In the last rays of light before sunset, Lucien's offensive finally came to an end. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info On the orders of the marshal, he threw his entire brigade into battle and, under the cover of several artillery batteries of the division, launched an attack on the positions of the Russians.

His soldiers lived up to his expectations and bravely threw themselves into the battle, driving the Russians out of their positions in front of the river bank during the initial engagement, and then taking advantage of the situation to attack the other side of the river.

However, although the initial progress was smooth, the vanguard was met with heavy fire from the Russian defenders as they drove the enemy out of the village and attacked across the river.

Through the heavy artillery arranged in the preset positions, they launched an artillery attack on the French troops who were trying to cross the river to attack, under the command of Russian officers. This round of shelling, with its terrible intensity, and the intense firepower of various types of shells, which were arranged with almost no dead ends, immediately brought heavy casualties to the vanguard troops, and temporarily broke the morale of the forward troops, and the first few small units to set foot on the opposite bank were almost all killed on both sides of the river, and the few survivors also fled back to their own side of the river in despair, so that the initial offensive of the French army ended.

The French occupied the Russian positions on the banks of the river and annihilated and routed part of the defenders, but the frontal assault was ineffective, and in general, the first encounter was not a defeat, but it was by no means a victory.

After the French began to retreat, the Russian artillery bombardment began to weaken until it finally stopped, and Lucien could only greet his retreating men with a sad and gloomy gaze.

Most of these subordinates were dazed and dejected, and it was obvious that they had not yet woken up from the huge shelling just now. Most of the people's bright uniforms had turned jet black, and their faces and bodies were covered with filth and fatigue; Some were still covered with wounds and blood, and the drops of blood were still dripping on the ground, and they came back with a frown and patience in pain; Some even lost their limbs, and could only barely return to their own positions with the support of their robes.

This is war, and victory will never come easily.

Lucien walked up to the group of men, and patted them on the shoulders one by one, silent, but in great detail his encouragement, showing that he would never reproach them for retreating in such a situation—and perhaps a little guilty.

Then, despite the danger, Lucien walked to the ruins that had just been destroyed by them, and now the embers were still burning slightly, and there was choking smoke everywhere, but he walked through the ruins without realizing it, and then walked all the way to the trees near the riverbank.

At this time, the moon had appeared in the sky, sprinkling the cold light on the ground, the small river in front of him was sparkling, the cliffs were facing the crooked waning moon, the crags and slopes were looming in the moonlight, and even the bodies of the two officers and soldiers who were still lying on both sides of the river bank had become an inconspicuous foil, everything seemed to be an illusory dream.

If there were poets here, they would be moved by such strange and beautiful landscapes, but Lucien had no such feelings, he just glanced around with the serious perspective of a soldier, and finally stopped in those places that could not be seen clearly, quietly thinking.

In his mind, a brief map had been constructed from the terrain of this place, and then the two armies clashed here, and he wanted to think of a way to break through from this side in this way, but when everything was silent, his mood was agitated, and he was irritated by the complicated thinking, and he could only paced back and forth in the shade of the trees and the shadow of the vines.

There is no way.

After painful reflection, he came to a conclusion.

Rivers, cliffs, and slopes were natural obstacles that the Russians could rely on, and they had placed enough heavy artillery fire on the front that the bombardment of the heavy artillery would make the soldiers in front of them lose their fighting spirit, even the bravest soldiers would be unable to withstand it. While it was unlikely that the Russians would have brought too many shells, their existing shells should be enough to inflict heavy casualties on the attacking forces.

Not to mention that there are many fortifications behind the slope, even if you increase investment and put all the existing forces of the French army here, you may not be able to break through.

Besides, with the current situation of the coalition forces, if you pay a lot of casualties and break through here, what is the difference between that and losing? And it is obvious that the Russian army is arranging in this way to force the coalition forces to storm the front, and then turn this place into a cage that consumes the coalition forces.

A basic common sense in military affairs is that one cannot act exactly according to the enemy's ideas, and this is naturally perfectly clear to Lucien.

He looked up and looked downstream along the cliffs and rivers until the unknown darkness.

At the end of the line of sight, we are probably going to the beach.

He recalled the topographic map sent by Kong Ze before, and then suddenly felt that he already had an idea in his heart.

He took a deep breath, and the choking smell of smoke didn't make him feel uncomfortable, but made him more excited.

Then, with the orderlies around him, he walked back to the position of his subordinates.

"Prepare my horse, I'm going to see the commander!"

Although it was late at night, because Lucien was a high-ranking officer, he was not hindered by anything, and soon came to the commander-in-chief's tent again.

At this time, the tent was much emptier than the last time, and Marshal Trevier was not resting, he was still beside the map, observing the situation on the map, while writing and drawing on the map, as if planning the next movement of the troops.

This old man with white beard, although he was wearing a military uniform, looked so thin, but his calm expression and focused gaze could remind people that he was the commander of the army after all.

