advocated fighting, and according to reconnaissance, the French troops were approaching from the west and south, and even in several towns in the west, some Russian troops that were gradually retreating had already engaged in battle with the French vanguard.

Given the current road conditions, it would be ridiculous to directly organize a retreat.

"Maybe the commander-in-chief is about to suffer from Alzheimer's disease."

Soloviev just thought so, and his words would offend people to some extent.

The Russian marshal became the Irish old man. This absurd thing was ultimately due to the absurd personnel arrangements in the Russian court. It was hard to say what Arakcheev's motive for recommending Kamensky was.

If Kutuzov had not been demoted, or if other veterans of similar age had been left here to hang up, it would have been better than Kamensky abandoning his troops and ordering a retreat with only a letter.

Since each Russian division carried 60 or even 72 artillery pieces, and as few as 36, it was not a problem to exert firepower.

However, such a large-scale artillery can display powerful firepower when attacking. When retreating, it is also quite road-consuming to mobilize artillery, and even a large number of baggage and artillery have to be abandoned.

In this way, Langeron and Solovyov are both members of the headquarters, and they may not be punished. It is likely that Wittgenstein will be unlucky, after all, he is the commander of these four divisions.

As for the role of commander, Wittgenstein thinks Langeron is more suitable, and Solovyov also thinks so, but he is just a colonel and has no decision-making power. Instead, he is the one who formulates and plans and participates in the execution.

Compared with Bennigsen, Langeron's speculative nature of stealing and cheating is not as strong, and his performance has always been stable.

You know, if Bennigsen is still here, he may catch the French army off guard in a certain battle, but in the next battle, he may be overturned by Napoleon because of some unnecessary tricks. At the same time, when it is time to steal and cheat, he is always timid, which is not good.

There is another more fatal problem. The battle report written by Bennigsen seems to be published by the headquarters. In addition, he likes to make small reports and flatter the Tsar.

Although Langeron is a big troll, he is more cautious in combat, and his command of troops is relatively stable. He will not make any magical tricks, and he reacts quickly at critical moments. At the beginning, his counterattack with Kamensky the Great on the Pratzen Heights also bought time for the coalition forces on the heights. There is no big problem in his ability.

This is acceptable to everyone, and since his seniority as lieutenant general is deeper than Wittgenstein, it is natural for him to serve as the temporary corps commander.

Solovyov is now thinking about the unlucky Arakcheev, and he must not play any tricks on the selection of the commander-in-chief in the future.

In addition, the failure of the Prussian army's operation in Torun also prevented the Russian army from completing the plan to drive the French army to the banks of the Vistula River.

No wonder Marshal Kamensky, who has become an Irish old man, muttered to himself before leaving, "You have all been betrayed."