Chapter 61 In Brescia

Chapter 61 In Brescia

Chapter 61 In Brescia

Up to now, the Russian army has not actually had any formal exchange of fire with the French army. The cavalry they encountered on the road were just scouts and some stragglers. They have been marching all day long. If it were not for the fact that supplies in Italy are relatively easy to obtain, they would probably have complained.

"Your Excellency Marshal, I think it's time for me to go to the combat unit, right?"

"Don't be anxious, Misha. How far have we gotten so far? Italy may not be as big as Russia, but we still have a long way to go. You can't let an eagle and a deer compete to see who's faster."

There really is no comparison, and Suvorov usually speaks in abstract terms, and he is used to it.

If the Jaeger Company was assigned to the front troops, it would have to wait for the follow-up troops to catch up. However, advancing by car with the Guards did save a lot of travel time. In order to allow these Russian troops to arrive quickly, the Austrian emperor had suspended all transportation except for military supplies along the way.

Franz II was very clear about his current situation. Although the domestic environment would not cause Vienna to become an old district like Paris, if he lost in the current situation, he would have nothing.

It is a bit of black humor that if he had won a few battles before losing, it would at least prove that Austria still had a certain strength. If he was defeated by a mediocre general on the Italian battlefield, the Habsburgs would have lost all their face.

There seems to be a strange perception that losing to General Bonaparte is not actually shameful, after all, he has been defeated so many times.

But if someone else had lost, the French army might have shaken Austria's determination before it even reached the gates of Vienna.

The Austrian Habsburg monarchy has been maintained more than once by relying on financial inputs and friendly forces from the British. If possible, they might even consider uniting with Prussia, even though Prussia had previously taken away a large piece of Silesia from them.

It can be said that Prussia's strength was the result of a civil war to seize territory from its Austrian cousins ​​and then kick them out.

However, they have been "hiding" there for a long time, and now Paul needs to send a special envoy to Berlin to persuade Prussia to join the anti-French alliance.

Prussia's reputation was built by Frederick. In fact, in many areas, they still have some advantages by taking advantage of geopolitics and taking small advantages.

As for the person sent to Berlin, it was Kutuzov. In terms of social relations, he could be said to be a relatively unique one among Suvorov's "disciples". Not only did he have a lot of seniority, he also had some strategic vision and patience.

The situation of Austria and Russia towards France on the battlefield can also be said to be the basis for Prussia's final decision, with the two options of maintaining neutrality or reaping the benefits.

There is actually nothing much to say to these guys who appear to be powerful but are actually weak. The anti-French alliance is mainly a group of people who appear to be powerful but are actually weak. They have always relied on Britain to provide money and Russia to provide manpower to maintain their position.

During the march, the Russian and Austrian troops arrived at the Adda River where the French had already set up defenses and were setting up camp.

After passing Verona, the coalition forces slowed down their actions to take a breather, but there was also an important condition, which was to prepare to cross the river in this area.

"As for what to do, I think the following deployment should be made now. Bagration's column will advance to Brescia, capture the city, and destroy the French there."

However, a large group of French troops have fled, and the current situation is that there are still about 3000 troops in the fortress and the city.

The temporarily reorganized Bagration column was mainly composed of his Jager Regiment, with part of the Austrian army and the Combined Grenadiers Battalion as support forces.

The French also deployed cannons in the fortress. According to Scheerer's deployment, even if they abandoned the city, these French troops at the rear should have held on to the fortress.

Or they could simply abandon the city and retreat directly. However, for some unknown reason, the French commander kept his troops in the city of Brescia.

This gave Bagration the opportunity to launch a surprise attack. The French army was obviously unprepared and they did not even consider that the Russian army would arrive so quickly.

Without too much fighting, half of the French soldiers were defeated, and the rest retreated to the fortress.

"This is outrageous. Many French soldiers don't even have weapons in their hands. How can there be black people?"

"It's not surprising to see black people, General Melas. When I was a sergeant and had just joined the army, I accepted the advice of General Hannibal. He thought I was suitable to join the army as a commander, rather than the military engineer position assigned by my father."

Suvorov said this, and it is true that although he studied military engineering in his youth, he was not very interested in pursuing an engineering career. In the end, it was Peter the Great's adopted son from Africa who made this request to his father, Vasily Suvorov.

Moreover, in Russia, it is not strange to have a black person serving as a general. After all, the descendants of General Hannibal and his brother Petrov both have black ancestry, and they are considered high-ranking nobles in Russia. Pushkin is related to General Hannibal by blood.

On the French side, the same thing happened. The brave general Alexandre Dumas who led the expedition to Egypt came from the West Indies. Among the French troops stationed in Europe, there were many black people serving as officers and soldiers.

In addition to Alexandre Dumas, who applied for service in the French Royal Army, there were also several other generals who were promoted to brigadier generals either in the colony of Haiti or in mainland France after the storming of the Bastille in 1789.

These black soldiers who were killed were the ones who put up the most tenacious resistance on the battlefield. When Bagration's hunters rushed up, they still suffered certain losses even though they were in a dispersed formation.

However, half of the French army was annihilated. What to do with the French in the fortress was no longer Suvorov's concern. He began to consider how to cross the river and continue to pursue Scherer's army.

But there is a fortress behind us, and being able to capture it without bloodshed is better than besieging or directly attacking it.

The request that the military envoys who arrived at the fortress made to the French was also very simple, which was to ask them to surrender.

Given their miserable state when they fled from the city of Brescia, it was impossible for them to retain the honor of the military flag, and they had to hand over their weapons and cannons, but their personal belongings could be guaranteed.

