Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 798 - 706 Strategic Great Detour (Added for Sect

Chapter 798: Chapter 706: Strategic Great Detour (Added for Sect Leader Lin Jia and Second Master)

Chapter 798: Chapter 706: Strategic Great Detour (Added for Sect Leader Lin Jia and Second Master)

Yeager’s face was pallid as he said, “Why would the Poles be here?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Didn’t you say that the Emperor’s army gave the Poles a heavy beating?”

Yakov, looking dazed, responded, “It was what Lord Gumilov said…”

“But I find those Poles extremely terrifying!”

Inside Bryansk City.

A Captain saluted Kosciuszko and said, “Report, General, the city’s food supplies are very low.”

The latter nodded and looked towards East Brovsky, “Clearly, the Russians are already on guard.”

“We can last another half a month with the wheat we got from Trubchevsk,” said the Commander of the Cavalry Corps, “It’s enough for us to charge all the way to Moscow City.”

But Kosciuszko frowned and looked eastward, “You might have noticed that the Russian Army around us is increasing.”

“Indeed so. However, they keep their distance from us and don’t seem intent on launching a large-scale attack, except for occasional raids.”

“But this will slow down our pace,” sighed Kosciuszko, “the further east we go, the more frequent these harassments will become.

“We’re doomed not to reach Moscow within half a month.”

The army marched in a long and narrow column formation, which was not feasible for combat.

Thus, once attacked by the enemy, an immediate change from marching column to line formation for defense was necessary.

But the transformation of a large corps’ column would inevitably take a great deal of time.

Since the Russian Army started adopting the “delay and evade” tactic, Kosciuszko’s corps’ marching speed had been reduced by about half.

Calculating silently, East Brovsky also appeared grave, “Yes, we could only reach as far as Kaluga. It seems we must find a way to engage the Russian main force in a decisive battle.”

“No, that would just anchor us here to death.”

“But our goal is Moscow, are we just going to watch our plan fail?”

Kosciuszko shook his head, “No, our goal was never Moscow.”

“What did you say?”

“It was decided upon at that military meeting in Paris,” Kosciuszko explained, “the Crown Prince had foreseen that we might encounter this situation.”

A Lieutenant Colonel of the infantry rode up to Kosciuszko and saluted, “General, the Russian Army in the city has been fully cleared out. What should we do next?”

“Take all the food and ammunition we can find.”

Kosciuszko looked towards the distant City Hall building and ordered, “Burn down all the municipal buildings, banks, warehouses, workshops.”

The essence of war is destruction, not allowing the slightest bit of mercy.

Only by maximizing damage to the enemy can we better protect ourselves.

Especially since Russia had already brought great disaster to Poland, Kosciuszko would not be soft-hearted towards them.

In fact, if the Polish Army could afford to stay here longer, he would have liked to burn down the shops and mansions as well.

But without advance preparation, starting fires was not simple; thus, they could only target the most critical things for destruction.

“Yes, General!”

Once the Lieutenant Colonel had left, an impatient East Brovsky asked, “What then is our real target?”

To keep the mission deep into Russia confidential, only the commander-in-chief Kosciuszko and a few staff members knew the detailed plan.

Kosciuszko raised his hand towards the south, calmly stating, “Crimea.”

Indeed, from the very beginning, Joseph knew it was nearly impossible for less than twenty thousand Polish troops to threaten Moscow.

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Even Napoleon in his heyday needed hundreds of thousands of troops to attempt such an endeavor.

His target had always been the “southern gate” of Russia – Crimea.

Without Crimea, Russia would lose control of the Black Sea, thereby missing out on the vast Mediterranean trade.

Every Tsar, given the means, had put forth relentless effort to utilize troops in that area.

And Catherine II had also spent immense wealth and lost tens of thousands of troops to snatch this strategic location from the Ottoman Empire.

In terms of importance to the Empire, Crimea was not much less significant than Moscow.

This was also why Russia plunged into a decades-long decline immediately after losing the Crimean War to the Allied Forces of the British, French, and Ottoman Empires, half a century later.

East Brovsky immediately frowned, “We are a good 600 miles away from Crimea, and our food is simply insufficient for such a journey.

“Moreover, there is the Kursk Fortress in between. What you proposed is a plan that cannot be realized!”

“If even you think it’s impossible, then the enemy would be even less likely to expect it,” Kosciuszko said, “the Crown Prince will take care of our logistical supply issues. He’s assured me of that.

“As for Kursk Fortress, the Russians would never expect us to suddenly head south, so their defenses there are bound to be slack.

“We can take it down. And we must!”

Taking a deep breath, East Brovsky nodded, “Alright, if you’re determined to be mad, then I’ll join in your madness this once. For Poland!”

“For Poland!”

At twilight, the burning Bryansk became a torch on the plains, lighting the way for the Polish soldiers as they marched south.

Kosciuszko looked back eastward with deep regret, “The Russians reacted too quickly, otherwise per the original plan, we would have had the chance to destroy Kaluga.”

“Bryansk has already caused them heavy losses,” East Brovsky remarked, then remembering something, he turned and asked, “By the way, why didn’t we head straight south from Mozhili, instead of making this detour to the north bank of the Ok River?”

Kosciuszko smiled, “That’s the brilliance of this plan.

“I bet, right now, all of Russia’s troops are moving towards Moscow.

“If we’re lucky, even a large portion of the Kursk garrison will be drawn away.

“And if we had headed directly south, we would have faced layers of Russian encirclement, similar to our current situation. We certainly can’t head north to Moscow then?”

They both laughed together.

It was as though their expedition was not one towards certain death, but rather to a long-anticipated banquet.

The next day, Morco, responsible for containing the Kosciuszko Army, suddenly lost track of the Polish forces.

In the Russian temporary headquarters, Morco, frowning at the map, suddenly slapped the location of Moscow.

“No matter what tricks they used, their ultimate goal must be Moscow.”

He instructed the Order Officer, “Have Vasnetsov send three regiments back to defend Moscow. All the other corps converge on Kaluga, trying to intercept the Poles there.

“Also, send someone to urge the troops from Saratov to hasten their march.”

“Yes, General!”