The Jerusalem of the North was burning. By week's end, half a millennium of history would be gone, scattered ashes in the wind.

The army was split into three major flanks, with cavalry scouting ahead. The Russians had planned on cavalry superiority, but they had not counted on the skill of the Polish hussars present in the Coronan army. At roughly 10:00AM on April 4th, 1808, Coronan cavalry made contact with Russian forces. There were two hours of light skirmishing, during which the commands of both armies heard about the battle. The Russian army, situated much closer, began a brisk march, while the French, which up until now had been marching at a moderate pace, began a grueling forced march up towards Vilnius. At around noon, the French cavalry commanders held a vote and decided to mount a more aggressive battle with the enemy cossacks, with the vote of Lasalle being the tie-breaker. The two cavalry units began to clash within the streets of Vilnius, and in such twisting, narrow confines, the advantage of ranged weaponry diminished. Men were hacked to bits, trampled, and speared as horsemen rode through the streets. Unfortunately, the Russian army arrived after only an hour and a half of this fighting. 220,000 Russian regulars entered the north end of the city and joined the fight. Lasalle was shot dead during the first Russian advance.

The French cavalry were whipped into a furious rage by the death of such a beloved commander, and resolved to hold the city until reinforcements arrived. Street by street they contested the town, with those who had lost their horses retreating into buildings and sniping from the windows. Charge after charge went through enemies as they attempted to move forward, and the Russians were forced back into the forested green areas of Vilnius many times that day. But it would inflict a heavy toll. The main flank arrived just as night was setting in, with the cavalry still in possession of the southern part of Vilnius. Out of the 45,000 cavalry present, 16,000 had died. 7,000 Russian horsemen had also lost their lives, along with 2,500 infantry. The first day of the Battle of Vilnius was over, having claimed 25,500 souls.

Battle resumed as soon as dawn broke on the second day. The Russians had set up along the Neria, which ran down the center of the city. The awkward bend in the river's west, east of the modern Vingis park, was left unmanned. Instead, a line of infantry waited behind. If an enemy attempted to cross the river and flank from that crossing, then the reserves would move in and sandwich the would be attackers. The first attempt was made to cross at their main line, with snow golems spearheading the charge. However, Greek Fire melted the golems so thoroughly that they boiled into steam, cooking the hapless men behind them. Their skin turned red, blistered, and finally burst, spilling guts and fecal matter into the river. As the morning stretched on, a second probe was made at Zverynas. The crossing there was successful, but the forlorn hope was caught in Marshal Tolly's trap, and torn to bits. Still, the attack had held more promise than the last, and men began to stream across the river. At this point, the Russians unveiled their new weapon. The British had ordered 500 Nock guns produced at the beginning of the war, but their massive recoil had made them impractical for hand held use. However, with the inclusion of Elsa into the Napoleonic Armies, it soon became clear that a counter was necessary. Fire worked, but stocks of fire were limited, while the ice was theoretically infinite. The next proposed solution was to combine the tactic of incendiaries with fire being laid down on and near the Queen at all times, forcing her to keep her head down and restricting her freedom of movement. Unfortunately, the infantry firearms of the time were inadequate to the task. That being said, a new device was soon conceived. By following up on the multi-barreled design of the Nock gun, and by mounting it on cannon wheels, a larger form of the device could be deployed, with multiple triggers so that the barrels could be fired individually. This primitive machine gun was impractical against most infantry, but it would serve as the first use of modern suppressive fire, and it is credited with reducing Elsa's effectiveness for the entire rest of the Napoleonic Wars. The Russians began to pull men away from other parts of the line and deploy their reserves to deal with the forces at Zverynas. Finally, when almost 45,000 had crossed, the entire part of the city near the crossing was set alight. Separated from their allies, the attackers were crushed. The Russian army was now in total disarray, but the Neria river was covered in fire and filled with rotting corpses. Men refused to cross the firestorm, and the moment was lost. 65,000 Russians and 50,000 French were dead, with no gains for either side.

Napoleon's reinforcements were coming close on the third day. The Russians decided to scorch the city and retreat. The French attempted pursuit, but were stymied by fire mines and barricades in their path. The fire found fuel in the many forests scattered through the city, and soon the whole city was burning. Unwilling to push through a burning city, the men stayed put. There were a few more skirmish actions around the outskirts of the city, and even a fight at Trakai Castle to the west, but for the Russians, the battle was over. Another 6000 dead on each side, mostly at Trakai, brought the total casualties of the three days to 154,500 men. According to legend, Lake Galve was haunted. If it was not before, it was now.

The battlefield was a vision of carnage. The city had been reduced to burnt-out whispering husks. The river was a slimy green, thick with putrefaction and flammable oils. Parts of it had even degraded to a thick slush of blood, intestines, and feces. Everywhere you could hear the moaning of men slowly dying, guts torn out or limbs missing. They were parched to a man, but there was not enough water. The supply trains had been unable to keep up with the forced march, something that would become a recurring theme in the campaign. Swarms of mosquitoes descended upon the city, blackening the sky with their presence. There was no food. Although the cossacks had been caught, they had done their job well, and the countryside was barren. The water was all tainted. The city sat at the joining of the Vilnia and Neria river, but both had been rendered undrinkable. Those who dared risk it soon caught dysentery and died dehydrated and wallowing in their own filth. Dogs, abandoned by frightened owners fleeing the city, ran rampant, nipping at the still writhing bodies of wounded men. The rot had condensed into a miasmatic fume that now hung over the city, a fog made of disease and the stench of death. Burnt gnarled hands had replaced the forests of Vilnius. The medicine was in the back, and even if it wasn't, there was not enough food and water to nurse the injured back to health. Many would choose a quick mercy killing if they could get one, but the dying were too numerous for the living to cull. The soldiers were dirty and covered in sweat, but there was no bathing. Only a fool would consider the water clean. Without the ability to clean themselves, lice began to infest the men. With lice came typhoid. More men would die of Typhoid than of any other cause. To this day, three days in Vilnius is used in German to denote a profoundly unpleasant experience. The Jerusalem of the North had become a hell on earth.

Nor was the battle over.