nd retaken. On the 25th, the final day of battle, it was held
by the Poles. Forty-five thousand in number, they were confronted by a
Russian army of one hundred thousand men. Diebitsch, the Russian
commander, determined to win the Alder Wood at any cost. Chlopicki gave
orders to defend it to the last extremity.

The struggle that succeeded was desperate. By sheer force of numbers the
Russians made themselves masters of the wood. Then Chlopicki, putting
himself at the head of his grenadiers, charged into the forest depths,
driving out its holders at the bayonet's point. Their retreat threw the
whole Russian line into confusion. Now was the critical moment for a
cavalry charge. Chlopicki sent orders to the cavalry chief, but he
refused to move. This loss of an opportunity for victory maddened the
valiant leader. "Go and ask Radzivil," he said to the aides who asked
for orders; "for me, I seek only death." Plunging into the ranks of the
enemy, he was wounded by a shell, and borne secretly from the field. But
the news of this disaster ran through the ranks and threw the whole army
into consternation.

The fall of the gallant Chlopicki changed the tide of battle. Fiercely
struggling still, the Poles were driven from the wood and hurled back
upon the Vistula. A battalion of recruits crossed the river on the ice
and carried terror into Warsaw. Crowds of peasants, heaps of dead and
dying, choked the approach to Praga, the outlying suburb. Night fell
upon the scene of disorder. The houses of Praga were fired, and flames
lit up the frightful scene. Groans of agony and shrieks of despair
filled the air. The streets were choked with debris, but workmen from
Warsaw rushed out with axes, cleared away the ruin, and left the
passages free.

Inspirited by this, the infantry formed in line and checked the charge
of the Russian horse. The Albert cuirassiers rode through the first
Polish line, but soon found their horses floundering in mud, and
themselves attacked by lancers and pikemen on all sides. Of the
brilliant and daring corps scarce a man escaped.

That day cost the Poles five thousand men. Of the Russians more than ten
thousand fell. Radzivil, fearing that the single bridge would be carried
away by the broken ice, gave orders to retreat across the stream.
Diebitsch withdrew into the wood. And thus the first phase of the
struggle for the freedom of Poland came to an end.

This affair was followed by a striking series of Polish