It was finally dark, and the fierce Cossack cavalry retreated like a tide, leaving corpses and incomplete positions all over the ground. The moment the Russian army retreated, Lieutenant Colonel Mike seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and his whole body collapsed on the ground.
"Abandon the first line of defense, notify the Guards Corps and the 5th Army Corps, and let them pay attention to the interface of the defense line." Xiao Jie gave the order to abandon the first line of defense when it was dark.
The 31st was a particularly tragic day of fighting. The Russian army desperately wanted to break through the French defense line, but the French army desperately wanted to hold the defense line. Two armies with completely different purposes fought fiercely along the Oder River. The blood of the soldiers dyed the river red, and the bodies of dead soldiers and horses almost stopped the Oder River.
During the one-day attack, the 20,000 Russian troops tried their best to break through the French defense line, but left tens of thousands of corpses in front of the position. Each time they came close to winning, only to be blocked back. Kutuzov saw his soldiers keep falling, and his heart seemed to be bleeding. But he still drove the soldiers into the battlefield without hesitation. In his opinion, victory was within easy reach, but every time he was disappointed.
"Marshal, we can't go on like this. The enemy's firepower is too fierce. If we go on like this, our troops will be wiped out." Seeing that the casualties were too heavy, a Russian general couldn't help but tell Kutu Zoff persuaded.
"No, no, my lord. You should understand that there are casualties in wars. Our soldiers are dying, and so are the French. Besides, you see, their positions are already crumbling. As long as our The warriors will be able to defeat them with a little more effort." Kutuzov said very confidently. Another reason for him to attack the French defense line at all costs is that the army of the Grand Duke Nicholas is about to arrive. If he has not achieved the desired results before Nicholas arrives, then that despicable villain will definitely be in front of the Tsar. Those who slandered him in front of him, at that time, I am afraid that the position of the commander-in-chief of the army will have to be replaced.
But in the end he failed. His army failed to break through the French defenses until dark, but suffered heavy casualties. As a last resort, he had to order the troops to retreat. He still has to prepare how to deal with the upcoming power struggle of Grand Duke Nicholas.
He didn't know that the current French army was at the end of its strength. As long as he launched an attack, he would definitely break through the first line of defense of the French army, but this was only the first line of defense. Two equally solid lines of defense awaited Kutuzov and his men behind them.
After the Russian army retreated, the surviving soldiers of the 3rd Regiment of the 88th Army also withdrew from their positions in accordance with Xiao Jie's order. With the help of other troops, they took what they could from the position and left nothing for the Russians.
Looking at the soldiers of the 3rd Regiment who had withdrawn from the first line of defense, everyone felt that something was coming out of their eyes. When the 3rd Regiment first entered the first line of defense, there were more than 2,500 soldiers, but now they are returning Not even 1,000, and most of the living people have injuries on their bodies, and there are very few people who are intact.
Everyone is dirty, even Lieutenant Colonel Mike, who usually loves cleanliness, is covered in mud. The original brand-new military uniforms were full of holes, if people who don't know saw them, they would definitely think they were a group of beggars. It can be seen how hard they fought in today's fierce battle. The cavalry regiments who assisted them also suffered thousands of casualties, but they killed at least twice as many enemies as they did. Not to mention the two infantry regiments of the Rhine Army that were finally sent to support the 3rd regiment. Under the fierce attack of the Russian army, they were powerless to fight back. When it was dark, there was not even a single regiment left of the two regiments that went up.
Standing in front of the soldiers who had withdrawn from the first line of defense, Xiao Jie said in a deep voice: "Warriors of the Empire, you have worked hard. On behalf of the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor, I would like to express my gratitude to you. The enemy still stood firm, and did not back down even after suffering heavy casualties. I admire it and am very happy to have soldiers like you. You are the pride and heroes of the empire."
Soldiers who came down from the first line of defense were treated like heroes. Wherever they went, soldiers from other units looked at them with reverence, making them feel that their hard work on the first line of defense was worthwhile. As for those who died, Xiao Jie ordered them all to be cremated, and then sent someone to send the ashes back to France. At the same time, he privately provided a large sum of money as a pension, so that their families could get a little material after losing their loved ones. compensation.
