In mid-September, the French 4th Army approached Moscow. Under the fierce attack of the French army, the Russian army suffered heavy losses, and had to shrink its defense line to the vicinity of Moscow, struggling to the death. It is now September, and the autumn weather is in full swing on the Eastern European plains. It's just that the bleak autumn wind seems to be a little colder because of the outbreak of the war.
"Everyone, October is coming. At that time, the weather in our country will become colder sharply. At that time, it is time for us to fight back. The cold winter is our protector, and we will definitely defeat Napoleon like we did back then." Andresi's army will also be completely wiped out. The brave Russians will not fail." In the Kremlin, Tsar Nicholas I was facing his ministers and generals, clamoring, his hands were too much Excited and waving wildly.
"Your Majesty, I fully agree with your point of view. The brave Russians will not be defeated. This vast land will always belong to the Russian nation only." Kutuzov also continued. The war is at its last moment. If Moscow is occupied by the French army, it will be very detrimental to Russia's future wars.
Now, the major military affairs in Russia are basically decided by Nicholas and Kutuzov. When the ministers below heard what they said, they naturally echoed. Words of the Russian spirit and certainty of victory are everywhere. It doesn't feel like Russia is on the verge of subjugation, but rather a great victory.
"Your Majesty. It will be October soon. We are trying to persist for a month at most, and the situation will improve. But this month is especially important, and no mistakes can be tolerated. Therefore, I ask you to order, from now on From the beginning, all the financial, material and human resources of the country were invested in the defense of Moscow, and those who dare to sabotage the defense will be severely punished." Kutuzov said in a deep voice. Now, it is time to fight to the death. The rise and fall of the Russian nation depends on the result of this battle.
Nicholas nodded. He was not an unreasonable person, and immediately issued an order, demanding that from now until the end of the Moscow Defense War, all financial, material and human resources in the country should be allocated by Kutuzov. Those who interfere will be punished as treason.
After receiving full authorization from Nikolai, Kutuzov was even more active in preparing for the battle. Now, Moscow still has about 540,000 troops, while the French army and its vassals have about 500,000 troops. From the perspective of military strength, there is not much difference between the two sides. But in terms of real combat effectiveness, the gap between the Russian army and the French army is not one step at a time. Kutuzov also understood this very well, so he never thought about defeating the French army in this battle, but thought about how to survive the French army's offensive. As long as he can withstand the attack of the French army and ensure that Moscow is not occupied, then he can be regarded as a victory. Fortunately, the Russian army was on the defensive, so he could dispatch troops calmly. Moreover, given the strength of Moscow and nearby cities, he believed that it would not be particularly difficult to resist the French army's attack.
Moscow is in the center of the Eastern European plain, and there is no danger to defend it. Therefore, thanks to the efforts of countless generations of tsars in Russia, the walls of Moscow are extremely strong. In addition, there are also three acropolises around Moscow, Zelenograd in the northwest, Elektrostaly in the east, and Podolsk in the southwest. None of these three cities is more than 30 kilometers away from Moscow, and they are each other's horns. Attacking Moscow from any direction will be hit from 3 directions.
In order to resist the attack of the French army. Kutuzov made the following distribution of troops in his hands. He deployed 110,000 troops in Zelenograd in the northwest, 130,000 in Podolsk in the southwest, and 130,000 troops in Podolsk in the southwest, and Elektrostaly in the east. There are 50,000 people under it. The remaining 250,000 people are deployed in Moscow. As the front line to stop the French attack, Kutuzov attached great importance to the defense of Zelenograd and Podolsk, and visited many times in person. Of course, Moscow and Elektrostal will not be negligent. After all, whether the former relationship can win the war, the latter is their retreat. In case of accidents in the war, Elektros Tully is not lost, they can still retreat to the east from here.
While Kutuzov was making final preparations, Xiao Jie and Du Geer also rushed to the front line by airship. This is also the first time that the highest level of the current French army has appeared on the front line in this war. In Xiao Jie's words, it means that the battle has come to decide the outcome, and he must rush to the front in person. Due to concerns about his safety, the airship he was on was not an ordinary hydrogen airship, but a specially built helium airship. Helium airships are much safer than hydrogen airships, but their cost is several times that of ordinary hydrogen airships.
