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The Fox of France - Chapter 483
🕑 Added 2024-04-12 22:40:15 +0000 UTCChapter 483: Return Like Lightning
Arendar Mustafa Pasha's speculation about General Bagration's troops was not far off the mark. Bagration's forces, moving swiftly with light equipment, indeed carried limited supplies and, after a day of battle, truly faced a shortage of ammunition. His position also made it challenging, if not impossible, for the Russian forces to send him supply reinforcements.
However, the ammunition shortage among General Bagration's troops turned out to be less severe than Arendar Mustafa Pasha had estimated. This was primarily due to two reasons: the battlefield remained under Russian control, which allowed them to claim the right to search the bodies after the combat. Although the initial Turkish assault was primarily aimed at depleting Bagration's bullets using weaker troops, which meant these troops carried less ammunition, there was still some available, albeit scant, like the larvae of longhorn beetles—small but still containing some protein after removing the head.
Therefore, after clearing the battlefield, the Russians managed to secure some ammunition. Additionally, the main attackers, poorly trained and lacking morale—akin to longhorn beetle larvae, oh, that's not right, the Sultan's Guards (once the most formidable and terrifying force of the Ottoman Empire, having earned a reputation similar to a certain army in the East with the saying, "less than ten thousand, invincible; over ten thousand, unbeatable")—although now facing similar issues to that eastern army. To be honest, the Sultan's Guards were still somewhat stronger, capable of serving as auxiliary troops and, under the supervision of the war commissars, could still charge the Russian positions, unlike the eastern troops who loved peace and the arts.
The Sultan's Guards, if engaged in a mutual exchange of fire, could hold their ground a bit longer, enough to deplete some of the Russian ammunition.
However, General Bagration soon realized what he was up against. He issued an order to his subordinates: "Let them come close, do not fire, and when they are near, strike them down with bayonets!" The longstanding Russian military belief that "bullets are foolish, bayonets are brave" was indeed instilled by the Sultan's Guards.
This indeed proved that bayonets were the best tactic against the Sultan's Guards. The Russian troops in the second trench waited for the Sultan's Guards to approach the first trench. As the Guards threw a barrage of grenades in a disorganized fashion, it was enough to make any Russian, including Bagration, wince in pain.
"Damn beasts! Stop throwing them recklessly! They're mine! All mine!"
Interestingly, the Russian trenches were uniquely designed, with only about ten meters separating the second and first trench lines. Before the smoke from the grenades had cleared, the Ivans, bayonets in hand, howled and charged forward. The Sultan's Guards turned and fled, and the Ivans pursued them, stabbing as they went, then crouched to search the bodies to see what could be salvaged.
Overall, the chance of the Sultan's Guards dropping valuable items was low, and what they did drop was generally of poor quality—labeled "inferior," "damaged," or "broken." For instance, the grenades were typically of Turkish make (during Selim III's reforms, with French assistance, the Ottoman Empire had started manufacturing modern weapons in their armories. However, due to corrupt management and shoddy workmanship, the quality was poor, and despite being expensive, these were the types handed to the Sultan's Guards), and not many counterfeit low-quality items from Britain labeled "inferior" were found, let alone the genuine, superior "Bonaparte Melons."
Nevertheless, having some ammunition was better than none. So after a day's fighting, the Russian ammunition losses weren't particularly severe.
The next morning, as the mist cleared, Arendar Mustafa Pasha dispatched his most elite troops for a decisive assault on General Bagration's Russian positions. He left behind the Sultan's Guards, who had been frightened by the previous day's killings, and some war commissars to fend off Kutuzov's forces while he led his elite thirty thousand troops to charge at General Bagration's positions.
Seeing the Turkish uniforms, General Bagration knew the decisive moment had arrived. He delivered a passionate speech to his troops, telling them that this battle would determine the outcome. If they could annihilate the Turkish main force, then recapturing Constantinople and restoring Rome to its former glory would be within reach.
This message resonated with the noble officers in his army, for whom the prospect of the double-headed eagle flag flying over Constantinople was highly appealing. But for the other soldiers, referred to derogatively as the 'gray beasts,' the idea held little allure. They knew nothing of Constantinople, the Senate, or the Roman people, and they were even ignorant of what the Tsar's double-headed eagle flag represented. The glory of the Senate and Roman
people could not inspire them.
So General Bagration addressed them differently: "Constantinople is the holy land of Christ, home to the most important Orthodox church—the Hagia Sophia, the seat of the Ecumenical Patriarch, a place of God and the Virgin Mary's glory. But since the accursed heathens captured Constantinople, they have turned this glorious church into a heathen temple of the crescent moon!
Devout believers, what an humiliation! The Virgin Mary weeps over this! Think, if we had the chance to liberate them, to expel those evil heathens from our Father's holy temple and restore its radiance, yet failed to withstand them due to our weakness, missing the chance to reclaim God's holy land, then what? When we grow old and die, when our souls reach Heaven's gates, facing Saint Peter who holds the keys, could we step through Heaven's gates with a clear conscience?
