Chapter 86 036 The Gotthard Pass is ahead

Chapter 86 036 The Gotthard Pass is ahead

Chapter 86 036 The Gotthard Pass Ahead
The Russian army soon arrived at this border town in Switzerland. Bagration's troops entered the town first. The local self-defense group found that there were too many Russians, so they let them go. After all, the Russians were too strong!

Suvorov brought here an army of more than 20,000 people. The wounded were left behind in Italy. After recovering and returning to the army, they went to Vienna via the Veneto road and then to the rear military station in Salzburg. Those who could not continue to serve due to disability and illness were taken from near Vienna to Hungary, and then to Rivne through the southern marching route, and from there to Kiev.

For them the war was over, but for the Russian troops entering Switzerland, the most dangerous battle lay ahead.

"Hurry up, brothers, we have to cross the mountain pass and let the French in Switzerland have a taste of our power!"

When Suvorov arrived in the mountains of Switzerland, the cool climate made him feel much better even though he felt tired due to old age.

"Master, you've been on the horse all day, it's time to get off and take a rest!"

"You can't stop, you can't stop yet, Proshka, go get me some sweet wine, I'm thirsty."

"Yes, sir."

The troops passing in front of him were the four combined grenadier battalions behind the entire vanguard. Because the troops had many shortfalls in staff, they had to form a temporary team like this so that they could make timely adjustments on the battlefield.

"Your Excellency, Marshal, our corps and the Austrian army behind us have now caught up. The Austrian army has collected some horses to transport supplies, but mules are difficult to get."

"I know that. Go back and tell Rosenberg's column that they should be careful when they enter the mountains. As for horses, we need our Cossacks. The two regiments of Lomonsonov and Denisov will follow behind. They will provide some horses to carry rations and the wounded. Forget about mules. The Austrian emperor didn't get us any mules. We can only rely on ourselves when we enter the mountains!"

The Russian column entering the mountains soon stopped in a town.

Solovyov rode to Bagration's column to convey the order. Marshal Suvorov wanted Grand Duke Konstantin's troops to remain in General Foster's column because the Guards had experienced many battles and suffered minimal losses, having only fought a tough battle in Novi. If a real fight came, this elite force would be needed.

The situation outside the Guards is not optimistic. The two chasseur regiments of Bagration's column now have less than 600 people, and the grenadier units generally have no cannons. Only the grenadier regiment brought by Rosenberg has more than 900 people. Currently, there are only 25 cannons that can be used. The heavy artillery of the Guards is really difficult to use in the mountains, and instead has to pass through the Veneto line of troops to get here.

As a result, the heavy artillery left behind a lot of unarmed soldiers, who came with their horse-drawn carriages, and actually became cargo haulers, while waiting to capture the French light artillery for their own use.

This march was not an easy one. Solovyov rode on horseback to Biaska, where there was a fork and he had to take two routes to continue north.

Here he heard the intelligence provided by the Swiss mountain people that the Swiss militia who supported the French were cooperating with the French army to defend the St. Gotthard Pass. In fact, the Russian army's path forward had been blocked.

For this purpose, he rode back to Suvorov on horseback and finally found the old marshal in a shepherd's house.

At this moment, he was chatting with an old herdsman with his loyal old servant Proshka.

When Solovyov saw him, he recognized him as Antonio Gama, the old man who offered to lead the Russian army. The old man was now happily chatting with the old marshal.

"Hey, old general, this handsome guy is an officer under your command!"

"Yes, what? You saw him in the street?"

"I saw him when I went to the market. He was on the street, asking the herdsmen for directions. I wanted to be his guide, but he despised me, his old horse, because I was too old."

"Ah, you don't know this kid. He has always been respectful to the elderly and doesn't want you to be in danger!"

"What you said is true. I am used to walking on the mountain path like an old goat. Even a good and agile young man like you can't walk as fast as an old man like me on the road on the top of the mountain!"

