Struggle in Russia

The Alma River is not a natural chasm. In fact, the river is no bigger than the knee. Both people and carriages can easily cross it.

Precisely because the river was more like a sewer, Kornilov did not focus his defense on the riverside. Instead, he used the Black Gold Mountain and the associated hills behind the riverbank to set up defensive positions.

Kornilov built three large fortresses on Black Gold Mountain, namely the large fortress, the second fortress and the third fortress. A large number of field artillery and cannon were placed in the fortress. Among them, the field artillery is responsible for blocking the Alma River and is used to attack enemy infantry and cavalry, while the cannon is mainly used for counter-artillery.

In order to defend against the enemy's attack, the artillery in the fortress carried out detailed range measurement and marking on almost both sides of the Alma River. Every gun was test-fired. As long as the enemy entered the range, it would definitely have to shed a layer of skin. .

The person responsible for guarding the Alma River defense line was Prince Pyotr Dmitrievich Gorchakov. This Duke also comes from the famous Gorchakov family. He is Leonid's cousin and the brother of Duke Mikhail.

But compared with his famous cousin and younger brother, Peter Gorchakov seemed unknown. At this time, he was in charge of commanding the Borodino Infantry Division and was the division commander.

Of course, being unknown is also a relative term. Compared with those two brothers, he is indeed inferior. But how could the person who could command the Borodino Division be any worse?

After all, Borodino is not an ordinary place. This was the place where Russia and Napoleon fought hard. Although the Russian army was completely defeated by the French army in the Battle of Borodino, objectively speaking, it also served the purpose of consuming and attacking the French army, creating conditions for subsequent victories.

Therefore, Russia does not attach great importance to this battle. Not only does it have a local monument, it also specially named an elite infantry division, and later it was used to name a former Dreadnought-class battleship. If the Russians thought this battle was a shame, how could they care so much?

The task Kornilov gave to Peter Gorchakov was to guard the Black Gold Mountain defense line, temporarily block the British, French and Turkish forces on both sides of the river bank, and try to kill and injure the enemy's effective forces if possible.

It should be said that Kornilov is still very clear-headed. He knows that the Alma River and Black Gold Mountain defense lines alone cannot stop the coalition's progress. It is only a matter of time before the coalition's strength breaks through the defense line.

It is simply unrealistic to expect Peter Gorchakov to hold the defense line. The main mission of the Alma River defense line is to delay and destroy the enemy's effective forces as much as possible, so as to buy more time for Sevastopol to prepare the defense line.

To be honest, even here, Kornilov thinks it is not easy to achieve. After all, the coalition forces had an absolute advantage, and they could also get abundant artillery support from the navy. It was not easy to kill the opponent in large numbers with just the Borodino Division and a small number of Cossack cavalry.

In fact, the coalition forces were very optimistic about breaking through the Alma River defense line. After the two commanders of the coalition forces, Marshal Raglan of the United Kingdom and Marshal Saint-Arnaud of the French army, arrived near the river and took a look, they agreed that it was easy to defeat the enemy in front of them.

"My plan is to launch a pincer offensive against the Russian army. Our army will attack the high ground on the left flank of the Russian army, while your army will outflank the Russian army from the right wing and annihilate the Russian army in the hilly area in one fell swoop!"

Raglan agreed with St. Arnaud's plan. Today he went to the riverside to carefully observe the deployment of the Russian army. He was very impressed by the three Russian fortresses. According to Saint Arnaud's plan, the French army was responsible for the Russian army's left wing. The terrain there was so dangerous that the Russian army built two forts, which were absolutely tough.

Even with the naval artillery support, it is not easy to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop. Since the French army likes to chew bones, let them chew it. He just happened to flank the flanks comfortably, and when the French army and the Russian army were both hurt, he came on the stage and sealed the victory in one fell swoop.

It’s both relaxing and comfortable, why not?

So Raglan agreed without hesitation, and even wrote it into the coalition's memo for fear that Saint Arnaud would regret it.

In fact, he didn't have to worry about France going back on his word, because Saint Arnaud just wanted to gnaw on a hard nut. He knew very well that the significance of this war to France was to wash away the shame of the Napoleonic era. The harder it is to chew off, the more it will demonstrate the current power of France. He doesn't even bother to pinch the soft persimmon!

It has to be said that the French are far superior to the British army in terms of morale. The French army as a whole is holding back their energy and wants to wash away the shame of the year in one fell swoop. The British army was different. They were so complacent that they did not realize how difficult this war would be.

This can also be seen from the battle preparations of both sides. According to Raglan and Saint-Arnaud's plan, the attack would be launched at five o'clock the next morning. However, the British's preparations were really poor. On the one hand, their logistical supplies were very poor, and they were not able to transport enough food, ammunition and other supplies to the Alma River. Keep procrastinating and delaying business.

On the other hand, the morale of the British army is not high, and they generally have no passion for fighting. When they are frustrated by the lack of supplies, they naturally become even more unmotivated.

Therefore, the original plan to launch an attack at five o'clock was delayed again and again. Until ten o'clock in the morning, the British were still standing still. This made it impossible for the French to launch an attack alone. After all, even if Saint Arnaud wanted to avenge his shame, he was not arrogant enough to think that he could win without the British.

Because of the British army's procrastination, the French simply made coffee and chatted. This not only made Saint Arnaud feel helpless and speechless, but also allowed him, who had been in poor health, to breathe a little easier.

Yes, the field marshal's health was in a mess. He felt uncomfortable from the moment he arrived in Istanbul. He couldn't breathe even with the slightest exertion. Most of the time, he could only lie on the camp bed and direct the battle.

Especially after landing in Crimea, St. Arnaud's health became worse and worse, and he kept trying to hold on. The British helped him get more rest time, and he was happy to see it.

It was finally ten thirty, and the British were finally ready. However, Raglan changed his mind and told Saint Arnaud: "The Russian cavalry is much more numerous than ours, and it may not be realistic to outflank them. I think we should just line up frontally and push them forward to defeat them!"

Saint Arnaud was speechless again for a while, but thanks to the British procrastination, the Russian army was heavily guarded and it was impossible to outflank the flanks. Just push it flatly! As long as the British don't do anything else, thank God!

As a result, the new combat plan was temporarily issued to all divisions and brigades. Fortunately, it did not cause greater chaos. When the clock struck eleven, the coalition forces were finally ready and launched the attack...