CHAPTER XVIII.
THE POLISH INSURGENTS
A few words from the leader explained to his followers that thenew-comers were friends. Their money was instantly restored to them,and those who a few minutes before were so eager to hurry them toexecution were profuse in their apologies and demonstrations ofrespect. The Poles regarded England as a friendly power, and wereeagerly watching the war in the Crimea, hoping that the strength ofRussia would be so exhausted there that she would be obliged to weakenher hold on Poland. So far, however, great as were the number oftroops that Russia had poured down to meet the Allies, she had in noway weakened her hold upon Poland. Indeed even larger numbers oftroops than usual were massed in that country. The insurrection atpresent going on was intended rather as a proof to Europe that Polandyet lived, ground down though she was under the heel of Russiantyranny, than as a movement from which success could be reasonablyhoped for.
The lads were now able to look round at the wild group which filledthe clearing. The greater portion were peasants, although the dressand bearing of several proclaimed that they belonged to a superiorclass. Some of the peasants were armed with guns, but these were quitein the minority, the greater portion carrying scythe blades fastenedto long handles. These, although clumsy to look at, were terribleweapons in a close onslaught, and the Russian soldiers could seldom bekept firm by their officers when, in spite of their fire, the Polishpeasantry rushed among them. The Poles were in high spirits. Their ownloss had been small, and they had inflicted great slaughter upon thehead of the Russian column, and had gained a considerable number ofarms. A party which had attacked the rear of the column at the samemoment when the main body fell upon its head, had for a time obtainedpossession of a wagon with spare ammunition, and had succeeded incarrying off the greater part of it.
The leader of the party, having given orders to his men and seen thatthe wounded were carried away on stretchers roughly formed of boughs,either to their own villages, or when these were too distant, to acollection of wood-cutters' huts in the heart of the forest, returnedand took a seat by the lads near the fire.
"We have not introduced ourselves yet," he said in Russian, laughing."My name is Stanislaus Chernatony."
Dick named himself and his comrades.
"Tell me now," the Pole said, "how you got here, and what are yourplans."
Dick in reply gave him a narrative of their adventures, and said thatthey were making their way to the Austrian frontier.
"It would be absolutely impossible," the Pole said, "for you tosucceed in making your way in safety. Every town is full of Russiantroops, who are forever scouring the roads. It would be out of thequestion for any one except a native to succeed in getting through,and even a Pole would find difficulty, so strictly is every onequestioned. Of course their object is to prevent our bands fromincreasing, and to capture any of us who may be returning to ourhomes. We only manage to assemble by marching constantly in the woodsby paths known only to villagers. You would find it, too, a matter ofextreme difficulty to cross the frontier, even should you gain it, asthere is a perfect cordon of troops posted along the frontier, toprevent any one from escaping. Once in Austria, you would be safe, butyou could not cross into Prussia, even if you succeeded in passing theRussian troops stationed along that line; for Prussia, who is as harsha master to the Poles under her rule as is Russia, acts as policemanfor the latter, and turns all fugitives back who may cross thefrontier. At present I fear I can give you no assistance; but there isa talk of a union of several of our bands further west, and in thatcase you might travel with us, and we might pass you on, and see thatyou had guides. For the present I can either lodge you in the villagewhere our wounded are now taken, and where it is not likely that theRussians will find you, at any rate for the present; or if you like tojoin us, I need not say how glad we shall be to receive you ascomrades. England has always been the friend of Poland and more thanone of your countrymen has fought in the Polish ranks. As England isat war at present with Russia, you will be doing as much service byfighting her here as in the Crimea. Here, too, you will have thesatisfaction that you are fighting for an oppressed people strugglingfor freedom against tremendous odds."
The lads asked for twelve hours before giving a final answer, andthen, having shared the Pole's rough meal, they chatted with him for along time upon the progress and chances of the insurrection. ThePolish leader told them that there were a score of bands like his ownin the forests; but he admitted that he saw but little hope of finalsuccess unless Russia were completely crippled in the war with Englandand France.
