Chapter 655 017 The Road to Athens (Part 3)

Vergina is a place with mountains on the west and the plains of Macedonia on the east. It was once the capital of the late Macedonian Kingdom. After the defeat of Antigonus One-Eye, his son Demetrius seized Macedonia for a time, but soon failed because of speculative wars in Asia.

Finally, Antigonus II, the grandson of One-Eye, reoccupied Macedonia when the Greek world was in chaos. The Greeks also respected him as the overlord, but soon the Romans came, and his descendants failed to defend Macedonia. In the end, he was the first of the three successors to be destroyed.

But this place is good. The cities built in the old Macedonia are still blocked by traffic arteries even two thousand years later.

The Greeks used to be very powerful, but now they are not.

It is true that Andrusos worked under Ali Pasha, but the clothes worn by the Greeks here have been influenced by Turkification for about four hundred years, and they can't even see the appearance of the late Eastern Roman Empire.

But his name was really clever. Odysseus was indeed a clever guy with many bad ideas. After Soloviev let him go, he only took a Russian liaison officer. When Soloviev arrived in Vergina, he had already arrived in Larissa and had a reply.

The Turkish defense in Larissa seemed very weak. After Soloviev's army set out, the Uvarov Division also left Skopje, and the Serbs were the ones besieging there.

At least the Turks can't threaten the Russian army's transportation lines now. Even if they are released, they will probably be driven to Ali Pasha's territory.

Karageorge probably also knows what some local Ottoman Pashas are doing. There must always be a large number of people who want to be local emperors, so he also has some contacts with Albania.

In the tent, he is also looking at the latest intelligence.

"If that's the case, our whereabouts should have been exposed. Why not send some people to attack Larissa, and we will use bait here to wait for the Turks. If the garrison of Salonika comes out, we will still use the old method to meet them."

"Who is suitable to go then?"

Soloviev looked at the three division commanders. To be honest, the ability of these three people to lead troops alone is questionable. Trubetskoy has been in the headquarters for most of his time; Christian is brave enough in battle, but he has never had the experience of leading troops alone; Arkady is the son of the Grand Marshal, but he also has problems.

He is the only one who has led a team alone or worked as a staff officer. At this time, he looked at the bearded Kunev next to him and found him more pleasing to the eye.

But he is a cavalry officer and often goes out, but his qualifications are lower than those of the three princes under him.

He thought about it and it would be no problem to let Kunev's deputy lead the cavalry since he has the cavalry in his own hands.

"Kunev, I'll give you a task, can you complete it?"

Soloviev said this, Kunev was very excited, he finally got a big job.

What he thought in his heart was that this kid finally gave him a big job, but he couldn't say it out loud.

"Sir, I'm afraid you're going to give me a big job."

"Yes, look at Larissa. We need to send people to bluff and create the illusion that our main force is moving towards Larissa."

"If you want to create momentum, you can't have too few people."

"Is it enough for you to have two cavalry regiments and five infantry regiments?"

"Then you have too few troops here. Even if the Turks are trash, I'm afraid it won't be enough."

"It doesn't matter. Uvarov will be here soon. Otherwise, the performance won't be realistic."

"Well, I'll take seven regiments there. I also need artillery, otherwise the performance won't be realistic."

"Then you can take the unicorn cannon. The more powerful the cannon is, the more realistic it will be. I don't need so many artillery on the front. I just need to lure the enemy out."

Soloviev knew that he had to set up a battle formation near Vergina, but he also had to lure the Turkish army into a trap, so he naturally had to make himself look weak.

Therefore, the grenadiers were asked to change their outfits.

Even now, only the Pavlovsk Regiment has a grenadier bishop hat on his head, but there are still some differences between grenadiers and ordinary line infantry.

It seems that the Russian troops here are all "ordinary infantry", and some are even disheveled. They don't look like they are currently combat-ready. It seems that they have suffered a lot of losses in previous battles.

This routine has been used before. Sometimes they wear the same clothes during the march. Whether it is the outfit or the armor in the past, they are also in the luggage during the march.

If you don't open the luggage and wear ordinary uniforms, you really can't tell what kind of troops this is.

To pretend to be weaker, you have to set up a formation with fewer people in the front and more people in the back, and it seems that a large amount of supplies should be placed in front of the defenders of Salonika to lure them into making mistakes.

For this reason, Solovyov's deployment is also very funny. He puts the reserve soldiers with relatively weak combat effectiveness in the front, but also builds a position. It seems that he is prepared, but the personnel are very weak.

These days he would rather let the main force of the Russian army hide behind and rest. The terrain near Vergina is very suitable for hiding. Moreover, the Russian army is located in the woods, high above the ground, and naturally there is no shortage of water.

"Look at it this way, if the Turks don't come out, we can't move near the camp in front. We happen to be resting here. The weather here is very good. Even after October, it probably won't be very cold. Camping is relatively It’s also more convenient.”

"What about Larissa?"

"Kunev and Odysseus go to Larissa in the south. We put the main force here, the grenadiers are placed on the second line, the cavalry retreats to the valley, and the frontal scouts are placed to the west of Alexandria. There will also be some cavalry artillery and hussars here."

"Misha, if your bait doesn't taste good enough, they won't take the bait."

"Christian, I know this. So if you want to put a lot of 'baggage' here, and if you want to do it properly, you have to stock up on supplies here."

In fact, the Russian army's supply point is in the mountains, where it is difficult for the Turkish army to reach. Even if they want to move, they have to pass through Vergina. After all, as long as the Turkish army comes out, it will definitely meet with the Russian army.

"That's good, don't fail to take the bait."

