Chapter 665 027 The Road to Athens (Thirteen)

The morale of the Russian army is high, not only because of the slogans, but because under such tense conditions, their food supply is sufficient, and the nearby Greeks are willing to provide them with meat and vegetables. If it were replaced by the Turkish army, they might There is no such treatment anymore.

In this case, the Russian army does not need to loot like it did in Central Europe, and its discipline performance should be better. In addition, the Russian Navy's performance in Corfu Island in the past still left a good impression.

Even though the Russian Army had done a lot of robbing and looting in the past, Suvorov and his disciples were not very friendly to the Poles. Military discipline was usually guaranteed, so nothing could be seen.

When the veterans look at Solovyov and Arkady, they always think of the proud days of following the generalissimo in the north and south. However, there are still many such officers, and there may not be many veterans.

At that time, they might be proudly riding in Austrian carriages. Although this is bragging, Solovyov himself had a lot of dealings with the Austrian army. The demand must not be met. There are not enough livestock and carts in Italy. , and also caused a lot of trouble.

And, even after they cheered "Ula!" Solovyov could still hear the joke.

"You still said that. I was there at the time. Wherever there were Austrian carts, Archduke Constantine had made an agreement with the Cossacks to use their horses instead of mules."

Seeing the commander-in-chief coming, the boasting of these veterans was shattered.

"But let's fight well this time. The local folks will prepare a big car for us. When we go to Athens, when we get to the beach there, the war will probably be over."

"I say you are really interesting. You have become the commander, and you are still riding a horse around. Last time, the car almost overturned in the hands of bandits. Can't you get a carriage for yourself?"

"It's better to ride a horse. How old am I, but you old guys are almost old enough to ride home in a carriage, right?"

After that, everyone laughed, and these veterans were even more energetic.

"If you have a carriage, you must bring your wife and that French girl here."

What he said was not that bold. Regardless of whether it was vulgar or straightforward, the following words were not suitable for him to say.

"Okay, if you want to gain strength, you have to face these Turks. They are in the middle of the valley. If we don't take them, we won't end up well."

"Yes, this time the Turks huddled together. Unlike before, they either hid in the fortress, formed a long strip, or dispersed. It was really troublesome to huddle up and there were so many people. ”

"Then let them see it!"

Solovyov is still very confident, and his confidence is also very important to the soldiers.

Then he rode away and returned to his headquarters, which was not far from the front line.

This is probably a characteristic of the Russian army. Solovyov has become very accustomed to this command method, which is also conducive to controlling the troops.

"Our cannons have hit us, and the battle is about to begin."

He looked through the telescope and saw that the Turks were the first to take action. This was inevitable. Although their numerical advantage could not be used, it was a valley like this and there were unlikely to be people on both sides. It would definitely be a hard-fought battle.

The Russian Unicorn Cannon quickly exploded at the front line of the Turkish army, but this time the Turks were obviously very resilient. After being bombarded, there was no confusion and they continued to move forward.

"Ah, it seems to be somewhat resilient, at least it won't be messed up by our grenades."

When he said this, he had actually made up his mind to ask Trubetskoy to clear the way, and finally flank the Turkish army and defeat them in the valley.

In essence, this is a diagonal battle, using the advantage of local forces to defeat the enemy's side first, but Trubetskoy's side also needs to be able to hold on.

Arkadi's 9th Division, as a reserve, has always been behind. They were actually outside the Turkish artillery fire, just sitting on the ground watching the situation in front.

There's nothing we can do about it, the reserve team is just here to watch the show.

As the son of Suvorov, he indeed hopes to achieve meritorious service on the battlefield, and many people have high expectations for him.

However, Solovyov, a good big brother, does not always assign him tasks in the front row, but the responsibilities may be heavier, especially when he is in the reserve team.

"Your Excellency, there is no news yet, are we going to"

"Don't be in a hurry, wait for the order, and let the brothers get enough rest now, and call again when there is a fight."

While waiting, he was also a little impatient, but he had to hold it in.

Unlike Solovyov, he spent most of his time in the palace. Unlike Solovyov, he had been with the soldiers since he joined the army. Even as an adjutant, he interacted a lot with the soldiers.

In short, there is some estrangement, but because he is the son of the generalissimo, these soldiers still respect him no matter what.

The artillery fire from the front was uninterrupted, and the artillery of the 9th Division was also strengthened to the front. Solovyov's command has always liked to concentrate technical arms. Artillery and engineers have always been used intensively. This also requires the use of firepower, and Bridges and roads can be quickly built at key areas across rivers.

The artillery fire was very fierce today. Not only did the shells fall among the enemy, but some villages further away were also on fire. The lethality of the shells was still here.

But the Turks were out of character. They were always under the command of a more reliable general, and their formation was very tight. They continued to attack the Russian positions, and it was really difficult to defend.

"Should we call up the reserve?"

"It's not the time yet. The 9th Division is still on standby. Karl, ask the cavalry to move. Tell Kunev to ask his two hussar regiments to go to Trubetskoy's flank to cover them from giving up the southern position. Also, tell Trubetskoy that after reaching the second-line position, he is not allowed to retreat a single step. This is a death order!"

Clausewitz knew Solovyov's entire idea, but he was under a lot of pressure to do this, and it seemed like he was walking on a tightrope.

But there was no way. Although the reinforcements were on the way, only two Serbian cavalry regiments actually arrived, and Peric's five infantry regiments were still behind. Although it was a journey of one or two days, they could quickly join the battlefield if they marched quickly.

