Chapter 63 013 Attacking Alcole from the opposite direction

Chapter 63 013 Attacking Alcole from the opposite direction

Chapter 63 013 Attacking Alcole from the opposite direction

It was indeed quite unexpected that Scherer was caught.

When Rosenberg launched the attack, he did not expect that there would be such a big fish here. He just wanted to eliminate the rear guard and some scattered French troops. He did not expect that Scherer had arrived in Bergamo.

Now the prisoners were escorted to Suvorov's headquarters. These French were very valuable prisoners, so Rosenberg asked the liaison officer Captain Gryazev to go with Solovyov.

Captain Gryazev was still writing quickly on horseback.

"What are you writing?"

"Our march diary, about our entire regiment, and the outstanding units among our friendly forces."

"How long have you remembered this?"

"It started when I joined the army. I wanted to apply for retirement last year, but I was rejected."

"What are you going to do when you retire and go home?"

"I just think that this is enough. The discipline in the army nowadays is too strict. Especially for a young man like you. I am almost 10 years older than you. There is a generation gap."

"Yes, but I think such service requirements are nothing. Our emperor is just a little strict with the officers and cannot let them take leave casually."

"Well, when we were stationed in Poland, it was much easier than before we set out."

It seems that the Russian officers were indeed dissatisfied with Tsar Paul's practice of daily training and requiring approval for leave, and this affected the privileges of some people.

This Gryazev was quite open-minded. For him, what he had to do every day was to make a detailed record of the marching route, battle situation, and the customs and habits of the places he visited that day.

"By the way, would you like to have some of the white biscuits and Italian sausages we seized in the city? Are you, the hunters, busy capturing prisoners outside the city?"

"Thank you, I haven't eaten all day!"

The captain also recorded the battle of April 4 in his march diary, and wrote about going to the headquarters with the Jager Company to hand over the prisoners.

General Scherer was groaning because of the gunshot wound, which meant he was in great pain, but his internal organs were not injured, so he would not be able to die today.

He asked his stepmother's cousin about this captain, but he didn't understand what was going on.

After all, in Paris, although everyone knew that Madame de Beauharnais came from the West Indies, they knew nothing about her family. Although the old man Scheerer served in the Directory, he did not have much interaction with Josephine.

Even if the question was asked, he would know the answer, or he might lack the association. Perhaps General Moreau, who had served in the Rhine Army, would know the answer.

It's no use saying all this. As the former Army Minister, it's quite embarrassing that this general is now a prisoner.

However, precisely because he was captured by the Russian army, he did not have to return to the Directory to be questioned, so an investigation committee launched an investigation into him after the disastrous defeat near Verona.

Now the real boss has been captured by the Russian army. Even Moro in Arcole doesn't know what happened. He only knows that the army of Bergamo was defeated and some fleeing soldiers came to him.

When escorting prisoners at night, they were more worried that some of them would escape. However, many of these officers had gunshot wounds and they could not run far, so they were relatively honest and were escorted to Suvorov's headquarters.

"Misha, why did Rosenberg send you back?"

"Marshal, we encountered the French army in Bergamo, killed more than 2,000 of them, and captured General Scherer."

"Well done, the boys. We have had a hard time catching Scherer these past few days. Although we haven't been able to catch his main force, catching him is still a credit."

Afterwards, Solovyov and Gryazev reported to Suvorov on the battle situation.

"Very good, the action was swift, and the infantry was well deployed. This is a good demonstration of our military principles. The Prussian system is still not applicable. Don't you agree, General Melas?"

"Yes, the Prussian way of fighting has become increasingly rigid in recent years."

"Gentlemen, I agree with you! Your Russian infantry is very flexible, but I didn't expect the chasseurs to be so accurate, otherwise I wouldn't have captured any prisoners for you. Of course, the Prussian army still has some skills, and even their chasseurs are good hunters."

Suvorov invited Scherer to dinner here. Although they only had some bread and a glass of sweet wine, they had a very pleasant conversation.

"But you, Marshal, are advancing at a very fast pace, which we have never seen before among the opponents of our French army."

Although Scherer's command level was average, he had served as the Minister of the Army after all, and his use of troops was traditional and cautious.

Such a dull guy should be sent to a military academy to be an instructor. He was unlucky and “I am not good at running”, so after he fell off his horse, he was quickly caught by the hunters.

"But if you want to win completely, I think it's still too early. After all, we still have reinforcements coming, and you should have known about it a long time ago."

"Yes, General Scherer, the victory we seek is to drive the French out of Italy. There is always a chance to achieve this combat goal. Especially since we have more troops, and you, in the two battles near Verona..."

"Don't say any more. I've realized the problem at that time. We lost the battle because of the counterattack by the Austrian reserve." But Moreau's control of the army may make the French army stronger. After all, he is a relatively young and energetic commander. If he becomes the commander-in-chief, the mobilization of the French army may be strengthened.

He was now on the opposite bank of Arcole, where the French had defeated the Austrians in 1796. General Bonaparte had led the charge in person, holding the flag, but in the chaos he had been pushed into the river, and his adjutant had been killed in the battle to protect him.

This is not what is shown in the painting. General Bonaparte's military talent is indeed hard to match, but he is also a good propaganda man. Everyone remembers that he rushed forward carrying the military flag, but no one knows that the battle was actually very difficult.

Werosser knew that he was now on the other side of the river again. As the chief of staff, he should have the most experience among the Austrians in being defeated by the general from Corsica.

