Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 890 010 How many days does it take to catch pigs in France? (V)

It is obvious that the old man Blücher also has a problem. Old cavalrymen are usually like this. When dealing with the enemy, they always want to gain the upper hand through some sneaky means.

However, facts will now make him sober. Grouchy's cavalry attacked the cavalry he mobilized from the side and quickly defeated the troops.

The French who were still in the marching columns on the road and had not deployed were enough to scare Blücher's men.

The defeat within a few days reignited the fear of Napoleon among the Allied forces.

On today's terrain, except for the infantry under Zieten, the Prussian army was barely able to deploy on the road. Many troops did not even maintain their formation and were retreating in a hurry.

Nansouty and Grouchy, who were in charge of commanding the cavalry, were in a lot of trouble at this time. They wanted to break up the Prussian rear phalanx, but because the terrain was not flat, the undulating hills and muddy land always delayed the cavalry's actions.

At the same time, due to the bad weather and Blücher's unwillingness to deploy his artillery and just run away, many French artillery units were left behind, and even if they were deployed, they would not be able to exert their power.

So when the Allied forces were suffering a crushing defeat, it was very difficult for the French army to pursue them.

Napoleon himself left Château-Thierry in the early morning and soon joined the battlefield. He was very satisfied with the current situation.

"If we continue like this, we can drive those who oppose us out of France one by one."

He used a telescope to watch the Prussian troops retreating on the road. Although his expression looked calm, he was actually gritting his teeth.

Blücher had been running away before, but now he has finally been caught and his legion is going to be torn into pieces.

However, we must also consider that the French army had not yet deployed its forces at this time, otherwise the coalition forces would have suffered an even more devastating defeat.

This was just the reinforcements that arrived first, including Marmont, who had been holding back and monitoring Blücher, and Friant, the Guard, totaling only more than 10,000 people.

They were chasing more than 20,000 coalition troops on the road, and the scene was very chaotic at one point.

After seeing the situation of the battle, Blücher no longer cared about anything else. This time he quickly mounted his horse and ran away with his entourage, just like he did in Brienne.

Because the French cavalry could not break up Zieten's phalanx, they could not pursue him effectively and for a while they were unable to do anything to him.

But at this time, Napoleon came to the battlefield, and the Guards broke out into cheers of "Long live the Emperor". For the Allied Forces, this was the last thing they wanted to hear.

It seemed as if there was some kind of magic that the morale of the French was high after Napoleon entered the battlefield.

As far as land and legislation are concerned, the emperor's kindness may not be exhausted.

It was under such circumstances that the French army began to counterattack and the Prussians began to be unable to resist.

Qi Teng's brigade was still retreating slowly, at least ensuring that their phalanx continued along the main road to cover the retreat of friendly forces.

But this was not the case for other armies. The Russian and Prussian armies retreated in disorder on the main road and even disrupted their own troops.

Things were no longer under Blücher's control, and everyone was running for their lives.

Finally, Zieten's infantry phalanx was also opened. After his defense of "four turrets at four corners" was broken, these elite Prussian soldiers who still dared to resist also began to retreat.

"That's it. They can't resist the power of our artillery after all."

A sly smile appeared on Napoleon's lips again, as he often did after his victories in the past.

As for the pursuit, it was obvious that the Prussian army was also vulnerable. Now they were only concerned with escaping and no longer cared about the marching order.

If a hot air balloon were raised, one could see the blue waves on the French side lapping at the retreating Prussian army, like black sand being washed away.

This time, the Prussian army could no longer be called an army. Everyone was fleeing for their lives, including members of the headquarters.

Even the French cavalry was very close, including Marshal Blücher, Gneisenau, Kleist, Prince August and several Prussian and Russian generals. The expressions on their faces could be seen when they were chased by the young French cavalry behind them.

They were eager to pursue enemy generals in front of the emperor, to establish merit and defend France, and apparently that was what they did.

After a while of fighting, it seemed that the Prussians themselves had become the clowns again.

The number of enemies killed also surprised Napoleon.

Although they were not counted, the military flags brought by the veteran Guards and the young Dragoons proved that they captured a considerable number of enemies and destroyed even more Allied units.

The only one who fought decently was probably the Prussian Brigade of Zieten. Except for one battalion that was dispersed, they laid down their weapons under the heavy encirclement of the French army and finally managed to withdraw from the battlefield in an organized manner.

The captured cannons and captured soldiers all demonstrated Napoleon's undoubted victory in this battle.

He even disdained the peace terms offered by the anti-French alliance.

A series of victories would give him the power to make his own choices.

"That's all?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. It's a pity that Blücher got away. Our dragoons caught up with his headquarters and artillery column, but we only captured the cannons and captured the artillerymen. The horses of those headquarters were all carefully selected good horses. Although our boys are brave, the horses they are riding are of very poor quality."

"This is unavoidable, but we can still obtain the enemy's horses to pull the artillery carts. In addition, the marshals and generals should not use their own luggage carts except for the vehicles that transport documents and military pay to their headquarters."

"Your Majesty, this is also a reward for our marshals and generals who have made great contributions."

"I know, Berthier, but what is important now is to have more horses to pull the cannons, and the lesser horses to pull the wounded. We must be economical. My own carriage is now transporting what the headquarters needs, instead of me sitting in it."

Napoleon seemed to have forgotten his physical condition. He was working selflessly and his efficiency was much higher than before, and it seemed that nothing could stop him.

As for the Allied soldiers sent to Paris, their numbers were increasing, including several generals, two of whom were princes in Russia.

