Chapter 706: Strategic Flank Maneuver
Yegor, pale-faced, asked, "Why are the Poles here?"
"I don't know either."
"Didn't you say the Emperor's army dealt a crushing blow to the Poles?"
Yakov said, distracted, "Master Gumilov said so..."
"But I think those Poles are terrifying!"
Inside Bryansk.
A Captain saluted Kościuszko and reported, "General, the city's food stores are very low."
Kościuszko nodded, then looked at Dombrowski beside him. "The Russians are clearly prepared."
"The wheat we secured in Trubchevsk will last us for more than half a month," the cavalry commander said. "Enough for us to reach the outskirts of Moscow."
"Indeed. But they consistently keep their distance from us, and aside from occasional skirmishes, they haven't shown any intention of launching a large-scale offensive."
"But this will slow us down," Kościuszko sighed. "The further east we go, the more frequent these harassments will become.
"We're certainly not reaching Moscow within half a month."
Armies on the march form long, narrow columns, but this formation is utterly unsuitable for combat.
Therefore, if suddenly attacked by enemy forces, they must immediately transition from a marching column to a Line Formation for defense.
However, shifting formation for a large army inevitably consumes a great deal of time.
Ever since the Russian army adopted the tactic of "delaying and avoiding battle," the Kościuszko Legion's marching speed had been halved.
Dombrowski did some mental calculations, his expression also grave. "Yes, we can only reach Kaluga at most. It seems we need to find the main Russian force and engage them in a decisive battle."
"No, that will only bog us down here permanently."
"But our objective is Moscow. Are we just going to stand by and watch the plan fail?"
Kościuszko shook his head. "No, our objective was never Moscow."
"What did you say?"
"It was decided during that military council in Paris," Kościuszko explained. "Crown Prince Joseph had already considered that we might encounter such a situation."
An infantry Lieutenant Colonel rode up to Kościuszko and saluted him. "General, all Russian forces in the city have been cleared out. What are our next orders?"
"Gather all the food and ammunition you can find."
Kościuszko looked towards the distant city hall building and ordered, "Burn down all municipal buildings, banks, warehouses, and workshops."
The essence of war is destruction, leaving no room for mercy.
Only by inflicting maximum damage on the enemy can one best protect oneself.
Especially since Russia had brought immense disaster to Poland, Kościuszko would show them no quarter.
In fact, if the Polish army weren't unable to linger here, he would have wanted to burn every shop and mansion as well.
But without prior preparation, setting fires wasn't a simple matter. So, they could only prioritize destroying the most crucial targets.
"Yes, General!"
Once the Lieutenant Colonel had departed, Dombrowski eagerly asked, "Then what is our true objective?"
To prevent leaks, only Commander-in-Chief Kościuszko and a few staff officers knew the detailed plan for this deep penetration mission into Russia.
Kościuszko raised a hand and pointed south, stating calmly, "Crimea."
Yes, Joseph had known from the very beginning that threatening Moscow with fewer than 20,000 Polish troops was almost impossible.
Even Emperor Napoleon, at the height of his power, would have needed hundreds of thousands of troops to achieve that.
Therefore, his objective had always been Russia's "southern gateway"—Crimea.
Losing Crimea would mean Russia losing control of the Black Sea, and consequently, its access to the vast Mediterranean Sea trade.
Every Tsar, whenever national power allowed, would spare no effort in campaigning there.
Catherine II herself had expended vast financial resources and lost tens of thousands of troops to seize this strategic stronghold from the Ottoman Empire.
In terms of importance to the empire, Crimea was scarcely less significant than Moscow.
This was also why, half a century later in history, Russia's defeat to the Anglo-French-Ottoman Coalition Forces in the Crimean War immediately plunged it into decades of decline.
Dombrowski immediately frowned. "We are currently 500 miles from Crimea, and our food supply isn't nearly enough to sustain us for such a long journey.
"Moreover, there's Kursk Fortress in between. The plan you're proposing is simply impossible to achieve!"
"If even you think it's impossible, the enemy will never consider it," Kościuszko stated. "Crown Prince Joseph will help us solve the logistical supply issues. He guaranteed it to me.
"As for Kursk Fortress, the Russians will never expect us to suddenly move south, so its defenses are bound to be lax.
"We can take it. And we must take it!"
Dombrowski took a deep breath, then nodded with a smile. "All right, if you want to be mad, I'll be mad with you this time. For Poland!"
"For Poland!"
At dusk, burning Bryansk became a torch on the plain, illuminating the path south for the Polish soldiers.
Kościuszko glanced back east, regretting deeply, "The Russians reacted too quickly, otherwise, according to the original plan, we would have had a chance to destroy Kaluga."
"Bryansk has already inflicted heavy losses on them," Dombrowski remarked, then remembered something else and tilted his head. "By the way, why didn't we just head south directly from Mozyr initially, instead of circling around here north of the Oka River?"
Kościuszko smiled faintly. "That is the ingenious part of this plan.
"I'd bet you that right now, all military forces across Russia are converging towards Moscow.
"If we're lucky enough, a significant portion of even Kursk's garrison will be drawn away.
"But if we had gone straight south, we would have faced layer upon layer of Russian encirclement, just like our current situation. We couldn't very well head north to Moscow then, could we?"
The two men laughed together.
It seemed their journey was not to meet death, but to attend a long-awaited feast.
The next day, Korezenikov, tasked with containing Kościuszko's army, suddenly lost all trace of the Polish forces.
Inside the temporary Russian command post, Korezenikov frowned at the map, then slammed his hand down on Moscow's location:
"No matter what methods they used, their ultimate objective must be Moscow."
He told the orderly, "Have Vasnetsov detach three regiments to defend Moscow. The other corps should converge on Kaluga, trying to intercept the Poles there.
"Also, send someone to rush the troops coming from Saratov; tell them to accelerate their march."
"Yes, General!"
Comments