Chapter 721 Defending the Motherland with Life

Chapter 722 Defending the Motherland with Life

Catherine II took a deep breath, looked at the officers standing around her, and said calmly: "So, which army is closest to Crimea?"

Zubov said without hesitation: "Mozyr's Morkov Army..."

Everyone instantly cast a knife-like look at him.

Marshal Repnin interrupted him and said: "Your Majesty, the Saratov Army turned south a week ago and may reach Crimea in a month and a half."

The Tsar glanced at him and his voice began to become cold: "One and a half months. Very good, then tell me, can Bakhchisarai hold out for a month and a half?"

Repnin bowed his head and remained silent.

He knew that the Polish army in Crimea could even take down the Kursk Fortress. Even if there was a lack of supplies at the moment, Bakhchisarai would never be able to stop them for so long.

Catherine II slapped the table with her fat hand and looked around again: "Who can tell me who should be sent now to deal with those Poles?"

Marshal Rumyantsev stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, perhaps Count Zubov is right. The safest way at the moment is to transfer the Morkov Corps to the south. If it marches quickly, it will only take 20 days to reach Bakhchisaray."

Catherine II suddenly seemed to be unable to suppress her anger. She stood up suddenly, supported her hands on the table, and roared: "Shame! It's a shame for the empire!

"A Polish army of just over 10,000 people can come and go freely in our country! Now Crimea is almost destroyed!"

"You were here two months ago, and you told me not to pay attention to these Poles, they would starve to death.

"What about now?

"Not only did they not starve to death, they also went hundreds of miles deep and besieged Bakhchisaray! "

She looked at Zubov and gritted her teeth and said, "Arrest Korezhnikov immediately. This useless thing!"

She turned to Rumyantsev again: "Is there no other way?"

There was a silence in the room.

Catherine II sat back in her chair, waved her hand, and said dejectedly: "Just do as you said, transfer the Morkov Corps to Crimea.

"Send more people and let Kakhovsky command. Don't let me hear any bad news again."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Kakhovsky and Rumyantsev stood at attention at the same time and looked at each other helplessly.

They knew that in order to ensure safety, at least 30,000 soldiers had to be transferred from the Morkov Corps to the south.

In this way, there were less than 40,000 Russian troops left in the Mozyr direction.

And the Polish army opposite them had nearly 50,000.

Not to mention letting the Russian army continue to advance, the Poles may even organize a counterattack after gaining the advantage in manpower.

The original Polish strategy of a quick victory was obviously no longer feasible.

Given the current financial situation of the empire, it is very likely that it will not be able to support a protracted war.

The final outcome of the Russo-Polish War has become unpredictable.

…

25 days later.

Crimea.

The Polish Expeditionary Force Command Post.

Kosciuszko flipped through the compilation report in his hand and said to the staff: "Let these 300 people be commanded by Švihecic. Many of them have participated in the Russo-Turkish War and should be able to play a role."

Yes, during the time when he surrounded Bakhchisarai, local Ottomans came one after another to ask to join his army.

The total number exceeded 600. This was the result of Kosciuszko's careful selection, otherwise he could have put together an Ottoman legion of thousands of people.

At this moment, Dombrovsky pushed the door open, looked at the commander-in-chief with a serious expression, and said only one word: "Here we are."

Kościuszko nodded: "It's a few days later than I expected. How many people are there?"

"Nearly 30,000." Dombrovsky said, "The commander is Kakhovsky."

"Well, it seems that the Russians dare not underestimate us."

"Still follow the original plan?"

"Yes." Kościuszko stepped forward and patted the cavalry commander's arm, and smiled, "We have attracted the Russian army in Mozyr, which is considered a success.

"For the rest, let's do it. No matter how much we can achieve, it is God's gift to us."

Dombrovsky also laughed: "It's just that with so many enemies, I don't know if we can hold on for two days? "

According to their initial estimate, the Russian army would send at most 20,000 troops, but now there are so many more.

In fact, Kakhovsky transferred 35,000 troops from Mozyr to the south, but due to the rapid march, soldiers kept falling behind, and when they arrived in Crimea, there were less than 30,000 people left.

The Polish army immediately moved after receiving Kosciuszko's order.

Colonel Svyechets commanded 2,000 Polish soldiers and 600 Ottoman legions to continue to attack Bakhchisarai City - this time it will be a real fight, not just a show.

Kosciuszko He led 10,000 main forces to Simferopol in the central and western part of Crimea to intercept Kakhovsky's Russian army.

Yes, Kosciuszko knew very well that his troops could not return to Poland at all. What he had to do was to inflict as much damage to Russia as possible before being defeated by the enemy.

He gave Shvyechets two days to break through the city of Bakhchisarai and destroy it.

In other words, Kosciuszko needed to hold back the enemy army, which was three times his own, for two full days.

And the central part of Crimea was all plains, with no strategic location to defend.

We can only rely on face-to-face fighting to stop the enemy.

At noon that day, Kosciuszko had commanded the army to set up several infantry lines on the gentle slopes on the south side of Simferopol.

In the future, Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, is still just a small town for transferring supplies without any usable fortifications.

In less than an hour, the Russian vanguard appeared in their sight.

Kosciuszko rode past the soldiers without making any impassioned speeches, but raised his sword and shouted: "Defend the motherland with our lives!"

All Polish soldiers immediately straightened their chests and shouted loudly: "Defend the motherland with our lives!"

"Defend the motherland with our lives!"

From the moment they left Poland, all of them had no intention of going back alive.

This sentence has actually been imprinted in everyone's heart for a long time.

Now, just practice it.

Everything is so natural, but it burns like a flame in the chest!

At 3 pm, Kakhovsky took the lead in launching the attack.

Because the Russian army had marched all the way, they did not have more artillery than the Poles.

So after a brief exchange of fire, the Russians launched a frontal assault.

At the same time, relying on his huge military advantage, Kakhovsky also divided 7 infantry regiments to encircle the Polish army from both wings.

However, what Kakhovsky did not expect was that Kosciuszko was not prepared to defend to the death. The moment the Russian army began to move, Wang led the Third Division to attack from the front.

With a desperate mentality, accompanied by the sound of military drums, the Poles rushed to the center of the Russian army less than 60 steps away, like a cold machine.