Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 69 019 The adjutant must bear the responsibility if the officer makes a mistake

Komarovsky saw the whole process of Grand Duke Constantine's distress on the shore. He was also sweating. However, several Cossacks and the staff in the Grand Duke's headquarters were quite quick, and they just asked the Grand Duke himself to come back and tremble. , it did not turn into a cold or a more fatal pneumonia, which was still the result of his strong physique and strong resistance.

As for Solovyov, from this figure, Konstantin is equivalent to a giant grenadier, and Solovyov is a large jaeger, who can fit two into the Archduke's physique.

He was able to catch it without pulling it apart by himself. The magical human body structure is very strong and not so fragile. This little man actually grabbed the Grand Duke, and finally the Cossacks fished it out together.

Of course, the failure of the Russian army on the bank of the Po River also caused a problem. After such a stupid battle, Suvorov decided to have his troops rest on the north bank of the Po River and not take any action for the time being.

But the old marshal also wanted to confirm the responsibility for the failure of this battle and asked Grand Duke Constantine and General Rosenberg to go to him with their attachés.

Prior to this, the Russian army built a ferry on the north bank of the Po River and withdrew all the Russian troops still on the island to the north bank.

Of course, they also remained highly vigilant. After all, they didn't know what the French were going to do.

Two days after the battle, a group of troops suddenly appeared near the Russian army station.

This time, General Victor of the French army released some captured Russian soldiers on the battlefield in order to express his respect for the heroic fighting of the Russian soldiers.

In the war of 1799, it is not surprising that this happened. Both sides always have to talk about some basic rules of war, but when the war enters a full-scale war and a total war, it will become more unlimited and cruel.

The Russian army itself suffered heavy losses. 7 officers were killed and 50 wounded. The losses in all aspects were also very high. The losses in combat after entering Italy were always due to the fact that the young and middle-aged officers of the Russian army always appeared on the battlefield. The front line was hit by enemy fire.

But such an unnecessary battle is obviously not satisfactory.

After Marshal Suvorov met the two commanders who were primarily responsible for this battle at his station, he did not show anger.

"Your Highness, in Bassignano, our soldiers fought bravely. This is good, but before crossing the river, the troops did not do sufficient reconnaissance, and the enemy also made a false shot and set up an ambush nearby. In this way "

"Alexander Vasilyevich, I think at such a time."

"Your Highness, don't discuss who is responsible. I will naturally find a way to report to the Emperor. You must pay careful attention to the situation on the battlefield, and Andrei Grigorievich, as the commander of the column and the grenades The commander of the corps should be more familiar with our team and should not make this mistake. You should follow the order and go upstream to find the ferry, not here. "

In fact, Suvorov's attitude was very clear, that is, the report stated that it was General Rosenberg's mistake, but the actual problem lay with Grand Duke Constantine himself. It was his own recklessness that led to the failure of such a river crossing battle. Not to mention the loss of personnel, he also lost a lot of weapons and equipment, including 4 cannons and thousands of rifles on the south bank of the Po River.

Such a battle is what the disadvantaged French army dreams of. This kind of preset battlefield is more suitable for them. In an ambush, with a smaller cost of casualties, they can achieve a higher exchange ratio, even on the battlefield. gradually reverse the situation.

The blame belongs to General Rosenberg. This veteran is also 60 years old. It is only a matter of time before he retires and returns home. In terms of seniority, he is also ranked second after Suvorov.

But in order to appease the Grand Duke, he also had to be intimidated.

So Marshal Suvorov began to scold Komarovsky: "If you make this mistake of insufficient protection again, I will send you directly back to Petersburg. A serious mistake will eventually lead to catastrophic consequences." , there will be a military court trial at that time.”

This is a harsh word, but it is raised high and put down gently, just a warning.

However, this also dampened Constantine's arrogance, and he knew that he should fight according to orders instead of launching a reckless attack.

Suvorov then turned to Solovyov.

"Son, you did a great job and acted decisively. I will write a letter to the Emperor for rescuing His Highness in the Po River and capturing General Scherer alive."

"Your Excellency, Marshal, this is just what a soldier should do, just like what you said about the past."

"Rewards and punishments are necessary. It is not possible to show merit or to investigate faults. Franz, in the name of me and General Melas, report to the Emperor of our country and the Emperor of Austria respectively. The situation in Brasgnano and we are still very confident about winning in the future."

"So where do we move next?"

"Moving westward, I think the French are still trying to fight us in the shallower areas upstream. This time, Your Highness, please lead the Guards column to Marengo!"

"Brother Maren?"

"Yes, Your Highness, come to this direction with Bagration's column and seize the French there. Don't let them run away easily. Our Cossacks and Austrian allied cavalry have already detected them. action.”

Speaking of Marengo, when General Bonaparte was promoted to First Consul, he finally won the battle here, but he got an ear from Desaix and Arbois, a veteran from Penduvas.

There is no Marengo yet, but the coalition forces are attacking the French on the Italian battlefield.

Bagration crossed the river from Piacenza and continued to advance. After taking control of the city, he also received orders to advance to Marengo.

On his flank, 13,000 Austrian troops were operating nearby, but the French still launched operations, and it seemed that many personnel were active here.

Grand Duke Constantine took the order this time, apparently very cautiously because Suvorov had covered up his huge mistake, and the same was true in front of Komarovsky and other adjutants brought from Petersburg.

Solovyov did not want to stay with the Grand Duke, but went to the joint regiment with the Guards Chasseur Battalion as the main body, where he might have a better conversation with von Bystrom.

"Misha, welcome back. According to the order you received, you should command the joint battalion, and I will command the Guards Chasseur Battalion."

