Operations of the corps of general Dwernicki against the Russian
corps under the prince of Wirtemberg, in the Palatinate of
Lublin.--Battle of Pulawy, and defeat of Wirtemberg.--Atrocities
of that prince at Pulawy.--Pursuit of the enemy.--Battle of Kurow,
and annihilation of Wirtemberg's corps.--Operations of colonel
Valentin, between Modlin and Pultusk.--A detachment of the enemy
is surprised at Nasielsk.--Transports of provisions for the enemy
from Prussia taken.--Successful skirmishes.--Marshal Diebitsch
demands the capitulation of the fortress of Modlin. Reply of colonel
Leduchowski.--A detachment from the garrison of Modlin attacks and
defeats a Russian force at Serock.--General Skrzynecki makes an
offer of pacification on the basis of the concessions originally
demanded by the Poles.--This proposition is rejected and hostilities
are recommenced.--Reconnoissance upon the right bank of the Vistula
under Jankowski and Gielgud.--A Russian corps under general Witt is
sent against Dwernicki.--General Uminski is sent against the Russian
guard.--First encounter.--The Russian guard is compelled to leave
their position for Ostrolenka.--The guard evacuates Ostrolenka to join
the grand army.
On the day after the battle of Grochow, colonel Lagowski fought with
success at Pulawy, at the head of a detachment from the corps of
general Dwernicki. The details of that combat are as follows:
COMBAT OF PULAWA. [_See Plan_ XIII.]
The prince of Wirtemberg, having been beaten, as the reader has seen,
by general Dwernicki at Swierza and Nowawies, was forced to retreat
rapidly in the direction of Pulawy, and to repass the Vistula, opposite
that place. The ice of the river was, fortunately for him, still strong
enough to admit of a passage upon its surface; but notwithstanding
this advantage, he had been pursued by Dwernicki so closely, through
the whole of his line of retreat, that he daily lost great numbers
of prisoners. It was on the night of the 23d of February, that this
passage was made by the Russians, and Pulawy occupied by them. As the
position of that place was strong and commanding, general Dwernicki
did not think it expedient to attack the enemy in front, who, although
beaten, were still superior in force. He conceived the plan of passing
the Vistula, at a point at some distance below Pulawy, and of making
an attack upon the Russian right wing. On the evening of the 26th,
the brave colonel Lagowski, with 500 infantry and two squadrons of
cavalry, passed the Vistula (_p_). On reaching the opposite side of
the river, he threw himself into the forests which surround Pulawy.
The position of Lagowski would have been critical, if the Russians had
obtained intelligence of this manoeuvre; but they had no suspicions of
it. Colonel Lagowski, expecting that general Dwernicki would soon make
a demonstration in front, left the forest, and approached the town,
keeping up a brisk fire of skirmishers (_a_). The Russians, surprised
by this attack, directed against it as strong a fire of artillery
(_f_) and infantry (_d_) as its suddenness would allow; but our light
troops succeeded in approaching the town, and getting possession of
several houses, keeping up a continued fire. The two squadrons of
cavalry (_b_) which had been sent to attack the enemy in his rear,
threw themselves upon him at the same time, with great impetuosity. The
consternation of the Russians became general, the greatest disorder
soon followed, and a retreat was commenced, which was attended with the
loss of several hundred men and horses, and four pieces of artillery.
The enemy, in evacuating the town, set it on fire, to complete the
barbarities which they had been practising. Pulawy, a spot one of the
most favored of nature, and perhaps presenting one of the finest scenes
in Europe, was soon a mass of ruins, the sight of which filled the
bosom of every Pole with regret and horror. Those ruins, such indeed
as the whole country is now filled with, evidences of the horrible
barbarity of the Russians, in recalling to the minds of the Poles the
lost beauty and magnificence of their country, will be a pledge of
their eternal hatred of the despotism which authorized those ravages.
[Illustration:
XIV. _p.180_.]
[Illustration:
_Pulawy_ XIII. _p.178_.]
[Illustration:
_Kurow_ XV]
The Russians had gained already a considerable distance from Pulawy,
before the corps of general Dwernicki approached it, and, of course,
the whole glory of that defeat is due to colonel Lagowski.[45]
The corps of general Dwernicki, after a short repose at Pulawy, renewed
the pursuit of the enemy on that night. In every part of their route
the enemy's stragglers were continually falling into their hands. This
corps overtook the enemy so soon, that in order to save himself from
total destruction, he was forced to give battle.
