Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1369 - 1275: The Avengers Strike

Chapter 1369: Chapter 1275: The Avengers Strike

Warrenov also quickly received a set of military uniforms.

The collar and cuffs showed signs of wear, clearly not brand new, yet spotlessly clean.

Then the sergeant led their group to a row of wagons, from which someone took out a Chaleville Flintlock Gun and forcefully pressed it into their hands.

Zlatopol restrained his excitement and turned to the officer beside him, asking, “Sir, what are we going to do?”

“Fight a war,” the latter replied succinctly, “First we’ll undergo three weeks of restorative training, then we’ll punish those invaders.”

In the following 20 days, Warrenov and thousands of others stayed at the Zalesna Manor for training, not once returning home during this time.

However, they had no complaints; everyone trained with great seriousness.

They had thought Poland had accepted its fate of being partitioned and that they could only live out their days in numb humiliation, but never expected Jesus to give them a chance for revenge.

Of course, the Warsaw government had arranged for someone to take care of their families, providing each household with 22 francs monthly for living expenses.

After the defeat, the Polish government’s finances collapsed, sustained barely by loans from France. But following Joseph’s previous plan, Prince Poniatowski had placed most of the Polish veterans in Warsaw or other prosperous cities like Droczin, giving them positions such as civil servants, police, road builders, and financing their livelihoods.

This placed a debt of 15 million francs on Poland’s treasury, but it preserved over 35,000 battle-hardened veterans right under the noses of Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

And the registers recording soldier information were those Bibles carefully kept by Prince Poniatowski.

Plus, with 30,000 troops allowed to remain under the Treaty of Prague, when Sais arrived in Warsaw, the Poles were almost instantly able to muster an army of 65,000.

Moreover, in a remote back part of a derelict church in Otwotsk Town, there were military uniforms and weapons stockpiled enough to arm fifty to sixty thousand soldiers.

In fact, over the past few months, Denmark had been covertly sending naval fleets with military supplies to Northern Poland’s Rasenai, where local smugglers then transported them through the Russian-occupied Zone to Warsaw.

Of course, most of these supplies were provided by France.

This was the huge surprise Joseph left for the Allied Forces.

In an unremarkable villa on the outskirts of Warsaw, Polish Chief of Staff General Karol Kniannawicz first reported the domestic preparations to Sais and then pointed to the map, beginning to explain the battle plan to the Polish Army officers:

“According to the intelligence we have obtained, the Austrian Army has fewer than two thousand troops stationed in Krakow, and if nothing unexpected occurs, we can recapture it within a day.”

Admiral Niezewaska, responsible for logistics, heaved a sigh of relief: “After that, we can resume mining at the Tarnovsk Mountain Silver Mine, and I can finally reduce the amount of sawdust in the soldiers’ bread.”

Yes, due to the Polish government’s extreme cooperation, the Austrians had confidently kept the majority of Polish miners, even appointing a Polish deputy manager. The Austrian noble general manager merely had to submit monthly silver revenues to Vienna.

General Kniannawicz continued: “Next, we’ll march swiftly from Northern Slovakia to Els. The trouble during this will be dealing with the Olomouc Fortress…”

“Wait,” Vice Admiral Josef Vilcek interjected in surprise, “Did you say Els? Shouldn’t we be heading straight for Vienna?”

Els is a city in northwest Austria, a good 400 kilometers from Krakow, whereas Vienna is only 320 kilometers from southwestern Poland.

Marshal Kosciuszko, standing nearby, replied, “We cannot defeat the Austrians on our own.

“Vienna has at least 15,000 stationed troops, and as they continue to conscript new soldiers, we might even be stopped at Neuhoisel. Once the Austrians bring reinforcements back from Passau, we will lose this precious opportunity.

“Our task is to cooperate with the French Army. According to the plan, they will be waiting for us north of Els.”

Vilcek’s eyes lit up instantly.

If they could break Els fortress from behind, hundreds of thousands of French troops would flood into Austria like a tide, quickly defeating Vienna’s garrison regardless of its size.

The Polish Chief of Staff added, “However, we will also dispatch a unit towards Vienna, as required by the French General Staff. This could reduce the resistance we encounter at the Olomouc Fortress.”

Vice Admiral Zawonczyk frowned, “But this will leave us with insufficient defense in the country. What if the Russians…”

Marshal Kosciuszko’s eyes burned with a flame capable of consuming all: “Even if Warsaw descends into hell, we must at least make Vienna taste the same suffering!”

Last time, he followed the French battle plan and ventured deep into the Russian heartland, saving Poland from the brink of ruin, instilling in him unshakable confidence in the plans crafted by France.

General Kniannawicz continued, “The Russians have deployed over 100,000 troops in Austria; it should be difficult for them to launch a large-scale attack on our country now.

“Moreover, I believe we have conducted this operation with strict secrecy, so the Russians are unlikely to react in time.”

The strategic deployment continued late into the night, culminating in the Polish General Staff’s decision—Marshal Kosciuszko himself would command 45,000 soldiers to attack Els.

General Zawonczyk would lead 10,000 troops to launch a feint attack against Vienna.

4,000 troops would remain in the country for maintaining order, and the eastern line would have only around 6,000 defenders.

April 21, 1799.

With 4,000 elite Winged Cavalry in red uniforms at the forefront, over 50,000 Polish troops silently began their southward advance.

Because the entire preparation process strictly controlled contact between soldiers and the outside world, the Allied Forces had not yet received any information.

Most Winged Cavalry had evolved into heavily armed warriors, but these heavy gear and ornaments inversely hindered their movement. It seemed the Winged Cavalry were about to be ruthlessly phased out like heavily armored knights from times past when Stephen Batory, Duke of Transylvania elected as King of Poland in 1576, carried out a deep and effective reform of the Polish Army. Stephen Batory, an outstanding military genius, had waged a series of wars against the Moscow Duchy with great victories and had planned a grand expedition against the Turkish people. Yet, just as the expedition was about to begin, this Polish King unexpectedly passed away, never witnessing the fulfillment of this great ambition.