Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Napoleon's army moved out very quickly, and the people in Prussia were not united now, not because of the main battle or the main peace, but how to fight.

"It is not wise to start the war now. His Majesty's letter has been sent. What is waiting now is the French's official declaration of war. At this point, the only way is to join the war and win in the end. But now we only have one Saxony With the Elector as an ally and the Russian reinforcements that have not yet been prepared in their country, the Swedes still need to mobilize their forces to fight against Denmark. In fact, we can only rely on ourselves."

After the Duke of Brunswick's inconsistent opening remarks, everyone actually realized the seriousness of the problem, but Prince Hohenlohe still advocated his plan to set up a battle array in front of the Thuringia Mountains.

Among those present, the Duke of Brunswick, who had participated in several previous discussions, had doubts. His problem was that he did not want to take responsibility.

But at this time, it is not a matter of responsibility.

As the old Duke's chief of staff, Scharnhorst also felt worried.

When the people present were chattering and the discussion was endless, he and the "Black Duke" who was called back for the meeting said: "The old man's thinking is right. On the front line of the Thuringia Mountains, 80,000 to 120,000 people will be concentrated." The main force threatens the French army's communication lines. This is also the traditional way of fighting for our Prussian army. But the problem is that the French are also familiar with our method of dealing with communication lines, and they may attack from the side of the mountains."

"What you say makes sense, but that's the only way we can do it now. Regardless of whether it's echelon defense or your method of relying on rivers to resist step by step, it doesn't work. And some people will say you are a coward, otherwise my father wouldn't have come up with it. In short, this plan can concentrate the main force to defeat the French left wing first, and finally fight with them to delay the arrival of the Russians. "

"You have made a lot of progress, Your Excellency. I used to think that you were braver than other soldiers."

Scharnhorst was very pleased that the old officer's son had made progress, but the trouble was that there were not many officers with brains.

This plan is also very close to the actual situation of the Prussian army at this time, and everyone agrees, especially the corps commanders.

However, there are always people who have to stand up and raise objections at this time.

"Everyone, the plan we discussed yesterday can threaten the French's transportation line, but what if the French don't take this road? Therefore, I have also thought about this plan proposed by my chief of staff, Meissenbach."

As Hohenlohe spoke like this, Prince August and his close aide-de-camp and staff officer Clausewitz on the other side maintained highly consistent movements and both frowned.

"Your Highness, I want to have a good show."

"No matter what it is, just watch it first and then talk about it."

"The rational plan cannot be passed. He also opposes the old man's stable plan. I don't know what tricks these two 'inventors' are going to play today."

Scharnhorst came from a humble background, and he has always been more tolerant, so he did not show any expression in person.

As for the "Black Duke", his beard is so thick that even smaller facial expressions cannot be seen.

In short, everyone wants to see what method Meissenbach will come up with today.

Moreover, His Majesty the King is here, and Prince Hohenlohe obviously wants to take this opportunity to express their opinions and finally gain support.

"We set up defenses at the two main passes in the Thuringia Mountains, and arranged the main force of the entire army on both sides, with a small number of cavalry units in the middle for communication and cover. The advantage of this is that we can protect the passes on both wings and place them on the spot. To defend. This is our 'flanking fortress' strategy."

"It would be fine if the French divided their forces and attacked in two directions. What if he attacked one side and strategically used the side attack we are accustomed to in our general tactics?"

Messenbach's words would obviously arouse everyone's dissatisfaction. Several young staff officers raised objections on the spot. They thought the old Duke's words were more objectionable.

"This is the subtlety of this strategy. Our fortresses on both sides block the pass and can respond to each other. If the French army concentrates its forces on the mountain pass on the west side, we will mobilize the troops on the east side. If the east side is attacked, then we will Mobilize troops from the west for support."

The Black Duke couldn't hold it in anymore at this time. He said to Scharnhorst beside him: "Weird talk and full of nonsense."

