Tsar of the Sphinx

Chapter 18 The Russo-Turkish War (Fast, Many, and Long Cannons)

Early the next morning, after Alexander got up, he got out of the tent, looking at the remaining stars in the sky in a trance.

Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Zaduneski, Prince Gula Ivanovich Saltykov and Johann Martin von Elmpter last night busy till early morning
Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Zaduneski was tasked with pacifying the Turks in the city of Okhachav who were ravaged by Turkish troops.

Prince Gula Ivanovich Saltykov sent the letter that passed through the collection city that broke the city last night to Kherson.

Johann Martin von Elmpter took command of the entire army from Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Zadunaiski, and arranged for participation to go to Kajibe the next day Iraq's army and the army left behind by Okhachev.

Wash up, then breakfast.

Grand Duke, here is your breakfast.

The guard brought breakfast.

But it's just a bowl.

There are fish?

Alexander saw a small fish and a piece of steak, so he couldn't help but whet his appetite.

For more than a month, Peter Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Zaduneski has been asking him to eat the big pot meal in the army, and told him clearly that his personal cook will not appear in the army.

After taking a bite of the steak, Alexander 1 couldn't help saying in surprise: Who made it?
delicious!
It was prepared for you by General Mikhail Romanovich Vorontsov himself in the early hours of the morning.

The guard said: Your Excellency, Marshal, he said that there are too many people at night, so he asked General Mikhail Romanovich Vorontsov to make a steak for you.

Alexander nodded slightly and ate slowly.

What kind of people have too many hands?
Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Zadunesky wanted to impress Mikhail Romanovich Vorontsov with him.

Forget it, at worst, go back and persuade grandmother Song Yisong to suppress the Vorontsov family.

After Alexander finished his meal, he put on his military uniform.

Today he will appear in front of the army and lead the army to go to Kajibei. Although it is just a show, he can win the support of the soldiers at the bottom.

He stepped out of the tent and rode all the way outside the camp.

A huge array has taken shape.

Soldiers put on new uniforms and replaced damaged weapons.

In the morning light, the array was silent.

Peter Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Zadunaiski and Johann Martin von Elmpter and others saw Alexander leave the camp and greeted him.

Peter Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Zadunaiski stepped forward and saluted: Grand Duke Alexander, everything is ready.

Alexander returned the salute and said: Wait a minute.

Prince Gula Ivanovich Saltykov asked: What are you waiting for?
Alexander pointed to the sky and said: Wait for the sun.

good sign!
Prince Gula Ivanovich Saltykov praised: Now our Russian Empire is like the rising sun, but the Turks have already reached the setting sun.

Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Zadunesky said with a smile: Yes, exactly.

When the first rays of the sun shone on the world, Alexander drove the horses over the generals, looked at the army in front of him and said: "The goal is Kajibei, let us continue to win and move forward!"Ulla!
Ulla!

The array began to boil, and both the soldiers who were about to leave and those who stayed in Okhachav City and waited for supplies began to cheer.

The array began to move slowly, and the soldiers began to move on. They will go through four days of rapid march and appear under the city of Kajibey, giving the Turks a head-on shot.

······
Reply to St. Petersburg, and the Tsargrad plan officially begins.

Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin in Kherson, having read the urgent letter, told his adjutant Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay Deto Leigh ordered.

At the same time, I sent a letter to Fyodor Ushakov, telling him that I need him to lead the fleet to the port of Kherson before noon tomorrow.

After Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay De Toli wrote it down, he ordered the guard to copy the contents of the two letters he wrote down and send them to St. Petersburg and Sebas respectively. Topol.

After Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin finished speaking the contents of the letter, he looked at the map on the table and said: Mikhail, look, after Okhachev was captured, we will You can go directly to Turkey's territory in Anatolia, and you don't have to worry about the fact that we set off for Anatolia, but Turkey stole the rear city.

