ON THE KATZBACH.
The armistice expired on the 15th of August, and hostilities were
resumed. The state of affairs, however, was essentially different
from what it was at the commencement of the armistice; for, at that
time, Napoleon had just obtained two victories. During the
armistice, the allies had won an important victory over him; they
had gained Austria over to their side, and now, at the renewal of
hostilities, Austria reenforced the allies with two hundred thousand
men. For nearly fourteen years Napoleon was invariably the more
powerful enemy, not only on account of his military genius, but of
the numerical strength and excellent organization of his forces.
For the first time the enemy opposed him with superior forces, and
this vast host struggled, moreover, with the utmost enthusiasm for
the deliverance of the fatherland--with the energy of hatred and
wrath against him who had so long enslaved and oppressed it. But
Napoleon still possessed his grand military genius. Soon after the
expiration of the armistice, he gained a new victory over the
allies, that of Dresden; [Footnote: The battle of Dresden lasted two
days, the 26th and 27th of August. Moreau died on the 2d of
September, and the battle of Culm was fought on the 29th and 30th of
August.] and in this battle Moreau, the French general, who was
fighting against his own countrymen, was struck by a French ball,
which caused his death in a few days. But the allies took their
revenge for the defeat of Dresden in the great victory of Culm,
where they, also after a two days' battle, achieved a brilliant
triumph over General Vandamme.
General Blucher and his Silesian army had not participated in these
battles. At the time when the Russians, the Austrians, and a part of
the Prussians, were fighting and yielding at Dresden, Blucher was at
length to attain his object, and. meet the enemy in a pitched
battle. Since the 20th of August he stood near Jauer with his army,
which was ninety thousand strong, composed of Russians and
Prussians, and awaited nothing more ardently than the approach of
the enemy, in order to fight a general battle. Fortune seemed to
favor his wishes, for Napoleon himself was advancing. On the 21st of
August the scouts reported the approach of the hostile columns, who
had crossed the Bober at Lowenberg. Blucher's eyes lit up with
delight; he stroked his white mustache, and said: "We shall have a
fight! To-morrow we meet the French!"
But the morning of the 23d of August dawned, and the eyes of the
general were still unable to descry the advancing enemy. Yet his
scouts reported that the French army was advancing, and that only a
detachment had set out for Dresden. "Then Bonaparte has left with
this detachment," grumbled Blucher; "for if he were still with them,
the French would not creep along like snails."
At length, on the 26th of August, the general's wishes seemed to be
near fulfilment. The French were advancing. They approached the
banks of the Katzbach, to the other side of which the Silesian army
was moving. "We shall have a fight!" shouted General Blucher,
exultingly; "the good God will have mercy on me after all, and treat
me to a good breakfast! I have been hungering for the French so
long, that I really thought I should die of starvation. I shall
furnish the roast; and, that there may be something to drink, the
rain is pouring down from heaven as though all the little angels on
high were weeping for joy because they are to have the pleasure of
seeing old Blucher at work!--Glorious hosts in heaven!" added
Blucher, casting a glance at the leaden sky, "now do me only the
favor to put an end to your weeping, and do not give us too much of
a good thing. Pray remember that you put under water not only the
enemy, but ourselves, your friends. Do not soften the soil too much,
else not only the French will stick in the mud, but ourselves, your
chosen lifeguard!"
But "the little angels on high" poured down their "tears of joy" in
incessant torrents from early dawn. It was one of those continuous
rains from a dull gray sky, giving little hope of fine weather for
many days. The soil was softened, the mountain-torrents swollen, and
vast masses of water foamed into the Katzbach, so that this peaceful
little stream seemed a furious river. A violent norther was blowing,
and driving the rain into the faces of the soldiers, drenching their
uniforms, penetrating the muskets, and moistening the powder.
"Well, if the boys cannot shoot to-day, they will have to club their
muskets," said Blucher, cheerfully, when he and his suite rode out
of Bollwitzhof, his headquarters, to reconnoitre the position of the
French.
But the wind and rain rendered a reconnoissance a matter of
impossibility. The enemy was nowhere to be seen, but still the dull
noise of rumbling cannon and trotting horses was heard at a
distance, and the patrols reported that they had seen the foe
approaching the Katzbach in heavy columns; not, however, on the
other bank, but on this side. At this moment General Gneisenau came
up at a full gallop. He had gone out toward the pickets to
reconnoitre, and came back to report that the French were forming in
line of battle at a short distance on the plateau near Eichholz, and
that they had crossed to the right side of the Katzbach.
