Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

The French flank attack came so quickly that the Prussian army, which was in pursuit, was obviously caught off guard.

In Weimar in October, it must be dark earlier, and the sunset time will not be delayed for a while like in June. Fighting for a while on the battlefield can expand the results.

Now it is autumn, and the Prussian army's attack will last until dusk. They obviously don't want to fight at night.

At this time, the French rushed from the north, which just disrupted the actions of the left wing of the Hohenlohe Corps.

They were about to withdraw, but were flanked by the Morand Division. The French army even launched an attack with only two rows of guns.

The reason is simple. The Prussian army just ran out of bullets in the exchange of fire. At this time, many soldiers were rotating down to replenish bullets, and they were rushed by the French army.

The defeat was like a mountain falling. The Hohenlohe side was caught off guard. Four of the grenadier battalions that were originally intended to replenish and launch an offensive had to be deployed to their own left wing to withstand the French attack.

Davout appeared in the marching column of Friant's division at this time. He could see the fierce exchange of fire from Morand's division.

"This time the Germans are entangled. Morand needs to keep up the offensive. We will be in place soon."

The two divisions of Friant and Gudin quickly cut off the road between Erfurt and Weimar. In fact, the Prussian army has become the meat pie in the middle of a hamburger. The Saxon division may be considered a vegetable, but it is sandwiched between the two Prussian divisions.

After Morand received Davout's verbal order, he also hurriedly sent his men to continue to entangle the Prussian army before it got dark.

The soldiers of both sides were also fighting among the bushes and woods. It was obvious that the difference in organization and morale could be seen.

The French army, which was in high morale but slightly less organized, was not only the light infantry regiments that were arranging in a skirmish line to shoot at the Prussian army, but also the line infantry regiments were arranged in a relatively sparse formation, just like this to attack the Prussian army.

The Prussian army was still mechanically arranged in three rows at this time, with the second layer of reserve troops behind them not yet deployed. The three rows in front were firing, and the ones in the back were on standby at any time.

However, in this way, the Prussian army would always suffer casualties due to the French artillery fire, and the disadvantages of dense formations were also very obvious.

This formation is used to increase the density of firepower, but it will reduce the accuracy of shooting, but it can also prevent the opponent's dense impact.

The French infantry, artillery and cavalry are well combined. After the artillery bombardment, the cavalry detours, and the infantry launches a frontal attack. Since the Prussians do not have enough ammunition now, it is only a matter of time before they can't resist.

Hohenlohe was at the command post at this time, and he also saw the scene of his own troops retreating from the telescope.

"Damn it, if this goes on, we will have nothing. Why are there artillery fires in the west?"

"Sir, the French are coming from behind us!"

When Meisenbach said this, he was not panicked, but when Hohenlohe heard it, he was shocked and a little incoherent.

"Send troops to hold on! Send someone to ask for help. See where Lücher is?"

The commander of the corps, who was quite confident before, was obviously in a state of panic.

As for Lücher's corps, they had just arrived in Erfurt at this time. They didn't need scouts to hear the sound of artillery and knew that Hohenlohe was exchanging fire with the French.

At noon, Lücher received a report from Hohenlohe, claiming that they had exchanged fire with the French and even had a slight advantage, and asked him to come to support quickly.

But the Prussian army marched quickly, and it was difficult to catch up with this speed. Unlike the French army, they could even throw their marching backpacks and looted supplies on the road behind them, and entered the battlefield lightly with only weapons, ammunition and bandages.

Even if Lücher arrived a little earlier, he would not be able to support Hohenlohe. Even if he could march at the speed of the French, the Guding Division had already arrived in front of him, and even had time to build a simple position with the help of fences and stone walls. After the formation was set, even the cannons had already come.

Hohenlohe's troops were surrounded like this, and he had only the mountains to the south to go.

After trapping Hohenlohe, Davout and Soult sent people to report to Napoleon one after another.

"Well done, they have achieved the goal of luring the enemy deep into the country, and we have also blocked Hohenlohe's way out. Where is Augereau now?"

"Your Majesty, the Seventh Army will arrive tomorrow morning."

"Very good, so a Prussian army will be trapped here. As for Erfurt, I think what Davout can do well is to destroy these enemies now. We win on the battlefield, not just defeat the enemy in the battle. The battle of a large army always requires time. Our speed is fast enough, and we trapped the enemy here."

Now that Napoleon has come to Central Europe, he doesn't even have time to set up signal machines everywhere, so there are always some delays in command, and whether it is the notification of the signal machine or the notification of the flag signal, it always requires the operator to master the core technology.

"Your Majesty, can you consider it now?"

"Berthier, what are you thinking about? Let's not worry about the great ideas for the future. Judging from the deployment of Davout and Soult, there are still some loopholes. We have to put Augereau to block the south. At the same time, the Guding Division is on the road between Erfurt and Weimar. They have to stop Lücher and resist Hohenlohe's breakout. Tomorrow morning, we should take action. Which cavalry division should Murat send over?"

Obviously, Napoleon now hopes to withdraw some troops to support the Guding Division, which has strong combat power but weak manpower.

"Your Majesty, should we send Nansouty's heavy cavalry division?"

"Don't send Nansouty, send Grouchy's dragoons. I still have use for Nansouty's cuirassiers, and Hohenlohe is just an appetizer. We have to eat up the old duke's corps, and let the Prussian king who can only hide behind his wife's skirt give us the key to Berlin. We can also give them a more lenient armistice condition, and if they want to continue fighting, we will fight to the end!"

