Just as Field Marshal Raglan confidently spoke to Lucien about the British army's ability to cope with the ensuing situation, sporadic gunfire suddenly sounded in the distance of the barracks. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Looks like they're really coming."

The marshal immediately made a gesture towards Lucien, then interrupted the conversation between the two men, strode out of his tent, and then, with the help of the adjutant, mounted his war horse and hurried to the front.

Lucien also hurriedly followed behind the marshal with his own heralds, preparing to observe the enemy's movements as soon as possible.

Because it was already evening, the sun was setting, and the visibility had become very low, so even if the Russians had pressed to the front, Lucien did not believe that they would immediately launch an offensive, and it was the British army that was in the front line to resist the Russian army, so he was not in a hurry, and decided to judge the current situation first.

Because of the gunfire on the front, the entire British camp had become agitated, and a large number of soldiers who had been resting in the camp tents were mobilized and walked towards the pre-determined defensive positions, but fortunately, no one dared to stand in the way of the commander-in-chief, so Marshal Raglan and others came to the front line smoothly.

As he approached the forefront, Marshal Raglan reined in his horse's head and began to pick up a telescope to observe the situation on the other side, while Marshal Lucien was also careful to observe the surrounding situation, knowing in his heart that such an area would most likely become the main battlefield of the next battle.

Because of the rugged and complex hills, the originally flat field was divided into valley paths, and on the opposite side of the valley, a small river flowed through it, and in the higher places, the British army set up a number of multi-faceted bastions, and they formed a forward position, with the help of the forward terrain, guarding the main road to the port.

A little later in the forefront, the fortifications and trenches, which had been constructed directly opposite Balaclava, stretched to the angle of the surrounding hills of the coastal hills, and not far from the mountains of Graqueria, where the French troops he had brought with him were stationed.

On the face of it, these lines are long in depth, and the roads between them are very clear, so they can be flanked by each other at any time, and reinforcements can be quickly deployed to support the front line. However, due to the terrain, there may be a miscommunication during the transfer, and unlike the flat plains, it is impossible for each unit to observe the situation of the surrounding friendly forces in real time and judge the current war situation.

Therefore, it is important to strengthen communication between the various forces.

Lucien continued to raise his telescope to look at the more forward positions, while looking at the situation of the Russian troops opposite.

It's a pity that the visibility is very low now, and he can't fully observe all the situations on the other side, but judging from the Russian army array on the opposite side, the strength of the Russian army is not a lot, and it can be seen that their morale is quite high.

"It seems that these Russians are really in a hurry, and the tsar should be urging them to break the siege as soon as possible." Marshal Raglan put down his binoculars, then smiled and looked at Lucien next to him, "That's right! That's all we want! Let's not go deep into Russia to fight rabbits, what we want is for them to get out and fight us! Sevastopol is such a magnet that as long as the tsar still wants his dignity, he will have to keep his army from retreating, but to run out and fight us, so that we can win in bloodshed! ”

Lucien also admitted that the Russian army's initiative to attack showed that the strategy of the British and French forces had been successful, and Sevastopol held back their gaze, and they had no way to retreat in stride, using the terrible depth of their country to drag down the enemy, so they could only run out and take the initiative to engage the coalition forces, which is exactly what the coalition forces wanted to see.

However, even if it is strategically successful, it is in vain not to win in tactics and battles, and the Russian army is attacking now, then the most important thing is to thwart their attack.

Marshal Raglan was confident in this, but Lucien was much more cautious, and he carefully observed the situation in the forward positions of the two armies, especially his own front, for this was the course of the whole battle that followed.

He trusted his troops very much, and he had the cover of the multi-sided fort in front, he thought that he could calmly arrange the defensive line, and even be able to support the troops next to him, but at the forefront of the position, some of the multi-sided forts were too protruding, because the distance was too far, and it was difficult for the rear troops to support.

Moreover, what is even more strange is that these multi-sided forts of the forward defense line are not located perpendicular to the road they hold and the enemy may attack, but almost on the extension of this road, which means that when the Russian army attacks along this road, there can only be the front multi-sided fort to resist at the same time, and the various multi-sided forts cannot respond to each other.

In this case, the Russian army may capture the front-line multi-sided forts one by one, and then capture one for each capture, and their battle line will be pressed very short, and they can invest a large number of troops in the smallest area.

Even if he was not an expert in military engineering, Lucien could sense the crudeness of such a deployment.

"Your Excellency Marshal, the pressure on our front line is too great, and if the Russians launch an attack, I am afraid that the forward positions will not be able to hold!" Shocked, he couldn't help but look at Marshal Raglan and speak to him.

He told the marshal everything he had seen and thought about, and the marshal only listened quietly without saying a word.