BATTLE OF KUROW. (_See Plans_ XIV _and_ XV.)
General Dwernicki, in his pursuit of Wirtemberg, had the intention
of effecting the destruction of this corps before they could reach
Lublin. To accomplish this object, he took advantage of the two roads
(_g_, _g_) which lead from Pulawy to Lublin (1). Remaining himself with
the greater part of his forces (_a_) upon the causeway which leads to
Lublin by Konskawola (2), Kurow (3), and Markuszew (4), he sent a small
detachment (_b_) with two pieces of cannon by the other and smaller
road, which, traversing the forest between Belzyc and Pulawy, presents
a shorter and more direct route to Lublin. This road had not been
occupied by the enemy. Colonel Lagowski, who commanded this detachment,
had instructions to follow out this road, and to keep up a constant
communication with the superior force under general Dwernicki. He was
ordered to keep himself constantly abreast of the enemy (_d_). At the
moment that he should hear the fire of our cannon, he was directed to
hasten to the attack of the enemy on his left wing, or on his rear, as
circumstances might direct. This manoeuvre was executed with the utmost
punctuality. The enemy pressed in upon the causeway by the larger body
under Dwernicki, and thus forced to give battle, took a position upon
the heights of the town of Kurow, in doing which, his consternation or
his inconsiderateness was such, that he neglected the ordinary means of
security, and did not occupy the roads which centre at that place, not
even that which it was of the utmost importance for him to occupy,--the
one which leads from Belzyc to Pulawy; in fact, he had even neglected
to send out reconnoissances on any side, supposing that our entire
force was before him on the causeway. This battle commenced on the
afternoon of the 2d of March, and continued only a few hours.
General Dwernicki, after reconnoitering the enemy's position, which
was commanding, and strengthened in its front by sixteen pieces of
cannon [(_f_), _Pl._ XV,] thought it expedient to commence with a
fire of skirmishers only (_a_), under cover of which he manoeuvred
his cavalry (_b_) upon the Russian wings, with the sole purpose of
occupying the attention of the enemy until the detachment of colonel
Lagowski should make its appearance. The enemy, on the other hand,
commenced a warm fire from his artillery, and threw forward his light
troops (_d_) in every direction. Some hours passed in this manner,
the enemy attempting from time to time to force our position. But the
hour of his destruction was approaching. General Dwernicki perceiving,
from an elevation of ground, the detachment of Lagowski (A) advancing
upon the enemy's rear, instantaneously gave orders for the cavalry to
concentrate themselves. The signal for advance was then given, and the
cavalry having formed on each side of the main road, pressed forward
and fell upon the centre of the enemy. At the same moment, a charge was
made by the cavalry of Lagowski upon the enemy's rear. The disorder and
consternation of the Russian forces was indescribable. In a moment ten
pieces of cannon, a thousand prisoners, some hundreds of horses, with
many wagons of ammunition and baggage, fell into our hands. The route
was general. The enemy fled pell-mell, and his loss was much increased
by a fire of grape from the two pieces of artillery of colonel
Lagowski, which he placed by the side of the road from Kurow to Lublin,
over which the Russians retreated. This road was literally covered with
dead. Nothing but the coming on of night saved the enemy from entire
destruction. After this battle, the forces of the prince of Wirtemberg
ceased to act as a corps. What remained of them, took the direction
of Lublin, where the corps of general Dwernicki arrived the next day,
having taken prisoners during the whole route. The prince of Wirtemberg
barely escaped from our hands, for he was in quarters in that city
when our advanced detachments entered it, and was just able to save
himself by flight. Such was the end of this Russian corps, which,
when it began to act against Dwernicki with his small force of 3,000
men, and ten pieces of cannon, consisted of 15,000 infantry and 24
pieces of cannon. In the course of eleven days, general Dwernicki gave
battle to this corps four separate times, viz. at Swierza, Nowawies,
Pulawy, and Kurow; and besides the loss he caused them in killed and
wounded, he took 8,000 prisoners, 19 pieces of cannon, besides 1,000
horses, with a great quantity of ammunition, baggage, &c. In all these
actions the corps of general Dwernicki lost but 500 men, in killed and
wounded. The panic which had began to prevail in the Russian forces, in
consequence of these disasters, reached such a degree that, at times,
the mere sight of our troops was sufficient to put them to flight. The
Russian commander in chief deprived the prince of Wirtemberg of his
post, and his name was not heard of during the rest of the war.
