I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 675: Burning Eastern Europe
Admiral Donbrowski said in very broken Polish: "All sacrifices are worth it, and we will eventually get rid of Russia's control and threats.

"And their bodies may fall, but their blood will coagulate into the soul of Poland, and the motherland will always be with them!"

He attended military school in Saxony as a teenager - at that time, Saxony and Poland were still one country - and only returned to Poland four years ago, which resulted in him being much more fluent in German than Polish.

Historically, it was for this reason that Prince Poniatowski never trusted him.

However, Joseph knew very well that Dombrovski was a staunch patriot - he later participated in the anti-Russian uprising led by Kosciuszko and performed extremely bravely in the Battle of Warsaw.

So, at Joseph's suggestion, Dombrovsky was given an important position in the Polish army and served as the chief cavalry commander of the Dnieper Front.

Dabrovsky pointed to the narrow breastwork between two hills in the distance:

"If one day I need to stand there and fight, I will also use my life to stop the invasion of the Tsarist Russia."

Kosciuszko nodded silently. Of the 5 Polish troops on the Mozyr Line, 3 were new recruits who had been trained for less than four months. They would face the fiercest offensive of the Russian army.

Yes, in order to complete the established combat deployment, this most important line of defense in the east can only be supported by new recruits.

"Perhaps, we will all die in this war..."

Kosciuszko seemed to think that the topic was not auspicious, so he looked up to the east:
"When do you think the Russians will attack?"

The reason why he asked this question was that Russia had sent an official note to Poland five days ago, which was actually an ultimatum - demanding that the Polish government immediately stop persecuting the nobility and Polish Orthodox Christians, and bring the culprits involved in the "Targowica murder" to Russia for trial. In addition, the Polish constitution should be abolished to restrict the privileges of the nobility, allow civilians to freely purchase land, and allow civilians to serve as officers.

The cause of the incident was that after the traitorous conference in the town of Targowica was smashed, several members of the Potocki family fled to Russia and accused the Tsar of the Polish Parliament of arresting and assassinating domestic nobles without reason, and requested Russia to send troops to stabilize the situation in Poland.

This is exactly the same as the traitorous behavior of the Targowica Confederation in history. However, at present, after the continuous attacks by the Polish intelligence organization, these reactionary nobles have failed to gather an army and their influence has been greatly weakened.

In fact, Potocki had arrived in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the year, but at that time Catherine II was unable to actively prepare for war due to Stanislaw II's "emotional offensive", so she had to put this matter aside in advance.

According to the plan left by Potemkin before his death, Russia should have launched a full-scale invasion of Poland in the early spring of next year.

However, when Catherine II learned through the intelligence system that Poland was preparing for war in full swing, she immediately realized that her plan to invade Poland could no longer be concealed.

After discussing with Russian generals, she believed that it would be more advantageous to take action in advance while Poland was not fully prepared.

So, Count Potocki was picked out by the Russians as an excuse to start a war.

"Who knows?" Dombrowski shook his head. "Maybe next month, maybe tomorrow, maybe the next moment..."

Before he could finish his words, he saw a war horse galloping towards him.

Before the horse had completely stopped, the officer on it jumped off hastily and said to Kościuszko:

"General, the Russians have declared war! This morning."

Kościuszko and Dombrowski frowned at each other, but before they could say anything, they heard bursts of artillery fire in the distance.

Kosciuszko placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and said to the herald beside him:
"Let the soldiers enter the defense zone. Tell them not to panic, the Russians are still far away."

The battlefield of such a large-scale national war would be very large. Poland has deployed many outposts on the border. The bombardment just now should be the Russian army clearing these outer defense points. And Poland's main defense line is still seven or eight kilometers behind.

Kosciuszko continued to give orders methodically:

"Have the rangers report to me any Russian movements at any time, especially on the right wing. The terrain there is very suitable for Cossack cavalry to launch a surprise attack."

Using Cossack cavalry to maneuver quickly and then launch a surprise attack on the enemy's weak points was a tactic often used by Russian commanders. Those who underestimated them suffered great losses.

"Yes, General."

After the herald left, Dombrowski said with some concern:

"I'd better go to the right wing and keep an eye on it myself."

"No, leave it to Mochalawicz," Kosciuszko stopped him. "Your battlefield is not here."

The sudden attack by the Russian army caused some panic among Mozyr's Polish army, but fortunately, Poland had made a lot of preparations for the war, so the chaos did not last too long. A large number of troops quickly deployed a defense line along the border according to the deployment made in advance.

Southeast of Mozyr, the village of Zagazki.

This small village is located near the Polish border. Because of the war, the villagers had already abandoned their homes and fled. At this time, the village has become part of the defense line.

"Bam—"

A shell hit heavily next to a dilapidated farmhouse, causing the ground to shake.

Behind the rotten window, Corporal Drasovitz glanced at the six or seven young men who were sitting or standing beside him, all huddled together, and sighed in his heart.

Although the squad leader did not say it explicitly, as the only veteran here who had fought in Slavonia, he was responsible for managing all these new recruits.

He was just a bricklayer before and didn't like to speak in public, but at this moment he could only try his best to imitate the posture of the town officials and said loudly:
"Oh, don't worry. Although the sound of the cannon is scary, the shells will not hit us directly."

He thought for a moment and pointed to a small flying insect on the wall that had not yet frozen to death:
"It's like hitting that guy with a rock from 50 steps away."

The sound of artillery fire in the distance was still dense, but when everyone saw Drasovitz's relaxed look, they all looked up and looked much more relaxed.

The corporal nodded with satisfaction, but the next moment, there was another loud noise next to him, and then the house shook, and debris of grass and trees flew everywhere.

When the dust settled, everyone saw that a corner of the farmhouse, along with the pigsty next to it, had been torn apart by a shell, leaving the ground covered with bricks and stones.

Drasovitz quickly confirmed that no one was injured, and then spread his hands awkwardly:
"You see, I told you that even if it was very close, it wouldn't hit us directly."

He looked at the crumbling frame of the house again and frowned.
"But we have to get out of here."

When all the new recruits left the farmhouse, Drasovitz saw that the blond young man walking at the back had legs that were obviously shaking, so he stepped forward and patted him:
"Yannick, stay strong. War is nothing to be afraid of..."

The young man turned around, grinning, with a light flickering in his eyes:
"Mr. Drasovitz, I'm not afraid! I'm so excited now!"

(End of this chapter)