Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796

Clausewitz's ability to travel this far was truly unexpected.

Of course, he was so unlucky that Solovyov didn't understand the situation for a while.

But because he had experienced a series of Prussian army defeats around Jena, he could still ask why the Prussian army suffered such a humiliating defeat.

Prince August's aide-de-camp would certainly have had the opportunity to observe the military conference before the war.

As for Mrs. Recamier, whom Prince August wanted to overthrow, that is another question. Who allowed him to keep a mistress at home, and did it publicly, which broke the lady's heart.

Although the difficulty of the lady's strategy is high, she is still very tolerant. As long as such things are not done openly in front of her, she will not meddle in other people's business.

After all, France is like that. Napoleon wants her to join the palace as a senior maid. Who knows what his thoughts are.

Solovyov will not show off that he is the winner. Whether it is a series of coquettish moves that did not lose to Napoleon, he retreated unscathed, the Russian army also won a few small battles locally, or he was competing for his lover. aspect.

He actually wanted to have a good chat with Clausewitz, and the other person's attitude was quite good, and he talked about almost everything.

"There was no problem with the deployment, but the French moved too fast, and it ended up like this."

"I'm surprised, Michael, that you were able to escape the French."

"It's probably related to strategic maneuvering and rearguard warfare. The reason for the defeat around Jena or in the pickle fields was already doomed when Hohenlohe violated orders and faced the French army on the way to Weimar. . If we could wait for one or two days, no matter how slow the march was, when the reinforcements arrived and the strength of both sides was roughly equal, they would not be defeated so badly. "

"Yes, we were unlucky. When the grenadiers broke through, they encountered the French hussars. Although we formed a square formation and used a battalion to prevent them from approaching, there would always be times when we ran out of ammunition and food. In the end, we were captured on the edge of the swamp during the breakout."

"This is inevitable. At least your grenadiers performed well and did not directly collapse like the fusiliers."

Speaking of which, the performance of the Prussian army was indeed eye-catching.

"So, what's new recently?"

"I'll take you to see your Majesty the King. He seems to still want to make peace now. It would be wiser. If this decision is delayed for a few months, it will be even more detrimental to Prussia. Although our Emperor is willing to do so as a friend, We have come to arbitrate China-European affairs and have formed an offensive and defensive alliance with His Majesty the King of your country. However, with the current power of Prussia, there is no room for bargaining at the negotiation table. Accepting a fixed price at this time is an acceptable result. "

"I think so too. After all, war is a continuation of politics, and the final outcome of the peace talks has something to do with the battlefield."

It seems that he has already begun to prepare for the writing of "On War". However, after cholera took away a large number of people, he did not complete the series of works. In the end, his wife completed the work.

"That's it. I'm here to meet with His Majesty the King this afternoon. I'll see what happens then."

As for what would Frederick William III consider?

Solovyov actually doesn't want to think about this issue. According to the expected situation, Barclay, who has been recovering from an injury recently, should propose his strategy to Alexander. This scorched earth strategy is generally to trap European armies that attack Russia in the future. Die there, or retreat when faced with difficulties.

But whether it can work is also a question. No matter how good the strategy is, if the people who execute it are not good enough, it will be doomed.

As for this visit, one task that still needs to be completed is probably to thank King Pu for the medal.

The Order of the Red Eagle had only one level at this time and would not be completed until 1810. Langeron, Bagration and Solovyov received this medal in recognition of their service in a series of battles with France. Heroic performance.

Solovyov received this medal. Although it was awarded after Eylau, the reason for the award was the Battle of Puutusk, which severely defeated the French Fifth Army.

"Your Majesty, it is an honor to be summoned by you at this time."

However, Frederick William III also knew that Solovyov and Clausewitz had met by chance in Memel, and that the unfortunate theorist had to change into a Prussian military uniform before appearing at the court. .

"Thank you for your efforts, young general. I just don't know if the Emperor of Russia has had such an atmosphere of relief in his court recently. We finally did not lose to Bonaparte."

"But now you have to see, Your Majesty, that most of your country is still being ravaged by the French. I think Clausewitz has stated this experience to you."

"Yes, I hope to return to Berlin, but I should not give in to the usurper."

As soon as he said this, Solovyov knew that he did not have much room to convince the king, but he could also make suggestions to him on the strategy starting in the spring of 1807.

He couldn't make it clear directly. After all, the Elbe River was now the boundary, and Prussia's loss was the investment in the Prussian territory in the Rhine River Basin over the past twenty years.

If Russia decides to make peace in the summer, there will be no good fruits for Prussia.

"Your Majesty, as for the strategic deployment after the mud season in the spring of 1807, I think it should be like this. When I was recuperating in Jelgava, I and His Highness Grand Duke Constantine, Commander-in-Chief Langeron, our The opinion was that the whole battlefield still revolved around East Prussia, just not always around Königsberg."

"General, there is a problem now. Königsberg is the only major city in East Prussia that is still in our hands. It is not appropriate for you to want to change the strategic direction, right?"

If the opponent was just a Prussian general, Solovyov would probably refute it, just like he had done in the past.

But this is a king, he is just a major general and chief of staff, so he still knows this rule.

"Your Majesty, in our coordinated operations, if we keep fighting around the city, we are obviously just calculating the gains and losses of one city and one place."

The problem that Solovyov is more worried about is that Alexander is too generous. In terms of diplomacy and military affairs, the two sides are currently an offensive and defensive alliance, so they are nominally equal.

