Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

The battlefield chosen by General Clay was muddy and soft after the heavy rain on April 4, 1799.

Now he knows better. The French army has more than 6,000 cavalry and artillery. This is a relatively capable combat force among the Italian legions, but this...

"General Scherer must be in a hurry! Otherwise, he would not choose to take the initiative to start a battle in such a place! Although the terrain of the battlefield is relatively flat, it has just rained, so it is not suitable for cavalry attacks."

"Your Majesty General, what about the artillery on both sides?"

Krei, the veteran general, looked at Solovyov and answered when he heard his question. After all, the young officers in Austria now, those older than this boy, are either not very proactive, or they are overly active. Cavalry officer.

"On such a soft land, we can only let the queen on the battlefield and the infantry of both sides play their part!"

"But the pawn must reach the bottom of the chessboard before it can move to the queen."

"Yes, without good coordination, the chess pieces will not be able to play their role."

Clay was very satisfied with this young man. Anyway, he was sent by Suvorov to observe the battle situation on the front line. They could still have a chat before the dice was thrown.

While they were talking, an Austrian herald came to report.

"Your Excellency General, the left wing of the French army seems to be moving."

"Don't be anxious. We have to wait until the French arrive within our firefighting range. The artillery will support Baron Zov's Czech column! Write an order asking the Czech column to counterattack after our artillery fires!"

Now that General Krei has entered the command state, it is difficult for Solovyov to ask questions. The position they are now in can just see all the movements of the French on the battlefield.

Even with the telescope he carried with him, he could see the Austrian chasseurs who had been lurking for a long time behind the fence and a pile of sharp stakes set by the chasseurs. They were the von Keim column of the Austrian army in front of them.

Speaking of which, the commanders of these columns are all veteran generals. Among the generals of the Austrian army, there are particularly many such old antiques who grew up during the Seven Years' War.

Their advantages are very clear. They have rich combat experience. Although they are old, they are generally not lacking in courage. They are also good at using infantry and cavalry to cooperate. However, the general level of artillery use is not very high. Clay greeted Baron John Zoff because he wanted to personally control the artillery operations. There was also a reserve team of Prince Heishingen placed behind him, just in case of any eventuality.

The formation of the French army was quite neat. At this time of the battle, General Scherer and General Moreau were still in his battle order, commanding the two divisions in the center to launch operations.

"Your Majesty General, the French army has moved in the middle!"

"There's no need to rush to give orders to Von Keim, this old guy's formation is already enough for the French!"

Solovyov had just seen General von Keim's formation. This position itself occupied the complex slopes and some fences in the middle of the battlefield, and also blocked the road. At this time, he did not know who Scherer's deputy was. Moreau just felt that the French army was moving very quickly.

After the exchange of fire between Zov's Czech division began, Von Keim's chasseurs also exchanged fire with the skirmishers in front of the French army. The purpose of the French was to cover the advancing line of infantry behind them, while the Austrian army The purpose is to delay and block the French army's movements, and also to facilitate the various infantry battalions of our own side to enter combat positions.

It is indeed puzzling that the French adopted this kind of "flat push" tactic. Normally, the French army on the right should have taken action long ago to protect a detachment of the French army on the front. Now it seems It's the "right wing".

At this time, both the Austrian and French armies had a typical battle posture of four divisions on the front, with reserves behind them, but what did Scherer think about it? As Solovyov watched the battle in the auditorium of the headquarters, " Audience" wanted to ask the French general opposite what the hell he was doing with his hot air balloon.

After all, at the moment, only hot air balloons can carry people, not airplanes.

With the firing of artillery and the white smoke rising from the flintlock rifles of the light infantry on both sides, the battle was considered to have begun.

Both the center and the right wing of the Austrian army were engaged in fierce exchanges of fire. Due to the long distance between the Austrian army's left wing, Krei was unable to immediately grasp the movements of General Karl Mercantin in this direction until he received the message. Upload the report from the commanding officer.

