Chapter 725 The final showdown (recommended above, please read it)
“Bang, bang——”
A few cannonballs flew from the top of the city, and scattered into dozens on the way. An iron ball the size of a goose egg instantly swept across the Polish artillery position under the city.
Shvihzic heard a cannonball passing over his head, and the sound of the iron ball rubbing against the air stung his ears.
But he did not move at all. He just confirmed the loss of the artillery as quickly as possible and shouted loudly to the herald behind him:
"The igniter of the No. 2 gun, the gunner and loader of the No. 4 gun, the No. 5 gun..."
As the herald conveyed the order to the rear, several reserve artillerymen immediately stepped forward.
In fact, even Colonel Shvehcicz had a backup - if he was shot, Lieutenant Colonel Dorlan would step forward and take his place.
However, the cannon must not retreat even half an inch!
In this way, when the 24-pounder gun fired its 27th shell, and soldiers' corpses were lying around it, a section of the east side of Bakhchisarai city finally collapsed.
A relieved smile flashed in Shvihzic's eyes, he turned around and waved to the herald.
No need for him to say anything, the battle arrangements had been made long ago, and the sound of military drums soon sounded all around.
“Come on!”
“For the motherland!”
“Kill the Russian bastards!”
Thousands of Polish infantry roared loudly, like angry beasts, facing the sky full of bullets and artillery shells, and ran towards the gap in the city wall.
Trunikov also hurriedly ordered the Russian army to rush there to defend.
The two sides soon stood in front of the gap that only allowed four or five people to pass side by side, cursing loudly and shooting at each other.
But it only lasted 3 minutes before the Russians were pressed and began to retreat.
At this moment, gunfire suddenly erupted from behind the Russian soldiers blocking the gap. Three or four Russians were immediately shot in the back and fell to the ground.
Dozens of rebels in the city shouted Ottoman, hid behind houses or trees, and fired at them continuously.
The Russian army subconsciously turned around and counterattacked. A dozen Polish soldiers who were closest immediately seized this opportunity and jumped in through the gap in the city wall...
Not long after, the city The Russian artillery overhead stopped firing one after another.
The Polish artillerymen looked at each other, let out bursts of cheers, then nailed the gun door in twos and twos, pushed the cannon down, picked up their flintlock guns, and rushed towards the gap in the city wall, shouting.
At around two o'clock in the afternoon, Trunikov took the remaining 400 or so Russian soldiers and a dozen Russian officials to abandon the city and fled south.
Shvehchits and his brave soldiers defeated Bakhchisarai in only 7 and a half hours.
Shvekhzits looked around at the former capital of the Crimean Khanate. He was discussing with his staff how to cause the greatest damage here in the shortest time, when he suddenly saw a sudden appearance in the north of the city. Thick black smoke arose.
Soon, an officer reported to him that it was Ottoman resistance men who were slaughtering Russian nobles and setting fire to their houses.
Shvihzic was stunned for a moment, then smiled, turned to his staff and said:
"Yes, it is most appropriate to leave the sabotage work to the Ottomans."
Although most of the residents of Crimea are Cossacks from southern Russia, the Ottomans have ruled here for hundreds of years. Although they are small in number, they have the pride of their superiors.
But since Potemkin led his army to occupy Crimea, the Ottomans have become a discriminated inferior nation.
Right now, there are no Russian troops stationed in the city. The anger they had accumulated for nearly ten years burst out immediately.
Shvihzic thought for a moment and said to his staff:
"Let the soldiers rest as soon as possible. We will set off early tomorrow morning."
"Yes, Mr. Battalion Commander." The latter nodded and asked, "Are we going to reinforce General Kosciuszko?"
"No," Shvehcicz raised his head and looked east. "I believe that if the general knew the situation here, he would definitely He doesn’t want us to reinforce him. Let’s go to the port of Kaffa!”
Kaffa is the easternmost port of Crimea and is responsible for the transit between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. The most important place besides Bakhchisarai.
Early the next morning, 1,700 Polish soldiers lined up neatly and walked eastward under the light of fire in the city of Bakhchisaray.
......"Pay attention to the spacing between queues!"
Accompanied by the sound of the gurgling water of the Salgir River, Polish officers were making final adjustments to the infantry line.
The two lines were arrayed close to the west bank of the river, and the Sargir River was less than 200 steps behind them.
Kosciuszko deployed his troops here not to engage in a "last-ditch battle" to boost morale - there is no doubt about the morale of soldiers who can go deep into Russia with him - but to prevent the Russian army from taking advantage of its numerical advantage. Outflank from behind.
He is going to have a head-on showdown with Kachowski here without any tricks.
After Kakhovsky suffered yesterday's loss, he was obviously a lot more cautious.
The Russian army advanced slowly and carefully, keeping a distance between the several legions that could support each other at any time. It was not until 10:30 in the morning that the Polish military flag on the riverside was finally seen.
The four Russian cannons roared first.
The artillery shells passed over the heads of the Polish skirmishers at the front of the battlefield, penetrated into the thin infantry lines, and suddenly raised large splashes of blood.
But the Polish infantry line was like a birch forest in the wind, standing straight on the spot. Even though the strong wind could break them, it could not move them at all.
After 20 minutes, the shelling stopped.
The Russian army launched a full-line offensive with two elite grenadier battalions as the core.
With the tentative exchange of fire between skirmishers, the two lines of gray and white infantry got closer and closer. The gray one is long and thick, the white one is short and thin.
Finally, when the two sides were about 70 steps apart, the Russian soldiers stopped under the command of the officer and raised their guns to aim.
"Shoot——"
Gunfire like firecrackers rang out immediately, and gunpowder smoke filled the entire battlefield.
More than 30 Poles on the opposite side fell in response, but the entire infantry line remained motionless. The soldiers only frowned slightly when the smoke drifted to their faces.
The Russian infantry line advanced again, fired volleys, and continued to advance...
Soon, the distance between the two sides was less than 40 steps, and the Poles held back 4 rounds. Nearly 300 soldiers were shot and killed in the volley, but they still did not move.
They are patient.
Waiting.
Waiting for the moment of revenge.
The Russian commander looked nervously at the silent Polish position, raised his hand and gave the order:
"Advance 7 steps!"
When the Russian soldiers marched on the drums After the drummer took five steps forward, the Pole suddenly moved.
Kosciuszko himself stood on horseback behind the infantry line, raised his sword, and shouted:
“Aim——”
The flintlock muskets on the entire infantry line Lift up with a "swish" sound.
"Shoot——"
The soldiers were silent and pulled the trigger.
Thousands of dark muzzles spurted flames almost simultaneously. The Russian infantry line on the opposite side felt as if it had been punched hard by an invisible giant, with flesh and blood flying all over the sky.
With just one salvo, the Polish bullets took away more than 300 Russian soldiers, making up for the previous losses.
(End of this chapter)