Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 338 040 A pocket tailor-made for the French

Napoleon formed a new Eighth Army and asked Marshal Mortier to command it. In fact, he also sent his instructions together, which can be regarded as micro-management to a certain extent.

Motier himself marched with the Gazan Division. In addition, there were Dupont Division and Dumonceau Division left behind.

Napoleon's own instructions were to pay attention to the safety of the flanks and the distance between the divisions should not be too far.

But judging from the situation on the battlefield, the Gazan Division in the front of the Eighth Army also opened up a distance.

And the flank.

"The Austrians were defeated so quickly this time. I think Kutuzov is just holding back our pursuit troops. He will not take the initiative to contact them."

Although he said so, Gazan was not at ease with what Mortier said.

"Although you said so. When the Russians came into contact with the Fifth Army before, they also formed a superior force."

As a division commander, Gazan has always been in the front and still understands the situation on the front line.

"What if the Russian army launches a counterattack somewhere while we are chasing along the river? We still need to be careful, Edward."

"Okay, I know, we have to send out scouts now to understand the current movements of the Russians."

Although they were prepared, and Napoleon also copied a note to Mortier that said "The retreating enemy should not be pursued rashly, and full preparations must be made before action."

This instruction made the front-line generals understand it to some extent, and the opponent might also fall into the trap.

Soloviev didn't know that he had played a reverse role. He was still considering Schmidt's battle plan and how to deploy it.

When they arrived at Dürenstein, Schmidt led a group of Austrian staff officers to point at the mountain.

"It's here, where the captured Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned."

Although this matter is somewhat unethical, it is also a relatively famous place in history.

"More than sixty years ago, the residents here used wood to disguise as cannons to scare off the enemy."

"But all is fair in war, sir. If you want to fight a war, this kind of deception will be useful at any time."

Schmidt smiled but said nothing. He rode to the river bank and looked at the terrain before starting to think.

"If we hide a regiment of hunters in the woods behind the hillside, and put two more regiments in the bushes, and a battalion behind the stone wall, we can also put these here."

"This is just an ambush force. If the enemy has cavalry to scout, it will be a big threat to us."

An Austrian staff officer said this, and everyone thought it was right.

The French cavalry is very proactive, always taking the initiative to attack or undertake scout missions, but when they encounter the enemy, they always get ahead.

"Should we send out our hussars and Cossacks to lead the French away?"

"Sir, I think this is possible."

Schmidt also nodded. He had been making plans before. The terrain of Dürenstein was a place where he could use his skills. Therefore, he did not intend to adopt a too conservative way of fighting, but to fight here.

According to the intelligence obtained from the reconnaissance of the Allied Cavalry, only the Eighth Army of the French Army was relatively active on the north bank of the Danube. The rest of the troops were either chasing the defeated Austrian troops or redeploying. Another part of the troops were heading to Vienna, preparing to seize the city before the Austrians destroyed the roads and bridges along the way.

After all, the Austrians themselves did not defend their capital, and retreated all the way east. There was no need for the Russian army to deal with the French in Vienna.

After reconnaissance, Schmidt analyzed the intelligence and found that the Eighth Army's formation was too wide. Although cavalry was sent as scouts, no attention was paid to protecting the flanks.

Next, they returned to the Great Monastery of Melk, which is also Kutuzov's temporary headquarters.

"Have you figured out which unit the French division ahead is?"

"From the flag, it's a newly formed army. Logically, the flags we've seen are all drawn from the various French armies. They originally belonged to four different armies."

"Well, no need to say, it looks like we can win a small victory here. Commander-in-Chief, what do you think?"

Schmidt saw Kutuzov pretending to sleep, and he was helpless. These old men were very smart. Schmidt was the older one.

"Ah, that's good. We can put the troops in this curved part, hide our hunters, and wait for the cunning French fox to get into the trap."

The column commander and the general on duty were also here. Most of the Russian regiment commanders also came here to hold a meeting today to discuss the next battle plan.

They also had to listen to Kutuzov's statement. After all, the main force in this battle was still the Russian army. Among the Austrian army, except for some cavalry units that were still here and were dispersed by the French, they had no combat effectiveness now, which was indeed more troublesome.

"We need to make sure that the French on this side of the mountain don't notice our deployment on this side of the Danube bend. At the same time, we need to deploy artillery on the mountain to suppress the French firepower."

Schmidt's idea was also very simple. He wanted the troops led by Bagration, Dokhturov and Miloradovich to divide into three groups to encircle the enemy. Miloradovich was responsible for luring the enemy, Bagration was responsible for intercepting, and Dokhturov was responsible for outflanking.

The total strength of the French army was only more than 10,000. The Gazan Division in the front had the largest number of troops, more than 6,000, and the other two divisions had 4,000 each. Some dragoons and hussars were moving with them.

But the Gazan Division was in the front at this time. Although Motier listened to Gazan's advice and added cavalry, these cavalry squadrons, as the eyes of the large army, had to face the possible harassment of the Austrian cavalry.

Schmidt's plan also tended to use the Austrian cavalry to attract the French cavalry from the direction of the preset battlefield, making the French temporarily blind, and then set an ambush.

After he talked for a while, Dokhturov, who received the outflanking mission, raised his question.

"Sir, your overall idea is good. We can also use the terrain to make a detour and cut off the French retreat. But there is another problem here. The French division-level troops can still march very fast within a day. Although this will increase the distance, if the subsequent enemies catch up, someone will need to block the reinforcements."

