Chapter 1570: Battle with the Bitter Cold V Part 5 |
By noon the next day, the Bagration Army encountered a large number of frozen Russian soldiers along the roadside during their march.
In less than half a day, they had collected over a thousand bodies.
These were prisoners previously released by Kosciuszko.
Within a hundred kilometers radius, there were no villages, and all the prisoners’ food and blankets had been confiscated by the Polish Army. Without food, there was no way to generate heat, and they couldn’t survive more than three days before freezing to death.
Originally, the Russian soldiers, having repelled the Poles, had begun to regain morale. However, upon seeing these half-naked corpses frozen from the extreme cold, they suddenly felt the cold seeping into their own bones, once again becoming pessimistic about the prospects of the war.
By the time they reached the upper reaches of the Iput River, a hundred kilometers away, they had already lost over 1,200 men due to the cold and disease.
The good news was that three other main Russian army corps had finally arrived near Bryansk and were deploying along the east-west direction, ready to encircle the Polish Army again.
Kutuzov had dispatched all the Cossack light cavalry, estimating they could "bite the tail" of the Polish within three days, thereby slowing their retreat.
Thus, the Polish and Russian armies began a life-and-death race across the freezing plains of Rusia.
At this time, the advance force of the Madarinsky Corps had exhausted all supplies, with soldiers only able to eat half a pound of frozen horse meat and a loaf of black bread daily.
In the temporary Polish camp, Kosciuszko first ordered the commissar to distribute bread to them, then approached Madaliniski and asked in a deep voice, "How many soldiers are left in your corps?"
The latter hung his head and replied, "33,000, Marshal."
Kosciuszko glared at him instantly, "How is the loss so great?"
The Polish vanguard had initially more than 43,000 men; in other words, over 10,000 had died retreating here from Dorogobuzh!
The number seemed staggering, but if not for Saint-Cyr’s timely southern withdrawal strategy, the Madaliniski Corps might now have fewer than 10,000 men left.
Madaliniski’s voice lowered further, "Many sick soldiers volunteered to stay behind for intercepting duties. Without their sacrifice, my army would have no food three days ago."
Kosciuszko looked at the vanguard corps soldiers, faces full of frostbite, solemnly took off his hat, and after some time, sighed, "May Jesus bless them."
Madaliniski asked anxiously, "Marshal, are we heading towards Klinzi next?"
Klinzi lies west of Bryansk, and after crossing the Dnieper River from there, they could reach the Polish city of Mozhili.
The officer beside spoke in French, "No, General, we will continue south."
"South? We have exhausted our supplies; why venture further into the depths of Russia?" Madaliniski, who understood French, looked puzzled at the Frenchman, "And you are?"
"This is Colonel Saint-Cyr," Kosciuszko introduced, "a military adviser sent by the Regent King to assist us."
Madaliniski quickly saluted the Frenchman by raising his hat.
Saint-Cyr also raised his hat in return, "The Russians have likely deployed troops at Gomel. If we delay there for two or three days, we’ll find ourselves encircled by more enemy troops."
Kosciuszko added, "And we don’t have many cannons left, making it difficult to break through the Russian defense line."
To avoid slowing the march, Saint-Cyr had the Polish Army discard all cannons above six pounds.
Madaliniski inquired urgently, "But if we keep heading south, won’t we eventually encounter Russian blockades?"
"It’s possible to encounter enemy troops, but not in large numbers," Saint-Cyr replied, "Kutuzov has concentrated nearly all his forces on the Minsk to Moscow line."
Madaliniski was astonished, "How do you know that?"
Kosciuszko answered without hesitation, "That’s the judgment of the Regent King."
Madaliniski silently nodded. The military prowess of the French Regent King had long earned the heartfelt admiration of every Pole.
Saint-Cyr continued, "The scope of the Russians’ scorched earth tactics cannot be too wide. In my estimate, supplies should be found upon reaching the Novgorod-Seversky area."
Madaliniski frowned, "But what then? How do we escape the enemy’s pursuit?"
Saint-Cyr sneered, "Disrupt the Russians’ logistics. Once they are in chaos, seize the opportunity to cross the Dnieper River from the Chernigov area."
...
With the rear-guard forces desperately intercepting the enemy, the main body of the Polish Army finally entered the Seversky Duchy after a three-day forced march.
This place called a duchy had been occupied by Russia for 150 years and had now become core Russian territory.
As Saint-Cyr had anticipated, the villages here were undisturbed, with busy serfs visible from afar in front of barns.
Indeed, this area was over 300 kilometers from Smolensk. If Kutuzov had "cleared out" places this far, then most of southwestern Russia would be reduced to wasteland.
Relieving a sigh, Kosciuszko wasted no time in deploying over a dozen infantry detachments to "collect" all the available grain, fodder, and horses nearby.
Where time permitted, the soldiers didn’t even spare the crude vodka and black beer.
As for what couldn’t be taken away, it was all either burned or poured out on the spot.
Yes, given the deep-seated grudge the Russians bore against Poland, the Polish Army felt no psychological burden in doing so.
After acquiring food and alcohol, the cold and hungry Polish soldiers’ condition finally improved to some extent.
Saint-Cyr first launched an ambush on the pursuing Cossack Cavalry west of Novgorod-Seversky and then immediately directed the entire army towards Koriukivka, where they also restocked on logistical supplies.
The Polish Army then continued southwards, heading straight for Russia’s southwestern industrial and commercial core—Lubny.
...
Two days later, the Russian Army under Vitgenstein also reached Novgorod-Seversky.
Continuous forced marches in the depths of winter had caused non-combat losses to be severe; out of 20,000 men, only 15,000 made it here.
Vitgenstein gazed at the faintly visible city clock tower in the distance, quietly breathing a sigh of relief.
Never mind the soldiers, even he had caught a cold in the past few days, hoping only to enter the city for some proper rest.
At that moment, the Cossack cavalry captain galloped towards him, panting heavily, "General, the nearby villages have all been destroyed by the Poles... There’s hardly any food left in the city, not even much wood."
