Chapter 666 028 The Road to Athens (XIV)

The Moscow Grenadiers had some veterans. Igor was now acting as a grenadier, throwing these Molotov cocktails. After all, he was a grenadier selected according to "tradition". Although he had used the skill of throwing bombs less frequently on the battlefield, it was still useful today.

The Molotov cocktails were thrown far away and exploded right among the Turks, instantly setting several Turkish soldiers' coats on fire.

But this would also have a miraculous effect. After all, it was made of similar materials to the "Greek fire", and the burning effect was roughly the same. Moreover, after the formula was improved, this "cocktail bottle" would definitely be more powerful.

Not to mention that when the Russian army made Molotov cocktails, they preferred to use vodka bottles, and then marked them on the outside, so that they looked like they were powerful.

After they were ignited, unlike the situation where they had just been knocked down in rows or bombarded by artillery, the Turkish army actually began to retreat and waver.

Although this was only the front row, and only some Turkish soldiers' coats were set on fire, what was the effect?

Speaking of which, the Turks were most afraid of "hell", not to mention that such things happened in the world.

The blazing fire caught the Turkish soldiers off guard for a while. After the fire started, many people began to hide from place to place, hoping not to be burned. After all, this kind of fire was not easy to put out by rolling on the ground.

To be honest, it was still a problem of the formula, that is, there was no fierce fire oil tank, otherwise they would have to use this ancient flamethrower here.

But this was a big blow to the morale of the Turks. Even those who were not affected had to avoid those who were burned. This scene was indeed not very friendly to them.

The people in front were still shouting "Allahu Akbar", and now the Russian army started to set fire, which obviously made some people's inner beliefs less firm, just like their Sultan and some Bayi masters, and began to waver.

Those who believed in it were actually most afraid of being punished by going to hell or "hellfire". This was mainly aimed at those who did not believe and those who were false believers. For a while, the effect of the Russian army setting fire in front also shook the Turkish army in front to the point of collapse.

The Turkish lines on both sides were still launching attacks at this moment, especially those who rushed up with cold weapons. After the fire started in the Turkish army, they also began to run around.

Seeing this situation, Shatilov stood on the top of the trench and continued to urge his grenadiers to throw out these Molotov cocktails that usually felt very dangerous.

The Turkish army seemed to be fighting desperately this time, but the strange thing was that they were afraid of fire, especially arson of this scale.

For a while, in front of the Moscow Grenadiers, everything that could be ignited on the ground was burning, and there were many people running around with fire on their bodies.

This thing was still not strong enough. If it was replaced with something else that could burn, such as napalm, it would be a large-scale barbecue scene in front of it, which was very terrifying.

But times have changed. Although the Russian army can find oil now, its technology level is far from enough.

Therefore, it is inevitable that there are Turkish soldiers running around and being burned.

The way to end the suffering of these people is probably to shoot at the burning human body, and everything may not end immediately.

But the chaos caused by the burning objects eventually disrupted the Turkish army in the front row, giving the grenadiers a chance to rest.

Not only the Moscow Regiment, but also the Kiev Regiment and the Little Russian Regiment on both sides did it. This wall of fire always gave them some breathing time.

Solovyov also saw the wall of fire in front of him with a telescope.

"I didn't expect that setting fire would have such an effect."

"But there is no way to fight back over there. Our pressure is now all on Trubetskoy."

"Has his division retreated to the second-line position?"

"It has already arrived."

"Well, it looks like we can use the terrain. If the Turks advance further on their left wing, let Arkady's 9th Division attack. We change our original approach and push the Turkish left wing back first."

Because this place is too narrow, Solovyov's method is always useful, but the direction of his reserve troops at the back must be reversed.

At this time, we still have to focus on attacking the enemy's left wing. If the plan changes, the previous plan to cut in and hit the middle of the enemy will definitely be cancelled.

But this is still safer.

Arkady, who had been waiting for a long time in the back, finally got his chance.

He has been standing in front of the queue of his soldiers, waiting for Solovyov's messenger to come. Important tasks must still require a definite order.

"Your Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief wants the entire 9th Division to be deployed to the right wing to support Prince Trubetskoy."

"Are you sure this is the order?"

Arkady had heard Solovyov's deployment in the pre-war meeting, but the reverse deployment meant that the situation had changed, so the direction of his deployment was also reversed.

This was also the role of the reserve. He also mounted his horse in front of the soldiers, drew his sword and waved it to signal his soldiers to prepare to move forward.

The soldiers of the 9th Division also stood up one after another, dusted off their bodies, clamped their rifles on their shoulders, and lined up in three rows before moving forward.

After waiting for a long time, the 9th Division was actually holding its breath from top to bottom. They always wanted to do something. They were eager to do it before, but now it was their turn.

"The momentum is good. If we go this way, we should be able to drive the Turks out of the valley today."

"You still need reinforcements. If the five Serbian regiments in Peric are in place, we can win this battle."

Clausewitz did not forget to add that now only the dragoons in the Kunev Cavalry Division have not been moved.

Although these dragoons are relatively weak except for the Kazan Regiment, these heavy cavalry will always be used last and deployed in the most needed places in the battle.

The two Serbian cavalry regiments have also been put into battle on the Uvarov side at this time, and they are used to attack the Turkish infantry, which really played a role.

When the Serbs fought the Turks, they were like enemies meeting each other with envy. They didn't even need any pre-war mobilization. The two regiments rushed through the gaps between the Turkish army and broke through two lines of defense, and even got into the second-line Turkish army behind them.

Considering the combat effectiveness of the Turkish army, their infantry was not as tough as the Russian army. They didn't put up a defensive formation in time, so they were defeated by several infantry teams, which made the situation chaotic.

