Paskevich had only fifty thousand soldiers from Kiev at his disposal. The Moscow Legion was still on the way, and even once it arrived, it could not be thrown into the war at once.
At first, he thought this would be just like before: a siege, much like the Warsaw Uprising years ago.
But as soon as Paskevich reached Poland, he realized how naive he had been. Russian-controlled Poland was in a state of utter ruin, and launching an attack on Warsaw under those conditions was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Paskevich immediately began considering how to contact the Russian garrisons in Russian-controlled Poland. He planned to advance step by step, gradually wearing down the rebels.
But he soon discovered that the Russian troops in Russian-controlled Poland had all become skittish as startled birds. He simply could not get them to follow his orders.
If he marched on Warsaw according to the original plan, regardless of the cost, the Kiev Legion might lose most of its men before the Moscow Legion could arrive to reinforce it.
After thinking it over again and again, Paskevich decided to disobey the Tsar's orders. He would have the Kiev Legion guard the border and wait for the Moscow Legion to arrive.
This situation had caught Franz somewhat by surprise. He had expected the Russians to plunge headlong into Poland's muddy quagmire, turning the war into a complete mess.
It seemed Franz had underestimated the Russians. Still, it was too early to draw conclusions. After all, the person who would ultimately decide the course of this campaign was not Paskevich, but Nicholas I.
Meanwhile, the Polish forces had grown from a few tens of thousands at the start to over a hundred thousand. Though those numbers were greatly inflated, there was still strength in