General Lubinski was then at Nur. This little town was at the same distance from Ostrolenka as Czyzew, but the communications with Ostrolenka were more difficult, Czyzew being on a principal road. The enemy, observing this circumstance, and taking it for granted that Lubinski was cut off from the main army, sent an aid-de-camp with a flag of truce to summon him to surrender.[60] This summons was rejected.
After the departure of the aid-de-camp, general Lubinski commenced his march, and, though it was practicable for him to reach Ostrolenka by a direct route, yet thinking it possible that Czyzew was not occupied by a very strong force, and that he might profit by the approach of night, he determined to march at once upon the latter place, and to attack the Russian advanced guard there. This bold thought was executed with perfect success. On reaching Czyzew he found two regiments of cavalry encamped, and wholly unprepared for an attack. They had not even an outer-guard upon the road to Nur. He made a charge which threw them into complete disorder, and compelled them to retreat with the loss of a great number in killed and wounded, and four to five hundred prisoners. It was to be regretted that the necessity under which general Lubinski was placed of reaching Ostrolenka as soon as possible, did not permit him to profit farther by these advantages.
On the next day, (the 25th) the rear-guard of our main army, consisting of the brigade of general Wengierski, was attacked at mid-day by the Russians, on the side of Zambrowo, near Kleczkowo (20), a village situated at the distance of three leagues from Ostrolenka, on the left bank of the Narew. General Diebitsch, being under the conviction that he had encountered the whole Polish force at Kleczkowo, consolidated his strength there, and determined to come to action, and, by so doing, give time for another corps to advance in the direction of Czyzew, and occupy Ostrolenka, by which movement he trusted that our army would be cut off from Warsaw, and forced to retire to Lomza. The Russian commander, presuming on the celerity of his movements, was so confident of meeting our whole army at this point, that nothing could exceed his surprise on learning that our army had already passed the town, and that it was only the rear-guard which was before him.[61] In order to lose no time, he commenced an immediate attack on the rear-guard thus posted at Kleczkowo. Our general in chief who was then at Troszyn, on hearing the fire of the Russians at Kleczkowo, immediately repaired thither, and profiting by the fine position of that place, which commanded the marshy plain on the side of the enemy, passable only by a dyke, the bridge over which had been demolished by our troops, ordered general Wengierski to sustain himself in that position until night. In vain the Russian cavalry and infantry attempted to pass this dyke. At each approach they were uniformly driven back by a destructive fire of grape from our artillery. In vain were sixteen pieces of their artillery employed to silence this fire; our position was too commanding to be affected by them.
The brigade of general Wengierski having held out in this position, with the greatest determination against a vastly superior force, for nine hours, left the place at night in the greatest order, and followed the main army. On the next day, the 26th of May, our army (h) evacuated Ostrolenka, passed the river Narew, and took, upon the right bank of that river, opposite to Ostrolenka, a new position,[62] leaving the bridge partly destroyed, but in such a state that the Russian infantry might pass it slowly. Not long after we had occupied our position, the enemy commenced debouching over this bridge.
BATTLE OF OSTROLENKA. [See Plan XXX.]
The battle of Ostrolenka, which cost us the lives of two brave generals, Kicki, and Henry Kaminski, was, in point of tactics, simply the passage of the river. We may presume that the intention of general Diebitsch was, by passing the Narew at this point, to send at the same time a corps to Serock, in order to cut off our army, and place it between two fires. At 11 o'clock, the Russian infantry (a) under the protection of a most terrible fire from fifty-four pieces of artillery, (b) placed in a very strong position on the left bank of the Narew, commenced, as we have said, the passage of the river. General Skrzynecki, not wishing absolutely to prevent this passage, placed but sixteen cannon in advantageous positions, on slight elevations of ground, (d) designed to prevent the repairing of the bridge, and the consequent rapid passage of the enemy's infantry. The powerful Russian artillery attempted, without success, to silence these few pieces. Their fire was equally harmless to the main army (A); for the latter was withdrawn to an advantageous position. Our artillery, on the other hand, was used with great effect, being brought to bear directly upon the bridge. During these operations, the advanced guard, with all the baggage and ammunition of the army, received the order to take up the march towards Warsaw.
At 3 o'clock, our artillery received orders to evacuate their position, and the skirmishers (e) were ordered to advance. On the cessation of the fire of the artillery, the light troops commenced a warm fire upon the columns of Russian infantry, which had already passed the bridge. The enemy, profiting by the withdrawal of our artillery, commenced repairing the bridge, to afford a passage for large masses of infantry, and artillery. A strong Russian column (f), after passing the bridge, took a direction to the left, to throw itself into the forest which borders on the Narew, at the distance of a quarter of a league from the bridge; and by occupying that forest and the communications which traverse it, they thought to commence an attack upon our right wing. To have permitted this would have much deranged our dispositions. The Polish commander, observing that a great body of the Russian infantry had already passed the bridge, and that this strong column had been sent to occupy the forest, ordered general Lubinski to send forward a brigade of cavalry (g), to charge upon this column, on its march, and at the same time ordered general Kaminski, with a division of infantry, to make a charge upon the Russian infantry near the bridge. These two attacks were executed with great promptness and spirit, and were successful. The column which the cavalry attacked on its march to the forest, was dispersed with the loss of more than a hundred men left on the field. The attack of the division of general Kaminski was equally fortunate. The Russian columns, on receiving his charge, fell back upon the bridge, or concealed themselves under the banks of the river. These two attacks cost us the lives of the two generals, Kaminski and Kicki, who threw themselves upon the enemy, at the head of their respective columns. Their loss was deeply regretted by the army and the nation.
Although the result of these attacks was favorable to us, yet, the general in chief, considering the terribly destructive fire of the Russian artillery, which commanded the whole plain near the bridge, decided that the repetition of them would cost us too severe a loss, and commanded both the cavalry and infantry to withdraw to their former position, and to cease firing.