Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 312 014 Europeans also use strategies (Part )
Grand Duke Constantine still wanted Solovyov to show some real skills, but the length of Sun Tzu's Art of War was not that simple.

Although the content is not much, the analysis and examples still require effort.

Just like the works of Frontinus and Vegetius, which Solovyov often read, the former basically talks about small techniques on the battlefield, while the latter is a military system.

Although the latter appeared during a period of internal and external troubles when Rome began to decline, and was obviously somewhat out of touch with the times, what was recorded was very useful.

After all, in the ancient world, this could be used to build an army, and the theoretical basis was relatively solid.

Whether it is applicable or not depends on the environment at the time. Moreover, the way Europeans fight wars is not so rigid, and there are actually many stereotypes.

"If you really want to know, there are many things that are common between the East and the West in military theory."

Konstantin nodded and agreed with Solovyov's opinion. After all, he had seen the plot of the battle of wits between Sun Bin and Pang Juan, which had been translated and adapted by Solovyov, and knew some of the outline of the story. In this regard, both the East and the West attach great importance to strategy.

Otherwise, there would not be strategic deception in war, and the embarrassing situation that some people invented strategies but actually did not know how to win.

The battlefield requires not only the art of military command in battles, but also logistics, strategies in wars, tactics in battles, and the daily construction of the army. It is a process that requires the cultivation of the entire system.

There is no shortcut in this regard. The military always has to combine the art of war and military technology. As a comprehensive subject, it is not that simple.

It’s just that the basic military theories still need to be clarified.

In the context of Europeans, the unfinished stuff that Clausewitz came up with later can be regarded as a basic theoretical textbook.

It was said that it was not completed because he and Gneisenau were killed by cholera, and many of the remaining manuscripts were sorted out by his wife.

As for how to achieve this standard, Solovyov still lacks something, that is, experience.

In his commentary, Archduke Karl's first reply had arrived and raised some points that needed to be revised.

"But one thing is very true, that is, on the battlefield, commanders have to take the initiative to do a lot of things and cannot passively accept orders."

Many people will encounter this problem in the next ten years, especially several of Solovyov's main acquaintances.

"In the past, there was a military committee, which was quite troublesome. Now it has been reorganized into a war department, with the minister of war in charge. At least the administrative instructions and daily construction of the army can be made clearer."

The reform of departments and committees was actually an area where Alexander did relatively well after he ascended the throne, which reduced a lot of unnecessary trouble.

At least there is no need for a group of old guys to hold a meeting to discuss it. Now they just need to report it directly to the Tsar himself under the signature of the old guy, Minister of War Sergei Kuzmich. Once approved, they can enter the next stage, which will greatly improve efficiency.

Solovyov said this, and Konstantin agreed. When they stood next to Suvorov, they heard the old marshal mention to the Austrian generals the terrible military committee system in Russia and Austria. This joke was told during the Battle of the Trebia River.

"As for the use of strategy, Your Highness, we have all thought of it. At times like this, we must avoid the strong and attack the weak. Creating an illusion when crossing the river is the most basic way to deceive the enemy."

As for explaining the chapter on reality and illusion, as well as the use of strategies on the battlefield, there are actually many places where they can be combined.

Solovyov thought a lot and prepared all the relevant content.

"These are some battle examples, but I don't know how to make the entire argument more reasonable."

When Grand Duke Constantine took it to look at it, he put his daughter down, and she went to Solovyov.

"Children seem to like sticking to you, Misha. The same is true for my brother's daughter."

"Especially when the twins are trying to steal candy from my pocket, right?"

In fact, Solovyov had discovered the tricks of the two princesses. Polina first talked to Svetlana, and then she came over to restrain Solovyov.

They were just little tricks played by kids, and they started to grow up smarter.

The young are always to be feared, and indeed they do have their own fearsome side.

While Solovyov was holding Sophia of Konstantin's family, the Grand Duke himself was reading The Art of War.

We have to mention here what Commander Du said when the airdrop warrant was delivered. It is in this article.

And Alexander does have this problem now.

Such matters could not be left to close ministers like Solovyov to discuss; Alexander needed someone of weight and influence to guide him so that he would not give blind orders in the war of 1805.

"If you don't understand the expediency of the army's operations, but want to interfere with the army's command, the soldiers will have doubts. This is indeed the case. The Austrian emperor did this, but we can't raise this issue. After all, our army arrived in Italy and Switzerland to help the court in Vienna, and we must fully respect them."

Emperor Franz did everything he shouldn't have done, and he has been severely beaten.

However, he still didn't change his bad habits.

"Similarly, some monarchs don't even understand how to build an army. I am very concerned about what Mark has done. I am thankful that the Austrian army has not been weakened."

"Why do you say that?"

"Your Highness, military reform requires professionals to make appropriate adjustments based on existing resources and the actual national conditions. If Archduke Karl were to do this, he would still be able to do something with his understanding of the military. But Mark..."

"That brings us back to the topic, Misha."

"But Austria's military reform really shouldn't be replaced at such a critical time, especially since these two people have completely opposite policies."

This is the fact, there is nothing to refute.

However, the court in Vienna believed that with the support of powerful allies, it would always be able to win.

They obviously only look at the recipe and not the military strategy.

Archduke Karl had recently returned to Teschen and was not in Vienna, so his influence on Emperor Franz was obviously very limited.

In this dire situation, Solovyov really thought there was no hope. "This is indeed a problem. Is there any other place?"