"Right or left," said Blucher, "it is all the same to me, provided
we have them. If they have already crossed the river, well then they
know the road, and will be better able to find their way back. Let
us allow them to cross, until there are enough of them on this
side." Then, turning with noble dignity toward his officers, he
added, in an entirely changed, grave, and measured tone: "Gentlemen,
the battle will commence in a few hours. Promptness and good order
are of vital importance now.--The orderlies!"
The orderlies hastened to him. "You will ride to General York, who
is occupying the plateau of Eichholz, and tell him to allow as many
French as he thinks he can beat to march up the ascent, and then he
is to charge them!" shouted Blucher to the first orderly, and, while
he sped away at a furious gallop, the general turned to the second.
"You will hasten to General von Sacken and tell him that it is time
for attacking the French!--And we, gentlemen," he added, addressing
his staff, "will place ourselves at the head of our troops. The
soldiers must have their meals cooked by two o'clock; all the
columns will then commence moving. When the enemy falls back, I
expect, above all, the cavalry to do their duty, and to act with
great courage. The foe must find out, that on retreating he cannot
get out of our hands unhurt. And now, forward! The battle begins at
two o'clock!" He spurred his horse, and galloped again toward the
troops. With a serene face and joyful eyes he rode along the front.
"Boys," he shouted, "cook your dinners quickly, do not burn your
mouths, and do not eat your soup too hot; but when you have eaten
it, then it is time for cooking a whipping soup for the French."
"Yes, Father Blucher, we will cook it for them!" shouted the
soldiers.
"I am afraid that soup won't agree with the French," said Blucher,
with a humorous wink. "Blue-bean soup is hard to digest. But they
will have to swallow it, whether they like it or not, won't they?"
"Yes, they will!" laughed the soldiers; and Blucher galloped over to
the other regiments, to fire their hearts by similar greetings.
It was two o'clock! "Boys, the fun will commence now!" shouted
Blucher's powerful voice. "Now I have French soldiers enough on this
side of the river. Forward!"
Forward they went, at a double-quick, directly at the French. The
cannon boomed, the musketry rattled; but the rain soon silenced the
latter.
"Boys," shouted Major von Othegraven to his battalion of the
Brandenburg regiment, "if we cannot shoot them, we can club them!"
And amid loud cheers the soldiers turned their muskets, and struck
their enemies with the butts. A terrible hand-to-hand struggle
ensued--howls of pain, dreadful abuse and imprecations burst from
both sides; but at length they ceased on this part of the field: the
Brandenburg soldiers had killed a whole French battalion with the
stocks of their muskets! [Footnote: Beitzke, vol. ii., p. 204.]
The battle raged on amid the terrible storm beating on the
combatants. The wind blew violently, and the rain descended in
torrents. The men sank ankle-deep in the softened soil, but
"Forward!" sounded the battle-cry, and the soldiers left their shoes
in the mud, rushing in their socks or bare-footed on the enemy, who
fought with lion-hearted courage, here receding and there advancing.
"Father Blucher, we are doing well to-day!" shouted the soldiers to
their chieftain, galloping up to the infantry.
"Yes, we are doing well," cried Blucher; "but wait, boys--we shall
do still better!"
At this moment the artillery boomed from the other side. Two
officers galloped up to Blucher. One was the orderly he had sent to
General von Sacken.
"What reply did General von Sacken make?" shouted Blucher.
"'Reply to the general, "Hurrah!"' [Footnote: Beitzke, vol. ii., p.
201.] was all he said, your excellency."
"A splendid comrade!" cried Blucher, merrily.
"General," said the second officer, in an undertone, "I beg leave to
make a communication in private."
"In private? No communications will be made in private to-day,"
replied Blucher, shaking his head; "my staff-officers must hear
every thing." And he beckoned to his aides and officers to come
closer to him.
"Your excellency then commands me to utter aloud what I have to
say?"
"Well, speak directly, and, if you like, so loudly that the French
will hear, too!"
