The night was spent by the inhabitants in the impossible task of trying to raise the money. Rings, watches and jewellery of all kinds were collected. The churches were stripped of their crucifixes and plate. A valuable collection of old coins, worth at least 15,000 roubles, left the scales at an appraisement of seven hundred roubles. At half-past six in the morning it was found that not more than five or six thousand roubles’ worth of gold and silver had been collected towards the 200,000 demanded. The mayor went to find the general in the forlorn hope that the latter would relent. The inhabitants crouched in their cellars awaiting the dreaded bombardment. Eight o’clock passed and nothing happened. The Austrian general had left during the night, leaving a colonel as governor of the town. The latter gravely assessed the levy at 25,000 rubles, returned the crucifixes and church plate and announced that he was perfectly satisfied. Then a few hours later, acting on instructions from Vienna, he returned the whole levy, to the utter bewilderment of the inhabitants. But in spite of these half-hearted attempts to imitate the Huns, there is no doubt that for a time the advance of the Austrian army was a serious matter. General Bankal, the commander of the force, drove the Russians from position after position in a series of desperate engagements and it was not until he reached the line Lublin Kholm that he was definitely checked, and General Russki was able to advance in earnest. The primary cause of General Bankal’s check was the fact that he found himself face to face with a strong Russian army, with the fortress of Ivangorod for a base. This army was as large as his own, and occupied an immensely strong position. Bankal, realising the necessity for maintaining the offensive, attempted to break through the Russian centre. After a heavy bombardment he threw his men forward in close formation, hoping by force of numbers to cut a way through. The attempt was a costly failure. A second and third attempt fared no better. Then, realising that his position was hopeless in the face of such superior forces, Bankal retired, and soon was in full retreat towards the south. In this battle the Russians captured over 5,000 prisoners; whilst the Austrian losses may be estimated from the fact that over 3,000 of their dead were buried by the victors.