The looting that made the young Lieutenant Jérôme Bonaparte indignant was actually due to the orders of the Supreme Commanders of the Allied Forces, for whom the soldiers were allowed to loot not only as a way to replenish supplies, but also as a way to maintain morale. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Since landing on the Crimean peninsula, and more farther, since the expeditionary force came to the Near East, the grievances have been one after another, the supply of materials has been poor, the disease has spread, and the weather has been so troublesome that the attrition of the coalition forces for various reasons has been several times greater than the casualties of the war.

In this case, even the soldiers who were still healthy naturally held back a lot of evil anger in their hearts.

In order to prevent this evil spirit from reaching the top echelons of the armies of the two countries, the two commanders-in-chief, after consultation, issued an order to allow the army to requisition supplies on the spot - this is a synonym for allowing the army to loot.

In the eyes of these two commanders, as long as it does not affect the ability of the army itself to act, the suffering of the local people caused by the looting is nothing.

Military looting was never new to veterans like Marshal Raglan and Marshal Tréville, who had experienced the Napoleonic Wars for many years, especially Marshal Tréville, who had followed the Emperor's army on the European continent and traveled to almost every country, from which the Emperor had requisitioned countless supplies and works of art, and he himself had no shortage of money, from which he had accumulated his family fortune.

What really bothered the two commanders was how to capture the fortress that now stood in front of their army.

Yes, having defeated the Russian army on the banks of the Arma River, the Anglo-French army advanced all the way to the south, finally stumped the southern part of the peninsula and already essentially surrounded the Sevastopol fortress.

However, while the previous operation went well, the rest was different, and the two coalition commanders were still at a loss as to how to capture it.

The last time Marshal Trevier approached the fortress from the sea with a fleet, he took a closer look at the perimeter defenses and found that the fortifications were very dense, and they were built in accordance with the requirements of recent military engineering, and they were very strong.

And now that he had led a large army to the fortress from land, and had been given the opportunity to ram it at close range, he was pained to find that his judgment was correct.

After the coalition forces reached the fortress, Field Marshal Tréville launched several small tentative attacks, and then without any suspense in front of the fortress and the trenches on the outer line of the fortress, and after paying a lot of casualties, he made little progress and had to stop the attack in preparation for the next round of general assault on the fortress.

At this time, in the French barracks outside the city, Marshal Tréville was staying in the tent of the barracks, frowning and looking at the map on the table.

At this time, it was already early autumn, and the weather had become a little cooler, and the environment had become much more comfortable than the hot summer, and the old marshal's health had become slightly better because of this, and it also gave him more energy to think about the next combat problems.

His finger was on the map, and the staff officers next to him were constantly marking the movements of the enemy troops and the allocation of troops on different maps according to the information transmitted from various units.

On the map in front of him, along the way to the bay of Sevastopol and the defensive bastions contained therein, the Anglo-French forces had built a tight blockade in both the north and south of the fortress, like sharp teeth that were open up and down, trying to swallow the dangerous and tightly surrounded fortress in one gulp.

"In a few days, we will have to concentrate our forces and launch a general offensive from the northern front." After thinking for a long time, Field Marshal Tréville said to one of the generals next to him, "Your division will be the main attacker, and I hope that you will be able to show your courage and set an example for the other troops." ”

"We will pave the way for your victory with our blood and lives, Your Excellency Marshal!" The general struck his hand in the chest and swore to the marshal, "Every unit under my command will rush forward and will never retreat, and if they do not come down, I will rush forward with my own men and will definitely complete your mission!" ”

"Good." Marshal Trevil nodded, then asked, "Are you feeling better now?" Michelle? ”

"Much better, Marshal." The general also laughed, "I am now full of infinite energy all over my body, and I really hope that I can vent it to the Russians!" ”

After a pause, he smiled and bowed slightly to the marshal, "Thanks to your granddaughter...... She saved my life, and even for this kindness, I will do my best for you. ”

This Michel is the commander of the 2nd Division, General Michel-Ney, Duke of Elsingen, the son of the famous Marshal Ney, as the son of the Father of the Reich, he naturally has an extraordinary position in the army, after the re-establishment of the Reich, he became a general, and then came to the Crimea with his troops after the start of the war.

However, after arriving in Crimea, the duke, who was originally ambitious and determined to do great things, was struck down by illness, and had to withdraw from the front line to recuperate because of cholera, and his condition deteriorated to the point of dying.

Fortunately, at this time, Miss Treville also came to Crimea with her medical volunteer team, which had some skilled doctors and had special treatments for cholera and other plagues, and with their efforts, the epidemic in the army was slightly controlled, and General Michel-Ney finally recovered from his illness and returned to the war.

