Chapter IX
Retrograde movement of the 18th of February.—Details of this movement, and of the actions which took place.—The army reaches the field of Praga.—Its reception at Warsaw.—Position of the army.—Battle of Wavre and Bialolenka.—Operations of general Dwernicki against the corps of Prince Wirtemburg.—Defeat of that corps by general Dwernicki at Swierza.—Renewal of the enemy’s attack on the main army on the 20th.—Its successful resistance.—Review of the events of the preceding days.—Examination of the plan of operations of the Polish army.
On the 18th, our whole line was ordered to make a retrograde movement. [See Plan VI.] The utmost order and tranquillity was to be observed in this movement. The several corps were required to preserve a constant communication with each other, and to keep themselves uniformly on the same parallel. General Zimirski, commanding the right wing (A), and who remained on the main road, received orders to take advantage of every good position which he should meet with between Dembe-Wielkie (13) and Milosna (12). Three points in particular were recommended to his attention, Dembe-Wielkie, (14), and Milosna. Nature presents at those points commanding positions surrounded by forests. In each of those positions, the enemy would be exposed to the fire of our artillery, on debouching from the intervening forests; and it was designed to make the attack of those positions as costly as possible to the enemy.