He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 478

(478) Napoleon Subdues the Ruins of Russia

At that moment, the golden eagle banners finally began to move.

“Gentlemen, the time has finally come for the [Vieille Garde, the Old Guard, Napoleon’s veteran Imperial Guard] to move!”

Originally having participated since the Italian campaign, they had roamed the battlefields with Napoleon, and now they finally stood on the fields of Borodino.

Those who had waited long for orders finally began to move.

-Step, step, thump!

The shelling had now stopped, and the front lines were in a stalemate, but the fighting continued.

So, even for the Old Guard, the place they were advancing to was a battlefield where fierce close combat was unfolding.

However, the veterans, who had roamed the battlefields for over 20 years, did not stop and began to march in formation.

In columns, and then in lines when facing the enemy.

Here, the cuirassier heavy cavalry also galloped on both flanks.

“Charge! It’s time to crush the enemies!”

Lannes shouted, galloping out on the right flank.

The [Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde Impériale, the mounted grenadiers of the Imperial Guard].

These men, created during the Revolution and later organized into the Guard, had their origins in the cavalry of the Italian Legion.

As Lannes commanded the mounted grenadier regiment, he suddenly encountered Bessières, who was riding in from the right flank.

“Marshal Lannes, what’s going on? Something… the battlefield is changing!”

“Bessières, you’ve held on well so far! Now, just finish it perfectly!”

“Have we won, by any chance?”

To Bessières’ question, Lannes shook his head firmly, but with a smile.

“Not yet, no. It’s too early to declare victory; the enemy numbers are still strong, and even their commander-in-chief is still alive!”

Clearly, the flow of the battle had completely shifted towards the French side.

However, the Russian Empire had amassed a staggering 400,000 troops on this battlefield.

Moreover, Russian soldiers do not retreat even when the battle becomes hopeless, unless they have one thing.

That is, a retreat order.

That was why the bald general was barely breaking through the battlefield, where bullets were still flying, along with his cavalry.

-Heeheeheeing!

The bald general looked regretfully at his fallen military cap and shouted.

“Marshal Masséna!”

Masséna, who was staring at the fierce battle at the far right, turned his head and frowned.

“Davout? Aren’t you supposed to be assisting the 4th Corps? What about King Eugène?”

“I came by order of His Majesty Eugène. The 2nd Corps must now go all-out and swing to the center!”

“What about the enemy in front of us?”

Masséna was in a difficult engagement.

In particular, Benigsen, who was in charge of the left wing of the Russian Empire, was making it difficult for him to break through by cleverly alternating between advancing and temporarily retreating.

He had called Bessières in the morning but had instead ruined the cavalry.

Yet, he was being told to come to the center?

Just as he was thinking that it was an unreasonable request, even though he had decided to stand on Eugène’s line, Davout, the deputy commander of the 4th Corps, said.

“His Majesty Eugène said: Benigsen is a cunning man, so he will definitely retreat! There’s no need to chase him, focus on annihilating the central army!”

Masséna turned to Suchet, the deputy commander of the 2nd Corps.

“Was that Benigsen over there? I didn’t know because there were no flags.”

“That also suits his nickname, the Fox of the North. Your Excellency, are you really going to listen? If the enemy ambushes from the flank, it could be dangerous.”

“Suchet, I pride myself on being ahead of King Eugène in everything on the battlefield, but there’s one thing I admit I lack. Do you know what it is?”

Before Suchet could answer, Masséna raised his marshal’s baton and brandished it.

“The ability to avoid danger. That’s right, even though King Eugène only goes to dangerous places, he’s still like that. Everyone from the Italian Legion knows this story! All troops, advance to the center!”

There was another battlefield where the golden marshal’s baton was moving vigorously through the air.

The exact opposite side of Borodino.

The 4th Corps, fighting on the left flank of the French army, in the north.

In the center of the 4th Corps, there was a man covered in blood, watching the advance of a division-level infantry unit.

Suddenly, an old captain wearing a crooked military cap ran up to the man.

“Huff, huff, huff. Marshal Oudinot!”

Oudinot turned to the old captain, wiped away the blood, and raised his eyebrows.

“A messenger? I think I saw you earlier, but I’m seeing you again.”

“This is a request from Marshal Berthier, Chief of Staff. He wants you to swing to the center!”

“Why? Our 3rd Corps has been hit too hard by enemy mortars. Besides, the enemy is still stubbornly holding out.”

Old Captain Chauvin saluted Oudinot, who had been injured by mortar shrapnel, and said.

“The Tsar, he seems to be dead or captured.”

Oudinot’s marshal’s baton stopped, and Chauvin reported quickly.

“His Majesty King Eugène has penetrated the enemy headquarters. It has been reported to the General Staff that he was seen shooting the Tsar.”

“Are you sure it’s not a lie?”

“It’s certain.”

Of course, Eugène’s [Sturmtruppen, stormtroopers] did not send the messenger directly.

In fact, after the strike in the depths, Eugène was busy running away from the enraged Russian infantry.

However, Rochejaquelein’s spies ran across the battlefield, witnessed the [beheading strike, a swift strike aimed at eliminating the leadership], and returned to report.

Instantly, Oudinot jumped onto his horse.

“All troops! Everyone, to the center! Now is the time to go all out!”

Until now, the 2nd Corps, on the left flank of the French army, in the north, had fought the most difficult battle.

The opposing general was Alexander Ivanovich Osterman-Tolstoy.

He was a cousin of Count Tolstoy, but that was not the only reason he was remembered in history.

Originally, in the original history, he was a valiant general who prevented the annihilation of the Russian Imperial Army with his achievements in the Battle of Eylau.

Currently, since he had never fought at Eylau, the French Imperial Army was meeting Count Osterman for the first time.