"Your Majesty, but the frontal strength of the Guding Division is still very If Grouchy's dragoons are not enough, should Lasalle be sent as well? "

"Lasalle? Well, that makes sense. Before Augereau arrives, Grouchy and Lasalle can just cover Gudin's flank and Augereau's actions. Davout did a great job today. He first hid behind the mountain and then marched into the battlefield. "

Since Napoleon was still commanding the battle, and Davout didn't have a single army that performed well, he still praised his marshals and generals when he attributed the credit to himself.

"Also, Berthier Grouchy's dragoons, they must bring the cavalry artillery company with them."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Grouchy will lead the cavalry artillery to attack, and Lasalle will be on standby, responsible for covering Gudin's flank and concealing Augereau's actions."

"Yes, that's it. We don't want small platters. The Prussians are slow to serve the dishes, so we can urge them to continue to bring up the main dishes at the back."

Napoleon is in a good mood now, and his headquarters has also arrived near Weimar, and the Guards have also deployed behind Soult's troops.

Augereau also marched quickly at night as he expected, but he was still some distance away from the battlefield.

But Hohenlohe was destined to be unable to use this way out. If he acted at night, the Prussian army would not have the ability to do so. If he chose to break out during the day the next day, he would also have to select troops to cover the rear.

However, to the north were two divisions of Davout and to the east was an army of Soult, neither of which would give him a chance to escape or organize his troops. Even if he sent out a rear guard, he would have to divide his troops to resist the enemy. Dispersing his forces would not guarantee his corps' breakout.

So, before Lücher took any action, the French army had already launched an offensive.

As for Augereau, who had not rested much, knowing that Davout and Soult were already on the table, he sent his first division to the battlefield, at least to provide support.

Being close to the emperor, the initiative of the French marshals seemed to increase.

And Hohenlohe did not have much chance. His troops were quickly overwhelmed, but because they were in an encirclement, except for a few cavalrymen who were able to escape, they were all compressed around Monchengladbach Holzhausen.

If this continued, there would be no way to fight.

Hohenlohe was at the end of his rope and called all the generals to a meeting.

There was only one conclusion, that is, if they surrendered now, at least those who were alive could save their lives.

Lücher's army had only 15,000 men, so it was difficult for him to break through the defense of Gudin's division, especially with Grouchy's dragoons on the side.

If he continued to attack, he would only be sending his head, so he decided to control Erfurt and report the defeat on the front to the Duke of Brunswick.

For the old duke, this was a very painful loss. In just one and a half days, nearly 40,000 Prussian troops were almost wiped out. Only the dragoon regiment of the reserve division and the Bock grenadiers battalion, which happened to find a gap, escaped from the encirclement.

This loss was decisive for the Prussian army. Before, Prince Louis Ferdinand had only more than 3,000 people left on the north bank of the Fulda River, and he also lost most of them.

The Prussian army was in a very bad situation now. Even Napoleon had entered Weimar. Now he cut off the main road to Leipzig and Dresden. If the Duke of Brunswick wanted to retreat, there was no way to choose.

Napoleon believed that he would not run to the swamps and hilly areas, nor would he come to Weimar to confront them directly, but would pass through the flat ground in the north. Although there was no ready-made road there, it would still allow the army to retreat to Berlin.

The guess was correct. The Duke of Brunswick knew that things were not going well, and had changed his deployment in a panic, allowing Lücher to continue to stay in Erfurt to ensure the flank of the entire army. He personally led the troops to Krautheim to ensure that the main force of the Prussian army could pass safely here, and then a large group of troops moved in.

Obviously, no matter how experienced the Duke of Brunswick was, he could not withstand such a failure in Hohenlohe. If someone in the Russian garrison in Jelgava knew about this, I am afraid they could only sigh.

Even if there were 40,000 pigs, the French could not catch them all in three days!

After Hohenlohe sent away his army, the Duke of Brunswick now had only one way, to take out as many of the remaining 85,000 Prussian troops as possible.

But now he could only leave it to fate as to how many he could take out.

"This bastard Hohenlohe ruined the army, and we don't know what to do yet!"

"Commander-in-Chief, if you want to do what I think, we might as well fight them!"

The Duke of Brunswick holding his cane, in Blücher's opinion, really looked like the king who asked him to get out, but this was not surprising, the nephew always looked a bit like the uncle, and the old duke's skills were taught by King Frederick the Great.

"If we fight now, what should we do in the future? I admire your courage, Blücher, that's why I called you here. All your cavalry units must go to Krautheim, and the infantry of the vanguard division will follow. We must take control of this village first, even if everyone dies, we must defend it!"

"Commander-in-chief, don't worry, I will risk my life to cover the army's safe return to the north!"

"I believe in your courage, but I lack wisdom. But you are old, and your grandson will be able to join the army in a few years. I don't expect you to make any progress in wisdom. . However, your courage is indeed unparalleled! I am too old. If Her Majesty the Queen had not repeatedly requested, I would not have come back to serve as the commander-in-chief. And you, old man, are getting more energetic as you get older. If you have a good chief of staff, maybe you still have some future."

"Sir, if you say so. I also speak from my heart. This war was too cowardly. No one obeyed the command and did things against the military order. No wonder the French looked down on them! Your Majesty the King."

But Blücher was not completely brainless. He just wanted to say "Your Majesty the King is a coward", but swallowed it back.

"Now, Commander-in-Chief, I will go to Krautheim to fight. You should take care of yourself too. If possible, we can meet in Berlin and fight the French there!"

Then Blücher left.

Now the Duke of Brunswick also found that except for this brave man, Blücher who was good at commanding cavalry, most of his generals were useless.

Speaking of which, he is sitting in the mill now, just like his uncle King Frederick the Great who was helpless in the mill after repeated defeats.

But no matter what, King Frederick the Great had Prince Heinrich, Prince Moritz of Dessau, Saito, Seydlitz and others available at that time, but he has a group of old guys who are younger than him, but more stubborn and disobedient.