Because of this life-saving grace, the Duke of Elchingen is naturally grateful to the Treville family, he originally admired the marshal very much, the old timer, the two have a very close relationship, and now they are even more respectful.

What's more, when he was seriously ill, there were calls within the army to replace him as division commander, but the marshal ignored these calls and firmly supported him, and finally returned to the army after he recovered.

It was with these things that Marshal Tréville painstakingly built up his prestige and connections in the army, not only for himself, of course, but also to prepare for his death.

After repeated assurances from the Duke of Elchingen, Field Marshal Tréville and the staff officers began to explain to him carefully the disposition of the troops after the launch of the general offensive and the support of the artillery, and it was at this moment that the marshal's aide-de-camp, Ensign Georges de Del Delion, went to the camp and informed the marshal that Marshal Raglan had sent an emissary.

Field Marshal Trevill stopped what he was doing in confusion, and then went to another cubicle in the camp to meet the British officer.

After another ten minutes, the marshal returned with a strange face.

"What's the matter, Your Excellency?" The Duke of Elsingen asked with some trepidation, fearing that something had happened.

"Our offensive must be halted for the time being." Sure enough, as he feared, Marshal Trevier said in a low voice.

"Why?" Shocked, the duke hurriedly asked.

"According to the reconnaissance of the British army, there is a Russian rescue force that is heading south, preparing to attack their positions." The marshal replied in a low voice, "The current size of this army is unknown, but the strength should be relatively objective, so we can't put our forces into attacking the fortress for the time being, but should prepare to reinforce the British army, the fortress can only be defended now, and the previous plan should be nullified." ”

It was not surprising that his tone was regretful, as he had been preparing for this general assault on the fortress for a long time, and it was a pity that the whole plan was mixed with his hard work.

"This ......" the general was stunned for a moment, and finally could only sigh. Well, if this is all there is to it, we obey your orders and temporarily stop preparations for the offensive. ”

"Michel, don't be discouraged...... the marshal suddenly raised his head, and then patted the general's shoulder, "Now there is still a chance for you to perform, you go and reinforce the British army with your troops, I hope you can use your previous determination in the next battle......"

"Is that so? That's great! The general, who was already disappointed, was surprised and delighted when he heard this, and nodded again and again, "Okay, let's go and prepare immediately...... Trust me, we're going to fight hard! ”

For him, as long as there is a battle to be fought, it is not very important where to fight, and it can even be said that he prefers to fight in the field, so as not to shed blood and sacrifice in attacking fortifications.

"Well, in that case, you can go and prepare." The marshal waved his hand a little tiredly, "I'm going to Marshal Raglan too, to meet the enemy with him." ”

After the instructions were given, the French troops began to deploy in an orderly manner according to the new plan, and Marshal Tréville went to the positions of the British troops with his own staff officers.

At this time, the positions of the British troops were between the Khersones Peninsula and the Crimean steppe, south of the Sevastopol Bay.

Here, there is a hilly area that stretches southwest from the mouth of the Black River, which flows into the Sevastopol Bay, and on the northwest side of the hilly land, the terrain begins to slope gently towards Sevastopol, and towards the southeast of the Balaclava coast, most of it is a cliff, since the British occupied here, this place has been opened up by the British army because of the convenience of the natural port, which has been opened up by the British army as a temporary supply base, which is very important for the British army and even for the entire coalition army.

For the coalition forces occupying Khersonnes, this hilly terrain happens to be a natural defensive position that can be used against any Russian army that tries to break the siege. The Balaclava coast is surrounded by a series of extremely uneven highlands that stretch from the southern end of the above-mentioned hills along the coast due east and west, and, like almost all the Crimean hills, slope gradually to the north-west and steep cliffs to the south-east. In the corner formed by these two groups of highlands is a slightly undulating plain, which gradually rises to the east, and ends in the valley of the Black River with a steep slope.

At this time, the Russian army's encirclement relief troops also just wanted to open a gap from here, for them, this could not only unravel the siege of the Sevastopol fortress by the Anglo-French forces, but also greatly damage the supply lines of the coalition forces, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone.

It was precisely for this reason that Marshal Tréville decided to abandon all other plans and use all his strength to meet this enemy army.

For them, the movement of the Russian army was both unexpected and in their plan, they originally wanted to use the siege to attract the main force of the Russian army to come to the rescue, and then use field battles to severely damage their forces, and finally make the Russian tsar unable to bear the losses and sue for peace with Britain and France.

So, in the middle of the day, the two armies began to move with their own minds, preparing for a new round of fighting.

A new day of bloodshed will be ushered in in the wilderness of the peninsula, and both Marshal Tréville and Marshal Raglan himself, as well as the officers and men below, are convinced that victory will continue to be theirs, as it had been before.