However, Count Osterman’s tactics of valorous fighting were the same in both the original history and the present.

Thanks to this, Oudinot, who valued orthodoxy, had faced several near-death crises.

Mortier, the mortar general, who had already followed right next to him, was following behind.

“Vive Bonaparte! Long live France!”

While uttering the same cry that echoed throughout the entire left wing, no, the entire Borodino campaign.

***

The one-eyed commander-in-chief still did not know about the sudden changes on the battlefield.

“Prepare the cannons, the cannons! That’s the only hope left!”

Before his eyes were Bernadotte’s steam-powered vehicle units, which were not stopping.

In the distance, Murat’s hussars were seen repeatedly charging.

If things continued like this, there was a high possibility that even the central army would not be able to withstand it and the lines would be breached.

But then someone ran up to Kutuzov, who was constantly commanding the artillery, and said.

“Your Excellency, it’s over.”

“You’re Tolstoy? What are you doing? Bring your cousin, Count Osterman. If reinforcements come from the right wing, we’ll have time to reorganize the cannons again!”

“His Majesty, he has passed away with Marshal Barclay.”

The messenger, Count Tolstoy, said with a pale face.

“Now, we are traitors. Commander-in-chief.”

In fact, Count Tolstoy did not want to stand in Alexander’s ranks.

During the rebellion, he was not quick-witted enough to escape, so he became Alexander’s side.

But now that Alexander was dead, Tolstoy was also a traitor in Pavel’s eyes.

The one-eyed Kutuzov trembled and grabbed the still-warm cannon.

“It’s not over yet.”

“Marshal.”

“I! I betrayed the mad emperor Pavel and came here. But, what? His Majesty Alexander is dead? Then, we can raise Grand Duke Constantine!”

Suddenly, Kutuzov raised his marshal’s baton and shouted, pointing to the west, to Napoleon’s camp.

“We can’t lose to the French bastards like this! Not again!”

Of course, Napoleon was currently running there with the veteran Imperial Guard.

If he resolved to fight the final battle here, a suicide attack would not be impossible.

However, there was another person who dampened Kutuzov’s enthusiasm.

The former British ambassador, Whitworth, hurriedly climbed onto his horse and shouted.

“If you don’t leave now, you’ll miss the boat, Marshal Kutuzov!”

“Ambassador, are you abandoning us?”

“I’m telling you to look for the next opportunity!”

Whitworth said urgently.

“Our Great Britain has not yet been defeated.”

For a brief moment, Kutuzov pondered.

If Kutuzov had resolved to fight to the death here, the French Empire would have been embroiled in another difficult battle.

Originally, even in the original history, Kutuzov completely abandoned the battlefield at the end of the Battle of Borodino.

Usually, in such cases, they should have been defeated, but rather, because the command system was in disarray, the French Empire suffered a tremendous attrition war.

It was a bizarre result of a large-scale battle that had never been experienced before and the passive obedience to orders unique to Russian soldiers.

Would Kutuzov really stab Napoleon in the heart?

Kutuzov gritted his teeth and jumped onto his horse.

“Just you wait, Napoleon. And, Freischütz!”

The memory of being captured in Adrianople in the past determined Kutuzov’s escape.

-Waaaaa!

In the distance, the French Empire, the Grande Armée, was rushing in.

***

Until now, Napoleon, the Grande Armée, and the French Empire had never experienced such a war.

“Aaaagh! Mother, I’m dying!”

The screams that were heard everywhere, even though they had won, were in French.

In particular, many new recruits had participated in this expedition, so there were many young casualties.

Medical unit medical officers and medics who roamed everywhere shouted.

“Ambulance! Lieutenant General Larrey, we need a carriage!”

“Hurry, load the patients! Where is the nursing unit?”

“The Hospitaller nursing unit will be here soon. Ah, there’s Major General Pauline!”

Just as Adjutant Alexandre Urbain, Ivan the medical officer, was about to shout, Pauline approached and screamed.

“Good heavens, transport the patients! Hurry!”

A patient with a shattered leg was dying.

In particular, in this Battle of Borodino, there were more casualties from the initial artillery battle than from the engagement.

Although the Russian Empire did not have incendiary shells, the impact force of the shells alone caused enormous damage.

Wiping away the cold sweat, Pauline turned to Larrey.

Larrey was also covered in blood, from how many surgeries he had performed on the spot.

“It’s really amazing. Even though we won, is it this much?”

“That’s right. In fact, it’s a sight that makes you want to help the enemy as well, but we don’t have enough hands even for our own troops.”

“My brother, no, His Majesty the Emperor, is he safe?”

Larrey clicked his tongue as he looked at a dying Russian general, then turned his gaze.

“It seems like they’re already holding a celebratory banquet.”

In the distance, Napoleon and the marshals were seen cheering.

Lannes, Junot, Masséna, Oudinot, Marceau, and even the usually expressionless Berthier.

Also, Davout, Soult, Suchet, Brune, Marmont, Duroc, Moncey, Saint-Cyr, Grouchy, Mortier, and even Poniatowski and Bernadotte were running to join in the cheering.

However, even though they had won, the most meritorious person was standing far away.

“Eugène?”

Pauline ran without realizing it.

On the way, she stepped on a Russian general who was dying from a torn blood vessel in his leg, but she didn’t care.

She would have done the same even if she had known that the general’s name was Bagration.

Because in this battle, there was no one more important to Pauline than Eugène.

Pauline, who didn’t even know where her husband Louis Charles was, stood in front of Eugène.

“You were here.”

“We won. It’s a victory I’ve wanted in my life, no, since before that, Pauline.”

“Congratulations. But why do you look like that?”

Eugène looked at the battlefield with an indescribable face and replied.

“The real game starts now.”