Even the theater where Soloviev arranged the performances is now bustling with people watching on the streets of Paris.

"What's going on? They captured two dukes, so they must be very powerful, right?"

"How can you be sure that they are so capable?"

"The young man who performed here before was a Russian officer, but he was only a baron. I heard that he was a relative of the emperor and is now a count. He was so powerful that he could chase his brothers in Italy to find his aunt. If he were a duke, wouldn't he be even more powerful?"

This logic is invincible. Looking at the guy from Montargis grinning foolishly, the theater owner was helpless.

What a jerk!
At the same time, Solovyov was still on the road. Even if he pursued without delay, there was still a serious problem: the muddy road always made it difficult for him to walk fast.

"It would be best if these places could all be built with high-grade roads and railways. The road conditions in France are really bad, especially in this season." "You are still talking about this. We almost got stuck in the mud several times when we were chasing."

Solovyov looked at these stupid commanders and really wanted to whip them on the head with a whip.

However, if they move slowly now, they won't have to fight Napoleon when their troops are insufficient.

As for the reinforcements, the more reliable one was the cavalry led by Count Palen.

Barclay also knew that almost all of Solovyov's cavalry had been withdrawn, so he sent him an acquaintance.

The two of them had already known each other in the presence of Tsar Paul, but because the count's father was a regicide and traitor, and he himself captured his father while on patrol, he was able to preserve part of the family's property, and maintain his title and social status.

In addition to his cavalry, there were also some Cossacks from the Don River, but they came in scattered squadrons.

The only cavalry Solovyov could really use were the cavalry under his command, probably the Circassians.

But they had not encountered any battles and had been wandering around in the rear guard.

It was the old cavalryman Blücher who despised them as "outdated things" and therefore kept them here.

But as long as it is cavalry, it will always be useful in battle.

"Shall we camp here tonight? It looks like the ground is relatively open, but we need to set up some obstacles ahead."

"You're too cautious, Mick."

Clausewitz couldn't help but say a few words. He found that Solovyov had been moving very slowly since entering France.

"It's better this way. We shouldn't be like those people from Württemberg or Bavaria who go to the villages for 'communication' whenever they have nothing to do."

Considering that the Crown Prince of Württemberg was the Queen Mother's nephew and an acquaintance of his, if he had not married Alexandra
"Ah, there is some meaning in what you said."

"I miss my wife and children. They are in Weimar, and..."

"But now is not the right time. Are you afraid that the soldiers will flee by making such arrangements?"

"If anything, at least they have to move the obstruction out of the way."

So, Solovyov deployed some troops at the intersection that night and took some precautions, and stopped at a place called Vali.

There are also advantages to choosing this location, because the town is not on the main road. Even if the French attack, the Russian army is still on the side and rear, so they can launch an attack or choose to transfer.

But that night, Solovyov did not wait for any possible enemy attacks, but only saw his own people retreating one after another.

Apparently, many Prussian soldiers were still haunted by the defeat a day earlier.

When they found Marshal Blücher himself, the old man was actually sleeping on his horse and smelled of rum.

"Damn, this old man is drunk again."

Of course, he was sleeping so soundly that he had to be carried into the house by a few strong soldiers.

Solovyov also found that many of his colleagues in the Russian army kept their heads down, including Udom, who was the current acting commander of the 9th Division. Solovyov also knew him, but his previous combat performance was not very impressive.

"What's going on? It seems like there are a lot of people missing!"

When Udom saw Solovyov, he sat down on the floor without saying anything else.

"Damn it, we've been fighting each other these days, it's worse than when we were following you."

"what happened?"

After Udom explained the situation, Solovyov did not say anything and remained silent for a long time.

But he was always able to remain calm. The failure this time could be said to be caused by the coalition forces underestimating the enemy during the pursuit. Such arrogance would always come at a price.

Napoleon was still capable of fighting, and he would fight desperately to keep his throne.

Of course, it could be another case.

He might even want to add more weight to his victory.

This is different from kimchi. Although Napoleon’s confidence now lies in controlling Paris, and then continuing to fight with the Allied forces, and finally seeking a favorable peace negotiation condition, he always wins.

In the end, Kimchi lost everything, not even his underwear was left, and his body was even burned to charcoal.

Of course, it’s impossible not to get angry after being beaten like this.

"We have 60,000 men, and Napoleon didn't deploy more than 40,000 men in any single battle. Even at Vauchamps, they had fewer men than we did. However, the French losses were probably less than 10,000 men, and many of the wounded were able to return to the ranks. And what about us? Even if we had 50,000 pigs, we couldn't let them slaughter, drive, and capture them all in six days, and end up like this!"

Even he himself was amused by it. After all, the ancient Gauls were the best at catching wild boars.

It seems that the wild boar is also a famous symbol in Gallic culture.

"But now that this is the case, what should we do?"

"Gather the troops first, and wait until His Excellency the Marshal wakes up. We will have to obey his command. How funny."

Solovyov seldom expressed his dissatisfaction with his superiors, but in this situation, no matter how good his temper was, he could not hold it back.

In his opinion, if he were in command of the troops, they would not be beaten like this.

Next, when Napoleon saw that the Silesian Army was in disarray except for York and Sacken who escaped, he turned his target to the other side to deal with Schwarzenberg's army.

If they had won a few more victories, the Allied forces would probably have been forced to accept Napoleon's conditions, using natural boundaries as the dividing line, which was not the condition proposed by Metternich.

Of course, after seeing the result of the Six Days' Battle, Metternich did not agree with the French opinion.

There is no need to make any effort in diplomacy, now just keep fighting.

(End of this chapter)