"You must be wondering, are the British crazy, why do they have to build up positions like this?" Until the end, he smiled slightly, "But unfortunately, we're not crazy, it's just that this hellish place is crazy." We were in a hurry, and we ...... We don't have much resources available in this hellish place, so we can only use the terrain to hastily build a line of defense. We know that the location of those fortresses is wrong, but what can be done? This is already the best we can do in the current situation. ”

"So this is an emergency fortification?" Lucien finally understood, "Okay...... If this is the case, then we must be fully prepared, because the forward positions do not have much support, and those multi-faceted forts may soon be taken by the Russians when the Russians launch a general attack......"

"Yes, it's possible." Marshal Raglan nodded, then lowered his voice, "However, at the forefront of the line are the Turkish army, they have performed well in the fortress of Silistra before, I think they should also be able to exert the greatest enthusiasm for combat this time." As long as they show their previous bravery, the front line should be able to hold out for a while......"

"Turkish?" Lucien was taken aback again.

He had been sent to rescue the fortress of Silistra, which had been besieged by the Russians, so he actually came face to face with the Turkish army, and although the Turks fought valiantly in that defensive battle, he still had a very low opinion of the Turkish army, and he believed that the fighting quality of the Turkish army was difficult to match with the European army.

They performed well under the fortress of Silistra, holding on for several months under the Russian offensive, which was indeed very good, but Lucien did not believe that the Turkish army could continue to behave like this.

So when he heard that Marshal Raglan actually took the Turkish army, he couldn't help but be amazed, anyway, such a gamble was too dangerous.

Just as he was about to admonish Marshal Raglan again, seeing the faint smile on Marshal Raglan's face, Lucien suddenly understood something again.

The British did not seem to expect the Turks to perform at any higher level, and the reason for their deployment was that they themselves knew that the forward positions were too hastily constructed and the position was very dangerous, so they were not willing to risk deploying their own troops, preferring to let the less trustworthy Turkish army defend them.

For them, it is best that the Turkish army in such a position can show its courage to block several offensives of the Russian army, but even if it is not blocked, there is no loss to the British army, at least it plays the role of cannon fodder.

As soon as he thought of this, Lucien understood Marshal Raglan's full plan, and the words that had fallen on his lips were swallowed again. He knew that Marshal Raglan had been in battle for a long time, and that with so many staff officers around him to help him in his planning, it was unlikely that he would make a low-level mistake, at least not a mistake that he could see at a glance.

"Okay, I see, Your Excellency Marshal." After a few moments, Lucien spoke again, "Your deployment does make sense, and I have no authority to question you. However, I ask you to let us have reinforcements at any time while the front line is loose, and at the same time...... Please also allow the Turkish troops to withdraw from their positions if necessary. ”

Because of his previous experience, Lucien still had some affection for these Turks, and at least they were allies of Britain and France at this moment, so Lucien hoped that Marshal Raglan would not excessively hurt the feelings between the two armies and the Turkish army, even if it was used as cannon fodder, at least they should be allowed to retreat after suffering losses.

"Lucien, I see what you mean." Marshal Raglan made a gesture to tell him not to continue, "I will deal with the Turks, they can retreat as long as they have completed their task, and I will not force anyone to do so." However, we can't talk about retreat now, it will affect everyone's morale. ”

Seeing that the marshal refused to talk more, Lucien had no choice but to stop the topic.

Now he understood that the forward positions were defended by the Turks, and in the rear of the Turks were defensive lines organized by the British infantry, marines and sailors, and the French soldiers they had brought, and that in this case they could only resist the attack of the enemy with the utmost courage.

"Lucien, you go back first, get your troops ready, tomorrow we may face the greatest test." At this time, Marshal Raglan spoke again, "If I were Russians, I would attack as fast as I could, because the French army could come in at any time in large numbers, and I must crush the British as quickly as possible, and then turn back to meet the French, well, it reminds me of Waterloo...... We won that time, we will win this time, no one can break down our defence, I have no doubt about that. ”

Speaking of this, he couldn't help but smile with remembrance, and Lucien thought of it at this time.

Forty years ago, during that battle, Emperor Napoleon was also in a race against time, although he did not know it at first.

The genius emperor fought a fierce battle with the British, and countless people under his command lost their lives, and then these sacrifices to the Grim Reaper did not lead to a final victory for him, and the British have been resisting stubbornly, although the situation is critical, but it has not collapsed. In the end, when the Prussian army was found on the horizon, the French army ushered in the final collapse, and the Emperor Napoleon and his empire disappeared into the dust of history.

Today, the same thing may be rehearsed again, and Baron Raglan, one of the key participants on the day of the battle, was convinced that the final victory would still belong to Britain.

Hopefully he's right again this time.

Despite his regrets about Waterloo, Lucien had to admit that he had to give the British victory now.