Well, for this kind of old monster who refuses to admit his age, one Marshal Suvorov is enough. It seems that they are still in wholesale and mass production now. Solovyov has seen it many times.

Just the Austrian old men who are in their sixties and seventies and still want to wield sabers is bizarre enough. Their slow mobilization in battle is one thing, and their personal courage is like Huang Zhong per capita in the Austrian army - but there is no translated version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" for them to read.

He was actually planning to write a letter to St. Petersburg at this moment. After entering the mountains, the road was difficult to travel on, and in fact, communication with the outside world was temporarily cut off.

But the letter he wrote at this time was to Elena. In the Russian royal family, this Grand Duchess was his patron.

The content of his letter was actually the seized artwork, which included two paintings, one of which depicted the goddess Hera. Although this queen of heaven was famous for her jealousy, she was still in charge of marriage and family. Elena was now engaged, and the news had been told to Grand Duke Constantine at the front line.

Another painting was given to the Crown Prince and his wife because Madame Le Brun's daughter once blurted out her mother's comments on Alexandre and Louisa at a girls' tea party.

Elena actually sent a letter to Soloviev during his stay in Vienna. The recipient did not think too much about it, but among the spoils captured in the Battle of Trebia were these oil paintings. Although they were all works by unknown painters, the composition of the paintings was still very beautiful. If they were just used as display paintings, they were still presentable.

Solovyov actually knew that the future of Russia would ultimately belong to this crown prince. It was difficult to grasp his mind, but this aspect must always be in place.

Elena was well-known for her love of painting, so there was no problem getting things done from her. Even this smart and enthusiastic Grand Duchess would explain the origins of the gifts to her brother and sister-in-law.

Moreover, he had to please Constantine. Not only did he rescue people from the Po River, but he also obtained an Andalusian horse in the Battle of Trebbia. This horse is the current mount of the Archduke.

After sending the letter, he now officially began the expedition in Switzerland accompanied by Marshal Suvorov.

This mountain road was extremely difficult to walk on. As they had just entered Switzerland, it was already difficult for them to walk in the mountainous areas where the Romansh people lived.

In addition to old men like old Gama who were willing to act as guides, there were also some young people in the local mountaineers who, after receiving payment, helped provide mules. You didn't necessarily need a horse to cross the Alps, but mules were still necessary. After all, someone did just that the next year from the St. Bernard Pass and even asked someone to paint a white horse for him, which became very famous.

He traveled back and forth between the Russian outpost and the rear within a day. Suvorov had no intention of stopping his camp at the back, but instead came to the front with old Gama. After all, the old man was very familiar with the road ahead.

Rosenberg's column entered the mountains from Biasca to the north, while the main Russian army took the road to the northwest. When the Austrians worked on the map, although the route was beautifully planned, these places were rugged and difficult to walk, and the walking speed must have been greatly reduced.

During the march, many Russian soldiers sang "Departure". This song did not look red at all, and Suvorov was satisfied with the high morale of the soldiers on the road.

"Brothers, that's it. The Alps are nothing special. We can definitely climb over this mountain!"

Then the two old men, and the old servant Proshka behind them, got off their horses and walked on the mountain road.

When they passed the top of the mountain, old Gama still let Suvorov ride on the horse by himself. He was familiar with the road and had decades of experience in leading horses in the Swiss mountains, so he carefully pulled the old marshal over.

Right on the top of this small hill, they also saw the narrow marching column that meandered for several kilometers in front and behind the mountain. If they were not careful on the road, they might fall to the bottom of the ravine, which would be fatal.

"Old General, if we move forward from here, the road ahead will be even more difficult to walk on."

"Antonio, when we get to Andermatt, isn't there a broad road ahead?"

"There's a road in Andermatt? Why haven't I heard of it?"

Suvorov also frowned when he heard this. It seemed that this kid, Weroser, had made a mistake in the terrain when arranging the marching plan.

It was still autumn now, and if we continued along the Alps road, we would be stuck if we encountered the French army.