The soldiers of the 3rd Regiment set a good example for the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Regiments. They all expressed that they would definitely defend the line like the 3rd regiment, and let those arrogant Cossack cavalry pay a heavy price.
"Don't worry, Your Royal Highness, I promise to complete the task, and this place will definitely become the cemetery of the Russians." Lieutenant Colonel Monty, the head of the 1st regiment, assured Xiao Jie.
"His Royal Highness, the logistics department has brought us some new gadgets this time, can we try their effects?" Eck said.
"What is it?" Xiao Jie asked with some doubts.
"It's the landmines that Andresi Arsenal improved according to your requirements. Last time I left in a hurry and didn't have time to bring them. Yesterday, the transport group brought all the landmines they brought in from Berlin. There are more than 4,000 mines in total. "
"Oh, that's a good thing. Immediately let people start to bury the geography. In addition to leaving two necessary passages, bury as much as possible in front of the second line of defense. This is a good thing to deal with cavalry." Xiao Jay said with a smile on his face. He clearly remembered that this weapon played a very important role in the later generations of China's Anti-Japanese War, but now the Russians are going to taste his power in advance.
Seeing Xiao Jie's appearance, Eke knew that this improved landmine must be a very powerful weapon, so he quickly ordered people to plant it.
On November 1, when the first ray of sunlight shone on the position of the 88th Army, the soldiers were waiting for the Russian attack with high morale. What is strange is that the Russian army has not launched an attack until noon. This is a waste of expression, many soldiers complained. Xiao Jie was also very puzzled: Did Kutuzov get out of trouble? However, no information on this has been received yet.
Xiao Jie, on the one hand, officers at all levels should not relax their vigilance, on the other hand, he asked the intelligence personnel to find out what the Russian army was doing as soon as possible, and why they stopped attacking without any sign in advance.
As a result, when the sun went down, they did not wait for the Russian army to attack, but they waited for Murat and his cavalry corps. After completing her combat mission in Prussia, Murat was asked by Napoleon to rest for two days before coming to Frankfurt to follow Xiao Jie's dispatch. It can be seen that the war in the east has been completely handed over to Xiao Jie, and Xiao Jie has been given a lot of autonomy, and Xiao Jie's performance in the past few days has also satisfied him.
And today it wasn't that Kutuzov didn't want to attack the French army, but that he was in trouble. Grand Duke Nicholas arrived last night, and at the same time he brought a new letter of appointment from the Tsar. The reason why Nicholas took more than a week from Warsaw to Swubi is that he has been collecting evidence that Kutuzov's army is unfavorable, especially in the past two days with heavy losses but no results. It gave Nikolai a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He sent someone to instigate Kleisky to fabricate that the reason why his army was completely destroyed was that Kutuzov had concealed from him the reason why the French army had a strong firepower, but in fact Kutuzov was not at that time. know this. Kleisky even fabricated the lie that Kutuzov had colluded with the French under the hint of Nicholas, and added people from Nicholas' faction to slander the Tsar. Finally, the Tsar asked Kutuzov to report back to Moscow immediately ~www.mtlnovel.com~ The front army was handed over to Commander Nikolai. It was an unwise move to change generals just before the battle, not to mention shaking the morale of the army, but it also gave Xiao Jie a chance to breathe, so that he could improve the defense line as much as possible, and also buried mines in the original first line of defense, carefully giving the Russian army A big meal is prepared.
Although Kutuzov's trusted generals opposed Nicholas taking over as commander in chief of the army, everything seemed so weak under the tsar's order. In the end, these opposing generals were deprived of command by Nicholas, and all were replaced by his cronies. Klesky also made great contributions in the struggle to overthrow Kutuzov. As soon as he took office, he resumed his position as the commander of the cavalry division, and handed over 10,000 Cossack cavalry, which were not much left, to him to lead, completely treating him as his confidant. Kleinsky immediately pledged his allegiance to Nikolai in secret.
On November 3, Nicholas, who was in power, launched an ambitious attack on the French defense line. He desperately needs victory to consolidate his position. Therefore, in the attack that day, he invested the remaining more than 20,000 Cossack cavalry and more than 30,000 infantry at one time.
Under the attack of the superior forces of the Russian army, the 88th Army once again fell into a bitter battle.
(to be continued,)