Flowers, Swords and France

In the last glimmer of light before sunset, Lucien's offensive finally came to an end. Under the command of the marshal, he threw his entire brigade into the battle, and under the cover of several artillery batteries of the division, launched an attack on the Russian positions.

His soldiers lived up to his expectations and bravely threw themselves into the battle. In the initial battle, they drove the Russians out of their positions in front of the river bank, and then took advantage of the situation to launch an attack on the other side of the river.

However, although the initial progress was very smooth, when the vanguard drove the enemy out of the village and attacked across the river, they suffered a fierce counterattack from the Russian defenders.

They used the heavy artillery arranged in the preset positions and launched an artillery attack on the French troops who tried to cross the river under the command of Russian officers. This round of bombardment, with its terrible intensity and strong firepower with almost no blind spots configured by various types of shells, immediately caused heavy casualties to the vanguard and temporarily destroyed the morale of the front-line troops. Almost all of the first few small troops that set foot on the opposite bank died on both sides of the river, and the few survivors fled back to their own river bank in despair. Thus, the initial offensive attempt of the French army ended.

The French army occupied the Russian positions on the river bank and annihilated and defeated part of the defenders, but the frontal impact was ineffective. In general, the first battle could not be said to be a failure, but it was by no means a victory.

After the French army began to retreat, the Russian artillery began to weaken until it finally stopped, and Lucien could only greet his retreating subordinates with a sad and gloomy look.

Most of these subordinates were confused and dejected, and they obviously had not woken up from the massive artillery bombardment just now. Most of the soldiers' bright uniforms had turned black, their faces and bodies were covered with dirt, and they looked exhausted; some were covered with wounds and blood, and blood was still dripping on the ground. They frowned and endured the pain and walked back; some even lost their limbs and could only return to their positions with the help of their comrades.

This is war, and victory will never come easily.

Lucien walked in front of a group of subordinates, and patted their shoulders one by one. Although he was silent, he conveyed his encouragement in detail, indicating that he would never blame them for retreating under such circumstances - perhaps, there was a little bit of guilt.

Then, regardless of the danger, Lucien walked to the ruins that had just been destroyed by them. There were still embers burning slightly, and there was choking smoke everywhere, but he didn't notice it. He walked through the ruins and walked all the way to the tree close to the river bank.

At this time, the moon had appeared in the sky, casting its cold light on the ground. The river in front of him was sparkling, and the cliffs were facing the crescent moon. The bumpy cliffs and slopes were looming in the moonlight. Even the bodies of the officers and soldiers of the two armies who were still lying on both sides of the river became inconspicuous foils. Everything seemed like an illusory dream.

If there were poets here, they would be full of emotion in such a strange and uniquely beautiful scenery, but Lucien had no such feelings. He just glanced around with the serious perspective unique to soldiers, and finally stopped at those unclear places, thinking quietly.

In his mind, a brief map of the terrain here has been constructed at this time, and then the two armies clashed here. He wanted to use this method to think of a way to break through from this side. At this time, everything was silent, but his mood was excited and uneasy. The complicated thinking made him irritable. He could only pace back and forth under the shade of trees and vines.

There was no way.

After painful thinking, he came to a conclusion.

The river, cliffs and slopes, these natural obstacles became fortifications that the Russians could rely on, and they arranged a sufficiently fierce artillery fire on the front. The shocking bombardment brought by this heavy artillery would make the soldiers in front lose their fighting spirit, and even the bravest soldiers might find it difficult to bear. Although the Russians could not bring too many shells, the shells they had should be enough to cause serious casualties to the attacking troops.

Not to mention that there are multi-sided fortifications behind the slope. Even if more investment is made and all the existing French troops are deployed here, it may not be possible to break through successfully.

Besides, with the current situation of the coalition forces, if they pay a great deal of casualties and then break through here, what is the difference between that and losing? And it is obvious that the Russian army's arrangement is to want the coalition forces to force a frontal attack and then turn this place into a cage to consume the coalition forces.

A basic military common sense is that you cannot act completely according to the enemy's ideas, and Lucien is naturally fully aware of this.

He raised his head and looked downstream along the cliffs and rivers until the unknown darkness.

The end of the sight is probably the seaside.

He recalled the topographic map that Kong Ze had sent him before, and suddenly he had an idea in mind.

He took a deep breath, and the choking smell of smoke did not make him feel uncomfortable, but made him more excited.

Then, he took the orderly beside him and walked back to the position of his subordinates.

"Prepare the horse for me, I want to see the commander!"

Although it was already late at night, because Lucien was a senior officer, he was not hindered and soon arrived at the commander-in-chief's tent again.

At this time, the tent was much emptier than last time, and Marshal Treville was not resting. He was still next to the map, observing the situation on the map, writing and drawing on the map, and seemed to be planning. Depends on the next actions of the troops.

Although this old man with white beard and hair is wearing a military uniform, he looks so thin. However, his calm expression and focused gaze can remind people that he is the commander of an army after all.

"Lucien?" After Lucien came in and performed the military salute, the marshal waved to him, "I'm not surprised that you came here at this time. You must be very sad about the loss of your subordinates today, right?"

"Yes, I am very sad, Your Excellency." Lucien nodded, "But I have absolutely no emotions towards you. You are the commander-in-chief, and we must carry out your orders to the end, and... I think your orders are not There is no reason, we always have to pay some price, after all, this is war."

"Yes, this is war, as long as you think so." The marshal finally smiled, "It seems that I don't need to explain too much to you. Well, why did you come to see me tonight? I guess it’s for the next deployment of our army.”

