Chapter 76 026 Four Days of the Battle of Trebia

Chapter 76 026 Four Days of the Battle of Trebia (Day )
Late into the night, cheers could be heard from the Russian soldiers on the Rosenberg side, and some were waving torches. There were also sporadic exchanges of fire on the banks of the Trebia River.

"Those Grenadiers are really brave!"

"Misha, don't worry about them. Go to sleep first. I'm afraid they will fight again tomorrow."

Major von Bystrom told him to lie down and curl up in a blanket. In this weather, as it was summer, he could at least find a place to wrap himself in a blanket and rest. This would definitely not be possible in the mountains of Switzerland.

The day's fighting ended with the return of Rosenberg's grenadiers.

Both sides suffered heavy losses. For the French, the situation was already very bad. Many troops had suffered heavy losses in the two days of fighting. Now only one battalion of infantry in the Polish Corps could still maintain its organization, and the half-brigades under each division also suffered heavy losses.

This situation always occurs on the battlefield when fighting with the Russian army. When the battle reaches its most intense stage, many troops suffer heavy losses in their organization, and each section on the battlefield may be the most intense section.

The battle will undoubtedly become more intense as it enters the third day. For MacDonald, he has to wait for the arrival of Moreau's corps, while Suvorov, on the contrary, wants to crush Moreau and MacDonald's plan of a combined attack.

Bellegarde was outside the Alexandria fortress at this time. He was able to learn about Moreau's movements. However, given the Austrians' characteristic of always reporting everything, whether good or bad, it was a question of what kind of reports Suvorov and Melas could receive and how many troops the enemy had.

On the third day of fighting, the two sides were now separated by the Trebbia River, and despite suffering heavy losses the day before, the French still sent soldiers to advance towards the Russian side from the riverbed.

In the battle of the Trebia River, it seemed that the side east of the river was always extremely impatient.

Solovyov slept in the first half of the night and took over shifts with the officers of the Guards in front in the second half.

The power of an individual is so insignificant on the battlefield. After he was relieved from his shift, he stood on the flat ground and looked at the movements of the French army on the other side. Their campfires were much smaller than on the 17th, which actually showed that the strength of the French army had been greatly weakened.

Under such circumstances, the coalition forces were about to face a decisive battle. At this time, some young officers seemed to feel that the time for them to make achievements was now. They had to use all their abilities to establish merit on the battlefield.

But they are individuals, on the battlefield, are very insignificant. Even if he is a general or a military commander, it may only take one bullet to kill him.

Solovyov was not intimidated by this. For an individual, death might be just a matter of a moment. Besides, he himself could not say whether he was lucky or unlucky. He had faced life-and-death crises several times, whether in a duel or on the battlefield.

He would not choose to stay behind. There is always a very reasonable saying that you may die at home, but you may still come back alive on the battlefield.

What he has to do now is to show his skills on the battlefield and survive at the same time.

"How was it, Misha, you took the late night shift, did you see the French performance?"

"They don't show any intention of backing down. If this continues, we'll have a tough battle to fight today!"

"These French people, they are much more resilient than the Poles."

However, the Polish Army in Warsaw that they were talking about may still be unorganized, which is different from the Polish Legion that is now exiled around the world.

Of course, the troops now had to line up, and after the sun came out, the soldiers got up one after another. The battle on the first day lasted until late at night, and the small Russian force that crossed the river disturbed the French army for a while.

Just as the sun came out, news came from the commander-in-chief that the combat troops on the front line should line up at 6 o'clock in the morning and prepare for battle.

"Damn the Austrians, they are preparing for war at this time. Aren't they afraid of getting tired? They are not the knights of the past who need to wear armor!"

Some old officers who had served for a long time now began to curse the Austrians in the staff. They were very old, and many of them were registered nobles from remote areas. Their promotion to major might be the end of the road, so naturally they were a little unscrupulous.

During the preparations before the war, many Russian soldiers took out the biscuits that they had previously seized from the French army, and some people had bread and cheese.

For some veterans, the food this time is much better than what they eat at home.

The Russian army was lined up in neat formation, but the speed of communication was so fast that on the entire Trebbia battlefield, the Russian army and Austrian dragoons on the right wing of the coalition forces received the orders the fastest. The Austrian army led by Melas and his reserve troops were both in the north, and they received the combat order five hours after it was issued.

The French were still very efficient at this time. They had organized themselves on the other side of the Trebbia River, and even their cannons had opened fire, shooting at the Russian formations.

As on the previous day, the French attempted to attack from the front of the Trebbia River.

But at the same time, Dombrovski's Polish Corps, which could only be called remnants now, was asked to attract the attention of Bagration's column, and then create a gap to launch a breakthrough.

However, at this time, the pebbles on the riverbed of the Trebbia River would cause huge casualties to the French army after the shells fell.

The Russian army did not engage in a head-on confrontation as it had done in previous battles. Dombrovsky's corps had been almost completely depleted: the First Battalion, as an outpost, was annihilated by the Russian chasseurs and lost four cannons; the Second Battalion suffered heavy losses in yesterday's battle, with more than two hundred people captured; now only the Third Battalion was still intact, and even with this small number of troops to undertake the attack and containment missions, it seemed far from enough for the French army.

That is, if they send out a few more half brigades for a frontal attack, after such a battle, the French army will also have to consider how much damage they will suffer from the continuous attacks of the frontal artillery.

Compared with the previous two days, the Poles had lost their passion for revenge in the battle. Under the continuous accurate shooting and the fire of Russian artillery, these people were unable to tie down the Bagration column after crossing the river.

The day before, they were able to tie down the Russian army and allow the French army to launch an attack from the front.

