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Chapter 1277: Archduke Charles's Resolve

May 3, 1799.

Passau.

Coalition Forces Headquarters.

"Enough!" Archduke Charles, his face pale with fury, waved his hand, cutting off the staff officer who was reading the Stuttgart Declaration aloud to him. He clenched his fists tightly, declaring, "These pathetic cowards, they've just caved to French intimidation."

He looked up and took a deep breath. "Do they not realize that the French can never truly control Germany for long? One day, they will face the Empire's severe punishment!"

In truth, he was merely venting his frustration. He knew perfectly well that it would be incredibly difficult for the Empire to win this war.

Indeed, Vienna's armistice negotiators had departed for Karlsruhe ten days prior—where the French Crown Prince was located.

However, Archduke Charles, as Vienna's most steadfast hawk, had never intended to simply give up.

Austria possessed a unique defensive advantage—being surrounded by mountains on three sides, there were very few places where the French could launch an attack, and those were all easily defensible.

Currently, as long as Passau could be held—where the main French forces were concentrated—in eight or nine months at most, the more than 300,000 French troops operating far from their homeland would be forced to retreat due to immense logistical strain.

Archduke Charles held absolute confidence in Passau's defenses.

The Coalition Forces still commanded over 300,000 troops, and he had personally established three defensive lines along the Danube River during this period.

Previously, French forces had attempted attacks multiple times, but had been repelled without question.

Now, fresh recruits and logistical supplies from Vienna were continuously flowing in, leaving the French with no opportunity whatsoever.

Once the French began to retreat due to logistical shortages, that would be his chance to launch a counterattack!

"Marshal," Verother entered, holding a Chappe Signal Tower document, and bowed slightly to him. "Just received word, sir, Vienna's newly conscripted 30,000 recruits have completed their training and will arrive here in ten days."

Archduke Charles's expression softened slightly, when he heard the Chief of General Staff continue, "However, the Military Committee indicates this might be the last batch of recruits for the foreseeable future."

Though Austria was a large nation, it had already mobilized 330,000 soldiers in total, far exceeding its capacity. The age limit for conscription had now been raised to 40 years old.

If conscription continued, the Empire might well collapse.

Archduke Charles let out a breath. "It's alright, it's enough. By the way, have Count Cobentzel try to persuade the Russians to send at least 50,000 more troops when we begin our counterattack."

Before Verother could reply, two staff officers entered, one after the other, bowing their heads as they handed him their battle reports.

The Austrian Chief of General Staff noticed something amiss from their expressions, and quickly opened the first report, his brow immediately furrowing. He informed Archduke Charles, "Marshal, Louis X captured Kassel two days ago. William IX has declared exile to Prussia."

Archduke Charles exclaimed in shock, "Did Brunswick and Prussia, among others, not intervene with troops?"

"It... it appears not."

"Damn it!" Archduke Charles rose angrily to his feet, stabbing his cane fiercely into the ground to vent his rage.

The Stuttgart Declaration had carved up all the Empire's direct territories in North Germany, and now even the most anti-French state there had been annexed.

Furthermore, Hesse-Darmstadt was extremely pro-French, and after acquiring all of Hesse, its power in North Germany was now second only to Prussia. France would gain a significant ally here.

Verother cautiously opened the next battle report, but immediately gasped, "Marshal, Po... Poland has declared war on our nation..."

"What?!"

Archduke Charles snatched the report and quickly scanned it, his expression growing even grimmer.

It stated that the Poles had not only declared war but had also captured Nové Zámky several days prior, clearly intending to ambush Vienna while it was vulnerable.

The last few lines of the report also mentioned that another Polish force had attacked Olomouc.

Archduke Charles paced restlessly back and forth in his office, before quickly turning to Verother and ordering, "Immediately send those 30,000 new recruits back to defend Vienna; the Poles likely have additional forces coming.

"Once we ascertain the strength of the Polish forces, have General Lauer crush them as quickly as possible."

The Empire was currently engaged in a war of attrition with France, and internal disorder was absolutely unacceptable.

However, he didn't take Poland too seriously; after all, they had just been partitioned by Russia, Prussia, and Austria once before, their national strength was weak, and they only retained 30,000 troops. They shouldn't be able to cause too much trouble.

Verother quickly snapped to attention, replying, "Yes, Marshal."

As he turned to leave, Archduke Charles called out to him again. "Wait, the Polish forces attacking Olomouc are likely meant as a diversion, but we mustn't let our guard down. Have the garrisons in Prague and Krems go disperse them."

"Yes, Marshal."

Archduke Charles still felt uneasy about something, so he convened his officers for a discussion. Finally, on Kutuzov's recommendation, it was decided to reallocate another 20,000 soldiers from Passau back to Vienna, ensuring absolute security.

However, these high-ranking Coalition officers had no idea that, as early as the beginning of April, Soult had already led France's Royal Second and Fourth Armies, along with three infantry divisions—a total of 110,000 troops—west along Bavaria towards Dessau in northwestern Saxony.

Originally, this mission would have been best suited for Moreau, as he was more familiar with the route to Vienna, but his legion had suffered too many losses previously. Ultimately, the Crown Prince decided to send Soult to lead the northern offensive.

......

May 9, 1799.

Soult waved the intelligence report freshly delivered by the Security Bureau and said to Lannes beside him, "Just as His Highness predicted, Dresden has fewer than 3,000 defenders."

Saxony's main forces had currently been transferred by Archduke Charles to Passau for defensive assistance, leaving the country's interior largely undefended.

In reality, Saxony had only just over 20,000 troops nationwide, and even if all of them remained to defend the capital, they would be utterly incapable of stopping Soult's army.

Lannes nodded and then asked, "What's the situation with the Poles?"

A staff officer, following closely behind, quickly replied, "Word received yesterday at noon is that the Kosciuszko Legion has already captured Olomouc."

Lannes raised an eyebrow at the news. "Then we'll have to speed things up."

It was 130 kilometers from Dessau to the Ore Mountains, and a battle in Dresden lay in between. If they arrived at the Nahcher Pass after Kościuszko, they'd be a laughingstock among the Poles.

As it turned out, the French army's marching speed was absolutely dependable.

Just three days later, Soult's army launched its assault on Dresden.

The battle was entirely one-sided. The French vanguard's more than 40 cannons bombarded for an hour, and before the Skirmisher Swarm even deployed, King August III's envoy for an armistice arrived before Soult's command post.