"When the French came into contact with us first on the center and left wing, they wanted to launch a direct attack with two divisions, plus some cavalry to strengthen their right wing, and then turn around to attack? This would be disjointed, the center The French did a good job, at least leaving Von Keim to hold on to his position."

After all, it was still the area directly responsible for the "famous goalkeeper" General Moreau, and the formation of the troops was relatively close. Therefore, the experienced von Keim had no choice but to line up in three formations and use them there. A slight advantage in terrain to delay the French attack.

As for Zov's Czech division, the French are now fighting, and the French have the upper hand. In the previous battle, the two sides were tied, so there was such a battle.

"Your Majesty General, do you want to use the reserve team now?"

"Are you talking about our Marquis of Lusignan? No, don't worry yet. The reserves on the right wing have been used. We can't put in the last troops at this time. What if something goes wrong with the left wing?"

At least the middle lane is fine and won't be defeated, which makes Krai feel more at ease.

And just as he expected, the Austrian army on the left wing was broken through by the French Victor Division. General Melcandin was shot and killed on the battlefield. This side seemed to be in chaos, and the French army seemed to have the upper hand.

Krei was very experienced. He ordered two adjutants to ride to the left wing of the Austrian army to observe the situation. The report after returning made him feel more at ease.

"If the French attack like this, the troops will be more dispersed. This Scherer made the formation very scattered during the last battle, giving us the opportunity to reorganize the troops."

Then he issued an order: "The reserve of the Marquis of Lusignan can move. Don't shoot at each other, just launch a bayonet attack directly!"

When Solovyov heard "bayonet attack", he thought he had heard it wrong. The Austrian army's fighting habits should not be like this. However, considering that the French right wing was strengthened and broke through the Austrian line, and even the left wing troops in front of them had signs of collapse, it seemed that there was no problem in kicking them directly.

Especially the French formation, which can be seen to have been split into three parts, that is, the forces of the two divisions in Moreau are relatively concentrated, otherwise there will be more loopholes.

Just as the French right wing won the victory, they encountered the flank attack of the reserve force of the Marquis of Lusignan, especially the direct bayonet attack. Although the French were not bad in hand-to-hand combat, they had consumed a lot of physical strength at this time, and the opponent was a fresh force, so they could only choose to retreat and reorganize, perhaps relying on the terrain to fight again and wait for the arrival of the French reserve.

Then, General Victor, who was in charge of the command here, received a shocking news.

General Scherer, he, Scherer did not have a fully prepared reserve force. If this goes on, he is afraid that he will only be chased and beaten by the Austrian army.

Some veterans who participated in the Italian offensive campaign still know that the general of the former Minister of the Army was replaced by their "small platoon leader", otherwise there would be no victory in Italy.

This general was obviously a mediocre general. He had turned the situation in which he had already gained an advantage into a draw within a few hours, allowing the opponent to withdraw safely from the battlefield. This time, because there was no reserve, the Austrian army took advantage of the reserve to counterattack and gained an advantage. Even the right wing of the French army, which had won in the initial battle, now became a rout.

However, the Austrian troops that had retreated before finally completed the reorganization under the scolding of the officers. They filled the pit behind the reserve of the Marquis of Lusignan and served as an atmosphere group, which was better than playing no role at all.

This was the Battle of Magnano, an inconspicuous battle in the Italian battlefield during the Second Anti-French Alliance. Now the Austrian army's full counterattack forced the French to retreat in the afternoon.

The French army in the middle, led by General Moreau, still had some organizational ability. They were serving as the rear guard, fighting and retreating, and did not give the cunning von Kem a chance to take revenge. In the Battle of Verona half a month ago, this old comrade was "sneak-sucked" by the French scattered soldiers who did not follow the martial ethics, and was scratched by a bullet.

