Chapter 1569: Battle Against the Bitter Cold (part 4) |
Vyazma City.
In the operations room of the Russian Army Headquarters, a staff officer draws several lines on the map, pointing in the direction of Kaluga: "General, this is the latest battle report. The Polish Madaliniski Corps has not retreated westward; instead, they seem to be advancing towards Kaluga."
Barclay de Tolly frowned and said, "Are they going to commit suicide? General Vitgenstein will catch up with them soon."
Without supplies, even if Madaliniski occupied Kaluga, they would be annihilated due to a lack of ammunition.
Kutuzov said calmly, "Because they’re running out of food. Kaluga is the nearest place to obtain grain."
He looked at the Order Officer: "Move the garrison from Obninsk to Kaluga. Order the Vitgenstein Corps to accelerate their pursuit."
"Yes, General!"
Kutuzov looked again in the direction of Smolensk on the map and asked, "Is there any news from Prince Bagration?"
"Not yet, General," the staff officer said, "After the Poles attacked Smolensk Town, they became very quiet."
After the Poles’ rearguard showed signs of moving north, he ordered Bagration’s army to defend the Toropets line, while shifting the Samoylov Corps, originally encircling from the south, to move north and exert pressure on the Polish Army.
"Yes, General!"
The Order Officer was recording when suddenly the door was pushed open with a "bang," and a Lieutenant Colonel rushed in, anxiously saying to Kutuzov: "General, the Saliyelov Corps was ambushed at noon the day before yesterday, and the situation... is not optimistic.
"Saliyelov has currently retreated to Glinka.
"And over 30,000 of Kosciuszko’s rearguard are fleeing south..."
The officers in the operations room began discussing quietly.
Kutuzov’s strategy was to continuously harass and pin down the Polish Army during their westward retreat, ultimately wearing them down with the severe weather.
But now that the Poles have suddenly stopped heading west, the extensive deployments from Smolensk to Minsk have become useless.
Kutuzov’s eyelid twitched, but his expression quickly calmed down, signaling the others to quiet: "Kosciuszko must have realized he was being surrounded. I must admit, he’s a very clever opponent."
He stood up, walked to the map, focused on it for a long while, and suddenly tapped south of Dorogobuzh: "So, the Polish vanguard can’t have gone to Kaluga. They’re heading south to join Kosciuszko."
General Barclay nodded: "Fortunately, they haven’t solved their logistical issues yet."
Kutuzov turned around and instructed: "Order Vitgenstein to locate the Poles as soon as possible and find a way to hold them back.
"After the Samoylov Corps rests, have them move to the left bank of the Dnieper River to set up defenses and prevent the Poles from escaping back home.
"Order all other corps to gather immediately and pursue southward!"
Although the battlefield situation had changed, it was not completely out of his control.
After receiving new recruits from Moscow, his total forces had reached 115,000 men. This did not include the troops hurrying from Transcaucasia.
Meanwhile, after spreading their forces to garrison cities along the way, Kosciuszko’s main force comprised only over 70,000 men, with supply lines cut off.
As long as they can catch up with the Polish Army, they can still quickly annihilate them.
The next morning, 30,000 Russian troops in Vyazma City also began moving southward.
Riding in a carriage, Kutuzov penned a letter to the Tsar, reporting that he had already recaptured several major towns including Dorogobuzh, Smolensk, and Orsha.
...
South of Murajino City.
A Lieutenant Colonel struggled through the heavy snow to find Kosciuszko’s banner, urging his horse forward, using his hand to shield the wind and snow, finally managing to speak: "Marshal, in this weather, I think we should let everyone rest for a while...My soldiers are falling every moment! They need tents and hot soup..."
Saint-Cyr interrupted him: "Lieutenant Colonel Cohen, the snow can hide our tracks. This is a necessary risk; otherwise, we will suffer even greater casualties."
Kosciuszko added, "The situation with the 16th and 22nd Infantry Regiments is definitely worse. We can’t waste the opportunity they’ve created!"
"But..."
Saint-Cyr sighed, pointing to the distant hills: "Once we reach the sheltered mountain pass, let everyone rest for two hours."
In order to shake off the Russian pursuit, they frequently marched during twilight or heavy snow, gaining at least 20 kilometers.
However, this also caused many soldiers to fall behind—without means of communication in those times, it was easy to lose sight of the corps’ banners. In the harsh weather, getting separated from the main force almost equated to a death sentence.
A few hours later, a not-so-high hill finally shielded the Polish soldiers from the fierce winds, and the slanting snow became much gentler.
A tall military doctor walked through the ranks, yelling in a Lyon accent: "Get ten men from each company to chop wood, and start boiling water as quickly as possible. Absolutely no drinking snow water!"
Freshly fallen snow was still relatively clean, but once on the ground, it quickly became contaminated. This was a conclusion drawn by the French Health Bureau after extensive rabbit experiments.
Moreover, drinking snow water directly would lead to a drop in body temperature, which, even if it didn’t result in freezing to death, would lower immunity.
A few Polish officers immediately translated the doctor’s words into Polish and Lithuanian, occasionally appointing personnel to supervise.
Indeed, accompanying Saint-Cyr to Yartsevo were not just guards, but also 15 French military doctors.
Although the medicines they carried were limited, they significantly reduced the rate of illness among Polish soldiers using advanced preventative care concepts.
It’s important to know that in this severe cold, very few people actually froze to death; most lost their lives due to illness caused by a drop in body temperature.
The mere fact that French military doctors enforced the consumption of boiled water, regulated restroom areas, and used phenol to treat wounds drastically reduced the incidence of dysentery, wound infections, and paratyphoid among the Polish Army.
Yet even so, non-combat losses for the Polish Army still numbered in the hundreds daily.
At the same time, in Pochinok City, over 50 kilometers north of the Polish Army, the Russian Bagration Army was suffering similarly.
The city had long been deserted, and after the Polish Army passed through, even the wood was dismantled and burned for fuel.
Russian soldiers huddled together in groups of threes and fives, layering blankets over themselves.
Occasionally, someone would collapse, and then the burial team would drag them away.
However, even these brief resting periods lasted less than two hours before the drumming of assembly, like a curse, sounded.
Yes, the orders Bagration received were to "catch up with the Poles as swiftly as possible," compelling him to keep marching rapidly under such dreadful weather.
As he mounted his weary body onto his horse, a staff officer jogged over and whispered, "General, there were 210 non-combat deaths today. Additionally, over 130 have contracted relapsing fever. We need more military uniforms."
Relapsing fever is caused by louse bites, and to eliminate this disease in the army, all infected areas need to have their uniforms changed. Clothes with lice should be washed and baked.
However, the Russian Army was currently in a "no man’s land" created by Kutuzov.
Originally, they could obtain supplies from the nearby rear, but now that they had chased the Polish Army over 100 kilometers south, the logistics transport difficulty had increased sharply.
Coupled with the small Polish detachments repeatedly harassing the supply convoys, the Russian Army had to concentrate all logistics resources on transporting grain and forage. Even the supply of ammunition was greatly reduced, let alone medicines and clothing, which were practically down to zero.