After ordering the guards, Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay De Toli also walked to the table and said: Yes, Marshal Suvorov has been hiding in the Caucasus Mountains for a long time, just to They cooperated with us in attacking Anatolia, but Grand Duke Vladimir refused to quickly capture Okhachev, which made us dare not set out, and also made Marshal Suvorov hide ten more in the Caucasus Mountains sky.

Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin smiled and said: If Marshal Suvorov knows that his students are cheating himself, I guess His Excellency the Grand Duke will have to increase his studies this time when he goes back.

By the way, Mikhail, you did not forget to explain the situation to Marshal Suvorov.

Don't worry, Chairman, I sent a letter to Marshal Suvorov to explain the situation when you sent the first letter to Grand Duke Vladimir.

······
Caucasus Mountains, on a road in the West Caucasus Mountains.

Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov also received letters that traveled all the way from Kherson to Kerch and then Sukhumi before reaching him.

Only then did I realize that the person who caused me to remain immobile in the Caucasus Mountains was actually my good student.

Immediately, he became furious, and said to Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, the rising star he was optimistic about: When this war is over, I will make Alexander triple his classwork to repay me for ten years. The enemy of heaven is hiding in Tibet in the Caucasus Mountains.

Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov persuaded him with a smile. He knew that the relationship between Suvorov and Alexander was not just a teacher-student relationship.

After Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov got angry, he asked someone to bring over the map, pointing to Ozurgeti, the capital of the Kingdom of Guria, the Turk's vassal state in the Caucasus Mountains, and said: Mikhail has the whole army mobilized, and I will be outside Ozurgeti tomorrow afternoon.

After finishing speaking, he took out the map of the Okhachav area and whispered: Isn't it right?Potemkin said that Alexander did not fight around Okhachev, but let the artillery fire at the city of Okhachev. This is not what I taught, and it is not like Rumyantsev’s tactics. Don’t be the crown prince. Bad idea given.

As soon as Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov passed the order on, he saw Suvorov staring at Okhachev's map and knew that Suvorov was thinking about What is the purpose of Grand Duke Radimir's order to bombard Okhachav? After all, the empire does not have such a favorite tactic of bombarding others.

Before Kutuzov could say anything, he heard Suvorov say that it must not be the bad idea given by the crown prince.

Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov sat next to Suvorov and said: Don't think about Marshal Suvorov, I guess this is a tactic that Grand Duke Vladimir himself came up with. You see, the artillery bombardment not only weakens the walls of Okhachev, but also weakens the vitality of the Turkish army in the city. I guess, after a few more days of bombing like this, the Turkish army in the city will not have the courage to take the initiative to attack. .

As soon as Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov heard it, he said: Mikhail, don't put money on Alexander's face. The first time he taught him, he asked me if it was possible for the artillery to show up. A kind of artillery that can be fired for a long time with great power, large in number and fast, like infantry and cavalry A huge number of large and fast artillery.

After finishing speaking, he laughed, remembering the scene when he first taught Alexander.

Mikhail Ilarionovich Kutuzov also walked out of the tent with interest to supervise the issuance of the order.

As for Suvorov in the tent, after the army is ready, just look for it.
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Mikhail Bogdanovich Barclay de Toli: Field Marshal and Prince of the Russian Empire, one of the 64 Field Marshals of the Winter Palace, Governor General of Finland (1809–1810), Minister of War (1810–1813), And the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Russian Army in the sixth and seventh anti-French alliances.Barclay's deeds were immortalized in the poems of the famous Russian poet Baratynsky (someone who was once praised by Pushkin).

Throughout Napoleon's Conquest of Russia in 1812, Barclay served as the supreme commander of the [-]st Army of the West, the largest army that the Russian army used to fight Napoleon at that time.He proposed the now-famous scorched-earth tactic, drawing the enemy step by step into his own territory, leading his army to retreat to Tsaryovo-Zaymishche (between Smolensk and Moscow, west of Vyazma).