General Dwernicki, by his victories over this corps, had completely
freed the department of Lublin from the presence of the enemy.
On arriving at Lublin, he restored the authority of the National
Government in that place, and the region about. He made the necessary
arrangements for reinforcing his corps, and left for Krasny-taw, in the
environs of Zamosc.
While these successful operations of general Dwernicki, in the southern
part of the kingdom, were in progress, and by this series of victories,
he was approaching the frontiers of Wolhynia and Podolia, our arms were
not less successful in the North.
The brave colonel Valentin, with a small detachment of partizans,
fought the enemy with success between Modlin and Pultusk. This
detachment was thrown into that region, (acting, however, more
particularly between the rivers Wkra and Orsyca,) in order to hold in
check the operations of the enemy upon Plock. This detachment was to
obtain succor, in case of necessity, from the garrisons of Modlin. It
was especially destined to intercept the transports which were to come
from Prussia upon the road to Mlara, for the relief of the Russian army.
Colonel Valentin was occupying with his detachment the forest near
the town of Nasielsk, when he was apprised that a small body of
Russian troops, under the order of colonel Schindler, consisting of
two regiments of cavalry, a battalion of infantry, and two pieces of
cannon, had arrived on the 3d of March, at that town. This detachment
had been sent to protect a transport which was to pass there. Colonel
Valentin immediately formed a plan to attack it. During the night of
the 3d and 4th of March, he approached the town, invested it, and
ordered an attack, in which the detachment surprised the enemy, and
forced him to quit the city, leaving his two pieces of artillery, and
a number of prisoners. Colonel Valentin, thinking that the Russians
might possibly return with a superior force, evacuated the city, and
took his prisoners to Modlin, in order, by disembarrasing himself of
them, to hasten his march and reach the environs of Pultusk, in time to
intercept the transport. On the 5th, he took this transport, consisting
of eighty vehicles loaded with various kinds of provision, together
with twelve loads of equipage, &c, for the Russian generals, which
he sent to Warsaw. The detachment of colonel Valentin continued to
manoeuvre for a long while in those environs without any support.
In the vicinity of Warsaw, along the banks of the Vistula, both above
and below the city, small skirmishes almost daily occurred. On the
fourth of March, the brave lieutenant Berowski, passing the Vistula
opposite Jablonna with his platoon, surprised a squadron of cossacks,
and took a hundred prisoners and as many horses. The battalion of
volunteer chasseurs of colonel Grotus, posted in the environs of the
villages Siekierki, and Wilanow, brought in, almost every day, parties
of Russian prisoners, by surprising the different detachments of the
enemy placed upon the island of Saxe, opposite to the above mentioned
places. This same battalion burnt two batteaux, in which were a party
of Russian troops, who were sent during the night with combustibles
to burn the bridge between Warsaw and Praga. These boats were sunk,
and the Russians who escaped drowning, were taken prisoners. In the
environs of the small town of Gora, about twenty miles from Warsaw,
a considerable body of workmen who were sent by the enemy to prepare
the materials for building a bridge, were surprised by a battalion
of the 2d regiment of light infantry. A hundred pioneers and sappers
were taken prisoners, and many hundred male and female peasants set at
liberty, who had been forced to work for the enemy.
At about the 8th of March, marshal Diebitsch demanded the capitulation
of the fortress of Modlin, for which object he despatched colonel Kil.
This officer was entrusted with a letter to the count Leduchowski,
written by the marshal's own hand. His proposition was rejected.[46]
Some days after this answer, a part of the garrison of this fortress,
sent as a reinforcement to colonel Valentin, surprised the Russians
in the town of Serock. They had passed the river Bug, and the Narew
opposite that town, to make requisitions of forage in the country
around. By a prompt arrangement, the batteaux of the enemy were taken
by our troops; and his forces, suddenly attacked and defeated, were
compelled to evacuate their position, leaving a thousand prisoners in
our hands, which were immediately carried to Modlin, and thence to
Warsaw.
