Hungary's summer was unusually long. Even in September, there wasn't the slightest hint of coolness.
The first rays of sunlight had barely touched the ground when countless groups of Hungarian Hussars began moving silently across the great plain.
Before setting out, each of them had brought three days' worth of rations, a saber, and two pistols.
It was said that this was how the Huns had dealt with the Romans back in the day: they took only three days' worth of rations, a saber, and a short bow. Everything else, they took from the Romans.
János Damjanich's demands of every soldier were:
"Keep your blades sharp and your guns from exploding. Don't come back until the job is done. Kill every Austrian you see and burn every house. That way, the Austrian militia on the front lines will have no choice but to leave their fortifications and return to help."
According to János Damjanich's plan, if the Austrian militia were forced to fight the Hungarian cavalry on the open grasslands, it would be a one-sided massacre.
After all, the militia lacked proper training. They would struggle to form hollow squares capable of resisting cavalry, and scattered infantry facing a cavalry charge were little better than farmers armed with pitchforks.
The Austrians had made plenty of preparations in the Imperial Territory, but there were still many gaps to exploit.
As long as the Hungarian Hussars could break into the Imperial Manors, it would be like a tiger among sheep. Ordinary people stood no chance against the fearsome Hussars.
In fact, the Hussars didn't need to send many men into the Imperial Manors. Just a few hundred could throw the entire Imperial Territory into chaos, because fear was contagious, like a plague.
At the time, Hungary's entire upper class was fond of