Barclay de Toli is not a forgotten star. His honor was restored after the war. In this regard, he is far luckier than Bennigsen, who is also a foreigner but has always been an earl and general. It is even rumored that both of them were suppressed by Kutuzov.In the following days, Kutuzov's status as Napoleon's actual defeater continued to rise. In the Soviet period, in order to create the concept of "Russian Patriotic War" in the national sense, the achievements of foreign generals were ignored and the Kutuzov's adulation was so high that Soviet scholars paid little attention to Russia's importance on the European battlefield in 1813-1814.This is actually a continuation of the prejudice against foreign generals in Leo Tolstoy's era. Make an evaluation: "Barclay de Tolly is a good minister, but not a good general." In fact, Barclay de Tolly's war strategy with the Tsar before the war was undoubtedly correct. He also unswervingly carried out this strategy in the 1812s war until he was dismissed. Although he was not a Russian (in the national sense), his loyalty to the tsar, the army, and morality he showed during the war The selflessness, generosity, courage to take responsibility, and the tolerance shown when suffering humiliation are beyond the reach of most Russian generals.

Czargrad: Meaning "imperial city" is the historical name of Constantinople in the Slavic language, which is the capital of the Roman Empire and later the eastern half of the Byzantine Empire, today's Istanbul in Turkey.

Czargrad is the ancient church Slavic translation of Greek ΒασιλΠλι, which is composed of the Slavic words tsar (Caesar, emperor) and grad (city), meaning "Caesar's city" and "imperial city".In ancient Russian, there is also a name for Constantinople that comes from Old Norse, Myklagard.

After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the increasingly prestigious Russian Empire began to see itself as the last continuation of the Roman Empire, and it was its mission to resurrect the lost Liberton (that is, the Third Rome).This idea is supported by the theory of the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, the marriage of Ivan III and the blood of the last Byzantine emperor also made the Russians boast about the legitimacy of this transfer of imperial power.The Russian Empire is determined to rebuild the new Roman Empire. It has been expanding the rule of the empire to the south. It also hoped to get Tsargrad (Constantinople) for the Tsar, but failed due to the conflict with the West in the Crimean War. accomplish.

Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov: Marshal of the Russian Empire, a famous general, and a military strategist. In 1812, he led the Russian army to repel Napoleon's army and won the Russo-French War.

Born in a family of officers, Kutuzov graduated from the Artillery School in 1759 and enlisted in the army in the same year. In 1774, he participated in the war against the Ottoman Empire, suffered serious head injuries and lost his right eye. In 1790, he took part in the battle to capture Izmir. Since 1792, he has served as ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, commander of the Russian army in Finland, and military governor of Lithuania and Petersburg.In the Third Anti-French Coalition War, he served as the commander-in-chief of the Russian Army in Austria. He defeated the French Army in Amsterdam and Dresden successively, and was later dismissed due to the failure of the Battle of Austerlitz. From 1811 to 1812, he led the army to end the Seventh Russo-Turkish War and forced the Ottoman Empire to sign the "Bucharest Peace Treaty". In 1812, the French Emperor Napoleon launched a war against Russia, and Kutuzov was promoted to field marshal and served as commander-in-chief of the Russian army.He succeeded in draining the French army at the Battle of Borodino.After that, the "scorched earth tactics" were formulated, voluntarily abandoning Moscow, and luring the enemy to go deep.At the end of the same year, all the French troops were expelled from the country, and he was awarded the title of Duke of Smolensk. In 1813, Kutuzov died of illness while pursuing Napoleon.Buried in Kazan Cathedral.

Kutuzov absorbed the military ideas and arts of Russia and other European countries, and gradually formed a set of advanced military ideology, such as the main goal of destroying the enemy's vital forces, concentrating superior forces on the main attack direction, actively forming and using reserves , Pay attention to encouraging and mobilizing the enthusiasm of soldiers, and create a strategic defense idea.Bring Russian military science to a higher stage of development.

(End of this chapter)