This strategic plan was the conclusion Solovyov came to through a series of mobile operations conducted by the Russian and French troops in the previous few months. He believed that the feasibility was still very strong.

So he went ahead and pointed out the problem on the map.

"The main strongholds behind the French are only Danzig and Kolberg that are still effectively resisting. The other places are useless and dead. We can see from here that right at your hand, here is the Meiji where we are. Mel, we had a battle with the French in Eylau, south of Königsberg, and the outcome was inconclusive. But this can also prove that with proper planning, it is not impossible to defeat the French. And if we want to defeat the French army, we naturally have to study their fighting methods."

"You always talk about the French way of fighting, but we..."

Frederick William III was always indecisive. He was really unqualified as a king. But if you reincarnate well, you can marry a good wife. This can only be said that a knowledge does not depend on how well you study it. , it’s better to do the fill-in-the-blank questions.

Even when he said this, he stopped again.

"Your Majesty, what point are you talking about? If we need to carry out mobile operations, we must mobilize the French. In a place like Poland, they are obviously not familiar with the terrain, and over time, the Poles should also find out, The French are not that friendly, especially when they are collecting supplies. Therefore, the Polish people have not completely turned to the French, ja und nein, that is probably what it is.”

"You have to mobilize the army to Poland. If Königsberg is lost."

"Your Majesty, I think this is a good idea. If General Lestock and Chief of Staff Scharnhorst are here, they should be able to agree to this opinion."

After all, Clausewitz was also Prince August's aide-de-camp, and one of the few people who knew military affairs in the temporary residence of King Prussia.

As for the king himself, the people he lost in the pickle patch are still being published in French newspapers.

"Do you think this strategy is feasible? But what about Königsberg?"

Since Clausewitz interrupted him like this, Solovyov felt that there was still hope.

"Your Majesty, if we retain the territory and carry out the battle, we will lose the manpower. If we cannot win the battle, then even Königsberg cannot be saved. If we can break out of this area and not stick to Königsberg, we will lose more. Concentrate more of our forces to attack the enemy's lines of communication and small groups, wearing down the French in the battle, and perhaps even Branden. The fort and the vast German areas, which are squeezed by the French, can spark the sparks of resistance. At this time, it may be more beneficial for us, especially to concentrate our forces on the flanks. Threatening Warsaw, Napoleon will definitely be mobilized by us. At this time, there may be a chance, not just in Königsberg."

"I think this makes sense. Your Majesty, you must know that when Rome could not defeat Hannibal, it also adopted the Fabian strategy while attacking Hannibal's rear and Carthage's reinforcements. Finally, it was able to Zama wins."

Clausewitz still agreed with Solovyov, but after all, Frederick William III was not King Frederick the Great. Without Berlin, he was still fighting even if he was forced to almost commit suicide.

He wanted to keep Berlin before, but failed, and now he is stubbornly wandering around Königsberg.

Seeing such a king, Solovyov understood. The old Duke was really angry to death. Queen Louise, who had been in poor health and had chest tightness and shortness of breath, although she loved her husband, was sick when she sat down. This incompetent king has a lot to do with it.

When it was time to be tough, this person did not choose to be tough, but at such a critical moment, he had to interfere with the frontline command, and even the Russian army would be affected.

Your Majesty, you might consider getting a bald head.

But it is indeed not easy to get angry in front of friendly monarchs. Even in front of Alexander, you don't have to think so much when making suggestions.

No way, this already involves diplomatic issues.

"General, your idea may make sense, but I cannot adopt it. We still have to focus on Königsberg. I will write to His Majesty the Emperor of Russia to explain the strategy in this regard."

Since he is now hardened, we can only let him do what he wants.

It can be imagined that an incompetent king is like this. The kings who are more incompetent than him are probably the jellyfish and pigs in Spain. It is difficult to persuade these monarchs, so all plans will fail.

And Alexander is not a man of firm will. He is used to playing the role of Messiah between the opposing parties, but he will not easily come down to arbitrate disputes.

Especially when one party is the King of Prussia and the other party is just his general, it is obvious that this is the only way to deal with it from a diplomatic occasion.

But Clausewitz thought this made sense, and even when Solovyov left the King of Prussia's residence, he ran to the hotel.

"What you said makes a lot of sense. I think only this kind of strategy can have a chance to defeat the French emperor."

"You were captured by the French. At least during that time you studied their behavior and some habits. As for me, I met Napoleon himself when I was in Paris. This man's actions are decisive and resolute, but it is not easy to mobilize him. You can only attack the enemy and save him on the battlefield. The failure in Weimar was probably due to this. The Prussian army was fully mobilized."

"It's a pity. If you follow your idea and don't care about the gains and losses of Königsberg, but boldly adopt external operations, there may really be a glimmer of hope."

"It's just that this is not something I can consider. Maybe one day I can adopt this strategy. I learned a lot from Marshal Suvorov. I originally hoped to use what I learned. 's ability to compete with Napoleon without restraint."

"Michael, I can understand your idea. It's just that if our country could join the war at Austerlitz, maybe even if Bonaparte wanted to win, it wouldn't be that easy."

"But this is politics. You are right. Wars always serve political purposes. Now there can't be the great expeditions of ancient times. We can only take one step at a time."

"So where are you going next?"

"Back to Jelgava, I will rest there for a while and think about the whole strategy. In addition, if life is not satisfactory, how about serving in the Russian army for a while? We also lack experienced staff officers here."

He was publicly inviting to dig into the feudal corners of the Prussians.