By the time Charles' telegram reached the French command in Gallipoli, his grandfather was no longer there. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

At this time, Marshal Treville was following the huge fleet of the Anglo-French forces across half of the Black Sea to the western coast of the Crimean peninsula.

Beginning a few days earlier, under the orders of the two commanders of the Anglo-French forces, the allied troops from all over the country began to board ships, and then left the garrison in the first transport ships, and then met on the surface of the sea, and came to this sea in a mighty way.

The vast convoy of convoys and the escorted naval warships pressed against the black sea, their outstretched sails seemed to cover the sky, and in this era it was the most powerful fleet ever assembled by mankind, each carrying a large amount of artillery fire, capable of leveling any city, and the transports were not far behind, they were full of soldiers armed with the most advanced weaponry, and they were bound to terrify the enemy.

In front of this fleet, no force seemed to dare to stop it, and the Russian fleet, after several blows, no longer dared to engage the Anglo-French forces equipped with steam warships, and they had long since fled to the east of the Crimean peninsula, unable to stop the actions of the coalition forces at all.

At noon, this huge fleet arrived in Kalamita Bay, and the land was already in sight, and the nervous people on the battleship did not see any signs of Russian troops on land.

Small cheers rang out among the nervous staff officers and commanders of the two countries.

Kalamita Bay, the landing site chosen by the two commanders-in-chief after deliberation, is a natural harbor with a flat terrain and a deep draft that allows warships to penetrate into it. In addition, this is the weak point of the Russians' defenses, and the staff officers of both countries believe that the landing here will not be too much of an obstacle.

On the map, the Crimean peninsula looks like a gourd hanging in the depths of the Black Sea, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, connected to the mainland by a narrow Isthmus of Perekop, which grows wider the deeper you go into the sea. Kalamita Bay is located in the middle of the peninsula, and the Sevastopol fortress at the southern tip of the peninsula is only a few tens of kilometers away, this fortress is the strongest fortress of the Russian Empire around the Black Sea, and it is also one of the bridgeheads of successive tsars to march into Turkey, it carries the imperial ambition of Russia, and to some extent is also the honor of Russia.

It is clear that as long as you land here, you can go deep inland at great speed, and then cut off the narrow peninsula and besiege the Sevastopol fortress, and the tsar will definitely not sit idly by and watch the fortress fall, he will definitely send troops to relieve the fortress, and then it will be the time for a decisive battle between the coalition and the Russian army.

With this in mind, the two commanders led a huge fleet to Kalamita Bay, where they went deeper, and then a large number of dinghys were lowered on the transports, and the dinghys full of soldiers were rowed to the shore.

Under the gaze of the scorching sun, a large number of French soldiers in blue and British soldiers in red clothes began to land, at first very few in number, then more and more, and soon occupied a large beachhead, they took shovels and other equipment they carried, and began to build improvised fortifications and trenches in the coastal area, and after these soldiers, a large number of sappers with equipment and tools also began to land, they were ready to build trestles and other facilities here, to turn this place into a simple military port as soon as possible, Carry the largest and heaviest weapons from the transport ship to land.

Looking down from the sky, a large number of small ships passed through the fleet and the shore, loaded with soldiers in fresh clothes and angry horses, as well as all kinds of equipment and supplies, as if a busy ant nest had begun to move.

Who wouldn't be uplifted by this spectacular sight? And who wouldn't be confident in their career after watching it?

On the battleship Napoleon, the command ship of the French commander, Marshal Treville, surrounded by a large group of officers, was holding a telescope to observe everything that was happening on the shore.

Yes, for the first time in forty years, the French army has re-set foot on Russian soil! It was also the second expedition of the Bonaparte family against this Slavic Empire! And this time, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force was himself.

Forty years ago, he fled in the winter snow of Russia, endured countless battles with the pursuing troops along the way, endured exhaustion, cold and fear, left Russia like a lonely ghost, and returned to Europe with the lost Napoleonic Emperor, and forty years later, the defeated general returned to Russia with a large army.

How many years of old feuds, how many entanglements, and finally there is time for re-liquidation.

He suppressed the trembling of his fingers, then put the telescope back down.

"Tell the soldiers in front that they must build a defensive position as soon as possible to guard our beachhead so that the army can land as soon as possible." He gave an order to the adjutant next to him, "Also, the troops at the front line will select elite officers and soldiers as soon as possible, send out reconnaissance teams, and explore the situation nearby, and we must understand the enemy's movements as soon as possible." ”

The adjutant quickly took the order, boarded a small transport and approached the shore, while Marshal Trevier remained at the bow of the boat, looking at the busy shore.

