Russia fell into internal and external troubles, which finally woke up Nicholas I a little. He began to realize that he had made a huge mistake and should not have launched this war so recklessly.
It was just that it was too late to regret it at this time. As a person who was obsessed with saving face, Nicholas I could not openly admit that he was wrong and then put down his dignity and sue for peace with Britain and France.
Doing this was simply more uncomfortable than killing him, so he sulked in his study day after day. His whole spirit plummeted, and he felt as if he had aged ten or twenty years in just a few days.
It's just that he still has the last bit of persistence, which is to hope that the generals on the front line will win the battle. As long as the British and French can show some kindness, let them know that Russia is not easy to mess with, and let him have a step to step down, and he will hold peace talks again.
No objection.
He can even make certain concessions in the peace talks, whether it is giving up some interests in the Balkans or paying compensation.
But the problem is that the generals on the front line have no confidence at all. The two Grand Dukes Mikhail and Nicholas consulted the opinions of many generals, but almost everyone, including Kornilov and Nakhimov, refused to continue.
Launch an attack.
This made Nicholas I very embarrassed. He really just wanted to go down the stairs. Why can't you help him realize such a humble wish?
In anger, he dismissed Menshikov from all his posts and ordered Duke Mikhail Gorchakov, who was far away in Bucharest, to take command temporarily.
Of course, everyone knows that this is nonsense, because Duke Mikhail cannot take care of the other side of the Danube. During this period, he is also busy dealing with Austria's increasingly frequent provocations, and it is impossible to go to Crimea to command the battle.
Nicholas I also knew that this was impossible. The reason why he made such an appointment was, on the one hand, to punish the disobedient Menshikov. Who made you, an old guy, disobedient and take the initiative to attack! Of course you must be repaired if you are disobedient!
As for why Duke Mikhail was appointed commander-in-chief instead of Kornilov, the deputy commander-in-chief, the reason was that Kornilov refused to continue the attack. This is also disobedient, right?
Nicholas I certainly could not let someone who was against him become the commander-in-chief of Crimea. Even if he let Duke Mikhail temporarily take charge of the actual war in Crimea, Kornilov would still have to be responsible.
, in fact, it is still the same. But for the sake of face, he has to stick to it to the end.
Of course, Nicholas I did not forget to give Duke Mikhail an order. He asked Duke Mikhail to organize another attack as soon as possible, targeting the small number of coalition forces entrenched north of the Alma River.
According to reconnaissance, there are less than 20,000 coalition troops here, and there are only 50 cannons. If we can concentrate our forces for a surprise attack, it is entirely possible to defeat or even eliminate them.
It can also be seen from this that Nicholas I actually lost confidence. He knew that the coalition forces were difficult to deal with and no longer had any hope of defeating the main force of the coalition forces. Now he only dared to attack the partial divisions of the coalition forces.
However, his order made Duke Mikhail very embarrassed, because it was impossible for him to go to Crimea to command the battle, and Kornilov and Nakhimov strongly opposed it and did not accept this task at all.
So who can he send to direct the battle?
After much thought, he could only write a letter to his elder brother and ask Lieutenant General Peter Gorchakov to take over this hot potato.
Because firstly, this is his eldest brother after all, and he will help his brothers solve their problems no matter what. Secondly, there are not many generals that Duke Mikhail can trust. Although Peter Gorchakov is average in ability, he is at least trustworthy. Thirdly,
Even Peter Gorchakov has been stationed at the Telegraph Hill defense line and is familiar with the situation there, so it would be more appropriate for him to go into battle.
But Peter Gorchakov couldn't laugh or cry at the sudden task assigned to him by his brother, because only by fighting against the coalition forces in person can he know how powerful they are. When he faced off against the enemy on the Alma River before, he discovered that the Russian army wanted to defeat the coalition forces.
, either to occupy a favorable terrain advantage and have a solid defensive position, or to concentrate at least ten times the force.
But the problem is that if he wants to take the initiative to attack this time, he naturally has no solid position to rely on, and the troops Duke Mikhail can give him are only a mere 30,000 people.
What can this small number of troops do?
But he couldn't refuse yet, so he had to bite the bullet. In other words, before the battle started, Peter Gorchakov, as the commander, lacked confidence.
This naturally greatly affected his combat deployment. He only arranged 5,000 people on the attack front, including 3,000 light infantry and 2,000 Cossacks. After crossing the Alma River, these people were responsible for establishing a bridgehead to cover the main force crossing the river.
.
What can these few men and horses do? On the other side of the Alma River, the coalition forces have built a relatively solid defense line after two months of operation. These five thousand people rushing over will probably only scratch the itch of the coalition forces.
But this is also the cleverness of Peter Gorchakov. He had no confidence in the first place and was really unwilling to take on this task, so the only thing he could do was to pretend.
Just send some troops to rush over and have a look. If you are frustrated, retreat quickly, and then tell Nicholas I that you can't defeat him. It can be regarded as fulfilling your responsibility.
Such a perfunctory battle plan will definitely not have good results. The three thousand light infantry responsible for the first group of forced crossings of the Alma River were hit by fierce artillery fire from the coalition forces as soon as they stepped onto the river bank. In just a quarter of an hour, they were all defeated.
After breaking up, the Cossack cavalry behind them was preparing to cross the river. The two groups of men and horses collided into a ball, and there was chaos.
Two hours ago, Peter Gorchakov, who was watching the battle on Telegraph Hill, received a battle report that made him laugh or cry. One hundred and twenty light infantrymen crossing the river were killed and 450 were injured, most of whom were injured.
It was caused by being trampled by Cossacks.
As for the Cossacks, they ran so fast that they disappeared without a trace. Even Peter Gorchakov did not know how much they had lost.
Looking at this mess, he could only sigh and ordered heavy artillery to bombard the other side of the Alma River. The reason was to cover the retreat of his own troops and to attack possible enemy pursuers.
Why is there a possible pursuer? Because the coalition forces are not pursuing them at all. Who wants to rush and endure the cold in this cold weather? What's more, chasing across the river is not asking for trouble. It's enough to repel the Russians. As for the pursuit
Whoever wants to go can go, but they won’t go anyway!
As for Pyotr Gorchakov, who knew that there were no pursuers but still fired artillery, it was just a show, so that he could deal with Nicholas I!