If it were just a simple rope net in front of them, it wouldn't pose much of a challenge. They could easily cut through it with a knife or even climb over it. However, as Ivan and his men approached, they realized it wasn't a rope net; it was a mesh of iron wires.
What made matters worse was that these iron wires weren't ordinary; they were barbed wires, covered with sharp spikes. Trying to climb over them risked getting caught in the thorns, and cutting the wires proved to be an even more daunting task. It was nearly impossible to do so in a short amount of time.
Under normal circumstances, breaking such wires by hand or with tools wouldn't be too difficult. However, they were on a battlefield, and the distance from the French trenches to the iron wire was just about a hundred meters. From that distance, the Russian troops' rifles had a hard time hitting the French soldiers who had exposed themselves at the trench's edge. In contrast, it was much easier for the French soldiers to take precise shots at the Russians attempting to cross the wire.
The French had intentionally arranged the iron wire in such a way that it formed a funnel shape, effectively directing the advancing soldiers towards a central point. When the front soldiers were blocked by the wire, the ones behind them instinctively tried to circumvent the obstacle, inadvertently gathering at the bottom of the funnel. As soon as the soldiers gathered closely, the effectiveness of the defenders' firepower increased significantly.
Even if some soldiers recognized the trap, it was challenging to stop the instinctive actions of the majority. In many cases, some would manage to pass through, only to be trapped at the bottom of the funnel.
At this moment, in the French trenches, at the positions directly facing these funnel points, concealed traps were activated. The sand-colored camouflage netting was lifted, revealing the muzzles of cannons barely poking above the ground. With a thunderous roar, thousands of shell fragments were unleashed upon the tightly packed group of Russian soldiers at the bottom of the funnel.
Though they lacked machine guns, this close-range shotgun-like barrage of shell fragments was almost as deadly. Soon, heaps of bodies piled up in these locations.
Every army had a limit to the amount of casualties it could endure, and the brave Russian soldiers were no exception. Often, desperate situations could be even more demoralizing for soldiers than casualties themselves.
Ivan's men quickly fell apart in the face of this seemingly thin wire net. Some, driven almost to madness, tried to break the wire with the butts of their rifles and were shot by the French. Others shouted in panic and turned to flee, stepping on "Abagny's potatoes" in the process, dropping their weapons, and writhing in pain on the ground.
The retreat of Ivan's men was as rapid as their advance, perhaps even faster. In their haste to withdraw, they triggered numerous landmines, leaving behind wounded soldiers.
Suvorov had been observing the Russian offensive and subsequent retreat from his position without a word. Only when the soldiers began retreating did he turn to General Bagration and say, "Peter, take your cavalry and cover their withdrawal. Every man who makes it back is a treasure."
Bagration led a detachment of cavalry to provide cover for the retreating Russian soldiers.
"The Russian retreat was well-covered," Napoleon remarked as he put down his binoculars and turned to General Murat, who appeared eager to continue the offensive. "Well, Murat, your soldiers can take a rest now."
"General, let us pursue them," Murat suggested. "It's just a Russian cavalry unit. We can crush them."
"Did you see the exchange of fire between him and the enemy just now?" Napoleon glanced at Murat. "What kind of exchange do you think they just had? If you're confident you can produce the same results right now, I'll approve your attack. Do you have that confidence?"
Murat fell silent at Napoleon's question.
Bagration and his cavalry covered the Russian retreat and arrived back at their camp. However, the battlefield still held many wounded soldiers. Bagration furrowed his brows and ordered another officer to escort the retreating soldiers, while he led a detachment of cavalry to assist the wounded.
Bagration dismounted next to a wounded soldier who lay moaning, clutching his leg.
"Brother, can you still stand?" Bagration asked.
"My foot... my foot..." the wounded soldier simply cried out.
Bagration examined the man's leg and noticed a bullet whizzing past, not too far from their location.
Bending down, Bagration picked up the injured soldier and placed him on his horse's saddle, then led the horse towards another wounded man.
"General, should we open fire on them?" a soldier asked Xuxia.
"No," Xuxia shook her head. "Tell everyone to hold their fire. Let our troops go out into the minefield, rescue the wounded, and bring them back."
The gunfire ceased on the French front lines. A group of French soldiers, unarmed and carrying stretchers, emerged from the trenches. They unlocked the barbed wire and carefully entered the minefield, where they began loading wounded soldiers onto stretchers. They followed a peculiar, zigzagging route to navigate the minefield and safely reached the edge.
Once the wounded were secure, the French soldiers quickly left the area.
"General, there's a group of French soldiers approaching," a Russian soldier reported.
Bagration raised his head, observing a team of French soldiers carrying stretchers, each with a moaning Russian wounded soldier.
The French captain leading the group shouted, "You are already in a minefield, please don't move erratically, or you'll easily get hurt."
Bagration understood French and replied courteously, "Thank you."
The French captain seemed disinclined to speak further. After a brief exchange of words, the French soldiers left.
"General, should we...?" a soldier began to ask.
"Let's not make them think that we Russians are barbarians," Bagration said.
With those words, he looked down at the wounded soldiers, sighed, and gave the order, "Take them back."
Back in the camp, Bagration conversed with the senior officers and the returning soldiers, gathering intelligence on the French defense positions.
After learning the various aspects of the situation, Suvorov gathered the generals to discuss how to respond.
This time, everyone had a better understanding of the French defense, but it didn't boost their confidence; instead, it left them more disheartened.
"I've never seen such cunning defense," one Russian officer remarked. "The French are nothing like the Turks. We can overcome their mines and artillery shells, but the barbed wire is a problem that needs a quick solution."
"Can we use explosives?" someone suggested.
"We can try. Let's get some iron wire and make a model to experiment with."
"And their mines, letting them explode like that isn't a good idea."
"I heard the British deal with mines in a different way. It's quite effective..." a sudden idea came from an Austrian officer.
"How do the British handle them?" Everyone became interested.
"The British send some Irishmen ahead to step on the mines."
"Doesn't that turn them into savages?"
"Exactly, isn't that barbaric?"
"The British are savages to begin with."
Russians were often perceived as barbarians in Europe, and they relished the opportunity to mock others as such. However, the idea of sending herds of sheep or other animals to trigger the mines was quickly dismissed.
Nevertheless, the notion of using sheep or something similar to trigger the mines was intriguing, and they decided to give it a try.