"Lucien?" When Lucien had come in and given a military salute, the marshal beckoned to him, "I'm not surprised that you're coming at this time. The loss of your subordinates must have hurt you today, right? ”

"Yes, I am saddened, Your Excellency." Lucien nodded, "But I have absolutely no emotions towards you, you are the commander-in-chief, and your orders must be carried out to the end, and...... I don't think your order is for nothing, we always have to pay something, after all, this is war. ”

"yes, it's war, if you think so." The marshal finally smiled, "Looks like I don't need to explain much to you. Well, what did you come to me for tonight? I guess it's for the next deployment of our army. ”

"Yes, Your Excellency." Lucien immediately walked to the marshal's side and looked at the map on the table, "Today's battle, although we have suffered some setbacks, has also shown us some realities. The Russians have prepared a strong fire and a dense defense on the front, which with our existing forces it is difficult to break through their defenses...... So we should abandon the frontal attack and seek a breakthrough on the flank. It's always a bad idea to attack the enemy's front, and if we can find a way to make a detour and attack their flank, our victory will be much easier. ”

Lucien was not worried about the marshal's opposition to him, because what he said was very normal military common sense, since ancient times, the front of the enemy's position was always the most strongly defended, and the flank attack could avoid the frontal defense and disrupt the enemy's disposition.

"You're right, Lucien. But now our left flank is the British, and the right flank is the sea, so if the British can't move, we can't break through on the flanks. Field Marshal Trevier finally sat down in his chaise longue and said, "So we have to rely on the British to carry out this flank breakthrough." ”

"That is to say......" Lucien understood.

"Yes, I have asked Field Marshal Raglan to launch a flank attack tomorrow, and they will make a detour, cross the river and attack the left flank of the Russian army." Field Marshal Tréville nodded, "Field Marshal Raglan saw your bravery today, and he is more than happy to have his men do the same for us tomorrow......"

It dawned on Lucien that he finally understood Marshal Tréville's intentions.

Flank attacks, while useful, are not just words, and in the present circumstances, such an offensive must be tightly organized, heavily committed, and must be carried out on long marches under artillery fire and forced attacks on positions and bastions on the flanks of the opposing side - and all these conditions add up to huge casualties.

Since the breakthrough of the left wing was to be given to the British, it would be better for the French to show a positive and courageous attitude first in order to give them some kind of stimulation.

"Hey, that's the way the coalition is, we can only intrigue with our friends." Marshal Trevier sighed, "Lucien, I wish you didn't have to command the army with another marshal in the future......"

"You've worked really hard, I think you're a true commander." Lucien said heartily, and then, with a change of words, "But, Your Excellency, I think it would be better for us to attack on both flanks at the same time, if we can......"

"What do you mean?" Marshal Tréville was a little confused.

"Yes, our right flank is the sea, but I think that the estuary of the river, and the cliffs along the coast, though insurmountable, will be able to strike the enemy by surprise if we can climb them...... It could even be a fatal blow, if we are lucky enough to destroy the artillery positions of the Russians. Lucien lowered his voice, walked over to the marshal's side, and lightly traced his fingers across the map.

"You see, since the Russians are using heavy artillery, then their artillery should be deployed in the area behind the riverbank, and I think the most likely is on this high platform, because this is the commanding height, and we can see clearly the offensive of our army on the riverbank. If we go around the river and climb up the cliffs, they will be caught off guard. ”

With Lucien's explanation, Marshal Tréville's eyes brightened.

"Nice idea!" He concluded, "But...... Are you sure we can really get over it? The terrain there is rugged, and there should be quite a few defensive units. ”

"I can't guarantee 100 percent success," Lucien replied honestly, "but, from what I've observed, it should be doable." I lived in a mountain village when I was a child, and I have climbed many times in the mountains and forests since I was a child, and I have many subordinates who have the same experience, and I think that as long as it is not a cliff, we should be able to climb it, and as long as a small number of people can climb it with a rope, the next thing will be simple. As for the defending forces...... I don't think there will be a lot, and we have a fleet, and our fleet on the coast can act in concert and support us with their artillery fire. ”

"That's right! We still have a fleet! The marshal nodded heavily, and then immediately thought of a new idea, "No, it's not enough to use the fleet, we also need to launch a diversion offensive, so that they will not be able to judge our purpose." Not only the British are going to attack on the flanks, but we are also going to make a feint on the front, and we have to attract all their forces! ”

The more the marshal spoke, the more excited he became, and at last he simply stood up. "Yes, we are going to break through here in one fell swoop, and then fight all the way to the city of Sevastopol!"

Obviously, this all-out offensive was based on the current superiority of the Allied forces, and only in this case could the Allied forces force their offensive regardless of possible casualties, and this was also a manifestation of the superiority of the British and French national forces - they were able to maintain such a large army thousands of miles away from their homeland, and were able to launch an offensive on their own initiative.

Had it not been for the plague and other surprises, the Anglo-French forces would have been able to gather much more strength here.

"Marshal, I beg of you, let my troops take on this task and launch a flank offensive as the vanguard." Lucien immediately made his request, "My men are good, they can complete the task you have given them!" ”

"Oh, of course, of course! Even if you don't say it, I'll let you come. Marshal Tréville laughed, and then slapped Lucien on the shoulder, "Lucien, you will get a medal for this." ”

“…… Medals are not my pursuit, and if I can, I hope that my men will survive more and meet the victories they deserve. Lucien bowed his head slightly in embarrassment.

In this way, at Lucien's suggestion, Marshal Tréville gathered several of his staff officers and quickly studied the next plan of action, and late that night, Marshal Tréville came to the tent of Field Marshal Raglan, the commander of the British army, and the two marshals quickly agreed on this plan after a short conversation.

Then, in the wee hours of the morning, the senior officers of the coalition forces received orders from their respective headquarters, and then they asked their troops to prepare accordingly, and the entire military machine, after a short rest, was again in rapid operation in the middle of the night.

Then, in the early morning of the next day, the Anglo-French forces launched a full-scale offensive against the Russian army.