Chapter 85 035 Pathfinder into Switzerland

Chapter 85 035 Pathfinder into Switzerland

Solovyov went back to his job as an adjutant. There were differences in rank between adjutants. With his qualifications and family background, he was still a captain adjutant.

Because he has won the Knight's Medal of the Order of Malta and the Third Class Order of St. Anna, although he is young, his qualifications as an officer, plus his military achievements in this expedition, allow him to dominate the headquarters.

After all, the medals he received were all awarded during the Pauline era, and those who received these medals were all the emperor's own people, at least that's what the Russian emperor himself thought.

His current task is to survey the marching route.

Those Austrian staff officers prefer to work on maps rather than conduct field surveys.

He rode a mule and dressed like an Italian, but he couldn't speak Italian, and his Latin wasn't suitable, either, and he didn't speak it very well.

"Captain, when you are here, you still have to speak German. At least these places in Switzerland know a little bit."

"That's because we are in the eastern part of Switzerland. If we were in the west, we would have to speak French because we are more familiar with the French there."

Solovyov only brought two Cossacks to operate in southern Switzerland, and his main task was to find a suitable mountain pass to advance. The Russian army's target was the St. Gotthard and other mountain passes, and the road ahead was very difficult to travel.

If the deployment idea is followed, it will be very difficult to mobilize from the mountainous areas. It is difficult to enter the mountains and it is also difficult to exit the mountains. It is even a question whether Archduke Karl can reach the Rhine front on time. As for Suvorov, in the coming September, they will enter the Swiss mountains and start a small-scale but thrilling battle in this expedition.

As for the Jaeger Company, since the Guards used the same equipment, the guns of the dead and seriously injured soldiers were handed over to the reserve soldiers who were added. Even so, there was still a shortage of one-third of the staff, and many of them were "temporary workers."

The town that Solovyov and the two Cossacks rode to was Bellinzona, a town in the mountainous area of ​​southeastern Switzerland.

"Captain, look, this town below is so beautiful. We should go and see it."

"Yeah, it's on the map. What's your name?"

"Samoilov, my son is a Cossack, too."

Ah, this last name always feels a bit dramatic, especially since Samoilov is holding a duck in his hands.

"Well, Samoilov, let's go to this town and take a look. Then you can take the letter to our Marshal and report the situation here."

When they reached the town's entrance, they also saw road signs written in Italian.

"It's Bellinzona. If it's French, there's no "a" at the end. Let's go to the town and check it out."

Of course you have to go to the tavern. This town has a strong Italian style because it used to be the land of the Duchy of Milan. It was occupied by Louis XII who invaded Lombardy in 1499. Then in the second year, the locals drove out the French soldiers and joined the Swiss Confederation.

When the French entered Switzerland, it became a border town of the new republic.

However, the French were not welcomed locally.

It's nothing. The French royal army often passed through northern Italy and fought with the Austrians. They didn't like either side. It was also a place where Italians and Romansh people lived.

In order for Solovyov to understand what the Romansh people said, he had to know that they had already begun to be culturally assimilated after the Romans arrived here. At the same time, the local population of this kind was not large, totaling only about 20,000 to 30,000 people.

But if you want to find a guide, you may need to find them.

For this purpose, Solovyov went to a tavern.

"You two, don't talk too much, lest anyone discover that we are Russians."

When he needed to negotiate on his own, he discovered that there were still many local people who spoke German.

"Where are you from, young man?"

"We are just passing travelers from Bergamo, but these days, there are wars everywhere, French, Germans, and recently the Russians."

"Yeah, your accent doesn't sound like a local."

"Where is my accent from?"

"You have an accent similar to that of Linz and Vienna. Are you from Austria? Judging from the clothes you are wearing, you must be the son of a wealthy family."

"Maybe I've been in Vienna for too long. I came here to see if this road can go through Switzerland and directly back to Salzburg."

"There's a war going on ahead! The Germans and the French are in the Zurich area."

"That's true. How much would it cost to hire a guide?"

"It's not a matter of money, but people who are familiar with that place are unwilling to go. Perhaps some old shepherds will agree to it. They are familiar with those roads and can accompany you through."

"Thank you, boss. I would like to give me and my two companions a large glass of your specialties."

"Speaking of specialties, besides drinks, do you want food? A young master like you should not be short of money, but you should make yourself comfortable."

"Well, boss, bring whatever you have."

"You can see, young master, our sweet wine Rteli is delicious when mixed with some cherry juice. And we also want some beef dishes, Bündnerfleisch, which is mixed with white wine, salt and onions. It tastes great."

"In addition to wine and meat, there must also be vegetables and soup. You can't be like the sauerkraut in Germany."

"If you want soup, you can order Capuns, which is made of beets, gnocchi and beef, wrapped in vegetable leaves. It tastes very good."

"Boss, why don't you all come up here? Use the Austrian thaler or something else?"

"You just need to come and settle the bill if you have money. In Switzerland, which the French call Helvetia, we welcome everyone who comes here."

Solovyov and the two Cossacks hadn't had anything good to eat along the way, so when they got here, they feasted on the meal.

The two soldiers didn't really pay attention to their table manners, but the captain himself maintained his eating manners. And these two guys were really hard to describe. On the way here, I kept telling them not to speak Russian!
But the locals have no ill will towards the Russians, and they are always nicer to them than the French and Austrians.

Switzerland still wants to maintain its independence. They do not like a Swiss puppet government under the control of Vienna or Paris, but would like to maintain the original independent status of the federation.

