Flowers, Swords and France

When Charles's telegram reached the French headquarters in Gallipoli, his grandfather was no longer there.

At this time, Marshal Treville was following the huge fleet of the British and French forces across half of the Black Sea and arrived at the western coast of the Crimean Peninsula.

Starting a few days ago, under the orders of the two commanders-in-chief of the British and French coalition forces, coalition troops from all over the place began to board the ships, and then left the station one by one on transport ships, and then met on the sea and came to this area in a mighty manner. sea ​​area.

The huge transport fleet and escorting naval warships pressed against the black sea. Their outstretched sails seemed to be able to block out the sky. In this era, it was the most powerful fleet assembled in the history of mankind. Every warship They all carry a large amount of artillery fire, capable of razing any city to the ground, and the transport ships are no different. They are full of soldiers armed with the most advanced weapons and equipment, and are bound to make the enemy fearful.

In front of this fleet, it seemed that no force dared to stop it. After several attacks, the Russian fleet no longer dared to fight the British and French forces equipped with steam warships. They had already fled far away and hid in Kerry. The east side of the Miya Peninsula was unable to block the coalition's actions.

Just at noon, this huge fleet arrived in Kalamita Bay. The land was already in sight, but the nervous people on the battleship did not see any signs of Russian defenses on the land.

Small cheers suddenly sounded among the nervous staff officers and commanders of the two countries.

Kalamita Bay was the landing site selected by the two commanders-in-chief after discussion. This place has flat terrain and a deep sea draft, making it easy for warships to penetrate deep into it. It is considered a natural harbor. In addition, this is a weak point in the Russian defenses. The staff officers of both countries believe that landing here will not encounter much obstruction.

On the map, the Crimean Peninsula is like a gourd hanging alone in the depths of the Black Sea. It is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. It is connected to the mainland through the narrow Perekop Isthmus, and the deeper it goes into the sea, the wider it gets. Kalamita Bay is located in the middle of the peninsula, and the Sevastopol Fortress at the southern end of the peninsula is only a few dozen kilometers away. This fortress is the strongest fortress in the Russian Empire around the Black Sea, and it is also the bridgehead for successive tsars to march into Turkey. First, it carries Russia’s imperial ambitions and to some extent is Russia’s honor.

Obviously, as long as you land here, you can go deep into the interior at an extremely fast speed, then cut off the narrow peninsula and surround the Sevastopol Fortress. The Tsar will never sit back and watch the fortress fall. He will definitely send troops to defend the fortress. To relieve the siege, it was time for the decisive battle between the coalition forces and the Russian army.

With such a plan, the two commanders led a huge fleet to Kalamita Bay. They went deep into it, and then a large number of small boats were put down from the transport ships. The small boats filled with soldiers were rowed hard to the shore.

Under the gaze of the scorching sun, a large number of French soldiers in blue clothes and British soldiers in red clothes began to dock. The number was very small at first, and then more and more, and soon occupied a large beachhead. Carrying shovels and other equipment, they began to build simple structures along the coast. After these soldiers, a large number of engineers began to land with equipment and tools. They were preparing to build trestles and other facilities here to turn this place into a simple military port as soon as possible, and transport the largest and heaviest transport ships. The weapons were brought to the land.

Looking down from the sky, a large number of small ships were passing through the fleet and the shore, loaded with soldiers in bright clothes and angry horses, as well as various equipment and supplies, as if a busy ant nest was beginning to move.

Who can see this spectacular sight and not be inspired by it? Who wouldn’t be confident in their career after reading this?

On the battleship Napoleon, the command ship of the French commander, Marshal Treville, who was surrounded by a large group of officers, was observing what was happening on the shore with a telescope. Although he was not moved on the surface, he saw a large number of French soldiers. When the soldiers came ashore, he still couldn't help but feel excited.

Yes, this is the first time in forty years that the French army has set foot on Russian soil again! This was also the second expedition launched by the Bonaparte family against the Slavic Empire! But this time, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force is himself.

Forty years ago, he fled in panic in the winter snow in Russia. He experienced countless battles with pursuing troops along the way. He endured exhaustion, coldness and fear. He left Russia like a lonely ghost and followed the lost Emperor Napoleon back. Arriving in Europe, forty years later, the failed general returned and set foot on Russia again with a huge army.

After so many years of feuding and entanglements, it’s finally time to settle things again.

He suppressed the trembling of his fingers and put the telescope down again.

"Tell the soldiers at the front that they must build a defensive position as soon as possible to guard our beach so that the army can land on it as soon as possible." He gave the order to the adjutant next to him, "Also, the troops at the front must select elite officers and soldiers as soon as possible. Soldiers, send out a reconnaissance team to explore the situation nearby. We must understand the enemy's movements as soon as possible."