But look at Solovyov, he never considered this, not every division commander is like Friant of the French army, who runs so fast.

He always hopes to resist the Turkish army, relying on the resilience of Russian soldiers.

He can also believe in these brothers who have been fighting under his command for a year. Now the Russian positions are still in order. The positions of the three divisions have been hit, but it is difficult for the Turkish army to move forward a few steps. Their impact only makes the pressure on the Russian army greater.

But we must make way for Trubetskoy, that is, to divert the enemy's attention to this side, a section that seems to be shaken, to lure the Turkish army into a trap.

The enemy cannot miss this opportunity. If they cannot exert their military advantage, then this battle will become a war of attrition. For the Turkish army with more people, they also hope to defeat the Russian army as soon as possible.

You know, the intelligence sent back from Bosnia also clearly informed Sultan Mahmoud that the Serbs have now accepted Russia's support and started to arm themselves.

Karageorge has 40,000 to 50,000 troops. If they can be deployed in batches to fight in Greece, or if Russian reinforcements come from Sofia and Skopje, then the situation will not be so good for the Ottoman Empire.

The Greeks and Serbs have made things very troublesome without direct Russian support. They have been rebelling and making the Turks exhausted.

Now that the Russians are here, it will be difficult for Turkey. If the Serbs and Greeks are armed, even if they win in the future, their resistance will be stronger. One Karageorge is enough to give the Ottoman Empire a headache. If there are more, the European part of the Ottoman Empire will never have peace.

Therefore, the Turkish army is also in a hurry. If they continue to fight like this, their economy and supplies will probably collapse first, which will be even more troublesome.

Aziz Ahmed also noticed the right wing of the Russian army. The left wing on his side has begun to retreat, but it is still very orderly, not a retreat after being defeated.

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This Pasha is also better at fighting than the previous rookies. He thought that Solovyov's retreat was just a tactical move, but if he didn't seize this opportunity to push the Russian army to the north, there would probably be no chance of winning.

So, he issued an order that the Turkish army on this side should keep up.

Trubetskoy was facing a lot of trouble. Soon after he began to retreat, the Turkish cavalry followed up to kill him, just to take advantage of the change of position.

His division was also the weaker one in Solovyov's hands. The previous division commander had just died in Vidin not long ago, and compared with the regiments of Uvarov's division that were formed not long ago, the combat effectiveness was still worse.

However, the hollow square formations formed by the several regiments on his side, each with battalions as units, still forced the Turkish cavalry to take a detour and dared not to attack easily.

Because this kind of phalanx is rectangular, it pays more attention to the firepower on one side. If it rushes from the wider side, it will inevitably encounter firepower.

The Turkish cavalry also has to consider that the dense bayonets on the Russian side will not give them any easy chance to rush in.

There are also few Circassians in the Turkish army this time, and their armored cavalry may still have some opportunities.

Although they are backward, they have a layer of armor on the outside, which can still be used.

But they may also face the Russian army that cuts the horse's legs, so they must be more cautious.

Therefore, the Turkish army also wanders around these phalanxes outside, and dares not launch a deep attack, unless the horse of some unlucky guy is frightened, or rushes to the phalanx when dying, there may be a chance to break the formation.

Solovyov also saw this situation and was a little worried. Both wings of the Russian army were facing attacks this time. The Turks finally had a reliable commander. Although the flanking of the two wings was rough, these cavalry finally forced the Russian army to form a square formation when moving outside the trenches to avoid harassment from the Turkish army.

It was not easy behind the trenches either. The bodies of the Turkish army fell in front of the position, but they continued to attack. I don’t know what happened this time.

According to Soloviev's idea, it may be a traditional skill in the Middle East, but Aziz Ahmed Pasha is not Ibn Saud, and the Ottoman Empire is not very familiar with religion at this time, so even if Jihad is launched, it will hardly have any effect.

The Turks have been scared by the Russian army for so many years. There is actually a European country that is not afraid of Jihad, and it is also hitting itself hard. What is this?

So now, the Turkish army has been punished by the Russians and has begun to fight honestly.

With the ability of these Turkish soldiers, although they can't make any waves, facing the Turkish army with a numerical advantage, the Russian army also feels the difficulty.

After all, this time is different from the past. The Russian army has the burden of Thessaloniki behind it. If the city is not besieged, Soloviev will probably choose another battlefield.

The involvement of troops is indeed very serious. Now while Trubetskoy is struggling, the grenadiers have also fallen into a bitter battle.

In front of the Moscow Grenadiers, even if they used all the weapons they could use, they could only barely drive the Turkish army back, but they could not withstand their repeated rushes.

Maybe the words they recited were similar, such as "Allahu Akbar" and "The Gate of Heaven Opened", which were relatively common.

At this time, the grenadiers threw all the grenades they carried with them, but they did not see that the Turks could retreat.

Even the veterans were a little headache now, because the Turkish army kept approaching, and they had no time to rest, so they could only keep shooting and throwing bombs.

In the end, even things like Molotov cocktails that they were reluctant to use were taken out.

The veterans of the Moscow Regiment also knew that when their commander-in-chief was still a company commander, he led the Jager Company into the village, set a fire, and drove the Poles out of the village.

But this thing is generally used during the attack to drive the enemy out with the help of the smoke produced by the fire and burning.

It is rarely used during defense.

But after throwing so many things, there is always no more usable projectiles.

Even if you don't want to use it, it's easy to set yourself on fire, so you have to throw it out, at least you have to burn a wall of fire to temporarily stop the enemy and give yourself a break. (End of this chapter)