To these disasters of the two corps of Dwernicki and Sierawski, which were deeply felt by the nation, was now to be added the appearance of that horrible malady, the cholera, which after the battle of Iganie commenced its devastations in our ranks. On the night of that battle several hundreds of our troops fell sick. This terrible disease caused us, on the first few days, the loss of nearly 1,000 men; but if it was terrible with us, nothing can express the suffering it produced in the Russian camp, aided by the want of comfort in the arrangements of that camp, and the acid food upon which the Russian soldiers were habitually fed. Thousands of those wretched sufferers were left exposed to the open air, and died upon the field. The Poles took even more care of them than of their own sick. They were brought together, and transported to Menie, where there was a large convent, which was turned into an hospital for their use. The total number of those sufferers may be imagined, when it is stated, that, in that hospital and village alone, two thousand Russian sick were reported.
FOOTNOTES:
[55] This unfortunate and painful event should serve as an impressive example, which cannot be too often brought to mind, of what disastrous consequences may follow from the neglect of observing a constant communication between corps acting together, and, above all, the departing from orders which are given upon a general plan, the absolute control of which should belong to the general in chief. Had general Dwernicki, conforming to his instructions, acted only against the corps of Kreutz and Witt, and in concert with the corps of Sierawski, he would have been apprised of that general's quitting Kazimierz, and both of those two corps could have joined in the attack, in which they would have been aided by another corps which was to be sent, as the reader is aware, to act against the enemy's rear. If those corps of Kreutz and Witt had been defeated, immense advantages would have followed; indeed the war would have been over, for the Russian main army would have been taken in flank and rear, and, in fact, completely cut off.
The Russian commander resumes offensive operations.—Object of the attack of the 25th of April.—Combat of Kuflew.—General Dembinski evacuates the position of Kuflew and awaits the enemy at Bady.—Battle of Minsk.—The enemy suddenly evacuates his position.—Reflections on this stage of the conflict.—Positions of the two armies.
The Russian main army, which, since the last of March had been on the defensive, from weakness or from indecision, on the 23d of April began to change its position, and to take the offensive. Having received intelligence, as we may suppose, of the disasters of Sierawski, and also of the passage of general Dwernicki into Volhynia, general Diebitsch gave orders to the corps of Witt and Kreutz to pass the Wieprz at Kock, and to attack our detachment at Zelechow, which was forced to retire. On the same day, (23d) the brigade of colonel Dembinski was attacked at Jeruzalem, without any decisive result. Those small attacks by the enemy served, however, as an indication of the intention of general Diebitsch to take the offensive on a larger scale. To meet this intention, all our detachments received orders to hold themselves in readiness. Firstly, these detachments were to concentrate themselves upon a line of operations, between Kaluszyn, Siennica, and Zelechow. [The reader can refer to Plan VI.] The whole line, in case of attack, on whatever quarter it might be, was to make a retrograde movement, upon the same plan as heretofore, as far as the field of Wawr. General Pac, in particular, who was the farthest removed from Zelechow, was to use the utmost vigilance, and to make this retrograde movement in the promptest manner, when occasion required.
On the 25th of April, in fact, marshal Diebitsch commenced his attack at two principal points, Boimie and Kuflew. Upon the last of these two points, he threw his greatest force, intending to pierce our line there, and by a diversion at Minsk to divide our forces. Besides the prevention of this design, the defence of Kuflew was of the greatest importance to us from the circumstance that along the whole course of the river Swider, at Latowicz, Starygrod, &c., were posted various small detachments, which would have been cut off, if we should be forced to make a sudden evacuation of that point.
COMBAT OF KUFLEW. [See Plan XXIV.]