Kościuszko's pupils suddenly contracted. "What did you say? That's impossible!"
He had come all the way from the north, with the Russian Army left far behind them the entire time. Why would enemy troops suddenly appear on the South Side?
One had to know that he had not stationed any troops on the left flank.
A staff officer beside him said, "Could it be the Russian Army from Astrakhan?"
The Astrakhan Plain lay in the North Caucasus, where Mozdok, the headquarters of Russia's Caucasus Corps, was located.
Kościuszko's expression froze.
He had believed that the Russian Army in the Caucasus would need at least three months to reach the West Line. Yet it had only been a little over two months since the Russian Army there had withdrawn from Georgia. What he did not know was that Alexander I's order to Gudovich had been to reach Smolensk before March.
Thus, the Caucasus Corps had no choice but to race onward at all costs. Nearly a quarter of its soldiers had fallen behind and become lost along the way, yet midway through their march, they learned that the Polish Army was retreating toward Novgorod-Seversky.
At the time, Gudovich had happened to reach Poltava. He immediately altered his route and pursued the Polish Army straight west.
However, he had never managed to learn the Polish Army's exact location and could only search as he marched. He had never expected that upon reaching Bobrovitsa, he would unexpectedly discover the Poles directly to his north side.
Kościuszko forced himself to calm down and turned to ask the staff officer, "What units are on the left flank?"
The latter quickly thought it over and said, "The 19th Royal Infantry Regiment, Marshal. They have just rotated out to rest."
Kościuszko looked toward Kozelets, where fierce gunfire