Life of Being a Crown Prince in France - Chapter 1370 - 1276: The Empire Full of Leaks

Chapter 1370: Chapter 1276: The Empire Full of Leaks

Kosciuszko had not yet entered the city of Krakow with the main force when he saw a strategist leading several people dressed in thick burlap clothing coming over excitedly:

“Marshal, they are from the Tarnovsk Mountain Silver Mine. They say that the miners revolted yesterday.”

Kosciuszko looked at them and bowed slightly: “Thank you for your brave actions, this has earned us valuable time.”

The leading silver mine official, seeing the hero of his dreams, excitedly placed his hand over his chest in salute: “Everything is for the homeland!”

Then, as if seeking credit, he continued: “Marshal, we have completely controlled the silver mine, and almost all the steam engines and other equipment are intact, ready for extraction now.”

Kosciuszko also smiled: “General Niezewaska will certainly be pleased to hear this news.”

Another silver mine official stepped forward to salute: “Marshal, there are over 800 miners at the mine skilled in using the flintlock gun, and they hope to join you in fighting the invaders!”

Kosciuszko hesitated for a moment and asked, “Will it affect the mining?”

“If everyone works an extra two or three hours a day, pulling out more than 500 people shouldn’t have any impact.”

The Polish commander waved his hand: “Then let them come, I indeed need more warriors.”

Local resistance groups had already been coming upon hearing the news to join his army, and there were now more than a thousand, all self-armed.

Due to almost no combat, the Polish Army did not linger in Krakow but continued a forced march toward Olomouc in the southwest.

By the time they left the former Polish border, Kosciuszko’s army had increased by more than 3,400 soldiers and over ten thousand mules and horses donated by the people.

Meanwhile, 10,000 Polish soldiers under General Zawonczyk’s command skirted the Carpathian Mountains from the Durak Pass in the southeast and entered Austria’s heartland from there.

Kosciuszko had rich experience fighting behind enemy lines, having raided over a thousand kilometers to attack Crimea years ago; now with abundant logistics, a flat terrain, his troops could march about 28 kilometers a day.

Only six days later, the Polish Winged Cavalry Corps, acting as the vanguard, had already arrived in front of the Olomouc Fortress.

General Vilcek, using binoculars to look at the lazy Austrian soldiers outside the fortress, turned his head to ask the aide beside him, “How long until the infantry arrives?”

“At the earliest by tomorrow morning, General.”

Vilcek frowned; the Austrians were obviously still unguarded, but it would be hard to guarantee that their thousands of men and horses wouldn’t be discovered by the enemy’s patrol cavalry.

If the enemy began to strengthen their defenses, then the difficulty of capturing this place would undoubtedly multiply.

He only hesitated for a few seconds before dismounting, speaking calmly to the order officer: “Order everyone to prepare for a foot battle. We must take this fortress!”

Soon, more than 3,000 winged cavalrymen began to take off their heavy cavalry overcoats, carefully setting aside their “wings” with few feathers and horse sabers, then picked up their carbines.

It wasn’t until they appeared more than 400 meters in front of the fortress that the Austrians finally noticed something unusual and began to frantically ring the alarm bell.

Yes, thanks to Kosciuszko’s careful concealment along the way, the Austrian Army had never discovered them. Even the few villagers who saw them thought it was an army being transferred to Vienna from somewhere within the Empire, paying no attention at all—Austria had too many member states, and no one could recognize all those messy banners.

The cannons on the fortress began to roar, while the winged cavalry, without carrying any cannons, marched in a skirmish formation under whistling cannonballs, charging at the fortress from three directions.

These well-trained cavalrymen quickly began taking hits and falling, but it had no impact on their stride. When they reached within 30 to 40 paces of the fortress, they started raising their guns to fire at the enemies on the walls.

Others placed makeshift wooden planks found nearby before the walls and began shoveling soil to reinforce them.

As the simple ramp extended another meter, several Polish cavalrymen would be shot and hit, but replacements immediately continued the work.

The outer walls of the fortress, meant to defend against artillery, were not high, and just over 40 minutes later, there was a passage in front of the south wall.

Several cavalrymen in only gray shirts immediately charged up the rampart, shouting “For the homeland.”

Gunfire immediately struck from both sides, knocking down the first two men, but the third Polish soldier finally stood atop the wall.

He shot at the nearest Austrian before roaring and pouncing forward.

Clearly, the Austrian Army was intimidated by this fearless spirit. Despite having superior numbers, they abandoned their positions and fled toward the second tier of the inner wall.

The battle raged on until nightfall, with corpses piling up between the first and second walls of the Olomouc Fortress, the stones of the walls soaked in dark red blood.

Although the Polish cavalry could not penetrate the inner wall, they stubbornly held the ground before the first wall, never retreating.

It must be noted, they had brought no siege equipment and had only short-range carbines, relying completely on their lives and courage to fight the enemy.

By nine o’clock the next morning, the Polish infantry finally arrived.

With the outer walls meant to defend against artillery controlled by the winged cavalry, Polish artillery was able to move in closer for firing, soon blasting open the second and third walls.

By noon, the second division’s flag of the King of Poland was beheld at the highest point of the fortress.

By this time, the winged cavalry had already suffered over 600 casualties.

Kosciuszko held a simple farewell for the fallen, then led his army along the southern foothills of the Sudeten Mountains, continuing toward the Erz Mountains the following day.

After capturing the important pass where the Sudeten Mountains connect with the Carpathian Mountains at Olomouc, the path ahead was almost entirely flat.

After a forced march of eleven days, nearly 50,000 Polish troops finally arrived at the south side of the Naches Pass.

This is the only pass in the central section of the Erz Mountains.

The day after they left Olomouc, the Zawonczyk Corps’ 14,000 soldiers also easily captured Neuhössler Fortress after a not particularly difficult battle.

The Austrians never expected an attack from the eastern heartland.

Even though officials from places like Presov had repeatedly reported to Schonbrunn Palace several days prior, suspecting a Polish invasion, Vienna’s bureaucratic style and appalling inefficiency led to a mere few hundred troops being sent for verification just three days ago.

By this time, the Zawonczyk Corps was only 140 kilometers east of Vienna.

After the investigating Austrian Army was easily annihilated, the Austrians finally realized something was wrong.

Franz II hastily ordered his brother, Grand Duke John, to lead 13,000 of Vienna’s garrison troops to Neuhössler to intercept the Polish Army.