Defense Invincible (4)

The experiment of using explosives to destroy the barbed wire was quite successful. However, the plan to drive the sheep to step on landmines was abandoned after one test. In the experiment, they simply set off a firecracker among the sheep, and the entire flock scattered in chaos. A quick calculation based on the direction the sheep fled showed that the vast majority of the sheep went in other directions.

If you were to actually drive a flock of sheep into battle, you probably wouldn't trigger many landmines, but their comical antics would certainly lower your team's morale. But you can't exactly have the sheep line up in formation, singing the Pleasant Goat, and charge headlong into the minefields, can you?

Finally, Bagration: "The France mines are not very powerful. We'll push them in front with wheelbarrows, and everyone else will follow the tracks."

"That would make us vulnerable to France artillery fire from a distance," someone warned.

Artillery has a limited range when using grapeshot, while solid shot extends the range but limits the kill radius. It's effective against line infantry but less so against skirmishers. However, if Bagration's method is adopted, it's essentially advancing in columns. If a column is hit by solid shot, it's like a string of gourds being strung together.

"I think if we're going to advance in columns, we shouldn't be pushing any wheelbarrows," Archduke John said. "Back when we were fighting the French Army on the northern front, the French Army were poorly trained and couldn't form ranks properly, so they often used columns. They would rush towards us in columns under artillery fire."

Maintaining a column formation is easy, even while running. With sufficient morale, an army can rapidly approach its target in columns. Although a column would suffer heavy casualties if hit by artillery fire, the rapid approach reduces the number of times the artillery can fire. Furthermore, because of the column formation, a volley of rifle fire can only kill one or two people at the very front. Therefore, the French Army's rapid advance in columns resulted in significantly fewer casualties than expected.

Once they reached close range, the French Army would deploy their columns into lines, fire a volley, and then engage in hand-to-hand combat. Relying on their numerical superiority and high morale, the French Army used this simple and brutal tactic to defeat us time and time again.

I think that while pushing the vehicle ahead would reduce casualties from landmines, it would also slow our advance, forcing us to endure more artillery fire. Conversely, a direct assault, like the France did back then..."

At this point, Archduke John looked at everyone and then pointed to the map, saying, "This is a French Army minefield. You see, if we enter in a line, all the mines here will pose a threat to us. But if we enter in a column, most of these mines, except for those directly in front of our column, will be ineffective. Compared to moving too slowly and suffering losses from artillery fire, I think the best approach is to France method: advance quickly in a column, use explosives to blow up the barbed wire, and then rush forward to finish the battle with bayonets."

"That's right! Bullets are idiots, bayonets are heroes!" Bagration clapped his hands in agreement.

"But this tactic requires extremely high morale. When we later fought the French Army, we tried to imitate their tactics, but we basically failed—without the high morale of the France army, such tactics cannot be executed," said Duke John.

Duke John, as a general, wasn't particularly outstanding in the original history, partly due to his bad luck in always running into Napoleon. However, his political acumen was exceptional. He certainly knew the effect of uttering such a statement at this time.

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, the Russia around him exploded like a powder keg that had been lit.

"So what if they're not afraid of death? What's so difficult about that? We Russia have plenty of fearless heroes!"

"If you ask me, if the France can do it, there's no reason why we Russia can't. I think it's fine as it is!"

"Yes, yes, only heroes are those with bayonets!"

After a long, noisy discussion, everyone finally stopped, and many eyes fell on Marshal Suvorov.

Suvorov kept his head down, looking at the map, and remained silent. Finally, he looked up, scanned everyone, and said, "Since everyone agrees on this plan, let's organize training based on it. Once the drills are complete, we'll launch a general offensive against the French Army positions."

While Napoleon was facing off against the Russo-Austrian coalition in Italy, the situation for the French Army on the northern front was deteriorating rapidly. After the French Army retreated to Liege, the Prussia army soon caught up with Liege, and the two sides confronted each other in the Liege.

During the previous retreat, the French Army suffered considerable casualties and lost almost all of its artillery. When they arrived in Liege, although they received reinforcements from the domestic army, due to the current bizarre weapons procurement system, the domestic reserve forces did not receive much funding for weapons procurement. As a result, the weapons they had were basically smoothbore muskets that the army had discarded.

If it weren't for the Liege fortress providing support, the French Army would likely have been unable to hold out.

However, a few days later, the British Army arrived with their cannons, and Liege's defenses suddenly became precarious.

However, as early as when the French Army withdrew from Hanover, the France government, especially Carnot, already understood that a major crisis had arisen on the northern front. At this point, the best course of action was, of course, to recall the Italian Legion. Otherwise, if another defeat occurred in the north, there would likely be another Battle of Verdun. If the Battle of Verdun also failed, then Paris would truly have to raise the white flag.

So the Directory began frantically issuing orders to Napoleon, demanding that Napoleon lead his troops back to Italy as soon as possible and march north to fight the British. However, Napoleon rejected these orders, citing the intensity of the war and the inability to retreat. The Directory issued twelve orders to Napoleon within a month, but Napoleon ignored them and remained firmly in Italy.

For more than half a month, the Russian-Austrian allied forces were in a standoff with the French Army. There were occasional minor skirmishes, but no major battles broke out. It was as if everyone was on vacation.

During this period, the Russian army diligently practiced tactics such as column attacks and using explosive charges to destroy barbed wire. Finally, everyone, including Marshal Suvorov, believed that the training was sufficient, and the decisive battle was about to begin.