"Well, then, general, I have to tell you that no time is to be lost,
and that we must hasten to advance, for the Emperor Napoleon himself
is coming up at the head of his troops; he is already in the rear of
your excellency,"
"Ah," inquired Blucher, with perfect composure, "is the Emperor
Napoleon in my rear? Well, I am glad of it; then he is able to do me
a great favor." He turned his eyes again toward the battle array
with a defiant smile, as if confident of final victory.
The victory was not decided, although the murderous struggle had
lasted already an hour. Marshal Macdonald constantly moved up fresh
troops, and Blucher had sufficient reserves to meet them. Here the
Prussians gave way, and there the French. 'From the right wing of
the Prussian army orderlies informed General Blucher that General
York, with his troops, had repulsed the enemy, and was advancing
victoriously; messengers hastened to him from the left wing, and
told him that General Langeron was about to fall back, that the
Prussian cavalry were retreating, and the French cavalry approaching
in dense masses, and that the Prussian batteries were in imminent
danger of falling into the hands of the enemy.
Blucher uttered an oath--a single savage oath; then he turned his
head aside and shouted, "Hennemann! pipe-master!"
Christian Hennemann galloped up immediately. He was in full hussar-
uniform, but did not belong to the ranks; he was in the suite of his
general, and had to be constantly near him. On the pommel of his
saddle was a long iron box, and in his mouth a short clay pipe.
"General, here I am!"
"Give me a short pipe, for now we charge the enemy!"
Hennemann took the pipe from his mouth, handed it to the general,
and said, with the utmost equanimity: "Here it is! It has been
burning some time already, and I began to think the general had
entirely forgotten the pipe and myself."
Blucher put the pipe into his mouth. At this moment a Brandenburg
regiment of lancers galloped up, headed by Major von Katzeler,
Blucher's former adjutant. "We are going to assist our men!" shouted
Katzeler, saluting the general with his sword.
"We are moving to the relief of our comrades!" cried a captain of
hussars, thundering up at the head of his regiment.
"Very well!" said Blucher. "God bless me. I must go with them! I can
stand it no longer!" Drawing his sword, he galloped with the courage
and ardor of a youth to the head of the column of hussars, who
received him with deafening cheers. The bugles sounded, and forward
sped Blucher at an impetuous gallop.
Suddenly some one shouted by his side: "General! general!" It was
the pipe-master. Blucher, looking at him with eyes flashing with
anger, said: "Begone! Ride to the rear!"
"God forbid!" said Hennemann, composedly; "here is my place; did not
the general order me always to remain near him and hold a short pipe
in readiness? Well, I am near, and the pipe is ready."
"I do not want it now, Christian; we are about to charge the enemy.
To the rear, pipe-master!"
"I cannot think of it, general; no one is at liberty to desert his
post, as you told me yourself," cried Hennemann. "I am at my post,
and will not allow myself to be driven from it. You will soon enough
need me."
"Forward!" cried the general. And amid loud cheers the hussars
rushed upon the enemy, Blucher fighting at their head, brandishing
his sword with the utmost delight, forcing back the enemy, and
wresting from him the advantages he had already gained. The French
being driven back, Blucher suddenly commanded a halt.
"Boys!" he shouted, in a clarion voice, "this is a butchery to-day;
let us stop a moment, take a drink, and fill our pipes.--Pipe-
master, my pipe!"
"Did I not say that you would soon need me?" asked Hennemann, in a
triumphant voice. "Here is your pipe, general!"
When the horses had taken breath, and the bold hussars a drink, and
filled their pipes, the general's voice was again heard: "Forward in
God's name!--we shall soon be done with the French!"
Toward dusk the battle was decided. In wild disorder fled the enemy,
delayed by the softened soil, blinded by the rain, and obstructed by
the Katzbach and the Neisse, with their roaring waters swelling
every moment. In hot pursuit was the exultant victor, thundering
with his cannon, and hurling death into the ranks of the fugitives.
Field-pieces were planted on the banks of those streams, and when
the French approached, they were greeted with fearful volleys.
Turning in dismay, flashing swords and bayonets menaced them. Piles
of dead were lying on the banks of the Katzbach; thousands of
corpses were floating down the foaming waters, showing to Silesia
the bloody trophies of battle, and that Blucher had at length taken
revenge upon his adversary. At seven o'clock in the evening all was
still. On all sides the French had fled.