Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1543 - 1449: Battle of Vengeance

After occupying Mskislav, Kosciuszko’s vanguard was less than 100 kilometers from the Smolensk Fortress.

Meanwhile, the Polish army’s campaign on the northern side at Vitebsk was also progressing very well; they had just broken through Sosnovka, which controlled the key southern route of the city, a few days ago.

Judging by the fighting spirit the Russian Army displayed, occupying Vitebsk should not take much time.

By then, the Polish army would have firmly established a foothold on the east bank of the Dnieper River.

Last month, the Great Sejm of Poland passed the recruitment plan of the General Staff, which would recruit a total of 38,000 new soldiers from Kuyavia, Poznan, Krakow, and eastern Lithuania.

These places were previously occupied by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, so they had not participated in the previous drafts and still had a number of young and able-bodied men. Especially Lithuania, which would provide 25,000 recruits.

Kosciuszko turned to look at the map on the wall, his gaze sharp as a cavalry lance, and said to the aide beside him: “Leave the heavy artillery near the riverbank, assign more personnel to guard them, and be wary of sabotage by the Russians. We’ll need them next spring.”

“Yes, Marshal!”

It was already late into the winter, with heavy snow falling almost every day, making it impossible to organize large-scale attacks.

By April next year, when the new Polish recruits arrived at the front, he would be able to take Smolensk in one fell swoop.

He was extremely confident about winning.

Currently, he had 25 twelve-pounders provided by Poland and even went to the trouble to transport 3 twenty-four-pounder cannons.

He had seen the ancient fort of Smolensk, and with focused bombardment by these cannons, he could break through in at most three days.

As soon as Smolensk was taken, on the way to Moscow, only Borodino had a few defensive fortifications, allowing the Polish army to quickly encircle Moscow.

The hatred accumulated by the Poles from decades of invasions, humiliation, and enslavement would be repaid in Russian blood at that moment!

A cold wind seeped through the window cracks, causing Kosciuszko to tighten his collar — the fireplace in his command post was not yet lit — and he called back an aide who had just reached the door: “By the way, urge Warsaw to send over the new winter clothes as soon as possible. Let the soldiers reduce trips outside during this period to prevent frostbite.”

This winter was particularly cold, and the Polish army’s previously issued winter clothing was no longer warm enough, as it would only get colder after Christmas.

Fortunately, the General Staff had ordered a batch of thicker winter clothing at the beginning of October, and factories across the country were rushing production.

As the aide left, Colonel Jan Kilinski, the Cavalry Scout commander, hurried in and handed a blood-stained letter to Kosciuszko’s attendant: “Marshal, my men encountered a liaison officer from the Happiness Association. They said they’re under heavy attack by the Dolgurokov Corps of the Russian Army and hope we can send reinforcements.”

Kosciuszko asked, “Where is the liaison officer?”

“He died two hours ago, Marshal.”

Kosciuszko quickly read through the letter requesting help.

It stated that more than 10,000 Russian troops were fiercely attacking Pereyaslav, and the rebel army had only about 2,600 men left, facing the possibility of being wiped out at any moment.

Without much hesitation, Kosciuszko told the aide at the door: “Lukic, have the Clerk write a letter to Mr. Begozarov on my behalf, encouraging them to persevere in combat and assuring them that they can defeat the Russian tyrant’s army.”

Kilinski quickly asked: “Marshal, you don’t intend to send reinforcements?”

Kosciuszko nodded: “Although I greatly admire these warriors fighting for freedom, going deep into southwestern Russia is too risky. I don’t want to affect our deployment for the decisive battle.”

Seeing that the Cavalry Scout commander still wanted to say something, he raised his hand: “Besides, they are actually Russians. My soldiers should not bleed for Russians.”

Over ten days later, while Kosciuszko and a group of officers were inspecting the camp of the King’s 12th Infantry Brigade, a Courier came riding furiously, swinging his whip.

Kosciuszko’s guard caught the reins, and the Courier excitedly shouted: “We won! General Madalinisky captured the Smolensk Fortress at noon the day before yesterday! The main Russian forces are currently fleeing eastward.”

The camp fell silent for a moment, then erupted in thunderous cheers, “Long live General Madalinisky!”

“This is Jesus’s blessing upon us!”

“Let’s march to Moscow and show the Russians our might!”

“Poland will surely win!”

Kosikowski kept calm and summoned the Courier to ask: “How did the fortress fall so quickly?”

“After General Madalinisky encircled the fortress, he launched a probing attack and unexpectedly captured the outer defensive positions,” the Courier said with animated gestures. “Then Major Izayev’s Scattered Soldier Camp quickly broke into the south side of the fortress, prompting the Russians to flee.

“When we entered the fortress, we found that most of the Russian soldiers had contracted dysentery and relapsing fever, almost incapacitating them for combat.”

Kosciuszko instinctively crossed himself: “Thank Jesus for delivering a miracle and punishing the wicked.”

But he also knew well that the Russian army’s logistics and camp conditions have always been poor, and a large outbreak of disease in such a harsh winter was not surprising.

He turned to the high-ranking officers accompanying him: “Order all corps to prepare for action; we must take advantage of the Russian retreat and continue to expand our achievements. This is a heavenly opportunity bestowed upon us!

“Captain Lukic, immediately send a report to Warsaw about the great victory, and also request that the General Staff deliver all logistical supplies to Smolensk one and a half months ahead of schedule.”

…

Southeast of the Dnieper River, Pereyaslav.

The front-line commander of the rebel army threw the just-delivered battle report to Gorzev beside him, with a furrowed brow: “Vladimirov’s battalion has been defeated. Dolgurokov will appear in the suburbs by noon tomorrow. Unless a miracle happens, we fear it will be tough to resist.”

The latter said with a grim face: “Those damned Poles, they promised to deal with the Tsar’s army together with us.”

“Now is not the time for that,” said Kishchenko, “Moreover, ultimately, this is our own revolution, and we shouldn’t have relied on foreigners.”

Gorzev gritted his teeth and said: “And those serfs, do they not know that we are here to liberate them? If they all joined us, we would be an army of tens of thousands, but look, there’s no response from anyone!”

Kishchenko cut him off: “They’re inherently ignorant. We can only rely on enlightened and civilized people.”

A captain from Tikhonov’s regiment on the side clenched his fist and said loudly: “We cannot sit idle. I suggest we immediately move toward Lubny, hoping to reach Kursk before the enemy catches up. There should be many liberal supporters there!”