Otherwise, Bellinzona, an important gateway controlled by the Duke of Milan Visconti, could have just returned to Milan. After all, there are still more Italians here.

As for the fact that some people say that Switzerland is losing its entire family, this cannot be denied, but it has not happened yet. In addition, another point cannot be denied: how many white lotus have you seen in politics?
"See? When you eat good food, you forget who you are. I won't hide it, boss. I am a Russian officer."

"But you don't have a Russian accent when you speak, unless your two men got drunk and started speaking Russian. And you've been awarded the Order of Knighthood?"

"This is a reward from our emperor for our military merit. I will not talk about my business for now. Let's arrange a room for them to stay in. I will have a room for myself. Also, do you have any French spies here?"

"We have not liked the French for 300 years! Their garrison has never come here. There should be no spies in the open, but it is hard to say whether they can set up an underground intelligence station in secret."

"Oh, I understand, boss. I will pay for the hotel. Just clean the room and leave the tip for the waiter under the tablecloth. The child is very clever and will be a good helper in the future."

Because the two Cossacks drank too much Rteli and cherry wine and got themselves drunk, Solovyov gave up the idea of ​​finding someone to report immediately today.

But judging from what the tavern owner said and the attitude of others towards the Russians, these Swiss people hate the French.

This contradiction occurred after Louis XII entered Italy 300 years ago. What we should focus on now is the situation here as it is the only way to get to St. Gotthard.

The Russian vanguard will not arrive until three days later, so he needs to find out the situation.

There are three fortresses in Bellinzona, namely the Great Fortress, the Montebello Fortress and the Sasso Corbaro Fortress. Except for the local self-defense forces who sometimes visit them, they have all been abandoned and have no actual military defense function.

The Austrians did not have much activity in this area and lacked supplies.

Before Solovyov set out, the Russian military command was extremely dissatisfied with the Austrians' support measures in the rear.

According to the coordination with the Austrian side, the Austrian side should have provided 1429 mules, but when the Russian army arrived at the assembly point, they found that there was not a single mule.

It wasn't just the soldiers who crossed the Alps, but also their artillery vehicles. Mules were always needed when crossing the mountains. It was the same no matter where they were going, whether they were needed to pull people or transport supplies.

This made the old marshal very dissatisfied. Another annoying thing was that the guide that the Russian military command requested the Austrians to hire had not been found until now.

Solovyov accepted this mission. When arriving in this area of ​​Switzerland, he had to at least understand the situation at each intersection. The maps provided by the Austrian staff were not completely reliable.

It is best to find a guide who is familiar with the local mountain roads. The Russians are very unfamiliar with the road through St. Gotthard.

The tavern owner has made it very clear about this task. It is not possible to find anyone in the town. If you want to find a reliable person, you have to look for those herdsmen who are familiar with the local mountain roads.

The next morning, after Samoilov had gone to deliver a letter to Suvorov, Solovyov left another Cossack, Titov, to look after the hotel while he wandered around the town.

According to the boss's description, herders come to the market to sell cattle two days a week, and the purchase price of cattle dealers here is not low during the war.

Therefore, many herdsmen will come to the market, and you can ask around at this time.

However, when many herders heard about going to St. Gotthard, they were unwilling to take this route.

Only an old man in his sixties said he knew the way.

But he is too old, and people say he is senile and confused, and has almost forgotten even his own family.

But when Solovyov spoke to him, the other party understood German.

"My dear young master, if you want to go to St. Gotthard, I, an old man, can still do it."

"Old man, please tell me the way to St. Gotthard. It would be dangerous for you to go there by yourself."

But telling him this didn't seem to make the old man back off.

"You young men, don't think that you are old and useless and can't walk this way. If you really want to go up the mountain, when you get to the town of Taverno, come to me, old Antonio Gama. No matter how many people there are, even if soldiers come, they can still lead you across the mountain pass!"

Solovyov did not take the map out of his briefcase, but he paid attention to the topographic map. The town of Taverno was indeed on the way to St. Gotthard.

However, he was still unwilling to ask the old man for help. After all, he was too old and it would be difficult to explain if anything went wrong.

But when the troops are stationed, they have to go here before crossing the mountain. It is not clear what will happen then.

"Thank you, old man. I'll come to you if I need help when I need to cross the mountain!"

He then returned to the hotel and went back with Titov to find the vanguard.

They were traveling at a very fast speed along the way, but what they did not expect was that the vanguard troops commanded by Bagration had arrived at the designated location ahead of time and were resting there.

"Misha, how about going to the front?"

"We arrived in Bellinzona, where we asked the innkeeper and the shepherds and learned that we should continue our journey to the St. Gotthard Pass, passing through Taverno and then crossing the mountains. This road is not easy to travel, and many shepherds are unwilling to lead the way. Only an old man said that he had crossed the mountains there. I wrote down his name and address. But he was too old, so I was not sure about it, so after sending the messenger, I came back to report."

"Well, Misha, you go to Alexander Vasilyevich now and report to him everything you have learned along the way!"

After hearing Solovyov's report, Suvorov inferred from the marching route drawn by the Austrian staff that they must pass through the Gotthard Pass. Through an intersection here, they could quickly cross the mountain and arrive near Zurich.

This time it was the turn of the Russian and Austrian remaining troops to attack the French from both sides.

Apart from anything else, although Solovyov was very confident in Suvorov's deployment, after he arrived on the battlefield, he found that this kind of offensive tactic was very dependent on coordination and communication between the various armies. In an era without modern communication equipment, it was obviously not feasible to play this game, and it was very dependent on the commander's command ability.

(End of this chapter)