"I think we also need to pay attention to the calendar we use. We are off by 12 days. This will affect the movement of the army and make coordination more difficult. In addition, the Austrian army itself lacks officers, so this is not a good thing."

Solovyov spoke more to Grand Duke Constantine here, and his purpose was actually very clear. He hoped to concentrate the main forces on the battlefield in southern Germany rather than Italy.

After all, the ultimate war goal is to send the French back to the border of 1792, and this control range is acceptable to all parties.

If you want to achieve this goal, you still need to act on the German battlefield, not the Italian battlefield.

He said this because he knew the direction of the script, but geopolitical strategy was more important.

The French had often carried out strategic deception before, and indeed succeeded, even crossing the Alps on mules, which only resulted in a lack of artillery, but an entire legion of infantry and cavalry was still able to cross.

Since Napoleon was familiar with Italy and had even fought there twice, the Allied forces also preferred to make it the main battlefield.

But this was just a trick played by Napoleon. He made a lot of noise about his victory in Marengo, but the final decisive battle was at Hohenlinden, where the Second Anti-French Coalition was completely defeated. It was here that an extremely unlucky chief of staff and a young and ignorant commander joined forces to give Moreau, who had suffered many defeats before, a decisive victory.

This led to a clear misjudgment by the Allied forces at the beginning of the plan, believing that the battlefield would be on the Italian side.

In fact, if France wanted to be strong, it was still necessary to launch an attack from the Rhine River. Obviously, if a battle in this direction could be successful, it would be a more effective threat to Paris.

But many people did not notice this point, and the coalition forces did not do their homework well enough.

If the army in Boulogne-sur-Mer were to advance eastward, it obviously could not go any further than that. If it went to the Italian battlefield, it would be more likely that the main force would fight on the Danube line.

After hearing these questions, Grand Duke Constantine's attention was of no use. Ultimately, it depended on the final opinions of all the coalition forces.

However, if it were those Austrians, they would probably have their own ideas in Italy.

On the one hand, Naples was under the control of France, and Italy was an important source of fiscal revenue for Austria. In the previous war, it was entirely seized by France.

Obviously, the worst teammate at this moment is not Daiying.

When William Pitt the Younger was organizing this anti-French alliance, even though he had the advantage of navy, he still had to worry about whether the French would attack.

At this time, one can see the consequences of the stagnation and even destruction of the French Navy over the past decade. Many warships and shipbuilding materials have been lost, and the navy does not have suitable commanders and sailors. It has more advanced warships and more powerful naval guns, but they cannot exert their power, and a lot of them were also shipped to the British.

There were many warships in Nelson's Mediterranean Fleet that were actually designed and manufactured by France. They were captured by the Royal Navy during the war and eventually became British warships.

This was very bad. In fact, from the very beginning, France had little chance of successfully landing in Britain, and could only plan to invest nearly 20 troops to land in England and eventually turn to the European continent.

The analysis has come to this point, and whether it can be adopted is still a matter for the decision-makers.

Traditionally, the Allied forces would have planned operations in several different directions, taking action in four directions: northern Germany, southern Germany, Italy, and Naples.

Among all the allies that Britain could win over, the most troublesome one was Prussia.

The current rule of King Frederick William III of Prussia has some major problems, and his determination is even less than that of his wife.

Moreover, Prussia now wants to benefit from both ends, but facts will prove that they will gain nothing in the end.

It seems that the coalition forces' military advantage has become extremely exaggerated. They plan to deploy more than 50 people to join the battlefield, while the total strength of the French army will not exceed 25.

No matter how you look at it, the advantage in this kind of battle force is clearly on my side.

Solovyov also heard this rumor in Konstantin. After all, many people still believed that absolute military advantage would be useful.

But once they are dispersed, they will be easily defeated one by one. The coalition forces should not have learned their lesson, and I am afraid they will not be able to correct this problem in the future.

He knew that there was a limit to what he could do in his current position, so he concentrated on training troops and doing translation work.

At the same time, the diplomatic negotiations between Russia and Britain entered the final stage. After the two sides fully exchanged views, Britain still wanted to pay money, and the price was even higher.

If this round of negotiations is completed, Russia's position will change completely.

You know, Alexander chose to join the anti-French alliance more or less because of his personal friendship with the Queen of Prussia and his own personal ideas.

As a monarch, the way to express one's personal will was more or less taught by the Grand Tutor.
However, Prince Saltykov could not even decide on his own family affairs, which was very embarrassing.

Alexander, the only one in the family with a working brain, doesn't like himself.

But these should have nothing to do with Solovyov, as there are only so many things he can do now.

Of course, it was not possible to avoid the Tauride Palace all the time. When the Queen herself organized activities for the Smolny Girls' School, she would need the participation of officers from the Guards.

Louisa, he seldom came to her court after he came back from abroad.

As for the matter with Madame Récamier
This is also quite troublesome, but fortunately he didn't hit it this time, so it won't involve anything else.

The queen herself was looking forward to his arrival because she was worried about Alexander and needed someone to help her relieve her worries.

After all, their marriage was a political one chosen by the Queen, and the relationship between the two was more or less maintained by their children.

Although Louisa and Alexander were not on the same wavelength spiritually, they always shared his troubles.

Solovyov's home at 4 Laundry Lane also received a letter from the Queen, asking him to go to the Tavrid Palace on the weekend.

Well, there is no getting around it at this point, and Louisa said so in her letter.

"You keep saying 'wait for me to come back'. That poem is really good. I hope you can provide some literary inspiration for the girls. Many of them will become wives of officers and need to understand the life of soldiers."

(End of this chapter)