Krei stopped when he saw the good, which was a common problem among Austrian generals. Since Prince Eugene, few Austrian commanders have chosen to pursue on the battlefield. Pursuit can easily lead to mistakes, which can be regarded as a law in the war manual of Austrian generals.

He also felt that the current losses of the Austrian army were relatively large, so he sent light cavalry to harass the French army and drive them away from the battlefield, which would be considered a victory in this battle.

"General, I think you should launch a pursuit. At least after the Marquis of Lusignan's column wins, you should stick to the center of the French army and attack their left wing through the Czech column!"

"Kid, you are still too young. We don't need to pursue excessively to achieve our strategic goals. In this case, if a friendly army can arrive at this time, we can still consider pursuing. But Marshal Suvorov and General Melas are still on the road and cannot reach the battlefield. You may win a big victory by doing this, but if the enemy is like the French in the middle, fighting and retreating, our troops will definitely be consumed. At this time, even if the French have no reserve troops to fight back, our losses will be great."

He condensed this string into "Don't chase the desperate enemy", which is actually not wrong. The veterans of the Austrian army are generally cautious outside of key battles and will not pursue.

What's more, at this time, playing it safe, the enemy will not completely run away, but will appear on the line of the Adda River.

Before Soloviev set out, he heard two veterans discussing the next deployment of the French army. The Minzio River or the Adda River, using the tributaries of the Po River to defend, seemed to be a more favorable method that the French army could take at present.

That night, the Austrian army received a relatively accurate battle report. Two Austrian generals were killed in the battle, and the total loss of troops exceeded 6,000. As for the French army, although there was no large-scale rout in the end when Moreau took the initiative to serve as the rear guard, it also lost more than 8,000 people, at least one general was killed, and the 56th half brigade under General Victor was divided and surrounded, and finally destroyed.

"We have seized 18 cannons, 40 carriages and 7 flags. Such results are enough. Now we need to report to Marshal Suvorov. Captain, you have also seen the whole process of the battle. I think I can go back and report to His Excellency the Marshal."

Although Solovyov thought that the Austrian army was too cautious in the battle, there was nothing to say about it. After all, the veteran Krei won the victory, and he learned something from observing on the battlefield.

Krei was just an unfamous Austrian veteran, but he was old enough.

As for Suvorov, he and Melas, two 70-year-old men, thought that this was enough after studying Krei's battle report.

"Your Excellency Marshal, I think General Krei, although he won this time, still chose a safe attitude and should have chosen to pursue at that time."

"Okay, Misha, sit down first, don't be anxious. You know, Ктосостояниемсвоимдоволен, томужитьвесело."

He suddenly inserted a Russian sentence in German, which caught Solovyov off guard.

The meaning is also very simple, that is, "People who are satisfied with the status quo are the happiest", which is also one of the famous sayings of the old marshal.

"You have to remember that on the battlefield, it is not just about bold attacks, but sometimes you can't walk too fast. You young people, you just punch out without caring about what to do next."

General Melas knew that Suvorov had just suddenly spoken Russian to educate the young people, and he did not interfere. In fact, according to his idea, Krei should at least push forward and drive the enemy out of the battlefield. Perhaps this can eliminate more French troops on the basis of annihilating a 56th half brigade.

"Marshal, the pursuit may have some results. It doesn't matter. At least we have won, and the situation is favorable to us no matter which river the enemy defends. Now there are only more than 30,000 French people left, and we can immediately put 60,000 people on the battlefield, and follow-up troops are coming one after another. Facing the tree trunks that are full of holes hit by woodpeckers, we will have many ways."

Since this is the case, Suvorov did not continue to say more. The main goal must be achieved on the battlefield. At the same time, it must also be considered that it is now the Russian-Austrian coalition. Sometimes, the position of friendly forces must also be taken into account.

At this time, Suvorov did not advocate a quick pursuit. Defeating the enemy in a battle was only the last resort, and strategic execution was also crucial.