Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 295 A wonder that can only appear in winter
The weather on this day in 1804 was just normal, as seen in previous years. Winter even came a little earlier than usual, and was accompanied by heavy snow for several consecutive days.

As a result, the Selenge Regiment's camp was also covered with thick snow.

This amount of snowfall is enough to do something before winter training begins.

"Stachenko, is there any more wine in the warehouse?"

"Captain, you don't drink either, so why are you asking about this?"

"You frozen fish! All I want to ask is how much wine there is, and I didn't ask you why I asked such a question!"

"Yes!"

This is what Solovyov thought about Staschenko, the frozen fish.

As for why we need these wines, it is obvious that drinking a little can warm the body when we are doing outdoor activities.

When he asked the soldiers to line up, there were still some shortages in this infantry regiment of more than a thousand people.

In the Russian army, fully equipped regiments were rarely seen even in peacetime, as training losses, disease and soldier desertions often left a regiment without full strength.

"That's not bad. At least our group's shortfall is within a hundred people."

"Sir, that's because our group is frequently replenished."

"At least we don't have to bring people from Siberia. Okay, everyone must listen to my instructions!"

In fact, the strength of his regiment is equivalent to three Roman legion infantry battalions, or one first battalion plus one ordinary battalion, which means that the shortage is relatively small, otherwise he would have a headache.

"Brothers, everyone was given wine and extra meals today. Why is that? Actually, it's nothing. This is just the first project of our winter training. We need to build a fortification out of the snow."

Hearing this, the old soldiers became excited. They had done this many times when they were in the countryside.

And it's not just the Russians who do this. Armies and civilians in many countries do this wherever it snows. It's a common tradition.

However, when he built this thing, he wanted it to be beautiful to a certain extent and its appearance had to meet the requirements of military science.

"Our little leader is really interesting. He's not even training!"

"It's hard to say, who knows what he has thought of."

Although these veterans liked to complain about him, they thought he was a nice guy and a good commander.

Now they have started to act. These soldiers have begun to join the construction work, which can hardly fail to attract the attention of nearby residents.

Who knows what they are going to do next? Ever since a new leader came to the Selenge Regiment, what he does is very different from the previous ones.

Maintaining the physical fitness of soldiers is an ancient practice. In the military books that have been passed down in Europe, it is mentioned that when training troops, it is necessary to ensure the soldiers' marching ability. This is also a basic content of any army. Among the various daily trainings, it is considered to be the most basic item.

The Russian soldiers were able to win previous wars probably more because they ran. Just like Napoleon's Italian campaign, under the command of outstanding commanders, they were able to maximize the results of their daily training.

Solovyov did this mainly to change the minds of these line infantrymen. Although they were just soldiers in the queue on a daily basis and there was no promotion channel for officers, the performance of each soldier in battle was still very important.

In this regard, he did a good job indeed, and this time's "ice and snow fortifications" also attracted the attention of officers of the Smolensk Regiment passing by.

According to the Russian winter tradition, snowball fights are a must, but the way they play is more or less like a "war" on the snow.

This is one of the two traditional group fights that Russians hold every year. The other one is during Maslenitsa, but the next one will have to wait until next year.

The commander of the Smolensk Regiment was also a German, but when his officers saw that the Selenge Regiment was making great use of ice and snow, they said they would apply to the military governor, General Apraksin, to have a snow war between the Smolensk and Selenge Regiments.

Then, General Apraksin agreed and called Solovyov to discuss the matter.

"When you were training in the regiment, you played with the soldiers. Now the Smolensk Regiment is a little dissatisfied and they want to attack your fortress."

"That's a good thing. I was just worried that no one would come to fight!"

Apraksin also laughed after hearing his statement.

"Ha! Ha! You have planned this in advance, so we can let go and do it properly."

Then, it was Solovyov who took the initiative to issue a declaration of war, challenging the Smolensk Regiment to a battle and asking them to find a way to deal with it.

However, this is definitely not the time for me to just speak, this will be useful.

To this end, the Smolensk Regiment also went to scout the fortifications of the Selenge Regiment along the way.

"This pretty boy from Petersburg is really talented. He built a snow castle that looks like a real castle!"

However, there were some things that the officers of the Smolensk Regiment did not notice. It was indeed modeled after a real fortress. There were even trenches dug on the periphery, and a certain degree of concealment was done.

Therefore, even the commander of the Smolensk Regiment, Major General Peter Kolyubakin, could not see clearly after looking through a monocular telescope.

After all, they are all white, which makes them much more concealed than ordinary field fortifications, and even the trenches on the snow have been compacted.

This also shows that the continuous snowfall for several days has provided great convenience for the construction of the Selenge Regiment.

They even built some fortresses with ice, which were considered the most solid permanent fortifications in winter, and those on the snow were considered field fortifications.

At the same time, Solovyov was also conducting cold-proof training for his soldiers. Most of his soldiers came from Siberia and the Ural regions, where the climate is harsh, and were obviously more adaptable.

When the snow battle was about to begin, Solovyov knew that he had helpers this time, namely the Smolensk Ulan Lancers Regiment, which was stationed in Crimea but whose number was in Smolensk. Although General Apraksin regarded this as a traditional Russian activity, he still took it seriously and sent out the cavalry. Although this was not a real sword and gun, it was also a winter military exercise.

In addition, local garrison troops and some scattered hunters will join in, which makes the atmosphere more lively.

Originally, Solovyov wanted to have more interactions with the local residents, but Apraksin, the leader, gave him a difficult problem.