Even if they were sent back, these French soldiers had to guarantee that they would not join in the fight against the Allied Forces within six months. This was also a rule that had to be followed on the European battlefield.

The French had set similar rules for their opponents before. When Solovyov saw this, he actually had to sigh. Even in the 21st century, when he came here, the performance of mercenaries in some countries should be on par with that of the Ottoman army in Syria and Palestine.

The news from the sea spread quickly. The British caught Napoleon's practice of slaughtering prisoners on the beach and made a big propaganda. This propaganda was not wrong. At the same time, we should also consider that the Ottoman Empire had always done too many unethical things when facing European countries, including beheading military eunuchs and various barbaric acts. General Bonaparte "lined up and shot" on the beach. Except for a few soldiers of Egyptian origin who were released, there was nothing wrong with the treatment method in 1799. It is necessary to sigh that the world is going downhill and people's hearts are not as they used to be.

After seeing these French soldiers lay down their weapons, Solovyov came up with an idea.

The two old marshals, Suvorov and Melas, had already moved on, leaving only Bagration here.

"Should we release all these French people to promote the Allied forces' good treatment of prisoners?"

"Misha, your idea is good, but there is no guarantee that these French people will be like the Turks. And the scattered French soldiers will definitely be added to the army."

The prince was still relatively polite, but for some reason today he started looking at himself in the mirror.

"Misha, what do you think of me in this state?"

"Your Highness, you have always been very military."

“But when I look at those Creole soldiers, I feel like my skin color is too dark.”

A Caucasian Georgian said that his face was dark, probably because he had been in the army for many years and was exposed to the wind and sun, which gave him a certain bronze color.

No wonder his popularity with women is completely opposite to that of General Miloradovich.

Before they set off, Tsar Paul, in order to encourage the two, promised to find them a good marriage after returning. General Miloradovich was very interesting. He directly stated: "It is an honor to serve the emperor."

But Bagration, who was not young anymore, began to think about getting married.

He looked at Solovyov's fair skin again. Standing next to him, his skin color seemed to make the prince's skin look more similar.

It is better to be with those black guys. This will make Bagration look whiter and give him some psychological comfort.

What needs to be taken care of at this time is that the Austrian army should get out all those cannons. Some of these bronze cannons, such as 8-pound or 12-pound cannons, can be pulled away as long as there is a suitable gun carriage and wheels are put on them, which can also supplement the Austrian artillery.

They did not feel embarrassed, as these cannons were originally abandoned to the French by the Austrian army and they were put to use.

In previous battles, many of the artillery used by the French were from Austrian arsenals. The quality of these artillery pieces was indeed good, and they were extremely effective when firing grapeshot and solid bullets.

Now the coalition forces have to continue advancing, and the next step is to break through the loose French defense line along the river.

At the same time, in nearby Vienna, the Austrian court had received news that the Austrian army had won at the front and would continue the pursuit after the Allied forces joined forces.

As often happens in St. Petersburg, it has to be said that the Austrians are also proficient in the core technology of Chameleon. They used to criticize General Krei for only being able to stay in his position and fight a defensive battle, but now they have begun to brag about General Krei and belittle General Melas who failed to arrive in time.

As for Marshal Suvorov, he is now the commander-in-chief of the Russian-Austrian coalition forces and the field marshal of the two countries. After all, he is a Russian. As a guest, the Austrians did not dare to make any comments to him, especially according to the latest news that the Russian army drove the French army out of Brescia after only a brief exchange of fire and killed 3000 people.

This small victory was also the first battle of the Russian army in the Italian battlefield. The Austrians could not say anything. Apart from some losses caused by the desperate resistance of the team of black soldiers, it was difficult to find even injured Russian soldiers.

The captured French soldiers were not as lucky as the surrendered French soldiers. They had to work for the local citizens, repair the roads and bridges destroyed by the war, and clear the obstacles set up by General Scherer during the retreat.

There are still some unlucky guys who are sighing. When they followed General Bonaparte, they should have just charged forward with bayonets pointed. There was no way they would have fought a cowardly battle like this. All the money they made in Italy in the past two years, except for the money they brought home when visiting relatives, has become the trophies of the Russians!
This was indeed the case, and Solovyov saw that some members of the Jager Regiment had changed into new shirts.

"You guys have made quite a harvest!"

"Yes, Captain. If we catch a French soldier, we can make a small fortune. If we catch an official, we might make a fortune! Won't you join us in making a fortune?"

"I don't want to be rich. I am an officer, and you all know it."

"I know that. You are also a young master. You must have a master, a mistress and a daughter at home. It's not like us farmers who lack everything in the countryside!"

"You're missing everything! Where are you from?"

"I am from Smolensk, but I am different from my brothers. When I came to the army, my master set my whole family free. People call me 'Free Yartsev'."

"So you are from Yartsevo? Your master is a really kind man! There are many soldiers here, and their wives and children are still working in the fields."

This is a "veiled" statement, that is, that family are still serfs, unlike this lucky old soldier.

"That's the name of our village. We are looking forward to winning more battles with our old marshal and His Royal Highness the Prince, so that we can bring back more good fabrics to buy new clothes for my wife. When my son gets married, he can't let the girl wear tattered clothes, right, young master?"

"That's the case, but you have to be careful not to get bit by the bullet."

"Master, I think you should be careful. You are only eighteen years old at most. If you are killed by a bullet before you get married, it will be a waste. Otherwise, you will be like our prince, who is over thirty years old and still single. Not to mention, you are so handsome, girls will definitely like you. If you meet a young lady waiting to be married, you should hurry up!"

This "old hunter" is quite talkative, but it can be seen that Bagration is popular in the regiment. Even the soldiers are worried about when their prince will get married.

(End of this chapter)