Chapter 721 Kosciuszko’s counterattack
After a while, several Ottomans were brought before Kosciuszko.
To be precise, they came closer on their own initiative after seeing the flag of the Polish Eagle and Knights.
The leading Ottoman saluted the Polish commander and said in French: "I think the person in front of me should be the respected General Kosciuszko?"
The latter guessed a certain possibility and hurriedly bowed in return, also in French: "That's it. Who are you?"
"Kofanci Ozer." The Ottomans said, looking at the Polish army stretching to the end of the field of vision again, and exhaled, "You are finally here! We are the Crimean Resistance Army, bringing you of food and medicine.”
Kosciuszko was so ecstatic that his hands began to tremble slightly.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince indeed did not break his promise!
When he was about to fall into despair, he magically delivered supplies to the heart of Russia!
This army of mine will not die silently in this dense forest.
He brings hope to everyone!
Thank you, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!
May God bless him!
He subconsciously wanted to cross himself on his chest, but then he remembered the religious beliefs of the person in front of him, so he had to hang his hands on his chest and said excitedly: "It's so good!
"It's hard for you to deliver supplies to such a remote place, Mr. Ozer, thank you so much!"
He glanced at the convoy behind Ozer. Although six or seven carriages should not be able to carry much, at least the soldiers would be half full today.
"Are they on those cars?" he asked eagerly.
Ozer shook his head: "The car is loaded with wood, General. It is used to deal with Russian inquiries."
Kosciuszko was stunned: "Didn't you say that there is food and medicine?"
The Ottoman used a knife to open the corner of his clothes, took out a piece of paper and handed it to him: "Everything is here."
Kosciuszko unfolded the paper and found that it was a map of southwestern Russia, with a dozen red and blue dots drawn on it.
"This is?"
"The red dots are villages where supplies can be obtained," Ozer said. "The blue dots are the secret warehouses we have prepared. Things like ammunition and tents cannot be transported to the Russian hinterland. When we get to Crimea, we will Will try to get it to you ”
Only then did Kosciuszko notice that those points roughly coincided with his march route to Crimea.
He looked at Ozer with some surprise: "I thought you would command the baggage convoy to come, but I didn't expect..."
The latter waved his hand: "The logistics supplies for tens of thousands of troops require hundreds of large trucks to transport. The Russians are not fools. They will block so many things before they can be transported out of Kherson."
He motioned to the map: "This was the idea of the French friend.
"He asked us to transport the supplies provided by His Majesty the Sultan northward in batches in the name of trafficking in food starting a few months ago, and to build temporary warehouses along the way for storage.
"You know, there are a lot of people in the grain business and the Russians won't even notice."
"And from Kharkov to Yekaterinoslav there are few people, so there is no need to worry about those warehouses being discovered.
"When your army arrives, you can pick it up while walking along the way."
Kosciuszko and Dombrowski looked at each other with admiration in their eyes.
They had been guessing how the crown prince would deliver the supplies for the army, but they all thought it was an impossible task. Unexpectedly, they finally solved this problem cleverly by taking advantage of the extremely desolate characteristics of the Russian provinces along the way!
"Let's continue on our way." Ozer extended his arms to the south. "There are still more than 300 miles to Crimea. Oh, by the way, the nearest secret warehouse is four miles to the southwest. "I'm on the way I can also tell you about the Russian military deployment in Crimea..."
After 35 days.
Kosciuszko led 13,000 brave Polish soldiers to northern Crimea.
They spent Christmas in Yekaterinoslav, defeated the Russian defenders in Krasnoyarsk despite heavy snowfall, and overcame unimaginable difficulties. Finally, they pressed the muzzle against the Russian garrison. On the south gate.
In a dilapidated farmhouse, Ozer held an oil lamp and pointed at the city on the southwest side of Crimea on the map: "I can assure you, general, that there are only 1,300 Russian soldiers stationed in Bakhchisarai, and their morale is low.
"As long as you launch an attack, you can capture it in one day.
"And our people can still cooperate in the city, maybe not even for a day."
Since Crimea was occupied by Russia, the Ottomans who previously lived here have organized several resistance armies, and Ozer joined the largest one among them.
They have more than 200 armed personnel in the city of Bakhchisarai, but they are hoping every day that someone will give the Russians a little pain.
However, Kosciuszko smiled and shook his head: "If Bakhchisarai is lost, the Russians will become more patient and slowly organize a siege against us.
"But if the Bakhchisarai defenders keep sending people for help, the Russian army will definitely come as fast as possible for reinforcements. Only then will we have more opportunities.
"So, we have to give the Russians a little hope."
Three days later.
The Polish Royal Third Division began to attack Bakhchisaray.
After the Kursk Fortress was breached, the Russians had already judged the Poles' strategic intentions. However, due to the remote location of Crimea, no reinforcements could be mobilized nearby.
The Russian soldiers in the city were panic-stricken and once planned to open the city and surrender. It was not until Lieutenant Colonel Trunikov, who commanded the city defense, shot more than ten people in succession that the situation was barely stabilized.
However, after the battle began, something unexpected happened to the Russian army.
The seemingly massive Polish army projected little more firepower than the 1,300 Russian troops in the city.
Trunikov put down the telescope, excitedly pulled the staff aside and said: "The damn Poles must have run out of ammunition!"
The staff officer nodded and said: "Yes, sir, they fought fierce battles in Bryansk and Kursk, and they must not have received sufficient supplies."
Trunikov shouted excitedly: "Send more signal troops, quickly! As long as reinforcements arrive, we will definitely be able to hold on here!"
Sure enough, as he said, in the next ten days or so, the Bakhchisarai defenders and the Polish army fought back and forth. Trunikov even led the cavalry to attack several times and achieved some results.
Until, 4,000 Russian troops rushing from Moldavia, the western border of Russia and Turkey, were ambushed south of Hells.
Kosciuszko led 8,000 soldiers, defeated the supporting army in one afternoon, and captured thousands of Russians.
Afterwards, another 2,000 Russian troops from Tsaritsyn were completely wiped out by Kosciuszko when they were preparing to enter Bakhchisarai.
The news spread back to St. Petersburg, and all of Russia was shaken.
(End of chapter)