"But," he said, "we in Poland do not rise only when we considersuccess possible. We take up arms when we are goaded to it. When someact of Russian tyranny more gross and brutal than usual goads us todesperation, we take up arms to kill and to die. You know not theawful persecution to which we Poles are exposed. Whole villages aredestroyed, and the inhabitants banished to Siberia; our young men aretaken and compelled to serve in the Russian army. Scores are shotdown, after a mockery of a trial, on the pretence of discontent withRussian rule. Women, ay, and ladies, are publicly flogged. Priests aremassacred, our churches closed, our very language proscribed. Death isa thousand times preferable to the living torture we undergo, and whenwe at last rise, it is vengeance and death that we seek rather thanwith any thought of finally freeing Poland from her oppressors. Andnow," he said, "you will excuse me if I suggest that we follow theexample of my comrades, and turn off to sleep. We have marched fiftymiles since yesterday evening, and shall be off before daybreakto-morrow."
For half an hour after the Polish leader had rolled himself in hiscloak and gone off to sleep, the boys chatted together as to thecourse they should adopt, and finally resolved to throw in theirfortunes with those of the Polish patriots. They saw that it would beimpossible for them to make their way on to the frontier alone, andconsidered that their chance of life was no less if captured in actionby the Russians than if found in a village with a number of woundedinsurgents. The wrongs of Poland were in those days a subject whichmoved men's hearts in England, and the midshipmen rejoiced at thethought of striking a blow in so good a cause.
These were the reasons which, in talking the matter over, theyassigned to each other, but in reality their love of adventure andexcitement in no slight degree influenced them. To have taken part ina real Polish insurrection, to join in guerilla attacks and fierceonslaughts on Russian columns, to live a wild life in the woods, werethings that appealed strongly to the imagination of the midshipmen;and in the morning they expressed to Stanislas Chernatony theirwillingness to join him, and fight against the Russians until anopportunity occurred for them to cross the frontier and rejoin theforces before the Sebastopol.
"Good," the Pole said. "I am heartily glad to have two Englishofficers fighting under me. The warfare is of a kind very different tothat to which you are accustomed, but I can guarantee that you shallsee that we Poles, undisciplined, badly armed, and fighting a hopelessbattle, can yet die as bravely as your own trained soldiers in theCrimea. We are now going back to the place we left the day beforeyesterday, and which we regard as our headquarters. We had news thatthe column we attacked was to set out, and as so far none of our bandshad visited this neighborhood, we thought we might take them bysurprise. We succeeded in doing them much damage, but our success wasnot as great as that which we gained in our last fight, when wesucceeded in capturing two cannons. By the way," he said, "you asmarine officers, are accustomed to artillery."
"Yes," Dick replied, "we are drilled, not only with heavy ship's guns,but with light field-pieces, of which every large vessel carries a fewto be used in case of a landing."
"Capital!" the Pole exclaimed. "We have not a man who has any idea ofartillery, and I will appoint you to the command of the guns. Youshall each pick out as many men as you require, and train them asartillerymen. This will be an invaluable service to us."
Late at night they reached their halting-place. The guns had beenhidden in a thicket, ev
ery man having marched with his leader to theattack of the column. The next morning thirty-six men were chosen,eighteen to each gun, in order that the places of those who might bekilled could be filled at once, or, should some more pieces be taken,men would be available already trained to the work.
For four days drill went on without intermission. The lads found thePolish peasants very intelligent, although it was difficult for themto understand why each movement should be performed with mechanicalregularity. At first, too, the boys' ignorance of Polish caused themgreat difficulty; but Stanislas wrote down for them the translation ofthe words of command, and the movements were taught by the boysthemselves performing them, and insisting upon their motions beingaccurately imitated. They worked from morning till night, and by theend of the fourth day were satisfied that their men could serve theguns in a workmanlike and regular way.
The Poles themselves were delighted when they found how swiftly andsmoothly the work could be done now that they had mastered it, andlooked forward with anxiety to try the results upon the Russians. Theyhad not long to wait. In a short time friends from the next garrisontown brought the news that considerable bodies of fresh troops hadarrived there, and that an attack was to be made on the following dayby two heavy columns. Messengers were sent off at once, and during thenight the insurgents were joined by three other bands, raising theirnumbers to nearly 1500 men. Stanislas told the lads that he intendedto move before daybreak, so as to attack one of the columns as soon asit entered the forest, and while the other was too far away to arriveat the scene of action until all would be over.