"Your idea makes some sense. We should indeed send people to block the reinforcements that may come along the Danube."

In the position of Dürenstein, it is indeed feasible to surround the point and attack the reinforcements. When surrounding the enemy, it is not necessarily possible to block the news. If the French reinforcements come from behind, this is also a problem.

In the monastery that day, the discussion between the parties did not stop.

"If we want to eat up this French division, we must also consider the possible reinforcements behind us, and when we engage in battle, the duration of the battle, will it attract the enemy's large forces?"

"It shouldn't be. We are scouting the movements of the French every day. The troops on the north bank of the Danube are chasing our troops. Obviously, the distance between them is quite large. If we don't take it into consideration..."

When Solovyov spoke, his tone was a little impatient. Schmidt knew that he had a good appetite. If he wanted to eat up one or two French divisions, others could also hear it.

"Misha, what do you want to say?"

Volkonsky asked him, and Solovyov coughed twice, and then expressed his opinion.

"If we are not retreating, with the existing forces, it is not impossible to bite the enemy and completely devour the three French divisions within three to five days!"

This boosted everyone's morale. At today's meeting, everyone was discussing how to deal with the largest group of Gazan Division in front. No one expected that a young colonel who was usually very cautious would have such an appetite.

"You are too arrogant, Misha, even if we are in an offensive state..."

Volkonsky is not like the Russian generals and middle-level officers present. He is mainly around Alexander. Although he has some understanding of Suvorov's set, he has not received teachings in front of the Grand Marshal.

He would not have thought that Suvorov's disciples were all proactive and willing to confront the enemy.

Speaking of which, Solovyov himself has also summarized it, and this is also a fact known to everyone.

Bagration is better at rearguard warfare, and Miloradovich is good at both offense and defense. They each learned a part of Suvorov, but none of the disciples the old man had taught could learn the essence of his strategic maneuvers.

Solovyov was too young. Although he spent a lot of time with Suvorov, the skills he learned were too limited. If you say it, what he learned was probably more like Bagration - after all, he had no master to guide him most of the time, and he probably didn't learn the same skills as his senior brother.

"But it is still feasible. When I want to lure the enemy here, I want to lure them to the terrain that is favorable to us and trap this vanguard division. As for the enemies behind, the French will not give us so much time. I'm afraid we can't stop the subsequent enemies, but that's all."

"Indeed, time is the most precious thing for us now. Now it's like this, you can go back to your respective teams after dinner."

When Kutuzov mentioned eating, everyone looked at Solovyov. The thing he made was indeed not very tasty.

"It's not 'Ryazan canned food', that stuff is either salty or sweet. Today, we have wine here."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief, the local wine tastes good. Not only for us officers, but also for the brothers."

The older Schmidt also knew that these Russians liked wine, of course, he didn't consider that there was also Solovyov who could hardly drink.

"That's it, everyone can go back and rest, eat something good, sleep well, and then we have to fight the French."

Kutuzov's side also dispersed for a while, and Schmidt also took the Russian officers to the wine cellar. The nearby troops had to receive some supplies, which could also boost morale. After all, such good wine was difficult for the soldiers to get.

Everyone had a good impression of the old man Schmidt, and he also established prestige.

In the battle in Austria, he was also the host, and the guests still had to listen to him, so they cleaned up all the local wine cellars.

After all, if a fight broke out, I'm afraid this place would become a battlefield, and nothing would be left.

But before the operation to lure the enemy began, Solovyov was also considering whether to use some methods to paralyze the French.

For example, when entering Dürenstein, send people to welcome the French army into the town.

However, in order to do this, the Russian army's reputation for good military discipline must be sacrificed, and a little damage must be done to the local area to make it look more realistic.

In addition, on the night of November 9, a team of Cossacks detected the important movements of the French army.

After arriving in Bavaria, the French army bought 50 ships, which could communicate back and forth on both sides of the river when operating along the Danube, and be responsible for the transportation of a small amount of supplies.

In addition, the Cossacks also captured a dozen French prisoners, from whom they also learned about the current movements of the French army.

"According to these troops, the French deployment is still very scattered. It seems that it is feasible to lure the enemy to Dürenstein."

Schmidt did not expect that there would be such a good opportunity. If possible, with the three divisions of the French Eighth Army advancing one day apart, they could use the current 20,000 troops to give the enemy a fatal blow.

"Sir, the problem is whether we can send out the blocking troops. After the French fall into the trap, we have to cut off their retreat and attack the enemy who may reinforce. Besides that."

"I understand what you mean. At this time, we can't be careless."

What is most lacking now is time. The coalition forces have to attack the French army, and this is the only chance at present.

You should know that the French army is still chasing the French army in several directions, while Murat and Lannes are heading to Vienna.

If we really talk about the problem, Murat, who needs to share the brain with others, has no responsibility. Only Mortier did not listen to Napoleon's dispatch, the flank protection was very poor, and the three divisions were separated by a large distance. This obviously did not regard the coalition forces as a dish.

It was indeed wrong to underestimate the enemy, but the Austrians were defeated so quickly. The French army also achieved considerable success in the pursuit of the Austrians in several directions. Except for a few Austrians who went south to find Archduke Karl, only Kutuzov's troops were active on the north bank of the Danube. It seemed that they only needed a slight push to defeat the coalition forces.

In the following battle, the French also had a hard time.