Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 299 001 Jägers are best suited for two-column shooting

The time came to 1805, and Solovyov was about to take office on the first day, and it was still according to the Russian calendar.

When he came to the barracks of the former Semenovsky Regiment in the Admiralty District, he asked the soldiers to line up and assemble.

There were also many soldiers whispering in the queue. This regiment had always had a general commander, but no commander. It had been organized as a battalion-level unit for a long time.

Now all the jagers using breech-loading rifles have been concentrated in these two battalions. This is the first time that a commander is needed.

The veterans of the Guards are of course familiar with Solovyov, the young commander. After all, he has been behind the two emperors for a long time, and the gun in his hand was designed by him.

"Have all the officers of this regiment arrived?"

"If they are all here, what are your instructions?"

Speaking of which, there are only three colonels in the Guards Chasseurs, two battalion commanders besides himself, and the rest of the officers are lieutenants. The regiment has just been replenished with 800 soldiers, and it is still fully equipped.

The officer in front of Solovyov, Alexei Kologrivov, is five years older than him. He used to be an aide-de-camp to Paul, but he came to the court very early. He served in the empress's court when he was 15 years old in 1791. His brother is the aide-general Andrei Kologrivov, the unlucky cavalry general who was loyal to Paul but was tied up on the night of the coup.

They are very familiar with each other, so there are only a few polite words.

"I don't have much to say to my brothers, but we should prepare to start training."

"Yes, Misha, you may have to be addressed by your title in the future, unlike when you were with the emperor in the past."

Soloviev was surprised that his promotion was slower than his own, and he was only a captain at present.

There was nothing he could do about it, as he had never been on the battlefield like himself before, and was just living up to his seniority.

"It doesn't matter, it has to be what it is."

As for the other officers who came here, Soloviev also knew about some of them.

After all, the Guards Chasseur Regiment was expanded from Paul's Gatchina Army. In the Guards, it was obviously not as popular as the three major regiments. Even if they were equal in status now, they still lacked a regiment!

As for the officers, needless to say, their treatment was much better than that of the other grenadiers and general infantry, but there was still some gap with the three regiments.

"Brothers, the weapons we use are all the latest models. Whether it is the trust of the motherland and the people, or the grace of the emperor, since we are in the Guards Chasseur Regiment, we must compete with those Guards grenadiers to see who has stronger combat effectiveness!"

When he said this, the soldiers would still cheer, and Ruzovskaya Street itself was military land, but the 5th Company of the Semenovsky Regiment had never filled the street when it was stationed here. In addition to the barracks they used, there were still many empty places.

If they did not occupy this area, there would be more illegal construction.

After inspecting the situation in the regiment, Solovyov knew roughly what to do.

He quickly went to Bagration and explained the situation.

"You want to demolish those illegal buildings on Ruzovskaya Street now? This is easy to do. It is the land of the Guards Chasseurs. No other buildings are allowed to appear here, especially there are some warehouses there, which were built by some fallen guys in the past."

"Then, can I go and demolish them?"

"Of course, but I have to write a report."

Bagration was still very considerate of him. In order not to cause trouble, he had to pay attention to the impact of demolishing in the Admiralty District. After all, he didn't know which warehouse or building was built by a nobleman.

Now there are still gaps around some streets in St. Petersburg, but when it comes to the embankments where every inch of land is valuable, there are few gaps left.

As for the demolition activities, they have become part of the earthwork. Solovyov even took a pickaxe and a sledgehammer to smash the wall.

But there is no need to shout eighty! Eighty! After all, this is a regular demolition work, and there is nothing left in those warehouses.

Speaking of which, the efficiency of Rome's "urban management brigade" is not as high as theirs.

While the Guards Jager Regiment cleared some illegal buildings in this area, the new tactics of the Jagers also needed to be considered.

For line infantry, three-row formations are more suitable, while two-row formations are more suitable for shooting, but they are relatively thin and easily penetrated by the enemy's impact.

Therefore, in Suvorov's teachings, it can be noticed that he does not like two-row formations, and even often adopts a thicker formation in the impact formation.

However, it should be considered that his tactical thinking is still aimed at line infantry and grenadiers, which is not so suitable for Jagers.

Especially in the Russian army, there are now 23 ordinary Jager Regiments and 1 Guards Jager Regiment in the Jager Regiment, which is still being expanded. The tactical position of the Jagers and how to fight are also very important things.

Therefore, Solovyov still went to Bagration after breaking the wall on the first day.

But this time it was not at No. 25 Italy Street. It is obvious that entertaining guests at home and discussing important military affairs cannot be in the same place.

There were many people coming this time, mainly middle and senior military officers. The reception room at home was not suitable, but in Menshikov's former palace, which was often requisitioned by the Military Academy.

"We are here today to discuss infantry tactics, and the matters involved are mainly tactical regulations."

However, letting some generals speak there always makes people feel that if the person speaking on the stage asks what you want to say to the person sitting next to you, you can only say "the general's opinion".

There was no substantial progress, and even the training could not maintain the past norms. It was only when Alexander personally issued an edict that the problem of slow and fast steps in the queue was solved.

"As for the jägers, I think the 24 jäger regiments now use many types of weapons. Whether it is the jäger regiment built in the early years, the Gatchina troops built during the reign of His Majesty Paul, or the newly established jäger regiment, there are already many calibers of weapons alone."

Some people said so above, and some people echoed below.

"Among the entire army, only the Guards Jager Regiment has a unified weapon system."

The topic accidentally turned to Solovyov. The Guards Jager Regiment is equipped with breech-loading rifled rifles, which are different from the weapons and equipment of the Jagers, but consistent with the few "special shooters" equipped in the Guards.