In this state of things, and while circumstances were continually
occurring with uniform advantage to the Polish arms, general
Skrzynecki, with the most sincere wish to finish a bloody struggle,
and anxious to show that the Poles were always ready to hold out the
hand of reconciliation, wrote, with the permission of the provisional
government, a communication to marshal Diebitsch, with propositions of
that purport. But as these offers of conciliation were rejected by the
marshal, the contest was recommenced.[47]
On the 10th of March, the operations of the campaign were recommenced.
The 2d division, the command of which, after the death of general
Zimirski, was given to general Gielgud, and a division of cavalry,
under the command of general Jankowski, received orders to make a
strong reconnoissance upon the right bank of the Vistula. This division
was ordered to pass the bridge in the night, and at break of day to
commence the attack upon whatever force of the enemy they might find
on the plains of Grochow or Kawenczyn, and, by this manoeuvre, to
harass the right wing of the enemy. But general Jankowski arrived
late. It was near eight o'clock, A.M. before he approached with his
division, at which time the two divisions united left Praga to commence
their attack, but this operation being thus retarded, could not be
made effective. The enemy, seeing our movement, had time to prepare
themselves to counteract it. Our forces having advanced a mile or two
upon the main road, commenced a fire of tirailleurs, and the enemy
began to retire. As it was designed to act upon Kawenczyn, a battalion
was sent to attempt an attack on the forest of elders, well known
to the reader; but as the enemy was quite strong at that point, and
particularly in artillery, a fire from which was immediately opened
upon our force, the attack was not made, and our battalion was ordered
to withdraw. The Russians, at about mid-day, began to show a stronger
force upon the plains of Wawr. Their artillery, also, opened a fire
upon the main road. This fire had continued an hour, when our generals,
not perceiving that the artillery was protected by cavalry, decided
to make a charge upon them with the regiment of Mazurs, and the 3d
regiment of light cavalry. This brigade of cavalry, under the command
of the brave colonels Blendowski and Miller, threw themselves with
courage upon that artillery, when, at the moment of the charge, two
regiments of Attaman Cossacks, which were posted in a wood adjoining,
displayed their front, and advanced to charge our cavalry upon the
flank and rear. Our attack therefore failed, and it was owing to good
fortune alone that by a rapid bending of our flank, this body of
cavalry was saved from total ruin. This unfortunate affair cost us a
heavy loss of men, and of both of the brave colonels who commanded the
attack. At about 2, P.M. as the enemy began to debouch from the great
forest with increased forces, it was decided to return to Warsaw, and
thus ended this reconnoissance, which had it been executed by more
skilful generals, might have had the best success, for all the Russian
regiments which had advanced towards Praga, at a considerable distance
from their main forces, might have been taken. A reprimand was publicly
given to the two generals, Gielgud and Jankowski, for their remissness
in executing their instructions. The only advantage which was gained by
this reconnoissance, was the taking of a great quantity of fascines and
other materials prepared for a storm of Praga, and the collection from
off the field of a considerable quantity of arms, which had been left
there by the enemy, after the battle of the 25th.[48]
The Russian commander having, as the reader is aware, lost nearly the
whole of the corps of the prince Wirtemberg, the remnants of which was
dispersed and had wholly ceased active operations, sent against general
Dwernicki the corps of general Witt, composed of 8,000 infantry, 2,000
cavalry, and 16 pieces of cannon. This corps arrived on the 11th at
Lublin, in which town was a small detachment of Dwernicki's corps,
commanded by the colonel Russyian. This small detachment, having only
barricaded a few streets, defended with much firmness the passage of
the small river Bystrzyca, and left the city at nightfall to rejoin its
corps, which was in the environs of Zamosc.
Again the corps of the Russian guard, which had recently arrived, under
the command of prince Michael, consisting of 16,000 infantry, 4,000
cavalry, and 36 pieces of cannon, a division of cavalry, with eight
pieces of cannon, was sent into the environs of Pultusk, commanded by
general Uminski, who was to take under his command the detachment of
colonel Valentin, and acting in concert with the garrison of Modlin,
he was to occupy the attention of the enemy, in order that our main
body should not be disturbed in the offensive operations which general
Skrzynecki had decided to adopt.