The adjutant quickly took the order, boarded a small transport boat and approached the shore, while Marshal Treville still stood on the bow of the ship, looking at the busy shore.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, I think we should try our best to occupy an area where we can gain a foothold as soon as possible." At this moment, a general next to him walked up to the Marshal and whispered to him, "Now the Russians have probably discovered The traces of our fleet have been revealed, and our landing will not be hidden from them for long. They will definitely continue to strengthen the defense of the fortress, and we may have to prepare for a long-term war. "

This is General Canrobert. He was one of the officers who surrendered to His Majesty the Emperor in the early days. As a result, he rose quickly within the army. He is now the commander of the Fourth Division of the French Army. Rumor has it that he is very popular with His Majesty. As long as he If you can perform meritorious service, you may be appointed as marshal by His Majesty.

When General Michel Ney, Duke of Erchingen, was temporarily unable to come due to illness, he became the highest-ranking general under Marshal Treville, and he did not hesitate to shoulder his responsibilities. responsibility, and secretly rejoice in it.

Marshal Treville was certainly aware of his overly positive attitude and his hidden thoughts, but the old marshal did not dislike ambition in others, because ambition also meant motivation in a sense.

"Baron Raglan is very confident. He thinks we can take Sevastopol soon and defeat the Russian reinforcements at the same time." The old man replied calmly.

"The British are always full of confidence, even if they see God himself." General Canrobert sneered, "However, we must be based on reality, Your Excellency Marshal. I have scouted Sevastopol several times, that is It is a very strong fortress that we may not be able to capture in a short period of time..."

"Don't you have confidence in yourself and the French soldiers?" the marshal asked.

"I have full confidence that we are willing to die for France, but... this does not mean that we want our soldiers to die in vain, especially for the arrogant British." The general replied without flinching, " "I don't think we will lose, I just think victory may take longer than expected."

His answer did not offend the marshal, but the old man lowered his gaze.

"Maybe you're right, but there's no need to discourage the British right now."

The general immediately understood what the marshal meant - the British are now full of confidence and have no doubt that they can quickly defeat the Russians. Although this self-confidence is blind, it can be used. At least brave allies are better than cowardly allies. it works.

"If they had fought the Russians more bravely, I would have forgiven their rashness." After a moment of silence, the general replied.

The old man just nodded slightly, tacitly understanding. As he spoke, he was still looking at the busy shore in the distance.

"You'd better take a rest. The weather has been too hot recently, and I'm afraid... it's not good for your health." The general couldn't help but give advice to the old marshal, "Now that diseases are rampant in our army, I think you should be more careful, because You are our coach and the source of our courage.”

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His words were not an exaggeration. Since arriving in the Balkans, epidemics have begun to spread among the British and French armies. Due to the humid and hot environment, various small insects and schistosomiasis began to invade military camps everywhere, and then brought terrible diseases to the people. The officers and soldiers of these expeditions.

Soon, cholera broke out in military camps everywhere. Although the army began to use strict measures to prevent the epidemic, and all tents where patients lived were directly destroyed, these plagues were still not completely controlled, not only the soldiers at the bottom , even many officers suddenly fell ill. For example, the Duke of Elchingen was bedridden because of this disease, and now he is unable to go to the front line to command the battle in person.

At the same time, in order to prevent the epidemic, fires everywhere burned a lot of military supplies, including a large number of uniforms, boots, and food biscuits. The loss of these supplies made the situation worse, and the originally high morale of the coalition forces also suffered a major blow. Although the two armies' Because of the long-standing military tradition, the soldiers still obeyed and endured everything, but the senior officers were all worried.

Fortunately, after suffering a lot of losses, Marshal Treville urged the country for help through telegrams many times, and a large amount of supplies were sent to the front, so that the frontline troops were not directly overwhelmed by the disease.

"My health is not bad. Thank you for your concern." The old man was unmoved. "At this juncture, I must go to the front line in person to boost morale and let the officers and soldiers know that the commander-in-chief is behind them."

The old man's generous answer made the general speechless for a moment. In the end, he could only look at the marshal with admiration.

"You...you are our role model, Your Excellency."

"You should prepare early, land as soon as possible, and command the French troops on the shore. More and more officers and soldiers are arriving on the shore. If you don't send a general there will be chaos soon." The marshal continued to issue the order, "Remember, we must and The British have good ties and this is a place where we have to be united to win."

"I will, please rest assured." The general immediately stood at attention and accepted the marshal's assignment. Then he asked, "By the way, when will you and Baron Raglan go ashore?"

"We have to call him Marshal Raglan." Marshal Treville shrugged, seeming a little unhappy.

After the coalition decided to launch an expedition against the Russians, in order to demonstrate the authority of the British commander-in-chief and to be on par with the French commanders, the British Queen and the government decided to grant the commander-in-chief Baron Raglan the rank of marshal. So now the commanders of both countries are marshals, which of course makes Marshal Treville a little unhappy.

"He will only be a real marshal after he behaves like a marshal." The shrewd general immediately complimented the marshal, "In our hearts, he is still far inferior to you, sir."

"Don't say such things now, we must unite!" Marshal Treville scolded him, but he was not unhappy. "Let's go outside Sevastopol first, and then go ashore. I hope you will have taken care of everything on the shore by then."