By this time, on June 6, they were being driven back to the other side by bullets fired by Russian chasseurs from behind the low hedges between bushes and fields.

The situation was not going well for the French frontal attacking forces either. The Russian artillery continued to fire, just like they had done yesterday when they retreated. The shells exploded on the cobblestone riverbed. Whether the shells fell into the water or directly on the shore, the French army suffered considerable damage.

This time, even the most stupid and slow French commander should have realized that it was difficult for them to win the battle on the Trebbia River.

The Austrian army in the north had not been engaged in fierce fighting before, but Melas encountered a powerful attack from an opponent of more than 12 people today. However, he also placed cannons in front to bombard the French army preparing to cross the river. The performance of the French today can only be described as brave and stupid. The two armies were facing each other by the river, and the opponent used similar forces to line up on the west bank of the river and blocked the crossing with cannons. In this way, it was not the kind of battle with the Austrian army in the past where both sides were roughly equal, but a one-sided massacre.

The French army had to rush across the other side before they could inflict some damage to the Russian-Austrian coalition forces. However, after two days of fighting, this fighting spirit was no longer as strong as it was the day before. When they heard the artillery fire from the Austrian rear, they were able to fight passionately until late at night. Both sides showed great courage.

Today, after a desperate afternoon, the French began to withdraw to the other side one after another. Their losses have been heavy.

The coalition forces did not choose to pursue. Today, as the two sides were fighting across the river, the French army suffered heavy losses. At the same time, the coalition forces were short of ammunition after the fierce fighting and were waiting for replenishment.

This became a "boring" day. When Suvorov came to the rear of the front line, he was very satisfied with the results of today's battle, especially when inspecting the Bagration Column.

Although he looked tired due to old age, he was still energetic and was ready to rally the officers on the front line.

"Dad is really good. He basically didn't get off the horse for three days."

Of course, he was a little tired by now, so he asked the servant to spread a blanket and make the floor softer.

"Well done, thank you all, well done! We have taught McDonald a profound lesson. Today is the third lesson, and we will continue to teach him tomorrow! A profound lesson for our French friends!"

Then he leaned on the ground. This posture was very familiar to people, that is, "XX collapse". For an elderly commander who had been commanding for three consecutive days, it was indeed very tiring. Compared with a few years ago, his vitality had also declined.

"The brothers fought very well today. A captain in Rosenberg's regiment captured a flag. This should be specially rewarded and recorded!"

The person who captured the military flag was Gryazev, but he had no one above him and his uncle was not in the expedition, so he only received a verbal commendation from the marshal himself.

The hunters, who had been hiding in the trenches all day, had no chance to show their skills after using intensive and precise shooting to drive the enemy back to the other side.

"Your Excellency Marshal, I think that the report of this battle, in addition to what has been recorded, should also be presented to the Emperor."

"Misha, why do you say that?"

Although Solovyov was only a small captain, he had not been stripped of his status as Suvorov's adjutant and squadron leader of the guard. In addition, he had saved Grand Duke Constantine in Basignano. Therefore, he spoke directly to Suvorov, bypassing several levels, and no one objected.

Even as the marshal himself said this, Konstantin was patting Solovyov on the shoulder and encouraging him to continue.

"Captain, it's okay if you tell Alexander Vasilyevich directly."

Anyway, it was Tsar Paul. In order to show his enlightenment, he always called the officers to show up in front of him after work. And everyone knew that the only "Frenchized" chasseurs in the military reform were the by-product of this guy's gun making, so it didn't matter if he talked about it.

"Jester" and "brave general", as well as honesty and integrity, these are not contradictory.

"Everyone in our army, from the marshal to the soldiers, is fighting bravely. We should also let the emperor know that everyone who performs outstandingly on the battlefield should receive the due reward."

"Well, that makes sense, but the battle isn't over yet. We have to prepare to teach the French a lesson next time."

"Yes, anyone who is alive can see it."

"Misha, didn't we see it all?"

Bagration came in and made a joke, which was unlike his usual serious expression.

Then the officers burst into laughter and continued to discuss the current military situation.

General Bellegarde sent a dispatch from Alexandria, claiming that Moreau's legion had assembled more than 20,000 men and was attacking him.

But this is obviously nonsense, because the troops at Moreau's disposal, after reinforcements, were only 20,000, and some troops had to be left behind to guard the transportation lines and important strongholds. It was impossible for him to mobilize so many people to launch an attack on the remaining Austrian troops.

He didn't quite believe it, and some generals in the coalition forces had already wavered and even wanted to retreat westward.

Coincidentally, the same thing happened to MacDonald. There were more bonfires in the military camps on the other side tonight. The practice of setting up fake bonfires was not because the Scots had read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but a little trick that military commanders may have used since ancient times.

But the decrease in the number of soldier activities around the campfire was actually very clear among the Russian outposts near the Trebia River.

After comprehensively considering all the military information, Suvorov believed that they should stay and continue fighting.

The Austrian army in Melas still had sufficient manpower, and the subsequent reserve troops still had a certain amount of strength. At the same time, there were Austrian artillery and cavalry activities on the other side of the Po River. If the troops were assembled, they could still continue to fight.

This may not be the case for the French.

But it is too early to say this now. After all, the coalition forces have suffered heavy losses, and it is unclear what McDonald's final decision will be.

Moreau is currently unable to break through Bellegarde's defense zone, and it is unlikely that he can bring his troops to Piacenza at a forced march. Except for the man in Corsica, few French soldiers can march their columns at the speed of Suvorov.

Therefore, the coalition forces still had to continue preparing for another battle. However, according to the order issued by the General Staff this morning, Suvorov adjusted his deployment before resting and planned to launch an attack on the French army the next day after a sufficient rest.

(End of this chapter)