Chapter 1568: Battle Against the Severe Cold3 |
After dawn, Vitgenstein’s Chief of Staff looked at the compiled data from various corps, his face grave.
More than 30 soldiers froze to death last night, and over 220 are currently running a fever.
He hesitated for a moment, put the report in his pocket without reporting to Vitgenstein, and instructed that the sick be sent to Viazma.
However, given the current weather conditions, it’s unlikely these people will survive the 120 Russian miles.
...
Outside Murajino Village, 35 kilometers south of Smolensk.
Kosciuszko glanced irritably at his pocket watch, then turned to his staff and asked, "No movement yet?"
He wasn’t really expecting an answer, as if the Russian Army appeared, the scout cavalry would have immediately reported to him.
"Not yet, Marshal."
They had been waiting here for two days and nights. Without supplies, this was nothing short of a drain on life.
Saint-Cyr noticed his anxiety and consoled him, "The training level of the Russian soldiers is very low. Stopping and starting in this weather is normal, but they will come eventually.
"In Kutuzov’s view, we can only retreat west back to Minsk or launch a surprise attack on Saint Petersburg from the north. So he will definitely mobilize the southern Russian forces to pursue us."
Kosciuszko nodded without speaking.
A few days ago, they launched a large-scale feint against the Russian Army on the northern side of Smolensk. It was later learned that it was the Bagration Army.
As the Regent said, the Russian Army did not have any intention of a decisive battle with them but withdrew to solidify their defenses waiting for them to run out of logistical supplies.
Then they swiftly moved south to set an ambush near Murajino Village.
Actually, what they were doing was very dangerous. If Bagration caught up, they’d be caught in a pincer attack from the north and south.
But Saint-Cyr judged that the Russians wouldn’t do this, as for them, the Polish Army making a mad dash for Saint Petersburg was the greatest risk.
Just as Kosciuszko once again retrieved his pocket watch, the sound of hooves suddenly came from afar.
"Marshal, the enemy has appeared 7 kilometers southwest, numbering over twenty thousand."
The voice of the cavalryman made Kosciuszko’s brows relax. He grabbed the map and checked; the Russian Army should be passing through an open area.
Although the Russians hadn’t directly jumped into his ambush circle, that area was also well suited for launching a large-scale surprise attack.
He immediately turned to the Order Officer and said, "Order General Mokronovsky to intercept the enemy from the west.
"The Winged Cavalry Camp will cut them off from the middle!
"We must defeat the Russians before nightfall!"
"Yes, Marshal."
Half an hour later, 1,400 Winged Cavalry lined along a path headed westward.
In Kosciuszko’s rear guard, only this many cavalrymen were left. Their horses were provided with fodder and oats meant for nearly 9,000 cavalry, maintaining notably good stamina.
At one o’clock in the afternoon, within the Russian Samoylov Corps, who were hurrying to "pursue" the Polish Army towards Smolensk, sharp bugle calls suddenly rang out, with many officers loudly commanding soldiers to stop and turn east to form up.
Just a few minutes earlier, the patrolling Cossack cavalry had issued a warning that the Polish Army appeared two kilometers away.
Samoylov never imagined encountering an attack here. In his mind, the Poles should still be 30 Russian miles to the north.
The Russian soldiers in marching formation suddenly fell into chaos, with drumbeat and shouting interspersing, yet the crooked infantry lines remained riddled with gaps.
Soon, the sound of hooves pounding the ground was heard.
A red cavalry unit appeared on the horizon, and the Russian soldiers quickly saw the towering wings of their backs fluttering in the wind.
With a military bugle call, the Winged Cavalry spread out into a wedge formation, drawing their horse sabers and beginning to accelerate.
Typically, cavalry are unwilling to charge infantry lines head-on, as it entails significant casualties and might not even breach the enemy’s defense.
But at the moment, the Russian lines were very disordered, while these Winged Cavalry were all prepared to die. They knew that if they couldn’t break the enemy ahead, their tens of thousands of comrades behind would likely starve to death in Russia’s icy wilderness.
In fact, as Poland’s most elite cavalry unit, they were ready for battle death the moment they crossed the Dnieper River.
The red "torrent" quickly locked onto the largest gap in the infantry line, adjusting angles with extreme efficiency, and plunged straight into the Russian defense line.
When the Winged Cavalry circled behind the Russian Army to attack again, several hundred Cossack cavalry finally finished forming up and charged over, shouting.
The Winged Cavalry Commander very calmly dispatched three cavalry battalions to hold back the enemy cavalry, leading others to continue tearing apart the Russian infantry defense.
Under 400 Winged Cavalry put away their sabers, took iconic cavalry lances from their saddles, quickly formed a triangular formation, lowered their postures, and charged toward the Cossack cavalry.
The Cossacks, clearly outnumbering them, faced these Winged Cavalry with an aura like steel, each heart racing with shock.
Finally, when they were still over 800 meters apart, they could no longer withstand it and dispersed to both sides under the officers’ lead.
The Winged Cavalry’s lances had extremely high accuracy, able to pierce a Russian’s body with a single pass. Yet, the Cossack’s horse sabers couldn’t reach them at all.
After the lances hit their targets, the Winged Cavalry quickly discarded them impossible to pull them out from the enemy in a charge and switched to sabers to continue hacking.
In less than two minutes of contact combat, nearly 200 Cossack cavalry were stabbed to death, and their formation instantly collapsed.
Elsewhere, Mokronovsky also led infantry from the north side and began attacking the Russian Army’s flanks.
By then, the Russian infantry had already been thoroughly disrupted by the Winged Cavalry; they were utterly incapable of fighting back and quickly began fleeing southwest.
At 4 PM, the last Winged Cavalry pursuing the enemy returned. At this point, the white desolate plain was strewn with the corpses of Russian soldiers, with blood dotting the austere backdrop like petals.
"Marshal, we’ve captured nearly 3,000 Russians. What do you suggest we do with them?"
In the earlier surprise attack, the Polish Army had killed more than 2,500 and captured 3,000, with less than 400 of their own casualties.
Kosciuszko pointed to the distant woods and said to his staff, "Release them."
He continued, "Tell the soldiers to rest for an hour and a half on the spot, then continue heading south."
Although his expression was calm, his heart was immensely excited.
This was the most critical battle to break through the Russian Army’s three-sided encirclement, and also the most dangerous one.
With this victory, they could continue moving south until reaching a place where they could obtain supplies.
Yes, according to Saint-Cyr’s plan, they wouldn’t hurry back west to Poland the Russians would surely send troops to block them on the west side but would head all the way south.