"Your Excellency, I think we should try to preemptively occupy an area where we can gain a foothold as quickly as possible." At this moment, a general next to him walked up to the marshal and whispered to him, "Now that the Russians have probably discovered the traces of our fleet, and our landing will not be hidden from them for long, they will definitely continue to strengthen the defense of the fortress, and we may have to prepare for a long war." ”

This was General Conrobert, one of the officers who had been in the early days of his Majesty the Emperor, and had risen through the ranks quickly, and now he was the commander of the Fourth Division of the French Army, and it was rumored that he was so popular with His Majesty that he could be appointed as a marshal if he could make meritorious contributions.

When General Michel Ney, Duke of Elchingen, was temporarily unable to come because of illness, he became the highest-ranking general under Field Marshal Trevil, and he did not hesitate to take up his responsibilities, and secretly rejoiced in it.

Field Marshal Tréville was of course well aware of his overly positive attitude and the secret thoughts in him, but the old marshal did not asent the ambition of others, because ambition also meant motivation in a sense.

"Baron Raglan is very confident, he thinks that we will soon be able to take Sevastopol and defeat the Russian reinforcements at the same time." The old man replied quietly.

"The English are always full of faith, even when they see God Himself." General Conrobell sneered, "But we have to be grounded in reality, Your Excellency Marshal. I've already scouted Sevastopol a few times, and it's a very strong fortress, and there's a good chance we'll not be able to take it anytime soon......"

"Don't you have confidence in yourself and the French soldiers?" The marshal asked rhetorically.

"I have full confidence that we will die for France, but ...... This does not mean that we want our soldiers to die in vain, especially for the sake of the arrogant British. The general replied without flinching, "I don't think we're going to lose, but I think that victory may come after a longer torment than expected." ”

His answer did not anger the marshal, and the old man lowered his gaze.

"Maybe you're right, but we don't need to discourage the British right now."

The general immediately understood what the marshal meant—the British were now full of self-confidence, and had no doubt that they could defeat the Russians quickly, and this self-confidence, though blind, had something to be used for, at least a brave ally was more useful than a cowardly one.

"If they could have fought the Russians more courageously, I would forgive them for their rashness." After a moment of silence, the general replied.

The old man just nodded slightly, tacitly. As he spoke, he still looked intently at the busy shore in the distance.

"You'd better get some rest, it's been too hot lately, I'm afraid...... Not good for your body. The general couldn't help but say to the old marshal, "Now that the epidemic is rampant in our army, I think you should be more careful, because you are our commander and the source of our courage." ”

He did not exaggerate when he said that, since his arrival in the Balkans, the epidemic began to spread in large numbers among the British and French armies, because of the humid and hot environment, all kinds of small insects and schistosomiasis began to invade the barracks, and then brought terrible diseases to the officers and soldiers of these expeditions.

Soon, there were cholera outbreaks in the barracks everywhere, and although strict measures were used within the army to prevent the epidemic, and all the tents where the sick lived were directly destroyed, these plagues were still not completely controlled, not only the soldiers at the bottom, but also many officers, such as the Duke of Erchingen, who was bedridden because of this disease, and now he is unable to go to the front line to command the battle.

At the same time, in order to prevent the epidemic, the fire everywhere burned a lot of military supplies, including a large number of blankets, boots and food biscuits, the loss of these supplies made the situation worse, and the morale of the coalition forces was also greatly damaged.

Fortunately, after suffering a large number of losses, Field Marshal Treville repeatedly urged the country to ask for help through telegrams, and a large number of supplies were also sent to the front, so that the army on the front line was not directly crushed by the epidemic.

"I'm in good health, thank you for your concern." The old man was unmoved, "At this juncture, I must personally go to the front line to boost morale and let the officers and soldiers know that the commander-in-chief is behind them." ”

The old man's indignant answer made the general a little speechless for a while, and in the end, he could only look at the marshal with admiration.

"You...... You are our role model, Your Excellency. ”

"You prepare early, land as soon as possible, and command the French army on the shore, now there are more and more officers and soldiers arriving on the shore, if you don't send a general over, it will soon be chaotic." The marshal continued to give the order, "Remember, to build good relations with the British, in this place we must unite in order to achieve victory." ”

"I will, don't worry." The general immediately straightened up, accepted the marshal's assignment, and then he asked, "By the way, when will you and Baron Raglan go ashore?" ”

"We'll have to call him Marshal Raglan." Marshal Trever shrugged his shoulders and seemed a little unhappy.

After the coalition decided to launch an expedition against the Russians, in order to reflect the authority of the British commander-in-chief, and at the same time to be on an equal footing with the French commanders-in-chief, the Queen and the government decided to confer the rank of marshal on the commander-in-chief, Baron Raglan, so that the commanders of both countries are now marshals, which of course made Marshal Treville a little unhappy.

"He will only be a real marshal if he behaves like a marshal." The shrewd general immediately complimented the marshal, "In our hearts, he is still far inferior to you, Your Excellency. ”

"Don't say that now, we want to be united!" Marshal Tréville reprimanded him, but was not upset. "We'll go around outside Sevastopol and then go ashore, hopefully by then you'll have everything on the shore."