"They will definitely take the bait. Those pashas and beys have always been greedy for wealth. We have really lost the baggage. As long as these enemies are eliminated, we will probably be able to earn back the lost things from their palaces soon." Come back. Moreover, now that we are in Greece, there are some wicked men here, and we can give them a break. "

If Solovyov is too strict, some Russian officers may be unhappy. After all, there is nothing to grab, and it is impossible to restrain them all the time.

Since the Commander-in-Chief himself has said this, it is acknowledgment that they can take advantage of those Bayi gentlemen during the operation.

Compared with the poor people who always met after crossing the Danube, the Greek side is obviously richer. After all, it is a coastal area. Although the business has declined, it is still a bit tight.

Ali Pasha, who is not very powerful, can create a big show in Epirus, not to mention the various lords here. The Ottoman Empire also has a large number of governors in Greece, and there may be many on one island. One, you can imagine what kind of fat guy the master here is.

Of course, the situation in Cyprus is probably an exception.

After Solovyov's deployment was completed, he was actually doing his homework. The number of Turkish troops in Larissa was not large. If Kunev went too far, the effect might be better.

Therefore, after he finished dispatching his troops, he went to find Kunev alone.

Kunev was also drinking in the camp. He knew that Solovyov was a poor drinker, and he was usually more restrained and did not force himself on him.

After all, this pretty boy is older than him and is good at fighting.

"Say, Mishka, why are you so drunk?"

"I don't know. Maybe my mother died of liver disease. I always have to pay attention to this. Fortunately, I am not a person who will feel uncomfortable when my liver and spleen are moved. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to be a soldier."

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"You are very brave. This is the first time we have brought troops to Greece. The girls here are not bad, but we are busy fighting and have no time to hook up."

"Don't just think about girls, we need to make the battle bigger so that Sultan Mahmoud can waver in his determination to continue the confrontation in Rumelia and send some of his troops to Salonika."

"You're thinking too much. I'm afraid there's more than one purpose for entering Greece, right?"

"If possible, we can mobilize the Greeks and end the Turkish rule here, Serbia, Greece, Wallachia and Moldavia. After these places are separated from the Turks, we will probably be relaxed on the west coast of the Black Sea. Some."

"That's something the big shots in Petersburg have to consider. Only if we win the war can they get an advantage at the negotiating table. Just come to me."

"Kunev, after you arrive in Larissa, you still want to make things bigger. If possible, you can also unite the Greek armed forces. We can use troops in Greece, and the troops we bring are not many. We may still We need more local people to join the fight. If you don’t have enough troops, you can mobilize these militia groups to join the fight.”

"I think they are okay, but Uvarov won't be here, and your troops are not strong enough."

"The Turks are just that good. I dare to give you seven regiments and artillery. There is no problem in defending Vergina. The only thing I'm afraid of now is that the enemy won't move."

"If they don't move, I will really go and capture Larissa."

"Then don't be anxious. Rushing to attack the city will be counterproductive."

Kunev knew what was going on, and Solovyov was relieved. The cavalry general was not as rough as he seemed, and he was also seriously considering the changes on the battlefield.

What Solovyov needs to pay attention to is the movements of the Turkish troops in Salonika, and whether the Sudan will send troops to the east of Macedonia.

If it were an enemy of this size, Solovyov would still be very confident in winning.

But if the enemy adds more troops and comes too many, he will have to take care of them. Even if Uvarov is here, the Russian army may also be in a hard fight.

The reason why he would consider this is because when he arrives in Greece, he will be warmly welcomed by the locals, and some people will even take the initiative to provide support. Whether it is logistical supplies or intelligence, it is even more convenient in Greece than in Bulgaria.

The enemy's movements are indeed translucent to his private activities.

But it is still very difficult to operate here for a long time. A lot of food and ammunition need to be transported from the rear. Even though there are logistics warehouses in Bucharest and Vidin, a supply line has been established to provide supplies to the Macedonian Corps.

But Russia is very large, and this line is too long, so there will always be some difficulties.

Soloviev's overall determination has not changed, that is, to make things bigger in Greece, but his battle deployment is always changing, which is also related to the difficulty of supplying materials for this expedition.

He let the Macedonian Corps rest in Sofia for a while, which is also related to this. It is also a more difficult thing to maintain the state of fighting abroad for a long time.

After returning from Kunev, he started playing the huqin again, but the tune he played always sounded more familiar.

He even didn't know what strange idea he had awakened, and he played and sang by himself. The adjutant next to him had been with him for a long time, not only did not understand, but also didn't know what he was going to do, even if the officer on duty today was his brother-in-law.

It is indeed quite strange to hear someone singing the empty city plan in Greece.

It's just that Zhuge Liang's empty city plan is really empty inside, while Solovyov's "empty camp" is full of ambushes.

"You play a bit interesting, but what is it about?"

"You don't need to know what I sing. Vasya, do you think the enemy will be fooled?"

"It would be best if they are fooled, but what if they don't come?"

"If I mess up the whole of Greece and they still don't come, it means that their butts are glued and it's impossible for them to move."

Prince Vasily looked at his brother-in-law. Others had a hard time just arranging troops and arrays in battle, but he was so good. Let's not talk about what happened on weekdays. When it came to fighting, he had weird ideas one after another. It was good to have many ideas.

He couldn't do such an energy-consuming thing. Joining the army was indeed managed by Russian nobles. What Prince Vasily thought in his heart was that after the war was over, according to his own merits, he could probably retire and go home to marry a wife.

He was also a little anxious about getting married, after all, there was a cooling-off period after the engagement!

And Solovyov didn't care what his brother-in-law thought, he was just thinking about how to fight this battle. (End of this chapter)