Kosciuszko's pupils suddenly contracted: "What did you say? That's impossible!"
He had been travelling from the north, with the Russian Army trailing far behind. How could the enemy suddenly appear on the southern side?
It should be known that he hadn't deployed any troops on the left flank.
The nearby staff officer said, "Could it be the Russian Army coming from Astrakhan?"
The Astrakhan Plain is located in the North Caucasus, where the Russian Caucasus Corps' main base Mozdok is situated.
Kosciuszko's expression froze.
He initially thought it would take the Caucasus Russian Army at least three months to reach the western front. But now, it's been just over two months since the Russians withdrew from Georgia.
He was unaware that Alexander I had ordered Good维奇 to reach Smolensk before March.
Thus the Caucasus Corps had been rushing tirelessly, losing nearly a quarter of their soldiers, only to hear halfway that the Polish Army was retreating to Novgorod-Seversky.