General Uminski arriving with his corps, met an advanced detachment of
the Russian guard in the environs of Makow, composed of two regiments
of hussars and eight pieces of cannon, who were sent forward as a
party of observation in that vicinity. This was the first encounter
with this celebrated guard. Our cavalry waited impatiently for the
moment to try their strength with them. Two young regiments, one a
regiment of Krakus of Podlasia, and the other the 5th Hulans, entreated
their general to be permitted to make the charge. General Uminski
observing that there was no stronger force near, ordered an immediate
attack.
Our cavalry, on receiving the order, did not even give the enemy time
to display his front, or to make use of his artillery; but rushed
upon him with an impetuous charge, under which he was at once borne
down. Of one regiment of those hussars nearly a squadron were taken
prisoners. This Russian cavalry, which were in full rout, were pursued
as far as the environs of Magnuszewo. The enemy was not permitted
to take position, and the pursuit was pressed with such rapidity,
that they had not time to destroy the bridge which crosses the river
Orsyca, but were followed even to the environs of Rozany, where they
reached the position of their main body. General Uminski, in order
not to expose his force to the observation of the enemy, halted in
an advantageous position in the forests near Rozany, and from this
position he continued to hold the enemy in check. In fact, by harassing
and wearying the enemy with continual attacks, he at length forced the
prince Michael to quit Rozany, taking the direction of Ostrolenka.
General Uminski sent in pursuit of the enemy the brigade of cavalry
under the command of colonel Dembinski. This brigade, opposite
Ostrolenka upon the Narew, had on the 26th of March an advantageous
affair with the advanced guard of the enemy, in which forty prisoners
were taken. By closely observing the enemy in this manner, it was
ascertained that the Russian guard, after destroying the bridge, had
completely evacuated Ostrolenka. It was evident that the design of
prince Michael, in this sudden evacuation of Ostrolenka, was to join
himself to the grand army. General Uminski immediately sent an officer
to inform the commander in chief of this movement, continuing in the
mean time in the position which he had taken before Ostrolenka.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 45: General Dwernicki, on arriving at Pulawy, regarded it as
his first duty to repair to the palace of the princess Czartoriski, the
estimable lady of the president of the National Senate, to offer his
services to her, and to assure her of safety. On entering the court,
the venerable Dwernicki and the officers who accompanied him, could
not restrain their tears at the sight of the ruins of that edifice,
so uselessly destroyed, to gratify the brutality of the prince of
Wirtemberg, who pushed his fury to such a degree, as to have directed a
fire of artillery against the central division of the palace, occupied
at that moment by the princess and her attendants. General Dwernicki
and his officers, struck by the melancholy scene before them, feared to
advance another step, in the dread of meeting even more horrible traces
of barbarity,--to find perhaps the princess and her suite the victims
of Russian cruelty. But what was their astonishment, when, on entering
the porch of the edifice, they were accosted by the princess, who with
a cheerful air exclaimed: 'Brave general, and officers! how happy am I,
that God has allowed me to greet my brave countrymen once more, before
my death.' Then giving her hand to general Dwernicki, and presenting
to him and his officers the ladies who were her attendants during the
whole of these horrible scenes, she continued, 'General, do not be
astonished to see us accoutred in the best garments which the Russians
have left to us; we have arrayed ourselves in our funeral attire,'--and
pointing to the holes with which the enemy's artillery had pierced
the walls, she added, 'Those marks will explain my language.' General
Dwernicki, struck with the heroism of the princess and her companions,
addressed her in the following terms:--'Madam, permit me, in the name
of the whole nation, to make to you the homage of my high admiration.
Brave indeed ought Poles to be, with mothers and sisters such as
these!' He then urged upon the princess the expediency of leaving
Pulawa, which might still be the scene of distressing events, and upon
this suggestion she departed under an escort furnished by general
Dwernicki, for her estates in Galicia.]