This 1797 rifle was made by their new commander. Although it has been improved and upgraded with kits, it should actually be called 1800 now.

"Lieutenant Colonel Solovyov, I think you should answer this question."

Since the ball has been kicked over, he has to take it.

"I think when the Jagers are engaged in frontline firefights, they should also consider the changes in the battlefield environment and the weapons we have. The soldiers selected for the Jager Regiment are generally those with better shooting skills, short stature but strong physique."

"The Guards Jager Regiment is like this, Soloviev, and your weapons and equipment are also the best."

"Therefore, I have also thought about the tactics of the Jagers. In the Guards Jager Regiment with better equipment, of course, the rifles used by our soldiers have a faster firing rate, so we can consider arranging them in two rows, which is conducive to developing firepower. But for troops using old equipment, there are still some problems in shooting in three rows."

The problem mentioned by Soloviev actually existed a long time ago, but there was no written report.

"When shooting in three rows, if the soldiers in the back row are hasty in preparation, it will lead to accidental injuries, especially when the depth of our army's queue is large."

Some people still agree with this point. Some old officers who have led soldiers for many years and have been on the battlefield agree with this.

In the past, the Russian army had relatively good discipline in combat, and they always launched bayonet assaults, so this problem was less exposed.

If it were replaced by some armies that like to use firepower, it might be a different situation.

"In this way, in the case of the Guards Chasseurs, they should be arranged in two rows first, but other Chasseurs should also consider the specific environment on the battlefield."

In the current battlefield environment of the Russian army, the Chasseurs should also be pulled out to be used as line infantry in many battles.

And the general grenadiers and line infantry sometimes change formations, and the French often do so.

If you want to use firepower, you should naturally arrange in two rows, but the weapons and equipment are still limited. The Guards now need to replace the entire army, and at least 7,500 1797 and 1800 rifled guns must be prepared.

Although the Russian army can afford this money, the Tula Arsenal does not have this production capacity now.

This did not include the fact that in wartime, the number of troops would be expanded, and the number of soldiers and non-combatants at the company level would be increased for the Guards and ordinary troops in each regiment.

Therefore, the Guards Chasseur Regiment could only demonstrate on the shooting range first.

After the meeting, at the initiative of the Minister of War, the Guards Chasseur Regiment came out of the demolition site and went to the shooting range for a shooting demonstration, which could be regarded as a shooting training.

In this way, Solovyov's goal was achieved, but now he is the Minister of War.

He is the "Sergei Kuzmich", the poor minister who couldn't read the Tsar's edict, which also added a joke.

Pierre's unlucky blind date and muddled engagement appeared at this time.

As for the Minister of War, although he has a high status, he also seems mediocre.

He was simply led by his subordinates and the Tsar himself. This was very hard, and it was not easy for him to persist.

At the shooting range, Solovyov asked the soldiers to line up in two rows, and also arranged targets that were farther away in the effective range. This was determined by taking into account the performance of the weapons and the past training results of the Guards.

Of course, it was also a conceptual demonstration. The generals who came here knew that the Russian army currently only had such a model hunter regiment, and the equipment and training of other troops could not keep up.

As for the line infantry, their shooting accuracy was obviously not as good as these good hunters who could fight in a dispersed manner.

The first row did not use kneeling shooting, which was actually strictly prohibited in the new regulations of the Guards.

The shooting effect was also very significant. After several rounds of rapid loading and shooting, and each soldier fired five bullets, the wooden targets were almost broken.

The generals present were indeed impressed by the performance of the Guards Jager Regiment.

However, there was only one such regiment, and the leaders of the Jager Regiments had to consider that the weapons in their hands could not even be unified in caliber, let alone the weapon models.

The Jager Regiment that Bagration led in the past had this problem. Even the largest caliber 7.75 Russian line rifles were imported from Britain and made in Tula. The former was more reliable and could also reflect the British's technological advantages during this period.

However, after seeing the results on the shooting range, everyone knew that the Jagers were indeed more effective in two rows and could greatly reduce accidental injuries.

However, in war, because this formation was more thin, many officers and soldiers would not like it, and more combat troops would still line up in three rows.

The soldiers in the third row often did not receive sufficient training, and coupled with the chaotic environment on the battlefield, accidental injuries were often difficult to avoid.

"Sergei Kuzmich, what do you think?"

"I think the Guards Jager Regiment can do this, but they are in battle, 50 rounds of bullets may not be enough for them. In this case, they need to prepare more bullets on their ammunition trucks on the battlefield."

Bagration heard this and knew that the Minister of War agreed to increase the rations for the troops using new weapons, which must be a good thing.

As the regiment commander and the general of the attendant, he was also very satisfied with the past training of the Guards Jager Regiment.

But according to Solovyov's plan, some adjustments need to be made, especially the Guards Jager Regiment needs to be trained according to special tactics, and it also needs to cooperate with the three major regiments of the Guards.

As for the training of new tactics, it is also inseparable from daily training, which consumes a lot of bullets.

Fortunately, the Guards Jager Regiment generally uses paper-wrapped bullets, and the reliability of the primer has been greatly improved with the purified mercury fulminate imported from the UK.

With the Russian traditional smelting method, it also faces serious problems.

At the same time, the Guards have now begun to equip themselves with black powder grenades on a large scale, and the dangerous Molotov cocktails have been withdrawn.

It seems that the current equipment of the Guards soldiers is indeed better than any other army in Europe.

It is no wonder that when Alexander saw the army around him, he had a mysterious confidence.

But looking at the whole of Russia, this is not the case!