"I propose," he said, "to fell some trees across the road, arrangingthem so that the guns can fire between them, while the trunks willafford the gunners some shelter. Half the men will be arranged amongthe trees on either side, so that while the guns sweep the column weshall attack it upon either flank. I will place a hundred of my bestmen at the barricade to defend the guns should the column pressforward in spite of our efforts; but I believe that we shall have aneasy victory. Our recent partial successes have considerably added toour stock of arms, and as this is the first time that we have broughtcannon into play, we may rely upon their effect being considerable."
The lads begged that they might go forward with the party charged withfelling the trees, in order that they might choose the spot, andthemselves see to the construction of the defence. Stanislas chose oneof his lieutenants who spoke Russian, and, giving him 200 men, orderedhim to carry out the instructions of the lads. They set off an hourbefore daylight, and just as the dawn began, arrived at the spot wherethe struggle was to take place.
They selected a point where a rise of six feet afforded a view of theroad far in advance, and placed the guns just so far behind the treesthat while they would sweep the road, their muzzles only could be seenby an advancing foe. Two large trees felled and stripped of theirboughs were placed across the road in front of the guns, being, whenplaced, just high enough for the gunners to look over them. A strongparty were then set to work to cut sods, and with these an earthworkwas thrown up across the road, four feet high. Embrasures were leftfor the guns, and these were made very narrow, as the fire would bedirectly in front. On either side trees were felled with their boughsoutward, so as to form a chevaux-de-frise, extending at an angle oneach side of the road for fifty yards in advance of the guns.
Fifty of the men were to remain in the road in the rear of the guns,in readiness to man the earthwork, should the Russians advance to takeit by storm, while the rest were to lie down behind thechevaux-de-frise and to open fire upon both flanks of the advancingcolumn. A few green boughs were scattered on the road in front of thebattery, and the lads, going along the roads by which the Russianswould advance, were pleased to see that at a distance the work wasscarcely noticeable. Just as they had finished their preparationsStanislas with the main body arrived, and all were greatly pleased atthe position which the boys had constructed. The guns and ammunitionwagons had been dragged along by ropes to which hundreds of thepeasants had harnessed themselves.
The Poles now took up the positions assigned to them for the attack.Stanislas and his principal officers held a consultation with themidshipmen, and it was agreed that the Russian column should beallowed to approach near to the guns before these opened fire, andthat their doing so should be the signal for the general attack uponthe column. Half an hour later a peasant who had been placed near theedge of the wood announced that the Russian column was in sight, thatso far as he could judge from his observations made from a tree-top,it numbered about 2000 infantry, with a battery of artillery.
"That is just a fair match for us," Stanislaus said. "The 500 menextra do not count for much, and their superiority of arms will becounterbalanced by our advantages of surprise, and to the effect whichcannon brought against them for the first time may exercise on theminds of the soldiers."
Presently along the straight road the black column of the enemy couldbe seen. They were advancing in a heavy mass, some forty men abreast,and were preceded at a distance of 300 yards by an advance guard of200 men. When distant some 400 yards from them the midshipmen observedthe advance guard halt, and guessed that an obstacle of some sort orother across the road had been made out. A mounted officer rode backfrom the advance guard to the main body, and was there joined byseveral other mounted men. After some conversation a movement was seenin the column. A mounted officer rode back, and as he did so thecolumn divided, leaving a passage in the centre of the road.
There was a long pause, and then the lads could see the Russian gunscoming through the line. They halted and formed across the roadhalf-way between the main body and the advance guard, and,unlimbering, prepared to open fire upon the unknown obstacle in theirfront. The midshipmen had arranged with Stanislas that, as it would bedifficult for the parties on the flank of the Russian column todistinguish between the sound of the enemy's guns and their own, awhite handkerchief should be hoisted on a long pole when theythemselves opened fire, and a chain of men were placed along back inthe wood to repeat the signal down to the spot where the Poles werelying ready for attack.
The Russians opened fire over the heads of their advance guard, wholay down in the road. The shot for the most part either struck theslope or flew overhead, very few striking the upper part of thebattery face, which was alone exposed to their fire. For five minutesthe Russians continued to fire. Then, deceived by the absolute silencewhich reigned, and supposing the obstacle was an accidental one, orthat the insurgents had retired, the guns were limbered up, theadvance guard again moved forward, and the main column marched onclose behind the guns.
