Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Chapter 351 053 Austerlitz (II)

After the battle began, the entire battlefield was initially shrouded in thick fog, which was normal in winter. After the fog dissipated, it was time for both sides to shoot at each other.

In the past, the Russian army rarely suffered losses in the battle with the French army. Even last month, it successfully lured the enemy in the rearguard battle of Dürenstein, annihilated the French army, captured the military flag, and captured a French marshal and several generals.

Under such circumstances, it is inevitable that many Russian officers and soldiers will have illusions that the French are just like that.

But after the battle, it was obviously not the case.

Soult now led the Fourth Army to attack, and under the cover of artillery, the Second Division launched an attack on the Pratzen Heights.

Wandamu's division has five regiments, and when they directly advance, their firepower is also very strong.

On the Russian side, although it has begun to increase shooting training among light infantry and line infantry since the beginning of the year, and even in the previous few years, the effect is very poor.

At this time, the British were undoubtedly the ones who had the most ammunition for shooting training, but the French "Grand Corps" had been fully trained in all aspects of combat skills when they were in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Therefore, their shooting was relatively good in the first few rounds, causing considerable losses to the Russian army.

At this time, Kutuzov could only order the Fourth Column in front of him to continue fighting around the Pratzen Heights.

Retreat was unlikely. The two columns had already advanced to the left wing according to Werosser's plan. The front was short of troops and had to persist.

In this case, the Tsar himself was still the nominal commander-in-chief, and Kutuzov's dispatch was more or less constrained, and it seemed more like he was doing it according to Werosser's set.

This was an old problem of the Austrians. If the commander-in-chief and the quartermaster general disagreed, or due to other problems, the entire command system would be in disorder.

The Guards were in the rear at this time and could not know the situation in front. After the fog dissipated, the exchange of fire between the two sides became more intense.

But from the roar of the cannon, it could be heard that the situation was not good.

Although the Russian artillery was more powerful and the artillery group was not small in size, the French had more concentrated firepower and had a slight advantage in the frontline.

"I just don't know what's going on over there."

The Guards were preparing to join the battle. Although Grand Duke Constantine had not received any orders, the current situation was different from what Werosser had expected. The fight started directly in front of the Pratzen Heights, so the Guards had to go in this direction.

But the order did not come, and the Guards still had to wait here.

The three teams of the Guards were ready at this time. The Guards Cavalry and Cavalry Artillery were on the right, the Putin Regiment and the Semenovsky Regiment were on the left, and the Guards Chasseur Regiment and the Izmailov Regiment appeared behind them, leaving only the Grenadiers and Artillery in the position where Solovyov worked overnight.

At this time, Grand Duke Constantine also quickly received the situation in front.

When the two sides further exchanged fire in the middle, due to the collective turning of the three columns of the Russian army and the attack on the right wing of the French army, a huge gap appeared.

After the French Fourth Army had come up, the Grenadier Division came in from this place under the command of Duroc.

Solovyov was actually somewhat familiar with the Battle of Austerlitz, but he didn't remember the details so clearly.

For example, Napoleon suddenly took out the Grenadier Division of Oudinot, while filling the gap of the French army, and at the same time rushed to the direction of Platzenburg, so he piled up.

This deployment, even if a time traveler familiar with history came, would never expect that there would be changes.

The French army's formation can only show one thing, Napoleon made up his mind that he must kick the Tsar's pants today, so he made a maneuver on Lannes' side in front of the Guards, just passing behind the Fourth Army.

And the fierce battle on the high ground, the French army was launching an attack at this time, and on the other hand, it was going to advance towards Platzenburg, one of the two commanding heights on the entire high ground.

By seizing this place, the connection between the three main attacking columns of the coalition forces and the rest of the coalition forces can be cut off.

Napoleon himself rode a white horse in front of his headquarters to observe the battlefield situation. He was very satisfied with the current situation.

"The progress is very smooth, Berthier, use our artillery to bombard the Russian positions!"