"Yes, Your Excellency." Lucien immediately walked to the marshal's side and looked at the map on the table. "Although we encountered some setbacks in today's battle, it also allowed us to see some reality. The Russians are here The front is prepared with strong firepower and intensive defense to target us. It is difficult for the existing forces to break through their defense... Therefore, we should give up the frontal attack and instead seek a flank breakthrough. It is always unwise to attack the enemy's front. If we can find a way to attack them in a roundabout way. On the flanks, our victory will be much easier."

Lucien was not worried about the marshal's opposition to him, because what he said was very normal military common sense. Since ancient times, the front of the enemy's position has always had the strongest defense, and flank attacks can avoid the front defense and disrupt the enemy's position. military deployment.

"You're right, Lucien. But now our left is the British and our right is the sea, so if the British can't move, we can't break through from the flank." Marshal Treville finally sat back on his recliner , "So we have to rely on the British to execute this flank breakthrough."

"That is to say..." Lucien understood.

"Yes, I have asked Marshal Raglan to launch a flank attack tomorrow. They will detour, cross the river and attack the Russian left flank." Marshal Treville nodded, "Marshal Raglan has seen you Today's brave performance, he is very happy to let his subordinates perform the same performance for us tomorrow..."

Lucien suddenly realized that he finally understood Marshal Treville's previous intention.

Although flanking attacks are useful, they are not just talk. In the current environment, if you want to launch such an offensive, you must be tightly organized, invest a large number of troops, and must march long distances under artillery fire, and forcibly march toward the enemy. Attack the opponent's flank positions and fortresses - and the combination of various conditions means huge casualties.

Since the breakthrough on the left was going to the British, it would be best for the French to show some positivity and courage first in order to give them some kind of incentive.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Hey, that's how the coalition is. We can only scheming with our friends." Marshal Treville sighed, "Lucien, I really hope you don't have to command the army with another marshal in the future..."

"You have worked really hard. I think you are a real commander-in-chief." Lucien said sincerely, and then he changed the subject, "But, Marshal, I think if possible, we'd better activate both wings at the same time. The offensive..."

"What do you mean?" Marshal Treville didn't quite understand.

"Yes, our right wing is the sea, but I think that although the mouth of the river and the cliffs on the coast are insurmountable obstacles, if we can climb them, we will be able to give the enemy a surprise blow... ...It may even be a fatal blow, if we are lucky enough to destroy the Russian artillery position." Lucien lowered his voice, walked to the side of the marshal, and then lightly traced the map with his finger.

"You see, since the Russians are using heavy artillery, their artillery should be deployed in the area behind the river bank. I think the most likely place is on this high platform, because this is the commanding heights and you can clearly see our army's position on the river bank. Attack. If we go around the river and climb up the cliff, we will catch them by surprise."

As Lucien explained, Marshal Treville's eyes became brighter and brighter.

"It's a good idea!" he said finally, "But... are you sure we can really get over it? The terrain there is rugged, and there should be a lot of defensive troops."

"I can't guarantee 100% success," Lucien answered honestly, "However, based on my previous observations, this should be feasible. I lived in a mountain village when I was a child, and I also climbed many times in the mountains and forests. I also have many subordinates who have had the same experience. I think as long as it is not some absolute We should be able to climb up the wall. As long as a small number of people can climb up with ropes, the next thing will be simple. As for the defensive troops... I don't think there will be many, and we have a fleet and we are on the coast. The fleets can act together and support us with their artillery fire."

"Yes! We still have a fleet!" The marshal nodded heavily, and then immediately thought of a new idea, "No, the fleet alone is not enough, we also need to launch a diversionary offensive so that they cannot judge our purpose. . Not only will the British attack on the flanks, we will also launch a feint attack from the front, and we will attract all their forces!"

The marshal became more and more excited as he talked, and finally stood up. "Yes, we are going to break through here in one fell swoop, and then fight all the way to Sevastopol!"

Obviously, this comprehensive offensive is based on the current strength advantage of the coalition forces. Only in this case can the coalition forces forcefully attack regardless of possible casualties. This is also a reflection of the national strength superiority of Britain and France - they can Maintaining such a large army thousands of miles away from the homeland and being able to take the initiative to launch offensives.

If there had been no plague and other unexpected factors, the British and French forces would have been able to assemble even stronger troops here.

"Marshal, I ask you to let my troops take on this task and serve as the vanguard to launch a flank offensive." Lucien immediately made his request, "My subordinates are all good, and they can complete the tasks you have given them. Task!"

"Oh, of course, of course! Even if you don't say it, I will let you come." Marshal Treville laughed, and then patted Lucien heavily on the shoulder, "Lucien, will you do it for me?" Get a medal for this.”

"...The medal is not my pursuit. Your Excellency, if possible, I hope that my subordinates can survive more and receive the victory they deserve." Lucien lowered his head in slight embarrassment.

In this way, under Lucien's suggestion, Marshal Treville summoned several of his staff officers and quickly studied the next action plan. And late that night, Marshal Treville came to the British Army In the tent of Marshal Raglan, the commander-in-chief, the two marshals quickly reached a consensus on this plan after a brief conversation.

Then, in the early hours of the morning, the senior officers of the coalition forces received orders from their respective headquarters, and then they also asked their troops to start making corresponding preparations. After a short rest, the entire military machine was in the dark night. It started to move rapidly again.

Then, in the early morning of the next day, the British and French forces launched a full-scale offensive against the Russian army.