You managed to make Ney even a greater idiot than he was, which is not a trivial task. Congratulations (quite sincere). 😂
A winter in Smolensk, a sixth coalition TL
- Thread starter Parmenion
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Ney was unfit for independent command, but he was good enough to match or even beat Wellington in several rearguard actions in the Peninsular War.
His “mental decline”, occasionally or not (😉 ) coincided with retirement of his chief of staff, Jomini but the symptoms were showing even earlier. Which does not mean that he had to be uniformly unsuccessful.
Part 24-Taking Shape
Dresden, April 27, 1813
The Saxon capital was bursting at the seams, as soldiers of the Grande Armée more than doubled its population overnight. Taverns were emptied out as teenage conscripts drank themselves silly after a grueling march, brothels closed as the staff were soon tired out. Most of the soldiers were at least quartered in barracks during their short stay in the Dresden, so at least the civilians weren't too bothered by their French and German guests. There had been troublemakers of course, but Napoleon had orders that they be treated no differently than had the crimes been committed against their fellow Frenchmen, Marshal Masséna even won the respect of the locals when he led the firing squad that shot four of his own men who'd been caught in a rape attempt. So even though the Saxons were somewhat nettled that their city was overcrowded, and that their native Saxon Corps was attached to the army's left wing over 100 miles to the North, but they tolerated it nonetheless.
Before an energetic crowd of soldier and civilian alike, their Emperor and protector gave an electric speech beside their King Frederick Augustus. He called out the disloyalty of their former ally Tsar Alexander, and promised a swift end to the war. Praising the conduct of the Saxon soldier, he worked the crowd into a fervor. Many were surprised with how coherent his German was, if a bit accented for the average city dweller to make out every word. Despite the chill of the late April evening, Napoleon had the people roaring. He left them by exclaiming loudly "Ich bin ein lieber Freund der Sachsen!" (I am a dear Friend of the Saxons)
With that complete, he and the Saxon king stepped off the palace balcony into one of the sitting rooms within. The king motioned for his attendants to leave him, and the two monarchs were alone "Frederick..." Napoleon said, bluntly, but with an air of sympathy as he continued to speak German "How many times have you been to Warsaw, Duke of Warsaw?" Frederick blinked, but replied "None, which you're well aware of. Get to it if you please." Napoleon nodded, as impressed by the king's business sense as he was annoyed by the show of disrespect. "I don't believe it's in the interest of the Polish people for you to remain their sovereign much longer."
Frederick chuckled at that "Nor the interest of the Saxon people. You know Bonaparte-" "Don't push it." "Your Majesty" he stood and walked to a window, outside which still stood thousands of his subjects, slowly filing back home "God made me Elector of Saxony, and I've tried to carry out my task ever since I was still a boy. You made me King, and I didn't see much reason for my task to change. I serve Saxony, just like all my soldiers do. What happens to Poland isn't really my concern, nor the concern of my people. All I do, I do for my people, you're the same, no?" Napoleon stood to meet the king, and smiled "I'm glad we understand eachother, once this war is over we'll make it official." The king nodded "I'll take my leave then, I promised the queen we'd have dinner. The room's all yours, I know you need to confer with the Marshals, good evening." They shared a bow, and the king left.
Within 10 minutes, all of the Corps commanders had arrived, and on the floor a large map of Central Europe was sprawed out. "Now, Berthier, give us the latest." "Yes, sire. Marshal Bessiéres and his two remaining Corps should've crossed the Neimen a few days ago, they're continuing to fall back on Białystok, and from there Warsaw." Napoleon interjected "Two Corps?" He shook his head "Too small, too small. What we'll do is this, I want Bessiéres back in charge of all cavalry, no offense Nansouty." The general shook his head, brushing it off. "Dabrowski is still near Warsaw yes, have Poniatowski take over, and organize the rest of the troops under Davout." "Yes, sire." Berthier complied, as his secretaries scribbled down the orders.
"It seems not all the Russians are heading Southwest, however. Reports say a large contingient may be resting in Vilnius, but these are very spotty reports indeed." The Emperor laughed "Resting? Resting? No, no, deploying more likely. Entering Prussia I'll bet, right in time for them to turncoat, we can't have it." He thought for a moment "Masséna." he motioned for him to come over "Take Marmont, Bertrand, and Lauriston, cover Danzig, and Königsberg if you can, don't let them deep into Prussia. Now go, go, go, All of you." The men bowed and began to exit "Oh and Masséna?" "Sire?" "Another cock up like Portugal, and you'll be out of eyes." "Yes sire."
