Chapter 314: The failure (Part 2)

"Ivanovic, what are you going to do? Why did you withdraw your people?" Pratov rode to Ivanovic, full of anger. Originally, his troops began to break through the French defense line while the French army was busy dealing with Ivanovic's Cossack cavalry and achieved considerable results. However, as soon as Ivanovic's cavalry retreated, the focus of the French attack was shifted to Pratov's infantry. Relying on powerful firepower and familiarity with the terrain, the French army quickly drove Pratov's army out of the position, causing Pratov's casualties to be severe.

"General Pratov, our troops have lost more than half of them. Do you still want our troops to serve as vanguard? Instead of quarrel with me, you should think about how to stabilize your troops on the front line." Ivanovic said disdainfully.

"You." Pratov snorted and left. His ranks and Ivanovic were the same. There was no mutual leadership relationship, so he was not qualified to order Ivanovic. Seeing that his troops were showing signs of collapse, Pratov finally ordered two divisions to reinforce, which stabilized the front line. But the situation was still not optimistic. The Russian army was completely suppressed on the river beach and could not move forward at all, while the French army slowly relied on weapons such as mortars to harvest the lives of the Russian army.

While the battle was not so intense, some of the French troops had already begun to retreat and rest, eat and drink some water, and prepare for the next battle.

"The reinforcements sent by the Marshal, the 2nd and 4th Legion arrived." An intermediate officer reported to Dawu.

"Arrang them behind the position and use them as reserves." Dawu sighed and said. After a morning battle, the French army suffered nearly 15,000 casualties, and the entire division's troops were in full force. The Russian army suffered more than 50,000 casualties. If the Russian army did not use cavalry with powerful impact at night to attack, the French army would probably not have suffered such a great casualties, and the Russian army suffered more than that. In this way, the French army suffered a loss.

"Send a report to Marshal Besier and Marshal Saint-Sil. Now the main force of the Russian army is dragged here by us, so that they can seize the opportunity and strive for a fatal blow to the Russian army." Dawu said with a ruthless face.

The communication officer immediately received the order.

"Contact the Air Force, I need them to bomb the Russian concentrated areas such as Goruv and Svubicai, which are relatively concentrated, to maximize the consumption of the Russian army's vitality." Dawu continued to issue orders. Under his orders, hundreds of airships of various types in the space took off. They carried out strategic bombings on various assembly sites and material warehouses of the Russian army, causing the Russian army to suffer great losses.

"Two generals, the marshal, ask you if you have broken through the French defense line." A major general came to the Russian position and asked Ivanovic and Pratov.

"We are not..." Pratov was about to answer, but was stopped by Ivanovic.

"Please tell the Marshal that the battle is still going on, and we will break through the French defense line soon." Ivanovic said confidently, while Pratov looked at him with some confusion.

The Major General nodded and quickly left.

"Ivanovic, why do you deceive the Marshal? Are you not afraid of going to the military court?" Pratov asked in surprise.

"The battle has been going on for so long. We have suffered heavy losses, but we still cannot break through the French defense line. Do you think Marshal Kutuzov will let us go?" Ivanovic said with a blank look.

"That's not my fault. Anyway, my troops have done their best." Pratov retorted. However, there was a hint of unwillingness and helplessness in his expression.

"Okay, Pratov, let's not argue anymore. I think we should concentrate all our troops and launch a final attack on the French army. If we cannot win, we will have to retreat." Ivanovic said firmly.

"Okay, then." Pratov finally agreed.

Half an hour later, not counting the nearly 40,000 Russian troops suppressed on the west bank of the Odd River, Ivanovic and Pratov concentrated a total of 23,000 cavalry and 25,000 infantry to launch the last fierce attack on the French positions.

"The troops are ready, and the Russians are going to fight. Send a report to the 2nd and 4th Legion, telling them that they can start the attack." Marshal Dawu put down the telescope in his hand and issued an order.

