Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

In addition to family matters, the key project to be completed today is that the Russian army will also conduct map exercises.

But when it comes to this thing, Solovyov always thinks of a bald man named Pavlov from Kostroma.

Although this is a subconscious reaction, there are always signs.

After all, the Russian army in 1812 always lured the enemy deep into its territory, and the French were about to retreat before the end of the year - the premise was that the French army collapsed in winter due to logistical supply pressure, and the Russian army itself did not continue large-scale pursuit due to logistical pressure, but only used Cossacks and fresh troops to follow up, and finally defeated the French at the Berezina River.

130 years later, it was the technological progress that saved the Koreans from defeat, otherwise they might have been defeated miserably. The Germans have always been good at boasting but not good at practice. Even after learning the lesson, they still couldn't win. This is a problem of ability and system.

"You all saw the results of the headquarters map exercise we just conducted. When our Second Army faces the enemy head-on, we always have to consider that their flank corps will be the first to enter several of our major cities. In this case, our flanks will be greatly threatened, and it will be difficult to quickly merge with the First Army."

Bagration's face was serious as he said this, and his expression became even more serious.

"This always requires us to cooperate with each other, but if the French continue to act like this, they should quickly capture Minsk. Our 7th Army is closer, and I am afraid we will have to bear more rearguard battles."

When Rayevsky said this, Polozkin also looked at Solovyov and felt that it might be better for him to be promoted from commander of the 8th Army to deputy commander. After all, he would not need to directly manage the command of the army.

The main task of the 8th Army became to cover the flanks and rear of the 7th Army, and to move quickly during the operation to ensure the passage of the entire army group.

He and Raevsky still have to take turns to provide cover. The Russian army is also facing great trouble. The 2nd Army's base is relatively isolated, and the enemy it faces may have superior forces.

It’s just that, if it was the 600,000-strong coalition of twelve nations that Napoleon invaded, less than half of them were actually French, about 260,000 to 280,000.

In fact, the diluted French army is not necessarily stronger than the previous French army. With so many younger brothers added to a large army, some of the allied countries with combat effectiveness may still pretend to obey.

However, some core corps, such as the corps commanded by Marshal Davout or some other people who might appear in front of Bagration, still have considerable combat effectiveness regardless of the level of their commanders.

The core corps of the French Army is indeed difficult to deal with without the troops of its vassal states.

In particular, Solovyov knew some French marshals and had roughly observed their movements on the battlefield and studied them afterwards.

There is even another point, that is, he had captured General Scherer, the former French Minister of the Army. Although that happened more than ten years ago, Solovyov was more familiar with the French generals, and even more familiar with the second-rate generals than the first-line ones.

After all, the French are talkative, and after Scherer was captured, he said everything he needed to say.

Even after this guy got married and had a child, he did not forget to do some research in these areas occasionally. So far, he has a general understanding of the situation of some people.

It's just that these people often don't have the ability to command the legion independently. Only Napoleon, Massena and Moreau have the ability to command the legion on a large scale. There are many outstanding people at the army level, but only Davout has the best ability to command independently. As for many other marshals, the most unusual one is probably a character like MacDonald who has the ability to command independently.

Napoleon himself had great military talent and was prone to interfering with the command of his subordinates. Over time, some people's command became hesitant.

But this is also the current weakness of the French army. Although the level of the generals of the coalition forces is even worse, if they are properly deployed, they can still use numbers to overwhelm the French.

At present, the problem of logistics supply is France's Achilles' heel. For an army of this size, the deeper it goes into Russia's hinterland, the greater the problem will be.

However, what can be simulated now is relatively limited, that is, the possible strategic deployment of the French army in the first phase, and it is unlikely that the marching route will always lead to Borodino, Istrinsky or Mozhaisk.

What's even more outrageous is that Rokossovsky's great-grandfather knew him and was on the opposite side of the road, and the Novgorod Cuirassier Regiment where Zhukov later served was in his army.

However, when looking at the roster, if Solovyov's eyes were not dazzled, he could also see Lieutenant Colonel Zhukov from Tambov and Lieutenant Colonel Stalinsky from the Southern Army.

While he was still thinking about it, Bagration was asking him questions.

"Mishka, tell me what you think too. After all, it's you who are here to imitate the French today."

"I think so. The main goal of the French is a decisive battle. If they only use French soldiers, they can mobilize 300,000 people, which is not much more than our total strength on the Western Front. In addition, the treaty with the Turks has not been confirmed yet, and the negotiations are still being conducted in secret. If it can be guaranteed, we should be able to get support from the Danube Army Group, but like the 3rd Army Group, they always have to take a detour to the direction of the main battlefield. In addition, the French will definitely not go through Ukraine. They will take a shorter route to ensure the transportation line, and at the same time they can quickly pursue our army. Their goal is to destroy our main force or win the main battle."

"But I think we should actively seek out a fight and eventually drive the enemy out."

Bagration is always more proactive, which has some advantages, but it also makes people worry about what will happen if a bad result is encountered.

"Peter Ivanovich, I understand your idea, but the French have more troops than us, and we are not facing the Turks. We can even defeat more than 100,000 enemies with 40,000 to 60,000 people. Among the enemies are the German princes and Italians who have relatively weak combat effectiveness. They are also formally trained troops, and we may not be able to win easily."