This led to Major General Kolyubakin discovering during the reconnaissance that the Selenge Regiment was still continuously strengthening their existing ice and snow fortress.

Therefore, he also felt a headache when discussing the plan with the commanders of the Kharkov Ulan Lancer Regiment and the Belarusian Hussar Regiment.

"That's great. Marshal Suvorov's last disciple, we didn't realize he was good at attacking, but he showed us how to build fortifications."

"Since the Governor wants us to follow the 'state of war', we really have to give him a good fight. Brothers, the problem is that his 'bastion' with its back to the forest has trenches on three sides. Even if we want to get closer, we need to cross his two lines of defense, but we don't know what is inside."

"Pyotr Mihajlovitch, even so, the brothers are in high spirits."

"Of course. In order to carry out this 'military exercise', the food we provide to the brothers is much better than usual!"

This is more like Maslenitsa, after all, it is a legal gang fight.

Even this time, they could line up in front of the Selenge Regiment's fortress with rifles without bayonets and bullets.

Of course, Solovyov wanted to use the cavalry to conduct penetrating impact training, but the actual environment in Smolensk did not allow him to do so, so the cavalry on both sides had to go around in circles.

This is the same as the situation on the battlefield. The phenomenon of cavalry charging is very rare. The same is true for infantry. When it comes to bayonet attack, one side will always retreat.

But this is better than nothing. The closer the exercise is to the real situation, the lower the possibility of making mistakes on the battlefield.

He was also eager to try. After improving the soldiers' food for many consecutive days, these soldiers worked harder during training.

After all, this was a confrontation with the Smolensk Regiment. The opponent's legion had a history dating back to 1700 and had participated in the Great Northern War. It had performed well in the Battle of Zorndorf in the Seven Years' War, the Battle of Remnik in the Russo-Turkish War, and all the battles of the Second Coalition War.

When the Smolensk Regiment attacked the St. Gotthard Pass, Solovyov brought his jägers to support this unit. The other side had been awarded the Order of St. George and the Honorary Grenadiers and was an infantry regiment with glorious traditions.

As for the Selenge Regiment itself, even if they take into account the combat performance of the old Selenge Regiment, it is difficult to compare with such a regiment.

Solovyov himself thought that this kind of "snow war" defense was always more advantageous to the Selenge Regiment.

If some military historians knew his ideas on building the army, they would find that what this guy did was more like what the ancient Roman legions did.

Whenever they arrived at a place, they would set up a large camp, basic defensive fortifications on the periphery, build complete roads between the two places, consolidate transportation lines to enhance supplies, and have extremely strong resilience.

He did this to improve his earthwork capabilities. After all, digging trenches and building fortifications on the battlefield were inevitable.

Unlike other elite Romans, he implemented the Roman approach down to earth, especially when building the camp.

Obviously he did not like letting his soldiers sleep in the open air, especially in the icy and snowy environment of Russia. Anyone who wanted to start a war on Russian soil without making relevant preparations must be crazy.

Apart from the Mongols, no one has been able to fully succeed in this achievement. The best they can do is enter Moscow. The last person to accomplish this task was a Polish player, but there is no Poland now.

After nearly a month of work, Solovyov looked at the fortress and found it very beautiful. Some soldiers who had some skills before joining the army even made ice and snow sculptures.
There was even a small chapel where soldiers could pray.

In addition, even if you are dressed neatly, these ice and snow buildings are not as cold as you might imagine.

People in Siberia do seem to be more active in a "colder" environment.

Solovyov was very satisfied with their performance and paid for them with meat and hot soup out of his own pocket. The soldiers' morale was high and they were ready to teach the Smolensk Regiment a lesson in this exercise.

As for their helpers, the Smolensk Lancer Regiment, they also arrived at the Selenge Regiment’s base two days before the exercise.

The uniforms of the cavalry regiments have always been very gorgeous. The most beautiful uniforms are of course those of the Guards Cavalry and Hussars. As for these Ulan Lancers, when Solovyov saw the hats on their heads, he would think of the Poles.

The citation for his medal also mentioned his outstanding performance against the Polish Legion at the Trebbia River.

But the Lancers were indeed very useful on the battlefield. They received the most complex training, had the strongest impact, and always suffered heavy casualties.

When dealing with hollow or solid phalanxes of infantry, if we do not take into account the accidental phenomenon of the "Crazy Horse Effect" that breaks through the enemy's phalanx, the lances in the hands of the lancers will obviously pose a greater threat to the infantry.

When Solovyov saw them, he also thought that the training in the spring of next year should include the content of infantry phalanxes dealing with cavalry.

However, if he continues to train like this, the Selenge Regiment will sooner or later become the "Blue Army" of the "Zhuzhiheski" and will give the opponents a big surprise on the training ground.

He did have this idea and had even mentioned it before, but no one cared.

They couldn't even carry out the "penetrating impact" training advocated by Suvorov. It was a bit too advanced for him to want to set up such a simulated enemy force on the training ground.

Of course, the cooperation of the soldiers is also needed. Although the old soldiers of the Selenge Regiment are a little disrespectful to him, they also respect and admire him.

After all, this guy who loves delicious food and doesn't eat with the soldiers will take the initiative to help some veterans write letters home. Compared with the same treatment, these Russian soldiers care more about whether their superiors really care about them.

The exercise will be held in two days.

General Apraksin took this matter very seriously and even invited several military governors and infantry inspectors to the scene to observe.

Among them was the very sarcastic General Langgeron, an old acquaintance of Solovyov, who had to come from Brest.

(End of this chapter)