As soon as Xiao Jie arrived at Kaluga, the frontline headquarters, he immediately summoned all the senior generals and held a battle meeting without taking a break. "General Monty, let us first introduce the current situation of the two sides." Sitting at the conference table, Xiao Jie said.
Monty came to the map and introduced to Xiao Jie and Dugor: "Currently, the Russian side has shrunk all its main forces to the vicinity of Moscow, mainly distributed in Zelenograd, Podolsk, Elekt Rostaly and Moscow. Their troops are 110,000, 130,000, 50,000, and 250,000 respectively. These three cities are horns of each other. No matter which direction we attack from, we will be hit by the enemy from three directions at the same time. Therefore, we must It is very difficult to conquer Moscow, or to conquer Moscow at a very small cost. At present, the forces assembled by our army near Moscow mainly include the 88th Army, the French 4th Army, and the Iberian 1st and 2nd Army , and the armies of other slave countries, the total strength is about 490,000, slightly less than the Russian army. Due to the current situation, we are preparing to attack Moscow from the southwest. The Iberian 1st and 2nd Corps set out from Tula, focusing on Attack Podolsk, while other troops contain the forces of other cities of the Russian army. As long as we can take Podolsk, then the Russian army's Moscow defense system will be destroyed by us. At that time, we can directly attack Moscow, and Don't worry about the Russian troops in the other two directions."
From Monty's introduction, Xiao Jie and Dougal also understood the current situation. For their plan, Xiao Jie agreed in principle, except for a few details that need to be changed, there is generally nothing that needs to be changed.
"I won't say much about the importance of this battle. I believe everyone understands it very well. I just want to say one thing, that is, if we can conquer Moscow and bury all the main forces of the Russian army here, then our The plan is 70% successful. As long as Russia is completely defeated by us, the whole of Europe will no longer have our opponent. So, please everyone!" Xiao Jie said sincerely.
These people here also understand the importance of this battle, and they all expressed that they would do their best to ensure the final victory.
On September 12, the French attack started again. From the very beginning, the French army showed extremely violent attack power. Starting from Tula, the Iberian 1st and 2nd Army Corps captured Serpukhov within a day and directed their troops at Podolsk. And other troops also took action one after another, and launched feint attacks on other cities defended by the Russian army, making it impossible for the Russian army to rescue Podolsk.
On September 14, the French army mobilized 400 cannons and hundreds of airships to launch a fierce attack on Podolsk. The Iberian 1st and 2nd Army Corps, supported by artillery and air force firepower, took turns to launch fierce attacks on Podolsk. However, the preparations of the Russian army are also very sufficient. More than 100,000 Russian troops are determined to defend Podolsk, and the resistance is very fierce~www.mtlnovel.com~Under the powerful firepower of the French army, Podolsk In just 3 days, it was reduced to ruins. But the fighting continued, and the Russian army was still trying its best to resist the French attack. However, the two Iberian legions were unable to take Podolsk for a while, bringing the battle to a stalemate.
"Marshal, the battle in Podolsk was extremely fierce. The French army invested two legions there. Now Podolsk has been reduced to ruins. It seems that Podolsk is the focus of the French attack. said one of the generals.
Kutuzov nodded. Before that, he always believed that the focus of the French attack was Zelenograd. The reason was very simple, because the trump card of the French army, the 88th Army, appeared on the attacking Zelenograd. in the sequence. As a result, Kutuzov and almost all the senior Russian troops came to focus on Zelenograd. However, 3 days later, when Podolsk had been reduced to ruins during the French attack, Kutuzov and others came back to their senses.
"Fortunately, it has been 3 days, and the French army still failed to capture Podolsk." Someone couldn't help but sigh.
But Kutuzov felt that things were not that simple. Even if Podolsk's defenses resisted the French attack, they must have suffered heavy casualties under the crazy French attack. It was only a matter of time before Podolsk was breached by the French army.