The Gospel says: 'For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.' If today, out of cowardice, weakness, fear of losing life, we let those heathens go; how can we deserve to enter the gates of Heaven in the future?
Therefore, for the many saints, for the weeping Virgin Mary, for the salvation of our souls, I beseech you, I command you, to summon all your courage and fervor, and fight to the death against those evil heathens!
Today, in this battle, no one shall retreat! If a squad leader retreats, any soldier can shoot him; if a platoon leader retreats, any soldier can shoot him; if a company commander retreats, any soldier can shoot him; if anyone, including myself, retreats, any soldier can shoot him!"
The impact of religion in Russia, particularly among the lower ranks referred to as 'beasts,' was profound. Had this speech been delivered to the French, it would likely have been met with laughter, seen as a clownish attempt to amuse. Much like in later years, Yukio Mishima's exhortation to revive the samurai spirit to a group of Self-Defense Forces officials, which was largely ridiculed. For modern 'muddy people,' the era of "waves stirring in the Miluo River" had passed; for the French, the zeal of the Crusades was long over.
But in Russia, this rhetoric was still powerful enough to inspire the troops. The soldiers were visibly uplifted by General Bagration's speech. Pleased with the high morale, Bagration seized the moment to promise: "Win this battle, and vodka for everyone. If one day, we liberate Constantinople, I promise to drink with you for three days and nights!"
This elicited a deafening "Hurrah" from the entire army.
Then, the Turkish forces charged headlong into battle.
The intensity of today's battle far exceeded that of yesterday. The combat will and skills of today's Turkish troops were incomparably superior to yesterday's Sultan's Guards. Under artillery cover, they braved the Russian bombardment, charging like a tidal wave.
Due to limited time and materials, the Russian defensive positions were not robust, offering limited defensive benefits. Hence, almost every Turkish attack managed to breach the Russian lines, and each time, the Russians had to resort to hand-to-hand combat to drive them back. The expenditure of ammunition was also incomparably higher than the day before. At the most critical moments, General Bagration himself took up a revolver and a saber to join the fray.
However, the situation for the Turks was also dire. Time and again, they charged and were repelled by the Russians, suffering heavy casualties. Even more critically, the Sultan's Guards in the rear were increasingly unable to hold back Kutuzov's advances. Just moments ago, these units even broke ranks, resulting in the loss of a crucial high ground to Kutuzov.
If Kutuzov managed to position his artillery on this high ground, he could cover the surrounding targets, much like Napoleon did during the Battle of Austerlitz when he moved his guns onto the Pratzen Heights. Under those circumstances, the Turkish defensive lines would likely be breached before they could break through the Russian lines.
To prevent this dire situation, Arendar Mustafa Pasha had no choice but to recall the troops originally intended to continue assaulting General Bagration's positions to try and recapture the high ground. This move, however, also meant that today's assault was unlikely to succeed.
As the Turkish troops began a chaotic retreat, General Bagration immediately noticed the change in the situation. Standing on his horse, he saw the disarray in the Turkish ranks, their flags askew. He immediately ordered a full-scale charge by the Cossack cavalry.
The Cossacks, shouting "Hurrah," spurred their horses and, wielding sabers, charged at the retreating Turks. The Turkish cavalry had been redirected
to counter Kutuzov's attack, leaving them without cavalry to face the Cossacks.
Had the infantry been prepared, the threat from cavalry, especially light cavalry like the Cossacks, would be limited. After all, the range and accuracy of rifles far surpassed the Cossacks' revolvers and their short sabers of just 90cm. But at that moment, the Turks were not ready to defend against cavalry. Their formation was disorganized, and their focus was on Kutuzov's forces. By the time they realized the Cossacks were upon them, it was too late to respond appropriately.
Yet, these Turks were still elite troops, trained by the French. Before the Cossacks could reach them, they managed to fire a volley that killed many Cossacks. However, they did not have the chance for a second volley.
With a fierce cry, the Cossacks, using the momentum of their charge, threw oversized grenades and then clashed into them with their sabers.
This grenade assault further disrupted the already disorderly Turkish formation, and then the cavalry crashed into them. The cavalry captain, Marekhov, brandished his saber, and with a light drag, felled a Turk to the ground; then, with a swift chop to the left, he brought down another Turk trying to flee.
Driven by the cavalry, the Turks scrambled in disarray, running back chaotically while the Cossacks, deliberately controlling their speed, herded them like sheepdogs with a flock, causing the disorganized fugitives to collide with other Turkish units, drawing them into the chaos and increasing the scale of the disarray like a snowball rolling downhill.
To prevent the entire army from being embroiled, Arendar Mustafa Pasha ordered the troops to stop retreating and to fire on the charging fugitives, which finally repelled the Russian counterattack. However, this also meant that he was too late to reinforce the rear.
Taking advantage of this, Kutuzov fortified the high ground. Now, it could be said that the situation was decisively in his favor.
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