March to Death

The Orderly Officer accepted the order and left. A cavalry officer with whiskers on both cheeks and a hooked nose passed him on the way in and entered Korezenikov's office. Coming to attention, he said, "General, as instructed, I expanded the search radius to eight versts, but we still found no trace of the Polish Army."

Korezenikov irritably waved a hand. "Colonel Bagrationi, send more men toward Moscow. There should be something to find."

"Yes, General."

Bagrationi answered at attention, then hesitated. "But the enemy was still in Bryansk the day before yesterday. They should not have been able to reach the vicinity of Moscow. I have searched every area repeatedly, except... in the direction of Siberia."

Korezenikov gave a few dry laughs. "Unless the Poles have gone mad, why would they head south? Their target is obviously Moscow."

"General, I mean... perhaps we could try..."

Korezenikov tapped his forehead. "Use your brain, Peter. Siberia and Rylsk are both endless Black Forests, and farther ahead lies Kursk Fortress. What would they go there for? To hunt wild boars?

"If they truly headed south, I would be relieved. They would starve to death before they ever made it out of the Black Forest."

South of Bryansk lay vast, uninhabited tracts of dense forest. Rylsk Province, nearly as large as the Southern Netherlands, had a population of only thirty-four thousand.

Even Kursk and Kharkov farther south were exceedingly barren, making it difficult to obtain sufficient supplies.

Only at Krasnoyarsk, four hundred miles farther south, could one find signs of habitation.

And even on a Forced March, it would take nearly two months to get there. Without logistical supplies, the Polish Army could never endure that long in such desolate country.

Bagrationi left the office somewhat dejected, carefully pondering where the Poles could