"Duke, what did you say?"

"I say hello to you, sir!"

The atmosphere was quite cold for a while, and at this time Scharnhorst stood up and pointed out one of the most critical issues.

"The French army is mobile very fast. Not to mention Napoleon, even when we fought with the French army in the past, their militiamen were also marching very fast. If you set up two positions like this on the battlefield, our army could move in one day. 3 miles, the journey in between takes 5 to 6 days, there is no time to coordinate with each other!”

It can be said that speaking like this is actually a death sentence for this plan.

Fortunately, a copy of this plan was not sent to the Russian military headquarters, otherwise it would have laughed out loud.

Clausewitz had not yet started writing his famous "On War", but his complaints were already very sharp, and they were very close to Suvorov's ideas.

After all, there are always officers in the Prussian army who like to use fancy words and beautiful drawings to explain their "new military theory", but this innovation always fails.

Frederick the Great's oblique tactics are essentially just to tilt the battle line and create a favorable situation for himself. This approach is the "Renaissance", a tactic commonly used by the ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, and it was used to defeat the Spartan tough guys.

Then, they themselves were defeated by Philip the One-Eyed and his son Alexander, who was on the battlefield for the first time, in Chaeronea.

As for the change of this formation, the most glorious battles are probably Hannibal in the Battle of Cannae and Scipio Africanus in the Battle of Zama, but the latter was too dependent on the Carthaginian Senate.

Clausewitz thought so, and he did not make any rebuttal in person. After all, his leader Prince August did not speak, so he could only wait here.

As for Scharnhorst, he firmly opposed Mesenbach's plan and even brought out his plan of successive defense, but canceled the plan of retreating to the Oder River in the end.

"If we fight like this, it is better to concentrate our forces. Every time Bonaparte achieved a brilliant victory, the Austrian army was scattered. If we form a fist and concentrate all our elite troops, it turns out that we can still fight."

"What about Austerlitz?"

"The Battle of Austerlitz is a failed example of blindly fighting a battle in advance. Although it was correct in terms of the determination of the entire battle, it ignored the situation of the Russian and Austrian armies on the battlefield at that time. Archduke Karl should be given half a month to continue on his way, so that he could fight another battle on a battlefield that was beneficial to him, instead of near Brno."

Mesenbach and Scharnhorst quarreled non-stop, and used arguments supporting their own plans as ammunition.

It is the most difficult to tell the winner from the mouth. After all, bragging does not need practice. No matter how good the plan and PPT are, it is still not good if you go out to fight and lose in the end.

Mesenbach was also angry at this time. Scharnhorst came out to oppose his opinion. It must be the instigation of the old Deng who was still in good spirits behind him.

However, the Duke of Brunswick was cautious and mature. He was worried that his plan would take responsibility. At the same time, Hohenlohe and Mesenbach kept emphasizing their "innovation". If it weren't for Scharnhorst's continuous output today, I'm afraid this plan would have been passed in front of the king long ago.

And he also saw his son, who had clenched his fists.

If they fought, the "Black Duke" was very young, and Scharnhorst was only 51 years old. If the two of them grabbed these two and beat them, it would be a lively scene.

"Son, don't move. At this time, it depends on how to make the final decision to fight."

"The Black Duke" sat down unwillingly. He was a filial son. Although he loved to make trouble, he listened to his father's instructions.

"Father, if we keep going like this, there will be no end to the quarrel."

"Then you can't follow the ancient Germanic practice of dueling to decide the winner. What we need to decide is the strategic approach to the war against France."

In this era, there are also duels. The Junkers are all hot-tempered, so it is inevitable that they will encounter similar situations.

And Scharnhorst seems to have the upper hand.

But Meisenbach threw out a strange argument: "Then why did the French who were chasing from Amstetten to Dürenstein be wiped out?"