He is also paying attention to the situation in three directions. The Pratzen Heights in the middle is naturally the top priority, so he has to strengthen the firepower and put the main force of the infantry here.

It's just the Guards. Now there are four battalions, plus an Italian Guards Battalion, all in the back.

He can't change this problem, but he still has to make a big move when dispatching other troops.

He just saw the thick smoke billowing over Pratzenburg from the telescope. The artillery and infantry of both sides fought fiercely here. Obviously, the Russian army here seemed to be on guard.

"What's going on over there?"

"Your Majesty, it seems that a Russian army has bypassed there."

"These Russians are very proactive."

Napoleon knew that it was obviously not that easy to deal with the Russian army. From officers to soldiers, they were very tenacious.

This is the Great Kamensky Brigade of Langeron's Second Column. After discovering the French movement, they turned around and marched towards the commanding heights of Platzenburg.

But this was half of Langeron's troops, and the artillery and cavalry in the rear were also transferred over.

He faced the Saint-Elais Division. The French discovered that the Russian army was coming from this side, and the two sides started a firefight on the hillside.

After discovering the exchange of fire on the Platzenburg side, Napoleon quickly responded and asked the Grenadier Division, which was changing positions, to turn around and go to Platzenburg.

The Grenadier Division itself has nearly 6,000 people, which are elite grenadiers from various units, and has strong combat effectiveness.

When they were about to be transferred here, Napoleon also issued another order, directly micro-manipulating the artillery behind the Fourth Army and the Grenadier Division, and asked the artillery commander of the Grand Corps, De Coulbon, to directly cover the front-line operations.

At this time, the mobilization of troops made the center of the entire battlefield fall on the Platzenburg side.

Of course, the battle was also very intense at the Old Vineyard.

Soloviev rode to Grand Duke Constantine. At present, several Guards regiment commanders and battalion commanders were waiting for orders here. The Guards were really going to take action.

"It seems that we need to go up too, Malyutin, ask the Putin Regiment and the Semenovsky Regiment to prepare to join the battle."

But Malyutin led the team up and brought the artillery over, so the Izmailov Regiment was still vacant.

As for the cavalry, it also had to be mobilized at this time and passed through the road between the two highlands.

The French army had just come up here, and the battle was still going on. The subsequent reinforcements were now heading towards the Pratzen Heights. Even Bernadotte's First Army, which had always been slow in marching, was now coming to support the Pratzen Heights.

Especially in the very important Old Vineyard area, on the north side of the Pratzen Heights, a French regiment had already appeared here.

Constantine also noticed the situation on the battlefield and found that although the formation of the French Line Infantry Regiment was in good shape, it was still a little far from the French infantry and cavalry on both sides.

"Damn it, this gives us a chance to open a gap!"

He called an adjutant and asked him to pass on orders to the squadrons of the Guards Cavalry to attack the French regiment.

The four regiments of the Guards Cavalry had a complete range of arms, except for the Lancers, and the junior officers and soldiers in the Guards were generally equipped with new cavalry pistols.

Those old flintlock pistols were obviously not as powerful as the new revolvers. When the Russian army charged, these new guns could even shoot directly at the French soldiers in the hollow square formation on horseback.

The Guards Cavalry attacked very suddenly this time. When the soldiers of the 4th Line Infantry Regiment of the French Army discovered the Russian army, they had already rushed in front of them.

Without time to form a formation, one battalion was quickly overwhelmed by the Guards Cavalry, and those Guards Hussars and Guards Cossacks chased after the scattered French army to harvest heads and capture prisoners.

The other two French battalions formed a hollow square at this time, ready to resist the attack of the Russian cavalry.

However, these Russian Guards Cavalry Regiments all took out their pistols to shoot, instead of the possible impact they thought.

In this case, the French infantry square was first hit by the bullets of the Russian cavalry, and then bombarded by the Russian cavalry artillery shotgun.

The infantry of the French 4th Line Infantry Regiment were quickly defeated, and the military flag was captured by the Guards Cavalry.