Although he asked Korsakov to concentrate his forces, together with the nearly 20,000 Austrian troops left by Archduke Karl, and deploy them on the main transportation lines, so that they could attack and defend with inferior forces, take the initiative to attack, and even harass the enemy, Korsakov did not follow this instruction, and Archduke Karl also said the same thing when he left.

Since neither of the two generals could lead the troops, the fate of the Russian troops in Zurich was basically determined.

If the Russian army encounters any attack on the road, the entire army will be stuck on the road, which will actually result in the entire battlefield operation being delayed.

Moreover, when the follow-up troops arrived in Bellinzona, it began to rain in the Swiss mountains. This gloomy and cold weather was extremely deadly.

"Your Highness, it seems that you are right. If we don't let these Cossacks use their horses to carry supplies, we won't even be able to spend the night in the mountains!"

It was the first time that Constantine was praised by the old marshal. He had messed up many things before, but this suggestion was very important. At least the Russian army's baggage could be brought in, and when they encountered villages on the road, some troops could cook after the rain stopped.

The work of collecting mules was only carried out in a few Italian-speaking towns in Switzerland, where these enthusiastic Italians and Romansh people could provide them with what they needed, but this was far from enough.

The Cossacks still needed to be appeased. They were "free men" and unlike ordinary soldiers, their horses were all personal property. In contrast, many of the ordinary cavalry units, such as the dragoons and Austrian cavalry brought by the Archduke, were state property or captured on the battlefield. It would take some work to convince these Cossacks to contribute their horses.

It was because of Constantine's noble status and the fact that Tsar Paul was their Hetman that the Cossacks were willing to contribute their horses.

These Cossacks can fight on foot without any problem.

However, it is unlikely that they will line up to fight, so there is only one other possibility, which is to organize them into scattered soldiers and join the battle.

Solovyov's rifle is actually very suitable for them, but now that they have entered the mountains, it has become difficult to supply ammunition.

After all, Russia's progress in chemistry is a matter for the future. The repeated loading of the mercury fulminate primers they are using now can only last for a while. After leaving Italy and entering the Swiss mountains, the supply of ammunition will definitely not be able to keep up.

Therefore, the troops using this type of shotgun were placed in the second line, in front of the Guards, and could only be in the reserve.

When they arrived at the Gotthard Pass, Suvorov noticed that the French army had made defensive deployments from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain, and had prepared more than a dozen cannons to block the road.

It is not so easy to get through, and many of the follow-up troops have not arrived yet.

He was waiting for Rosenberg's outflanking move, and also for the move of Bagration's column in the front.

The French army had been waiting for a long time. According to the order of General Massena, the French army had only one goal, which was to stop the Russian army and prevent them from passing the St. Gotthard Pass on schedule. They had to buy enough time to give the main force of the French Swiss Army a chance to drive out the Russian army around Zurich.

Once this opportunity is lost, there will be no more chances. As long as the Russian army passes through these passes in the heart of the Alps, they can form a pincer attack on him.

A veteran ruffian and robbery expert, this is the most appropriate way to describe Massena. At the same time, he has rich combat experience, which can be said to have been honed on the battlefield.

We also have to thank the greed and stupidity of the British and Austrians. Even Tsar Paul, who never went to the battlefield, pointed out when he saw this plan that the Austrian army must give the Russian army enough preparation time before leaving Switzerland to ensure the implementation of this plan.

However, the final result was that before Archduke Karl arrived in Mainz, he had already received news from the French that the Anglo-Russian coalition had suffered a major setback in the Netherlands and was defeated by a garrison of only more than 30,000 people, including a large number of Batavia Republic militia.

The British were unaware that their operations in the Netherlands had always had bad feng shui, and after this failure, they didn't know if a similar failure would happen again.

What Archduke Karl is worried about now is what the Swiss battlefield will be like after he is gone.

As he thought when he left, it was terrible.

(End of this chapter)