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Chapter 1276: An Empire Leaking Everywhere

Kosciuszko had not yet entered Krakow when his staff officer rushed up, accompanied by several people dressed in thick linen, and exclaimed excitedly:

"Marshal, these men are from the Tarnowskie Góry silver mine. They reported that the miners started a riot yesterday!"

Kosciuszko looked at them and bowed slightly, saying, "Thank you for your heroic actions. You have won us valuable time."

The leading silver mine official, seeing the great hero he admired, excitedly placed a hand on his chest and returned the bow, declaring, "Everything for the motherland!"

Then, as if eager for praise, he continued, "Marshal, we have completely secured the silver mine. All the steam engines and other equipment are almost entirely intact, and operations can begin immediately."

Kosciuszko also smiled. "General Niezawadzka will surely be delighted to hear this news."

Another mine foreman stepped forward and saluted. "Marshal, there are over 800 miners here who are skilled with flintlock muskets. They wish to join you in striking down the invaders!"

Kosciuszko hesitated for a moment before asking, "Will this affect mining operations?"

"If everyone works two or three extra hours each day, taking out over 500 men shouldn't have an impact."

Since yesterday, local resistance groups had heard the news and come to join his army. There were already over a thousand men, all bringing their own weapons.

As there had been almost no fighting, the Polish army did not linger in Krakow. Instead, they maintained a forced march, heading southwest towards Olomouc.

By the time they left the former Polish border, Kosciuszko's army had swelled by over 3,400 soldiers, along with tens of thousands of mules and horses donated by the populace.

Meanwhile, 10,000 Polish troops under the command of General Zajączek bypassed the Carpathian Mountains via the Durak Pass in the southeast, then entered the Austrian heartland from there.

Kosciuszko had extensive experience operating deep behind enemy lines; years ago, he had launched a raid thousands of kilometers into Crimea. Now, with ample supplies and flat terrain, his army could cover approximately 28 kilometers a day.

Just six days later, the vanguard of the Polish Winged Hussar corps arrived before the Olomouc fortress.

General Wielhorski observed the slacking Austrian soldiers outside the fortress through his telescope, then turned his head to ask an adjutant, "How much longer until the infantry arrive?"

"Tomorrow morning at the earliest, General, by our estimates."

Wielhorski frowned. The Austrians were clearly unprepared, yet it would be difficult for his several thousand men to avoid detection by enemy cavalry patrols.

If the enemy began to reinforce their defenses, the difficulty of capturing the position would inevitably increase manifold.

He hesitated for only a few seconds before dismounting, calmly instructing a messenger, "Order everyone to prepare for dismounted combat. We are taking this fortress!"

Soon, over 3,000 Winged Hussars began shedding their heavy cavalry coats, carefully stowing their "wings"—which had few feathers remaining—and their sabers, before taking up their carbines.

When they appeared more than 400 meters from the fortress, the Austrians finally noticed something amiss and began screaming and ringing the alarm bells.

Indeed, Kosciuszko had maintained careful concealment along the way, ensuring that no Austrian forces discovered them. Even the few rural peasants who spotted them simply assumed they were imperial troops being transferred to Vienna from somewhere, paying them no mind. Austria governed too many constituent states, and no one could keep track of all the diverse flags.

The cannons on the fortress began to roar. The Winged Hussars, however, had no artillery of their own. The dismounted cavalrymen advanced with heads held high, forming a skirmish formation, and charged the fortress from three directions, braving the whistling cannonballs.

Some of these valuable cavalrymen were soon struck by bullets and fell, but this did not slow their advance in the slightest. Only when they were thirty or forty paces from the fortress did they look up and begin firing their carbines at the enemy soldiers atop the walls.

Others laid down makeshift wooden planks in front of the walls and shoveled earth to reinforce them.

For every meter the makeshift ramp extended, several Polish cavalrymen were struck by gunfire, but others immediately stepped up to continue their work.

The outermost wall of the fortress was designed to withstand artillery, so it was not particularly high. After just over 40 minutes, a breach appeared in the southern section of the wall.

Several cavalrymen, clad only in gray shirts, immediately roared "For the motherland!" and stormed up the wall.

Gunfire immediately rained down from both sides, striking down the first two, but the third Polish soldier finally made it onto the wall.

He fired a shot at the nearest Austrian, then roared and lunged forward.

The Austrian troops were clearly intimidated by such fearless ferocity. Despite their numerical superiority, they abandoned their positions and fled towards the inner second wall.

The fighting continued until nightfall. The area between the first and second walls of the Olomouc fortress was piled high with corpses, and the stone blocks on the walls were stained dark red with blood.

Although the Polish cavalry failed to breach the inner wall, they held their ground steadfastly beneath the first wall, never retreating.

It was remarkable, considering they had brought no siege equipment whatsoever, possessing only short-range carbines. They were fighting the enemy solely with their lives and courage.

At 9 AM the following day, the Polish infantry finally arrived.

With the outer wall, designed to defend against artillery, now controlled by the Winged Hussars, Polish artillery could engage at close range, quickly blasting open the second and third walls.

By noon, the banner of the Polish Royal Second Division was flying atop the fortress.

By this time, the Winged Hussars had suffered over 600 casualties.

Kosciuszko held a simple farewell ceremony for the fallen soldiers, then led his army the next day along the southern foothills of the Sudetes, continuing towards the Ore Mountains.

After capturing Olomouc, a crucial pass at the junction of the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains, the path ahead was almost entirely flat.

After an 11-day forced march, nearly 50,000 Polish troops finally reached the southern side of the Náchod Pass.

This was the only mountain pass in the central section of the Ore Mountains.

The day after they left Olomouc, General Zajączek's corps of 14,000 soldiers also successfully captured the Nové Zámky fortress after a relatively easy battle.

The Austrians had no expectation that their eastern heartland would suddenly come under attack.

Even though officials from places like Prešov had repeatedly reported suspected Polish army incursions to Schönbrunn Palace days earlier, Vienna's bureaucracy and appalling inefficiency meant that a contingent of several hundred troops was only dispatched to verify the claims three days prior.

By then, General Zajączek's corps was only 140 kilometers east of Vienna.

It was only after the Austrian reconnaissance force was easily annihilated that the Austrians finally realized something was gravely wrong.

Franz II hastily ordered his brother Archduke John to lead 13,000 Vienna garrison troops to Nové Zámky to intercept the Polish forces.