Napoleon also saw these defeated soldiers. Even when they ran to the vicinity of the camp and saw the emperor, they still shouted "Long live the emperor" and continued to run away.

This is indeed a bit funny, and Napoleon is also a bit helpless.

The next order he issued was that the French Guard Cavalry should intercept the attacking Russian cavalry and bring the cavalry guns.

The two sides' methods of action were generally the same. The French counterattack was to beat the Russian army back.

The Russian army that launched the attack first suffered little loss, but they continued to attack the nearby French infantry. Two of the four cavalry regiments were entangled, and the remaining cavalry had to face the French cavalry that had been waiting for them.

The battle was very fierce. Now for the French army, their cavalry guns were in a better position. In this case, they fired a round of shotgun shells at the Russian army.

The Russian artillery had not come yet. After the shotgun shells were fired, the counterattack of the French cavalry also forced the inferior Russian Guard Cavalry to retreat.

The two Russian Guards Regiments were now assisting the Fourth Column, which was struggling in the battle.

But the Russian army still suffered great losses. As a last resort, these more combat-effective infantry had to retreat to reorganize, replenish ammunition, and reorganize their formation.

The fighting power of the Austrian soldiers who were replaced has always made people anxious.

Unfortunately, the Hungarian infantry and grenadiers with stronger fighting power are not here. As for the Austrian soldiers in front of them, each regiment is not only not fully staffed, but most of them are even a battalion. Not only are the staffing incomplete, but most of them are new recruits.

The strength of a battalion is almost 1,000, and the strength of a battalion is only 400. After these Austrian soldiers came up, they soon couldn't resist.

In this situation, Kutuzov was somewhat relieved when he saw the guards coming up from the flank. After all, Grand Duke Constantine had experienced the test of war, and he still knew how to seize the opportunity and come forward in times of crisis.

Alexander himself has started to wipe his sweat with a handkerchief. He didn't expect the battlefield to be so tense. According to Werosser's report, the coalition's left wing has an advantage; the French army in the middle has already attacked the Pratzen Heights, and the French still have some advantages.

Bagration's right wing, as a feint attack force, has been entangled with Lana's troops. Under the flank cover of the fifth column commanded by Liechtenstein, the battle is still fairly evenly matched.

But Murat, who was with Lana, and his cavalry, namely Nansuti and Kellermann, joined the battle, and some reserves have not yet been put into battle.

The situation is not good. He is under great pressure now, but he still doesn't know how much he is and whether he can fight.

After all, Werosser still looks good.

But on the Pratzen Heights, the Russian army attacked the two divisions of the French Fourth Army from both sides, and the French Grenadier Division came to flank Great Kamensky. The second column, a very proactive unit, could not resist and was driven down to the Pratzenburg side by the French army.

The battle at this time was not good for the coalition forces.

The battle on the top of the highland was still going on, but the French army was pressing forward and was about to drive all the troops on the Pratzen Highland down.

At this time, the two regiments of the Guards that had not yet been put into battle were behind the highland and had not yet been put into battle.

The problem of these two regiments at this time was that if the five battalions of troops were put into the Pratzen Highland, it would obviously be a drop in the bucket.

With Grand Duke Constantine and Maliukyo both going to the front to command the battle, these five battalions needed a senior officer to command, and only Solovyov could do it.

When Constantine ran forward, the command order was not determined here.

But at this time, Solovyov took the initiative to stand up.

For the battalion commanders, although he was young, his qualifications and experience were very suitable.

It was just that Solovyov did not plan to fill the hole on the highland. It was obviously unwise to go up now, but he should keep a conservative retreat.

Now, he still thought of sending an adjutant to Constantine.

The distance was still very close, and Constantine quickly responded, asking him to block the main road.

In addition to blocking the road, there were also retreating cavalry artillery, and it was obvious that the Guards Cavalry could not hold on.

Seeing this situation, Solovyov also knew what he should do.

Although they did not retreat to the camp set up by the Guards yesterday, they also built the first line of defense between the villages on the main road.