The attack of nearly 90,000 Russian troops put a lot of pressure on the French defense line. Under the fierce attack of the Russian army, many areas were in danger. In particular, heavy machine guns and squad machine guns have been used at high intensity since the battle started. The wear of the barrel was very serious, causing great obstacles. Especially when the Russian army was attacking very fiercely, the barrel exploded, and the firepower was greatly affected at that time. Many French positions were breached because of this reason.

After two hours of the battle, most of the French front-line positions had been occupied by the Russian army. Of course, these were piled up by the Russian soldiers' bodies. Those front-line positions that were not occupied by the Russian army were also protruding parts of the attack. In order to reduce losses, Marshal Dawu decisively ordered the first-line positions to be abandoned and everyone retreated to the second-line positions to defend.

Seeing the Russian army occupying the French position, Ivanovic and Pratov were very happy and felt that victory was right in front of him. "Send someone to report the victory to Marshal Kutuzov, saying that our army has successfully broken through the French front-line position, and it is just around the corner to completely break through the French defense line, but the troops have suffered a lot of casualties and need his support." Ivanovic ordered.

"Marson, it's time to launch a counterattack?" asked a division commander of the 1st French Legion.

"Don't be busy, wait a little longer." Dawu said to the Russian army who were constantly attacking the French second-line positions. Under the fierce firepower of the French army, it was difficult for the Russian army to attack the French positions.

After an hour, it was already noon. Whether it was the Russian army as the attacking side or the French army as the defense side, their physical strength was exhausted. The two divisions drawn from the 2nd and 3rd legions still retained sufficient physical strength. "Notify the reserve troops and launch a counterattack in half an hour." With everyone's expectations, Dawu finally issued an order to prepare for a counterattack.

Half an hour later, the French artillery that had been silent for a long time began to show its power again, and a large number of shells hit the Russian army, causing them to cry and cry. Then, a large number of French troops rushed out of their positions like a tide and launched a fierce counterattack on the Russian army. Regardless of weapons, physical strength and morale, the Russian army is now far behind the French army, and even has no advantage in military strength. In this case, the Russian army was quickly defeated. It was completely defeated. Under the fierce attack of the French army, the Russian army quickly defeated. At this time, they kept running backwards. The Oder River was an obstacle to block their attack, but now it has become an obstacle to block their retreat. Many Russian troops were surrounded by the French army due to the obstruction of the Oder River, and those who waited for them either surrender or die. Of course, life is much more important than others, and many Russian troops chose to surrender.

At this moment, Ivanovic and Prato, on the east bank of the Oder River, were stunned by this dramatic change. They never expected that they had the advantage just now, but in a blink of an eye, they were defeated by the French army. They felt very unwilling to accept that the victory was only one step away from them, but now they have become like this.

"Report to Marshal Kutuzov immediately, and we were told that we were counterattacked by the French superior forces and suffered heavy losses. I hope he can support us in time." Ivanovic gritted his teeth and asked him for help again after he reported his victory to Kutuzov for an hour and a half.

After the communications soldiers left, Ivanovic turned to Pratov: "When they were about to withdraw, the French were about to call him. If they didn't leave, they might not be able to leave."

The two hurriedly brought the guards and the remaining staff and others to join the remaining troops who had retreated from the front line and began their escape. Now, they no longer dared to go to Gorov because they were not sure whether Kutuzov would tear them away in anger. Therefore, they fled eastward. Because the 200,000 reinforcements of the Russian army had arrived in Poznan at this time, and with them there, they could at least stop the French army for a while. Now, they no longer had the extravagance to win, and being able to return to Russia safely was their greatest hope.

Kutuzov, in Goruv, was also undergoing a transition from heaven to hell. After receiving the good news from Ivanovic and Prato, he was very happy and immediately began to organize troops to support them. But not long after, he received news that the French 2nd and 4th corps were attacking from both wings. As a last resort, he had to transfer his troops to block the French attack. In his plan, Ivanovic and Prato's troops were the troops to break through the French army.
Chapter completed!