I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1449 The Battle of Revenge
After capturing Muskislav, Koschushko's vanguard was less than 100 kilometers from the Smolensk fortress.

Meanwhile, the Polish army's campaign in Vitebsk to the north was also progressing very well. Just a few days ago, they had captured Sosnovka, which controlled the key road to the south of the city.

Judging from the fighting spirit shown by the Russian army recently, it shouldn't take too long to capture Vitebsk.

At that time, the Polish army will have a firm foothold on the east bank of the Dnieper River.

Last month, Poland's Grand Sem approved the General Staff's recruitment plan to recruit a total of 38,000 new soldiers from Kujavia, Poznan, Krakow, and eastern Lithuania.

These areas were previously occupied by Russia, Prussia, Austria, and other countries, so they did not participate in the previous conscriptions and still retain a certain number of able-bodied men. Lithuania, in particular, will provide 25,000 soldiers this time.

Koschushko turned to look at the map on the wall, his gaze sharp as a lance, and said to the staff officer beside him:
"Leave the heavy artillery near the riverbank and send more people to guard it to prevent it from being sabotaged by the Russians. We won't be able to use it until next spring."

"Yes, Marshal!"

It's now deep winter, and it's snowing almost every day, making it impossible to organize a large-scale offensive.

Once the Polish recruits arrive at the front lines next April, he will be able to capture Smolensk in one fell swoop.

He was absolutely confident of winning.

Currently, he has 25 twelve-pound cannons provided by France, and even went so far as to bring in 3 twenty-four-pound heavy cannons by manpower.

He had seen the ancient fortress of Smolensk; with concentrated bombardment of these cannons, a breach could be made in three days at most.

Once Smolensk is captured, only Borodino will have a few defensive fortifications on the way to Moscow, and the Polish army will be able to encircle Moscow quickly.

The hatred that the Polish people have felt for decades of invasion, humiliation, and enslavement will be repaid with the blood of the Russians at that moment!
A gust of cold wind slipped into the room through the crack in the window, and Koschushko tightened his collar—his command post hadn't been lit yet—and called back the staff officer who had just reached the door:
"By the way, we also need to urge Warsaw to send the new winter clothes as soon as possible. During this period, the soldiers should stay indoors as much as possible to prevent them from getting frostbite."

This winter is exceptionally cold. The winter clothes originally issued to the Polish army are no longer sufficient to keep them warm, and the weather will get even colder after Christmas.

Fortunately, the General Staff ordered a batch of thicker winter clothes in early October, and textile factories across the country are currently working overtime to complete them.

The staff officer left to receive his orders, and Colonel Jan Kirinsky, the Ranger Regiment Commander, hurried in and handed a bloodstained letter to Koschushko's squire:

"Marshal, my men have encountered a liaison officer from the 'Happiness Association.' They say they are under heavy attack by the Russian Dolgorukov Corps and hope we can send reinforcements."

Koschusko asked:
Where is the liaison officer?

"He died two hours ago, Marshal."

Koschushko quickly glanced at the letter requesting assistance.

The report stated that over 1 Russian troops were launching a fierce attack on Pereyaslav, while the insurgents currently numbered only 2600 and were at risk of being completely annihilated at any moment.

Koschushko barely hesitated before speaking to the staff officer at the door:
"Lukich, have the clerk write a letter to Mr. Begozerov on my behalf, encouraging them to persevere in the fight, and that they will surely defeat the army of the Russian tyrant."

Kirinsky hurriedly asked:
"Marshal, shall we not send reinforcements?"

Koschusko nodded:
"While I admire these warriors fighting for freedom, venturing deep into southwestern Russia is too dangerous. I don't want to affect our plans for the final battle."

Seeing that the cavalry commander seemed about to say something, he raised his hand and said:
"Besides, they are Russians after all. My soldiers should not shed blood for Russians."

More than ten days later, just as Koschushko and a group of officers were inspecting the camp of the 12th Royal Infantry Brigade, a messenger came galloping up, frantically waving his whip.

Koschusko's guards stepped forward and took the reins, and the messenger shouted excitedly:
"Victory! General Madalinsky captured the Smolensk fortress at noon the day before yesterday! The main force of the Russian army is currently fleeing eastward."

The camp was silent for a moment, then erupted in thunderous cheers: "Long live General Madalinsky!"

"This is God's blessing upon us!"

"Let's march on Moscow and show the Russians what we're made of!"

"Poland will win!"

Koschusko remained calm and summoned the messenger, asking:

"How did they breach the fortress so quickly?"

"After General Madalinsky surrounded the fortress, he launched a probing attack and unexpectedly captured the outer defensive positions directly," the messenger said, gesturing wildly. "Then, Major Isayev's skirmisher battalion quickly stormed the south side of the fortress, and then the Russians fled."

"After we entered the fortress, we found that most of the Russian soldiers here had contracted dysentery and relapsing fever, and had almost lost their ability to fight."

Koschusko instinctively made the sign of the cross on his chest:
"Thank God for the miracle that punished the wicked."

However, he was well aware that the Russian army's logistics and camp conditions had always been extremely poor, so it was not surprising at all that a large-scale epidemic broke out in such a harsh winter.

He turned to the high-ranking officer accompanying him and said:

"Order all legions to prepare for battle. We must take advantage of the Russians' defeat to further expand our gains. This is a golden opportunity given to us by God!"

"Captain Lukich, immediately send a battle report to Huashao, announcing the great victory, and at the same time request the General Staff to transport all logistical supplies to Smolensk one and a half months ahead of schedule."

……

Pereyaslav, southeast of the Dnieper River.

Major Nestetov, the frontline commander of the insurgent army, tossed the newly delivered battle report to Gozerov beside him, frowning as he said:

"Vladimirov's battalion has been defeated. Dolgorukov will appear on the outskirts of the city by noon tomorrow. Unless a miracle occurs, we will probably have a hard time holding them off."

The latter said with a stern face:

"These damned Poles, they promised to fight the Tsar's army together."

“Now is not the time to talk about these things,” Kishchenko said. “Besides, in the end, this is our own revolution, and we shouldn’t be relying on foreigners.”

Gozerov gritted his teeth and said:

"And what about those serfs? Don't they know we've come to liberate them? If they all joined us, we'd have an army of tens of thousands, but look at us, not a single one is responding!"

Kischenko interrupted him, saying:

"They are inherently ignorant. We can only rely on civilized people with enlightened ideas."

A captain from the Tikhnov regiment standing nearby clenched his fist and shouted:

"We cannot sit idly by and wait to die. I suggest we immediately move to Rubney and try to reach Kursk before the enemy catches up. There should be many liberals there who support us!"

　Many thanks to the generous donations from: Kagura747, Chanhin, OrnamentalPlants_BC, NoMoneyToChangeName, and cloudwatcher! The author is deeply grateful and loves you all!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)