[Footnote 46: The reader will perhaps be gratified with a short
topographical description of this fortress, and some details of this
affair. The fortress of Modlin, which is in a pentagonal form, is
situated sixteen miles from Warsaw, upon the right bank of the Vistula,
at the junction of the Narew with the former river. Not far from this
fortress, the small river Wkra also joins the Narew. The fortress is
thus situated between three rivers. In addition to this peculiarity
of its situation in regard to the rivers, its commanding elevation
makes it a point of great strength. Opposite to it is the small town
of Nowy-dwor, but this town is so low that it is commanded by the
fortress, and it is besides too distant for the erection of batteries
by which the latter could be bombarded with success. This post is
very important in regard to tactics, and it is a key of position,
to protect, or to act upon, all operations between the Narew and
the Vistula. Marshal Diebitsch considering these circumstances, and
seeing that an open attack was scarcely possible, was led to attempt
negotiation. The letter sent by the marshal, was full of flattering
language in regard to the heroism of the Polish army. He permitted
himself, however, to say that it was to be regretted that such a
degree of heroism was not exhibited in a better cause--that the brave
Polish army was made a sacrifice of, by some ambitious and opinionated
men, who had forgotten their duties to their monarch, and their oaths
of fidelity. From such men as those, he wished to distinguish the
count Leduchowski, for whom he had the highest esteem, and who, he
was convinced, had no desire to continue a useless expenditure of
blood, and would willingly surrender the fortress to the troops of his
legitimate monarch. To all this, marshal Diebitsch added the assurance
that the fortress should be garrisoned by equal bodies of Russian and
Polish troops. Colonel Leduchowski made a reply to this complimentary
communication in nearly the following terms:--'Marshal, to your letter,
in which you have chosen to flatter the valor of my countrymen, and in
which you have honored me, in particular, with your attentions, I have
the honor to answer, that I cannot better deserve your good opinion,
than in defending, with my compatriots, our beloved country to the last
drop of my blood. This is the course which the honor of each brave Pole
dictates to him.']
[Footnote 47: This letter, written at the moment when our army was
victorious, and when a revolution, ready to break out in all the Polish
provinces attached to Russia, made the position of the Russian army
extremely dangerous, was couched in most conciliatory terms, having
for its sole object the termination of a fraternal struggle. In this
letter, the generalissimo sought to convince marshal Diebitsch, that
this was not a war undertaken on our part at the instigation of a few
individuals, but that it was espoused by the whole nation, and that
the people were forced to take up arms by the enormity of those acts
of tyranny, which were not perhaps even known to the monarch. He urged
him to consider the amount of blood which had been already shed, and
the indefinite prolongation to which such a struggle might be extended.
He urged him also, to make known these representations to the monarch,
and to invite him to lay aside all enmity, to visit and hear in person
the complaints of the nation, who would receive him with sincerity, and
who demanded of him only the confirmation and observance of the rights
granted by the constitution, and the extension of the same rights to
our brethren in the Russo-Polish provinces. What an opportunity was
here presented to the Emperor Nicholas to act with magnanimity, and to
extend a conciliatory hand to the Polish nation! Those letters will be
an eternal testimony, that the Poles attempted every amicable means, to
establish upon an equal basis their own happiness and civilization, and
that of the whole north, and that all the responsibility of the bloody
struggle which was continued, rests on the side of despotism.]
[Footnote 48: The following particulars will demonstrate to the reader
how much even the enemy appreciated Polish courage and devotedness.
After this affair, our generalissimo, regretting much the loss of the
brave colonel Blendowski, who had fallen in his wounded state into the
enemy's hands, sent a flag to general Giesmar, the commander of the
Russian advanced guard, to propose an exchange, if colonel Blendowski
was still living, and if dead, to request that his body might be given
up. At the moment that the officer bearing the flag, with a party of
lancers, arrived at the Russian quarters, he saw a body of Russians
with general Giesmar, and his suite at their side, bearing a wounded
officer, and advancing towards them. Our officer, as they approached,
recognized colonel Blendowski in the wounded officer, and announced
to general Giesmar that it was to obtain him that he had been sent.
On receiving this communication, general Giesmar replied, 'You see,
sir, that I had anticipated your object. Make my intentions known to
your commander, and let him know how much I honor Polish heroism.'
This general took part, with his own hand, in all the arrangements for
transferring the wounded officer, and two of his suite were among those
who bore his body.]