The whole of the 200 men who had been placed behind the barricade werearmed with muskets, and each hidden behind the leafy screen rested hispiece on a branch, and prepared to pour his fire into the column as itadvanced. It was not until the advance guard was within fifty yards ofthem that the lads, who had themselves trained the guns to sweep theroad, gave the signal, and the silence was broken by the roar of thetwo guns loaded to the muzzle with grape-shot. The effect wastremendous. Two lanes were literally mown through the ranks of theRussian infantry, the shot which flew high doing terrible executionamong the artillery behind them.
The echoes had not died away when a tremendous fire of musketry wasopened by the Poles hidden behind the abattis. More than half of theadvance guard fell under that terrible discharge, and the artillerycrowded behind them fell into confusion.
The Russian officers strove by voice and example to gather thesurvivors of the advance guard together; but the consternation whichthe slaughter had caused was heightened by the sound of a tremendousyell far behind, followed by a steady roll of musketry, showing thatthe column was hotly engaged there also. The artillery attempted tounlimber and to bring their guns to bear again, but the confusion thatprevailed in the crowded spot rendered this next to impossible, andlong before it could be accomplished the iron hail again swept throughthe ranks, and two rattling volleys from their invisible foes behindthe flanking abatti
s again flashed out. The advance guard wereannihilated, the artillery in confusion, but the general commandingthe main column pushed his men on through the frightened horses of theartillery, and, opening a heavy musketry fire on their unseen foes,pressed forward to the assault.
The conflict now became a desperate one. The midshipmen fired theirguns alternately as fast as they could load, the Poles working assteadily and coolly as if they had been long-trained artillerymen.Several times the Russians advanced to within twenty yards of thedefences, but each time, shattered by the fire of grape-shot and bythe storm of bullets from the abattis, they recoiled. In vain theyflung themselves upon the trees and tried to hew a way through them.In vain the officers called upon them to gather themselves togetherand carry the battery at a rush. Receiving no aid from their ownartillery, which, mingled in the throng of infantry, were helpless,shaken by the shouts of the assailants, and by the battle raging intheir rear which told them their retreat was menaced, the Russianslost heart and began to fall back. Then, retaining only fifty men as aguard to the battery, the midshipmen ordered the rest of the defendersof the abattis to move forward among the trees on the flanks of theRussians, keeping up a constant fire, until they joined the main bodyin their attack on the Russian rear.
In the battery now they could see little of what was going forward.The woods were full of dense smoke. The whole Russian column as itfell back was maintaining a wild fire at random into the bushes aroundthem.
But though the lads could see nothing, the road in front afforded thema sure guide for their aim, and ceaselessly the guns kept up theirfire into the retreating mass of Russians.
For half an hour the roar of guns continued unabated, and then, as itdied away, the triumphant shouts of the Pole told them that thevictory was won, and that the Russian column, defeated and shattered,had retired from the forest and gained the open country beyond. Thenthe defenders of the battery raised an answering cheer to theirfriends in the distance, and, exhausted with their exertions, threwthemselves on the ground.
Of those working the guns but three had been wounded by rifle bulletswhich had passed through the embrasures.
Several of the riflemen had fallen shot through the head, as theyfired over the top of the battery, while thirty or forty lay killedand wounded behind the abattis.
After a few minutes' rest the party advanced, and soon joined theirfriends, who saluted them with loud acclamations. The victory had beena complete one. The whole of the spare ammunition and stores hadfallen into the hands of the victors, upon overpowering therear-guard, had cut the traces and carried off the horses. The columnhad made a sturdy resistance at this point, and although the desperateonslaughts of the scythe-armed Poles had several times broken theirranks and carried slaughter among them, they had yet stood firm, andit was only the crushing of the head of the column, and its subsequentretreat, which had at last decided the day.
For some hundred yards in front of the guns the ground was coveredwith Russian dead. Most of the artillery horses had fallen, and buttwo of the guns had been carried off the field. The loss of the enemyin killed and wounded left upon the ground amounted to nearly 800, andthe wounded were all killed as soon as discovered by the infuriatedpeasants.
Of the Poles some 250 had been put _hors-de-combat_. The delight ofthe insurgents was unbounded. It was by far the most important victorywhich they had won. They had now come into possession of sufficientmuskets to arm the whole body, and an abundant supply of ammunition,and had in all a complete battery of artillery, with enough horses,taken from the wagons, to give two to each gun, and leave a sufficientnumber for the ammunition wagons. The two midshipmen received thewarmest thanks of the Polish leader, who attributed his successentirely to the slaughter which the guns had wrought, and to thedispositions taken for their defence.