He and Bagration were fellow apprentices and had always been taken care of by the prince. When the field marshal entrusted his son to the court, the two of them often went to help. Bagration also served as Solovyov's replacement mentor in military studies in his early years.

However, this time when facing the French, he was always more cautious, and the two had huge differences.

"Do you think so, too?"

"At least we should be cautious. We must fully mobilize our forces and we must also maintain operations on the interior lines, shorten our supply distance, and rely more on our people, especially when replenishing our troops."

What he said was still very serious, and this war also determined the fate of Europe.

If the monocle is taken out, there may be no attack. The first action will always have something to do with defense.

The preparations on the western border in recent years are also because the Russian army began to decline in personnel quality after 1807 due to the loss of veterans. Now it is possible to restore part of the armament. In five years, there will be enough newly recruited soldiers to form combat effectiveness.

Without taking into account some regiments that were formed in the rear and did not participate in the battle, some of the Russian infantry regiments with higher numbers, even if they were mostly composed of rookies, also played a role in the previous battles between Sweden and Turkey.

There were some reserve regiments in the rear, and Solovyov knew that all of this would eventually wait for the coming of war.

Now he is also very worried that when this war starts, many of the past norms in war may eventually be shattered.

It was now the summer of 1812, and the French were indeed very close.

During the discussion, Bagration could clearly feel that his junior fellow student had been quite worried recently, and this was also the case in the discussion before the exercise.

It is no wonder that he would consider some new ways of fighting. As for those bad premonitions, Bagration had experienced many tough battles and finally survived.

He was very confident, unlike Solovyov whose worries were all-encompassing.

At the same time, St. Petersburg was still in a state of decadence and extravagance. Receptions in noble homes were still attended by a constant stream of guests, and there were even special tables for foreigners.

Even in the news, there is rarely any nutritious news in St. Petersburg newspapers. Instead, there is a lot of gossip in the salons. In addition, the queen, who had always lived in seclusion, has become active recently and appeared in public with the grand duchesses.

Some people speculated that she must have known something from Baden's family, so she organized such a mutual aid organization for military families.

However, this was only organized among the young ladies of higher status who were more familiar to her, and it was always a place where young girls and young wives gathered.

And I probably have to explain something when I get to the scene, which is that this looks more like an exchange meeting for mothers.

Luisa herself came to the scene with her daughters and the eldest Natalia's daughter. She looked just a little fuller than before, which is always something people envy.

The meetings held here were relatively relaxed, and there were no need to follow so many rules, because there were many pregnant ladies among them. After Katya arrived at the scene, she found that she was not the one with the biggest belly.

"Your Majesty, we are here"

"Katya, you look fine now. You even jogged a few steps just now."

Louisa didn't care what Katya said and just expressed her opinion.

"Your Highness, you look very well, but I want to say that there are always many people here who need to worry about men. You know that Mishka went to Prince Bagration, and what he wrote back is always worrying."

When Louisa heard the news about Solovyov, she couldn't help but feel a little worried. Although the two of them still maintained a friendship, the feeling of being lovers had become rather dull. Alexander even joked in front of her. Solovyov was a lustful man with picky tastes, and Louisa, who liked to stay at home and read books, should not have any intersection with him.

After all, Solovyov's currently exposed mistresses, plus his wife Katya, are both lively and even like to organize activities in salons.

But Louisa still maintains her beauty. Although she is in her thirties, she still looks like she is in her twenties.

However, there is a worried look on his face and some slight wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, but if you don't look closely, it doesn't reveal his age.

But this look made Katya, who was always smart, somewhat suspicious.

"Your Highness, is there anything on your mind?"

"Nothing, I just thought that your husbands are all at the front. If peace is maintained, I hope they can all come back here. In fact, I have always hoped that you and your wife can appear in the court more often. Misha is also very talented. If he wants, he can also achieve some success in literature."

"You still like poetry so much. When Misha was in Odessa, he sang this song to me, probably because he passed through Moldavia. Would you like to try to listen to it?"

"In your current state, can you still sit in front of the piano?"

Louisa likes the girls around her very much. Although Katya has been with her for a short time, she is very likable.

Even if she was pregnant with a baby (or maybe two), she would still like to sit in front of the piano, just like her fourth sister Frederica who married to Sweden and was always connected with music.

It's just that she usually prefers dancing rather than playing musical instruments.

"Come and listen, how about this?"

“Are there any lyrics?”

"It doesn't sound like our little Greek girl who believes in Islam. I can confirm that Mishka still loves me very much after marriage and cares about my feelings."

Then Katya sang again.

After listening to it, Louisa also found it interesting.

"It's about Moldavia, and it's very interesting. You want Misha to come back and spend the morning like this with you?"

"I think so too, but think about what he wants to do, and what we have to do too."

Katya blushed a little now. She probably knew that this was the same thing that happened one morning when the two of them were in their garden.

"And I heard that you have even thought of a name for your child?"

"Yes, but he won't be home for a long time. I don't know when he will be able to come back. If there is a war with the French, Mishka said in the letter that he might not be able to come back home for several years."

As she spoke, Katya did not forget to play a few notes on the piano before leaving and leaning against the sofa on the side.

Louisa looked at her, and thought about the current situation. She associated it with the letters from her brother and second sister, which mentioned the situation in their respective countries. She was also worried about the coming of war. Her position in the future might become more delicate.