Chapter 685: The Holy Alliance, Annihilate the Heretics
Franz II looked at the Minister of State with some surprise:
"What? Only a little over 20,000 men? Is this the Military Committee's decision?"
It was no wonder he asked, considering Austria had deployed 40,000 troops to suppress the rebellion in Slavonia, yet was only sending 24,000 men for a national war against Poland.
Baron Thugut appeared slightly embarrassed:
"Your Majesty, if our goal is merely Lesser Poland, this force should be sufficient. You are aware of our financial situation..."
Hearing this, Franz II waved a hand impatiently.
In truth, Austria's financial situation was no better than Prussia's at that moment.
Having also endured the drain of the Silesian Wars, and recently fought another battle in the Southern Netherlands—though the French army bore the brunt of the fighting, Austria was responsible for logistics—the Serbian rebellion was still far from fully quelled.
The Empire had been "bleeding" from all sides for the past few years.
This was also why Franz II was desperate to carve off a piece of Poland to staunch the bleeding.
However, immense military expenditure forced the Empire to send only a little over 20,000 troops to attack Poland.
Baron Thugut continued:
"Your Majesty, Russia has drawn away the vast majority of the Polish army. The War Council believes we will not encounter much resistance."
As he spoke, the Emperor's attendant approached.
Franz II looked at the attendant. "What is it?"
"Your Majesty, Count Schmaitz and Marquis Androsh, along with several other nobles, request an audience."
"What do they want?"
"Er, Count Schmaitz seemed to mention, obeying the Holy See's call, to send troops to participate in a Holy War..."
The Holy Roman Emperor's face flushed green with anger. He thundered, "What Holy War! That's merely Polish rumor-mongering! Tell them not to mention it again!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
In the corridors of Schönbrunn Palace, Count Schmaitz passionately addressed a group of nobles awaiting an audience with the Emperor:
"A century ago, the 'Spear of God' helped the Empire repel the infidels besieging Vienna! Now, it is time for new Crusaders to march to the Dnieper River and aid them! His Majesty will surely agree to send troops."
He was referring to the late 17th century, when the Ottoman army laid siege to Vienna. Pope Innocent XI had then formed a "Holy League" to reinforce Austria, with the Polish Winged Hussars as its main force.
Someone immediately shouted loudly:
"In the name of God!"
"The Holy Alliance, annihilate the heretics!"
However, the Emperor's attendant emerged with a stern expression, admonishing the crowd:
"Silence, please! His Majesty has stated that this so-called Holy War is nothing but Polish rumor-mongering, and no one is to speak of it again."
The group of nobles froze on the spot.
North of Kiev.
Hornostaypil.
General Smirnov, commander of the Ukraine Legion, stared blankly as a unit of cavalry, clad in red uniforms with white wings strapped to their backs, sliced into his infantry lines from the flank and rear, like a surging wave of molten rock, meeting no resistance.
The Cossack Cavalry battalion he had dispatched to intercept them had collapsed at the first blow against this "molten rock," leaving the Ukraine Legion infantry's flank exposed.
'Winged Hussars?'
Smirnov murmured, his face ashen. His soldiers were already breaking ranks and fleeing.
'This... how is this possible?'
Just this morning, he had been discussing with his staff how to intercept the Polish forces harassing Kiev if they tried to escape.
Indeed, he hadn't given the Polish army a second thought.
While the Poles in Mozyr displayed a fearless determination, they had been consistently beaten back by the Russian army, unable to retaliate.
He had always believed that as long as he could catch the Polish army before him, he could easily annihilate them.
Who would have thought that just two hours ago, the Poles would suddenly turn around and launch a fierce assault against him?
Smirnov was initially pleased, believing he could seize some military accolades, and immediately ordered his entire army to attack and counter-charge.
However, what he hadn't anticipated was the astonishing combat effectiveness of this Polish army—from training and morale to equipment, they were in no way inferior to the Ukraine Legion.
In fact, they were significantly superior.
Kościuszko was leading Poland's most elite troops, their morale undeniably high, and they had been fighting fierce, real battles against Serbian rebels for over half a year. As for weaponry, while they used the same Tula M1753 model as the Russian army, these were produced under the direct supervision of French technicians, exceeding the Russian originals in both accuracy and reliability.
Moreover, the Polish army numbered 17,000 men, while the Russian forces sent to intercept them were only around 10,000.
As for Chaperov's Kiev garrison, due to a lack of proper coordination with Smirnov, they were still milling about beneath the walls of Kiev.
Consequently, the Ukraine Legion and the Polish Royal 3rd Division found themselves overwhelmed upon first contact.
Seeing the tide turn, Smirnov was preparing to retreat towards Mozyr when over a thousand Winged Hussars suddenly burst forth from downstream of the Teteriv River.
And that was how the current situation unfolded.
Lieutenant Colonel Madaliński, the Winged Hussar commander, remained remarkably calm. After slicing through the Russian infantry, he immediately reformed his ranks and turned to charge the Cossack Cavalry, who had been scattered earlier.
Following this, the Polish infantry lines advanced swiftly, completely shattering the Russian defense.
In desperation, Smirnov committed all his reserves, hoping to stall the Polish offensive. Then, the Winged Hussars, brimming with momentum, charged back towards the regrouping Ukraine Legion infantry...
Mozyr.
Maryce town.
Morkov rode his horse past the collapsed clock tower. Everywhere he looked, there were wounded Russian soldiers—the bodies had already been removed, otherwise the scene would have been even more gruesome.
To capture this small town, he had lost over 2,000 soldiers and more than 30 cannons.
He had previously risked pushing all his artillery to the front lines to bombard the Polish troops holed up in buildings at close range, which had indeed yielded good results, causing the Polish defenses to quickly fall back.
However, a squad of Polish skirmishers had launched a suicidal attack on his artillery positions, destroying over 30 of his cannons at the cost of every man.
"These Polish madmen!" Morkov cursed.
The thought of the hellish scene he had witnessed at the artillery positions made Morkov's scalp crawl—over 700 bodies carpeted the cramped artillery lines, almost every cannon buried beneath fallen Poles.
Fortunately, the town was now in his hands.
One day of rest, and then they could launch a full assault on Mozyr.
Just then, two blood-soaked rangers galloped up. Spotting Morkov, they didn't even stop fully before shouting in a panic-stricken voice:
"Report! The Ukraine Legion is under attack, requesting reinforcements!"
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