If the coalition forces could defeat the French at this time, they would be able to avenge their previous defeat. However, everyone wanted to defeat General Bonaparte on the battlefield, but no one had been able to accomplish this record in a major battle.

What Moreau is now taking advantage of is the terrain of Alcole. Unlike the French who are attacking from west to east and can reach an open area after crossing the bridge here, the Russian army is attacking from east to west and has no choice but to force their way across the bridge because there is no place to choose a detour.

Previously, the Cossack cavalry had tried to find shallows to cross the river both upstream and downstream, but had been unsuccessful.

"Marshal, I think we can only attack from the front at this time. There is only one pass in Arcole that can lead to the west. On both sides are Lake Como and the forest. The troops have no room for detours."

"That's true. Now there is no road, but the Russian soldiers can still get there. I believe they can do it."

"If the French are determined to hold their ground and use artillery to block the bridge, it may not be easy to fight."

"General Werosser, as the chief of staff, you have to analyze all the common sense things. What we have to do on the battlefield does not necessarily have to be based on Frederick's military principles. We also need to use some bold and unreasonable methods."

This task was assigned by Suvorov to Bagration. His temporary column consisted of a chasseur regiment and a combined grenadier battalion, and was protected by Russian artillery behind them.

But for the French, they now lack artillery. In the previous battles, they lost more than 80 cannons for various reasons. Even if they had a few cannons here to block the bridge and suppress the artillery fire of the Russian army on the opposite bank, it might be more likely to defend the Arcole Bridge.

The situation was not good now. After the artillery spoke, Bagration's column began to force its way across the river coming out of Lake Como. The first soldiers to cross the river even tied rafts and paddled forward.

The frontal attack also suppressed the French firepower. Their skirmishers could still continue firing in the trenches or bunkers, but the suppressing fire of the artillery prevented the line infantry behind them from forming a queue, as that would have been a death sentence.

Bagration led his troops across the river quickly. The French army could no longer resist and abandoned its frontline positions and retreated into the woods.

"Marshal, it looks like the French are retreating along the same route they came three years ago."

From Wei Luoser's tone, one could tell that he was very excited.

After Bagration crossed the river, the Combined Grenadiers Battalion quickly took control of the bridge. This time the French army could no longer resist. In order to ensure that his fresh troops could continue fighting and not be killed here, Moreau finally chose to retreat.

Staying in Alcole was not a wise decision. Although he did not want to escape, he did try his best to command the defense when they were fighting and retreating.

As the Moscow Grenadiers also joined the battle, the French army withdrew from the battlefield. Suvorov had a military advantage at this time, but his several regiments could not be deployed in Arcole, and the Austrian army, which accounted for the majority of the troops, was not there. In fact, he did not rush to pursue, and the final decision was to use the Cossack cavalry to harass the retreating French army.

The final results were not great, with only about 400 people killed. The Russians fought bravely, but they also suffered more than 300 casualties. It was normal to see such a result in a forced crossing battle.

Except for a burst of full-scale firing by the French light artillery on one fort, the French resistance in this battle was not fierce. Moreau still had to ensure the existence of living forces. Before, the Austrian army had been wiped out by the French army by more than 17000 people.

"If they had not retreated but instead tried to show off their prowess, the French would have been wiped out here very quickly. Their commander is still very wise. The current French army is not strong enough to hold such a long front."

Suvorov believed that the French approach was correct. Except for a few light artillery pieces on a battery where fierce fighting occurred, most places did not experience fierce fighting.

After the final shot, the French artillery abandoned their cannons and fled, which was different from the attitude of the Russian army.

In the case of the Russian army, the artillerymen will not easily abandon their cannons unless the cannons are damaged.

However, this approach is still worth discussing in the future. After all, experienced artillerymen are actually more valuable than a single cannon!

The French finally ran away, and fires could be seen on the road to Milan. The Russian army was still crossing the river, and the Austrian army downstream was also beginning to prepare to cross. They were all marching towards Milan.

However, there are still French troops. Because each division is located in a different position, if they all retreat now, there are still troops serving as rear guards.

In this regard, Scheerer had previously arranged the Sérurier Division to serve as the rear guard, but because of the battle in Bergamo, the French command center was currently cut off. If Moreau had not encountered a number of cavalrymen who escaped from there, it is unknown how the commander-in-chief of the Italian Corps would have lost his life and might have become a prisoner of the Russians.

In this way, he had to take on the command responsibility and require all divisions to move westward quickly. If they moved slowly, they would most likely be caught and destroyed on the spot.

When the news reached Vienna, Francis II was also quite unconvinced. The Russian army had achieved such great results in just a few days of pursuit, and had annihilated thousands of French troops in battles of all sizes, while its own losses were very low.

In this way, when the Holy Roman Emperor entertained Grand Duke Constantine who arrived in Vienna, since the Russian army had won victory after victory, it was not easy for him to "ask" Archduke Joseph why the blind date failed. At the same time, he also hoped that the Russian army could continue its efforts, especially as the Guards and Cavalry were passing through Italy and entering the Veneto region, and the front troops had continued to march towards Milan after a short rest.

After the victory report from Vienna, the Russian military envoy went to St. Petersburg to report to the Tsar on the recent battle between the Russian army and the French army on the front line.

After hearing about the victory of the Russian army at the front, Grand Duke Constantine was eager to try. Although according to Suvorov's order, the regiments and battalions of the Guards did not need to move too fast and only needed to arrive in Milan on schedule, the Grand Duke still issued an order to follow the coalition's rear transportation line, first reach Brescia, which had become the rear, and then continue westward.

(End of this chapter)