"What about the leader?"

"There is no regimental leader yet. Prince Bagration's column is in front. We are going to prepare to support them. This is also an order."

"I don't know what the French will do. We still need a day's journey from here to Marengo. But there is no need to march in a hurry. This is better than when we rush to Verona!"

"Of course, but we are in Brasgnano"

"Don't talk too much about the responsibility for this battle. Our report says it's General Rosenberg. You should also pay attention to the Corps' report."

"Well, there are some things that we really can't talk about."

The Guards column marched very fast, and on such a road, at least it was relatively friendly to boots.

When they marched to the vicinity of Marengo in the early morning of May 16 (May 5 in the Russian calendar), they heard the sound of artillery.

"It's good this time. It seems that it came in time. It's about 3 miles away from us. If we walk faster, we can arrive at noon."

At this time, the Russian army also began to march quickly. The Russian and Austrian coalition forces in front each occupied some forests as support.

Prince Bagration saw the French cavalry attacking the Austrian Marquis of Lusignan's troops in the woods. At one point, he drove the light infantry in the front farther away, and the line of infantry behind them formed a formation. There was a hollow phalanx, but there was also a battalion phalanx that failed to open, allowing the French cavalry to rush away.

"Something must be done, our Austrian allies cannot be beaten like this."

"But our Cossacks and hussars, as well as the Austrian hussars, are unwilling to attack the French infantry."

"Forget it, it looks like we still have to come, God bless."

Bagration rode his horse to the edge of the woods and used a telescope to see the movements of the French. If the Austrian army was driven further, such a battle would actually not be good.

At least an hour later, the Marquis of Lusignan sent a messenger to ask for support and to help his brother.

Bagration dismounted from his horse, stood behind the queue of chasseurs, and gave the order to beat the drums.

These Russian troops came out of the woods here, and the chasseurs set up a skirmish line and began to shoot at the French infantry line.

It can be seen that today's French infantry array is not thick enough. In order to maximize the firepower of the infantry, most of them adopt a two-row formation. Suvorov believes that this formation has good firepower, but it is not thick enough and has poor impact. He does not advocate using it. this.

Although he also said that the Prussian army's three-row formation was like "a vegetable vendor placing a pile of cabbages in the market," this formation was still the basic formation of the Russian army. When strengthening the impact, a six-row formation could be considered.

After encountering Bagration's shooting, the French began to make adjustments on the spot. General Moreau had obviously noticed the actions of the coalition forces. The Russian army should have asked him to deliberately extend the front line and launch an attack when flaws were exposed.

At this time, the French mobilized some troops from their reserves and used two and a half brigades to block Bagration's column. The impact of more than 5,000 people really required the French to pay attention to the front. Safety.

The French still have high morale on the battlefield. They won a victory a few days ago and are now singing "Marseillaise" to boost their morale. The Austrians responded with the music of the military band.

In terms of momentum, I have to say that the Austrians have already lost in terms of momentum.

But the Russian army was simpler than the French. While their hunters were shooting at the French army, the following troops were also keeping up.

When the Russian line infantry launched an attack, they always shouted "Ula". After hearing this, the French have not yet shown the symptoms that they will have in the future, when they are confused by the Russian charge.

They still want to defend their own republic, instead of going to rob other people's territory in the future, so they still have full patriotic enthusiasm when fighting.

Therefore, when the bullets came over, the French could still resist for a while, especially in today's battle. Compared with Scherer's reckless attack before, they finally had a slight advantage this time.

However, this advantage was fleeting in the afternoon battle.

The Russian reinforcements arrived at the battlefield, but they had not yet joined the battle.

The Guards column led by Grand Duke Constantine had arrived behind Bagration. He was not here to command by himself. After doing something stupid before, he asked him to listen to the opinions of Bagration, who had a lower rank.

"Your Highness, I think at this time, the Guards Regiment should be detoured to the flank of my column. After launching the attack, it should be fired close to the front according to the situation, and finally the bayonet attack should be launched!"

At least Grand Duke Constantine has learned now not to be so reckless and send out the Guards Regiment under his command.

The Guards Chasseur Battalion and the Combined Chasseur Battalion were separated and used to support the Austrians and attack the flank of the French army.

Subsequent troops are still entering the battlefield. After knowing that the column of the Austrian veteran von Kem had also entered the battlefield, Moreau chose to withdraw from the battle and not continue to consume troops here. The coalition forces have been fighting more and more, and it is very unwise to continue fighting.

So he ordered the Italian republics to withdraw from the battle, and the two French divisions alternated to cover each other and withdraw from the battlefield as rear guards.

After Moreau gave up the battle and withdrew from the battlefield, the coalition forces did not choose to pursue him despite their superiority in manpower.

The reason was quite funny, because after the Austrian army was hit by the French army, except for General von Keim who came to help, they had been retreating, while the Russian army had been advancing, and the troops were very uncoordinated.

When Suvorov arrived at the battlefield, the battle was almost over. This time he needed to ask the Austrian army about the situation.

The Austrian adjutants were still the ones who took the blame. Suvorov had a way to criticize the noble Grand Duke Constantine in a roundabout way.

The same was true for the Austrians.

Unlike the Russian army, which was full of courage and even a little reckless, they were so cautious that they were almost timid. For so many years, as Austria's traditional ally, Russia actually knew what they would do.

It is unlikely to change this habit, but on the battlefield, the coalition forces still need to cooperate well, and explain things clearly to these adjutants to prevent their superiors from making stupid mistakes.

Now that an armed struggle against France has broken out in Genoa, the French army has to withdraw troops there, and Suvorov finally has the opportunity to rectify some minor problems in the coalition forces.