Chapter 684: The Coming Storm
Morkov was visibly surprised. He quickly ordered the cavalryman forward and asked:
"What's the extent of the damage?"
"General, the Poles destroyed five carts of grain and barley, and seven ammunition wagons. The supply battalion suffered over 200 casualties."
Morkov let out a sigh of relief and chuckled dismissively:
"These pathetic cowards are only capable of such small-scale harassment."
The scout paused, then cautiously said:
"General, according to intelligence from Kiev, the Polish forces that appeared there number over 10,000 men."
Since it happened so suddenly, the Kiev garrison hadn't been able to ascertain the exact strength of Kościuszko's forces.
In reality, the Royal Third Infantry Division alone consisted of over 10,000 men. With the addition of the Royal Cavalry Battalion, five squadrons of Winged Hussars, and the Warsaw Grenadier Regiment, their total strength reached 17,000.
A staff officer beside him said:
"General, they must have realized that Mozyr would fall, so they've thrown caution to the wind, intending to delay our advance by harassing our supply lines."
Morkov nodded slightly:
"That means Mozyr's defenses are now critically weak.
"We must capture Mareytsy Town today, no matter the cost. Tomorrow, we begin the assault on Mozyr."
A Major General standing beside him mused:
"General, the Poles have been holed up behind their defenses, slowing our progress considerably.
"Now that they've exposed themselves, we can seize this opportunity to eliminate over ten thousand enemy troops in Kiev. That would be much easier than trying to defeat them behind their fortifications."
Hearing this, Morkov also hesitated.
General Suvorov's orders were to quickly seize the West Bank of the Dnieper River region and form a pincer movement against Warsaw with the Lithuanian Front Army.
His advance had already fallen far behind schedule. With the Polish forces stationed in Mozyr having left, seizing the town now was the top priority.
He looked at the Major General: "General Smirnov, you will lead the Ukraine Legion, reinforced by six Cossack Cavalry squadrons, and cooperate with Colonel Chaperov to pin down the Polish forces harassing Kiev."
"Yes, General!"
Chaperov was the commanding officer of the Kiev garrison. Currently, Kiev still had nearly 4,000 Russian troops. Combined with Smirnov's forces, their total strength reached 15,000, which was enough to tie down the Polish forces that had pushed deep into Kiev.
Morkov then turned to his staff officer: "Purdalev, move all the artillery into Mareytsy Town. I don't want to drag this out any longer!"
"Yes, General!"
"Once Mozyr is taken, we'll head to Kiev and deal with that little rat."
...
Prussia.
Potsdam.
Prince Heinrich strode quickly into the music hall of Sanssouci Palace, an irrepressible smile on his face.
He spotted William II on the dais beside the orchestra, hurried forward to salute, then whispered:
"Your Majesty, Russia has deployed its troops."
The latter immediately brightened, motioned for Prince Heinrich to follow him into an adjacent room, and asked impatiently:
"What's the situation on the front?"
Prince Heinrich produced a report and handed it to him:
"Your Majesty, Russia's 120,000-strong army has launched a simultaneous offensive from Mozyr and Braslaw.
"The good news is that nearly all of Poland's forces are currently concentrated on the eastern front. Even Warsaw itself has fewer than 3,000 soldiers remaining."
This was the result of Joseph's continuous "pressure" on Poland to sever Prussian military influence. Historically, the Polish army had retained a large number of Prussian officers, making information about military movements practically transparent to Prussia.
Even now, Prussians within Poland continued to relay information back to Potsdam, though they no longer had access to core intelligence.
William II clenched his fists excitedly. "Excellent! So, when do you think would be the right time for us to deploy troops? Now?"
"Ah, perhaps we should wait a little longer, Your Majesty," Prince Heinrich replied. "Once the Russian army has worn down more Polish soldiers, we can achieve our objectives with fewer troops. That would save us a significant amount in military expenses."
Prussia's economy was already the weakest among the great powers. After the exhausting Silesian Wars with Austria, its finances were in dire straits. If not for the 300,000 Pound Sterling provided by Britain, deploying troops would have been impossible; merely preventing financial collapse would have been a struggle.
William II had originally planned to invade Poland with an army of 40,000 to 50,000. However, it now appeared that under Russia's powerful offensive, 30,000 Prussian soldiers would likely suffice.
William II nodded. "Then proceed with moving troops to the border on an appropriate scale. This time, we must secure the entirety of the Greater Poland region, and, most importantly, Gdańsk."
The Greater Poland region referred to the westernmost part of Poland, comprising several provinces from Sieradz to Poznan, a very fertile area of the country.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Prince Heinrich bowed slightly, then seemed to recall something and hesitated. "There's one more matter, Your Majesty."
"Please speak, my dear uncle."
"Catholics in provinces like Kulm and Nakło have shown sympathies toward Poland. As you know, whether we dispatch troops to Poznan or attack Gdańsk, we must depart from these areas."
Although the state religion of Prussia was Protestantism, the eastern provinces of Kulm, Inowrocław, and Nakło were Catholic territories—recently seized from Poland during the "First Partition," their religious leanings hadn't yet been changed.
And the so-called "sympathy for Poland" was, of course, Mesmer's doing.
Although he hadn't directly entered these three Prussian provinces to preach about the Crusader Holy War, he had delivered several speeches calling for a holy war in neighboring Poznan. The news easily spread to these three provinces, where many residents spoke Polish.
William II frowned and told Prince Heinrich: "Have the Secret Police deal with those who are inciting this. I do not want to hear of our military deployment being affected."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will handle it appropriately."
...
Austria.
Vienna.
Inside Schönbrunn Palace, Franz II impatiently waved his hand at Count Rheinfels:
"I don't want to see him. Please find a way to send that fellow away."
The "fellow" the Holy Roman Emperor referred to was Count Szczęsny Potocki, the Polish Foreign Minister. He had come to request Austria's military assistance for Poland against the Russian invasion.
According to Austria's standing policy, it was supposed to protect Poland's territorial integrity.
But this time, Franz II intended to take a seat at the table and partake in the grand feast.
He then looked at the Minister of State beside him:
"Baron Thugut, what is the status of the troop movements?"
The latter immediately replied:
"Your Majesty, eight Royal German Infantry Regiments, along with the Krems Corps and the Royal Vienna Cavalry Regiment, a total of 24,000 soldiers, have arrived in Nowy Sącz..."
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