Napoleon turned back to the map "The rest of us will confront the Tsar head on, if we move fast Warsaw won't fall. We should be expecting roughly equal numbers, yes?" "Uh?" Berthier threw his hands up "Very roughly, but that's almost impossible to tell. We'll be outdone in horsepower for sure." Napoleon frowned "That is a shot up the ass indeed. Either way, I'll pull something, you'll all see. This is going to be Friedland all over again." "Uh sire, what of X Corps? They need a commander." "Ah yes, we'll put Ney in charge once he gets here, he'll get a warm welcome after that stunt of his that's for sure." His face went grim "We'll need that sort of thing...".
If i understand Napy want hold line: East Prussia, Vistula, Carpathian Mountains? So, we have second ( or first 
) Miracle on Vistula?
By the way, what changes Emperor have in his mind for Europe?
) Miracle on Vistula?By the way, what changes Emperor have in his mind for Europe?
You've got it more or less, he doesn't want Austria or Prussia to be in a good place to flip.If i understand Napy want hold line: East Prussia, Vistula, Carpathian Mountains? So, we have second ( or first
By the way, what changes Emperor have in his mind for Europe?
So, Napy want hold line, but we know, Prussia and Austria want stab France in back. Did Austria and other german countries will wait on opportunity, like OTL, or quickly switch sides? Or some countries stay with Napoleon? Did Sweden join to Coalition?
So many questions so little answers
So many questions so little answers
I mean stay tuned, I pull most of this stuff out of my ass, so it's hard to answer questions I haven't figured out yet.
Part 25-Battlefield
As the Russians continued to press into Poland, Marshal Davout and his jumbled III Corps were both in a fight for their own survival, and desperate to delay the Russians as much as possible. Napoleon was concerned that should Warsaw fall, it may signal to his wavering German allies that now was the time to turncoat. But Davouts men were exhausted, malnourished, sick, and low on ammunition. General Grouchy's mere 3,000 cavalry could do little more than protect the French columns, let allone harass the enemy. However as the invasion into Poland continued, the Russian command, or rather its top heaviness, began to cause hiccups. As general Bennigsen wrote to his wife is early May "There is a reason why armies are not run as triumvirate's."
On paper, the three senior commanders of the Russian army agreed with a strategy, an offensive ti take Warsaw and drive the French as deep into Germany as possible, the issue was that none could agree on an execution. General Barclay suggested a wider flanking manuver, allowing them to isolate and besiege several Polish garrisons to the South, and link up with Austria. Kutuzov wanted more coordination with Wittgenstein to the North, isolating Danzig and opening the door to Berlin. Alexander himself wanted an immediate and direct confrontation with the Grande Arméee, to bolster the morale of his army, now far from home. This bickering, combined with the worsening health of Kutuzov, lead to pointless confusion and delay among the Russian army, perhaps allowing Davout to escape.
Davout for his part, maintained an active and fierce readguard as he fell back on Warsaw from Białystok. As retreated he burned bridges and stores, feigned deployments on high ground, and constantly held off Cossack raids. This seemed to pay off when on the 13th of May, Napoleon won the race to Warsaw, entering the grateful city. After some debate, the Russian commanders on the far side of the Bug agreed to a plan. They'd find a good defensive position, and force Napoleon to launch an attack. Without the edge in horsepower he'd be unable to pursue, and even a victory would wear down his forces. As they set up on the North bank of the Bug river, the first great battle of the Polish campaign was about to begin.
On paper, the three senior commanders of the Russian army agreed with a strategy, an offensive ti take Warsaw and drive the French as deep into Germany as possible, the issue was that none could agree on an execution. General Barclay suggested a wider flanking manuver, allowing them to isolate and besiege several Polish garrisons to the South, and link up with Austria. Kutuzov wanted more coordination with Wittgenstein to the North, isolating Danzig and opening the door to Berlin. Alexander himself wanted an immediate and direct confrontation with the Grande Arméee, to bolster the morale of his army, now far from home. This bickering, combined with the worsening health of Kutuzov, lead to pointless confusion and delay among the Russian army, perhaps allowing Davout to escape.
Davout for his part, maintained an active and fierce readguard as he fell back on Warsaw from Białystok. As retreated he burned bridges and stores, feigned deployments on high ground, and constantly held off Cossack raids. This seemed to pay off when on the 13th of May, Napoleon won the race to Warsaw, entering the grateful city. After some debate, the Russian commanders on the far side of the Bug agreed to a plan. They'd find a good defensive position, and force Napoleon to launch an attack. Without the edge in horsepower he'd be unable to pursue, and even a victory would wear down his forces. As they set up on the North bank of the Bug river, the first great battle of the Polish campaign was about to begin.
Can you please be more specific on what is bad? Is this a XIX century version of Gladiator? I mean category “A Mighty Cranberry Tree”. 😖
More like Kingdom of Heaven or Conquest of Paradise bad, except it's worse and even less historical.
Even less historical? Now, this would be a true accomplishment. 😂
Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut is pretty great, but it is a time investment for sure. Conquest of Paradise is pretty bad yes.