"Dürenstein? If I remember correctly, according to the official Austrian report or the embellished content of the "Grand Army Bulletin", Armee, commanded by Mortier, was killed here because he was unfamiliar with the terrain and encountered an ambush by the coalition forces. It had nothing to do with the overall strategy, grand tactics, or battle tactics!"

This statement was impeccable, and Scharnhorst knew that the commander-in-chief had communicated with Colonel Solovyov, a young Russian officer who participated in this battle, and had long known the detailed situation on the battlefield.

So he turned to the old duke and asked for his superior's help.

Seeing that there was no way, the Duke of Brunswick also signaled his adjutant to take a letter out of his briefcase.

Although it was sent in the name of General Langeron, the chief of staff of the "East Prussian Corps", the Duke of Brunswick also knew that this was a young man named Solovyov who wrote to him on his own initiative with authorization.

"What I want to mention here is that the Russian side also hopes that we can maintain our combat effectiveness when the Russian army at least arrives in West Prussia. And they also expressed a worry that taking the initiative on the battlefield and attacking the enemy's transportation lines can threaten the enemy and delay time as much as possible. At the same time, it also buys time for the arrival of our allies in several directions. Then there is another more interesting plan, which is that we send an army in Erfurt as a decoy to attract the attention of the French army with great fanfare. At the same time, we put the entire corps on the Elbe River line and wait for the French to approach."

This brought a problem. The Prussian commanders generally had poor initiative and had to rely on the chief of staff to assist in operation.

If the Duke of Brunswick was ten years younger and his energy could keep up, he might have cooperated with Scharnhorst and used this plan to fight. Although the Prussian army was in a bad situation at that time, it was not as bad as in 1806.

Moreover, there is no longer a cavalry general like Seydlitz in the Prussian army who can actively judge the battlefield situation. Maybe Blücher, an old madman, is not bad on the battlefield, but his status is not enough at the moment, and he needs to be given Prepare a brain to control his violent mood.

"If you want to do this, don't you have to at least give up Erfurt?"

Meissenbach was not willing to give up north of the Thuringia Mountains. He still advocated his own opinions, and had a vague feeling that His Majesty the King seemed to agree with this plan of dividing the troops.

"That's better than being here like an earthworm, being cut into several pieces, and there's no guarantee that you're still alive!"

Messenbach was now enraged and launched a personal attack on Scharnhorst.

"As a farmer's son, you are still the same as farming in the countryside!"

But Scharnhorst has always been more rational and calm, and he will not accept this trick.

"You may think so, but when farming, you also need to raise ridges, just like building a defense line, sowing seeds in the spring, and cutting gardening, just like infantry forming a line. But you are not like this. You are just making two piles of manure. .Waiting for that Corsican bumpkin landowner to come and shovel the shit with his tenants!”

This article was so interesting that it made Frederick William III unable to hold back his face and was suppressing a smile.

Queen Louise, although she frowned a little when she heard such "tasteful" topics, she also appreciated the general's rusticity and sense of humor.

As for the people around him, such as the "Black Duke" and other young generals, they could no longer hold back and started laughing.

"Okay, everyone, we still have to make up our minds today."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Although Frederick William III was cowardly and incompetent, one thing was good. He at least knew that the two sides had been arguing for ten days with no result, and now a conclusion must be reached.

Otherwise, waiting for the French to come over and still having a meeting would be tantamount to being captured without mercy.

"I think at this time, everyone has expressed their opinions. Based on past experience, we, um, we should follow the Duke of Brunswick's opinion and attack the enemy's communication lines. This is a good way. . But Prince Hohenlohe and General Meissenbach’s The opinion is not unreasonable. As for General Scharnhorst, we all know that your plan is the most rational, but it is unreasonable to give up Berlin in the end. Therefore, at this time, we should act accordingly. The Duke of Renswick's advice was to fight the French."

It seems that Davout has no chance to perform extreme maneuvers in Auerstadt.

As for history, there must be some changes.