Aziz Ahmed Pasha just thought he had the upper hand, but after the Russian grenadiers set fire, the Russian army sent cavalry and reserves to the battlefield one after another, and now the situation is not good again.

He did have reserves at this time, but with the Turkish army's mobilization ability, it was obviously difficult to plug the hole in time.

The Serbs even killed through his two fronts and were almost in front of the artillery.

If it weren't for the counterattack launched by a group of Deli light cavalry left behind, which made these Serbs who couldn't tell what kind of cavalry they were, change their direction, they could still charge forward.

If they came to their side, the Serbs probably wanted to cut off a few heads of Pasha and Bai.

Many of these cavalrymen had their families killed in Nis, and their heads were used to build the wall. This kind of hatred is naturally beyond words.

At the same time, these hollow squares of Trubetskoy had resisted the Turks for a long time, and their Sipahi cavalry continued to harass, which also put the Russian army into a bitter battle.

Now the Russian hussars joined the battle first. Although they were still at a disadvantage in the cavalry battle, they forced these Turkish troops to retreat enough and then choose to return to kill for a while.

He had a chance to breathe here, and soon arranged the infantry in the second-line position, which was also considered to have prevented his formation from collapsing.

Unlike Solovyov, who was always on the front line, he was often in the palace. However, these nobles were willing to serve for a long time, and except for deserters like Balashov, they rarely showed weakness.

Please...collect 6...books...!

He even stood beside the soldiers like a regiment commander to boost morale, at least letting the soldiers know that their division commander was willing to stand with them through life and death.

In this way, the weaker Trubetskoy Division actually completed Solovyov's order, without retreating a step, and firmly resisted the Turkish attack on the position, and even some infantry companies dared to drive the Turkish army back with bayonets.

In the melee, when Arkady came up, the Turkish army was still trying its best to break through the Russian position.

Aziz Ahmed judged that the Russian army here looked weaker, so he wanted to take a gamble, so he pushed all the troops that could be used in front up.

This time, the entire flank of the Turkish army was exposed.

For Arkady, he once again faced the enemy's weak flank and rear, and he also knew what to do.

After several regiments under his command approached the Turkish army, they did not rush to launch a bayonet charge. Instead, they took advantage of the Turkish army's formation to attack Trubetskoy's side, first let their side maintain a diagonal line, and then successively engaged in the battle with the Turkish army.

And several regimental commanders also knew that if there were less than ten Arshin (that is, ten steps in the Russian standard), they should not rush to rush over, and they should shoot at least one round first.

It was already noon, and it was Greece in October. The climate here was obviously hotter, after all, the latitude and climate environment were here.

Solovyov was still riding on his horse. He did not relax at all, just watching the battle in front.

After he saw the battle situation of the 9th Division exchanging fire with the Turkish army, he let his mind go.

The ones who had to look melancholy were probably the Turks.

"Well done, shoot a few rounds first to confuse the Turks, then launch an attack, so that we can drive them into the valley, but this is not a complete victory."

Soloviev knew clearly that this time, whether he threw a left hook or a right hook first, because of the battlefield environment and the fact that the enemy commander was still capable, he would definitely not win the same hearty victory as before.

Therefore, he just wanted to drive the enemy away from the battlefield, at least to prevent them from coming back in the near future, and then use some psychological offensives to disintegrate the morale of the defenders of Thessaloniki, which was also a relatively good result.

After the 9th Division finished several rounds of shooting, it finally launched an attack. They had to attack from both sides, which really made the Turks unable to resist.

However, the Turkish army was not defeated, but retreated while fighting. It was not as chaotic as the previous Turkish troops.

It seems that the Turks can still hold on. In this case, they can only fight in the valley.

If the first day of the battle cannot be ended, it will be disadvantageous to the Russian army.

After all, although the enemy is still a group of rubbish soldiers this time, they have become a group. If they continue to consume like this, the Russian army will also be seriously injured. If they fight to consume, the rubbish soldiers of the Turkish army can be exchanged for the elite Russian army.

This does not sound like a good deal, and Solovyov knows that the most precious thing for him now is time and the troops in his hands. He cannot afford to consume them, and it is not so easy to replenish them. After the Russian army arrives here, the replenishment troops have to come from Skopje, which is not so timely.

If they can defeat this Turkish army and directly open up the mountain road on the Sofia side, they can also ensure the smoothness of their own transportation lines. At the same time, if Kamensky continues to confront the Turkish army, he can send part of the reserve troops to himself. This time, it can be regarded as a plank road to repair the plank road in the open and secretly pass through Chencang.

No matter how you look at it, you are doing Deng Ai's work, but you look young, and you are not in charge of farming.

"We need to work harder. Alkasha can only make the enemy retreat. At most, we can destroy one of their columns, which is not enough. If we can defeat and annihilate part of the enemy, then this battle will be successful."

"Unfortunately, there is never such a perfect thing. Mick, the good news is that Peric will arrive here at about 4 pm."

"His vanguard?"

"Two regiments are already on the road in the distance, but you can't expect the Serbs to run fast. They are more capable of fighting on the battlefield and can play a role in the mountains."

"Yes, many of them are mountain people, and they are all good soldiers. But isn't this also a mountain?"

He also pointed to both sides with his whip, but it seems that the terrain is not so suitable for rushing down from the mountain.

"This place is not suitable yet, but we still have a chance to try and end the battle before dark."

"Yes, if it were summer, we could fight for a while longer."

In this battle, the most crucial person in the end was the Serbians who came on the way, which was not unexpected. (End of this chapter)