It was now certain that Bohemia was to be the theater of war. This
province of the Austrian Empire may be described as a huge basin,
whose rim is composed of mountains. It is separated from Silesia by
the Riesengebirge (Giant Mountains), from Saxony by the Erzgebirge
(Iron Mountains), from Moravia by the Moravian Hills, and from Bavaria
by the Fichtelgebirge and the Böhmerwald; the Moravian Hills and the
Böhmerwald separating it from the valley of the Danube. This great
basin is drained by the Elbe river, which, rising in the Riesengebirge,
makes a huge loop, flowing first south, then west, and finally north,
and receives the waters of the Iser, Adler, Moldau and Eger rivers
before it issues forth from the Bohemian frontier into Saxony. This
theater is well suited to defensive operations, as the mountain
frontiers are penetrated by few passes, and the forests and rivers
constitute additional obstacles. On the Silesian frontier the only
issues by which an invader can enter Bohemia are the passes of
Trautenau, Eypel, Kosteletz, Nachod and Neustadt. These passes could
all be easily defended, while on the Saxon frontier the passes of
Reichenberg, Gabel and Königstein-Tetschen could be used by retarding
forces, which could afterwards find a strong defensive line on the Iser.
[Illustration: No. 2. 1st. ARMY ON 22ND., 23RD. & 24TH. JUNE.]
Two railway lines lay in the theater of war, and were of great
importance to the contending armies. One line ran from Vienna, _via_
Kosel, Breslau and Görlitz, to Dresden. The other connected the
Austrian capital with Prague, _via_ Olmütz (or Brünn) and Bömisch
Trübau. The two lines were joined by a railway from Dresden to Prague,
and by one which, running from Löbau to Turnau, branched from the
latter point to Prague and Pardubitz. These railways connected with
others leading to all the important cities of Prussia. The two Prussian
armies could cover their railway communications while advancing; but
the Prague-Olmütz line, which was of vital importance to the Austrian
army, ran parallel to, and dangerously near, the Silesian frontier, and
was not covered by the Austrian front during the operations in Bohemia.
The Prussian advance began on the 20th of June. The Army of the
Elbe marched from the vicinity of Dresden, _via_ Stolpen, Neustadt,
Schluckenau and Rumburg, to Gabel. As the greater part of this march
had to be made by one road, it required six days, though the distance
was only 65 miles. The First Army had concentrated at Zittau, Herrnhut,
Hirschfelde, Seidenberg and Marklissa. From these points it began its
march on the 22d of June, each division marching by a separate road;
and on the 25th it was closely concentrated around Reichenberg. The
entire Prussian front was now reduced to about 100 miles, and Herwarth
Von Bittenfeld was only twelve miles from Frederick Charles.
It would have been dangerous in the extreme for the Crown Prince to
begin his march while Von Benedek held six corps in hand to hurl
upon him. The passage of the Second Army through the defiles depended
on surprise; and in the face of a superior and concentrated army, it
would have been a desperate undertaking. It was necessary, therefore,
to distract the plans of the enemy by false maneuvers, and to wait for
Frederick Charles to menace the Austrian left, on the Iser, before
beginning the forward movement with the Second Army. With these objects
in view, the VIth Corps was ordered to push forward towards Olmütz,
and Frederick Charles received the following instructions from Von
Moltke: “Since the difficult task of debouching from the mountains
falls upon the Second, weaker, Army, so, as soon as the junction
with Herwarth’s corps is effected, the First Army must, by its rapid
advance, shorten the crisis.” The VIth Corps moved from Neisse into
the Austrian dominions as far as Freiwaldau, where its advanced-guard
had a successful skirmish with a party of Austrian cavalry. This corps
was supposed by the Austrians to be the advanced-guard of the Crown
Prince’s army marching upon Olmütz; and the demonstration had the
effect of holding a large force of Austrians between Hohenmauth and
Bömisch Trübau, where it could not be used to oppose the real advance
of the Second Army.
The Crown Prince’s army was to move as follows:
The Ist Corps[3] _via_ Liebau and Trautenau, to Arnau;
The Guards, _via_ Neurode, Braunau, Eypel, to Königinhof;
The Vth Corps, _via_ Glatz, Reinerz, Nachod, to Gradlitz;
The cavalry, from Waldenburg, _via_ Trautenau, to Königinhof.
[Illustration: No. 1. PROPOSED ADVANCE OF 2ND. ARMY FROM 25TH. TO 28TH.
JUNE.]
[Illustration: No. 3. POSITION OF BOTH ARMIES ON THE EVENING OF THE
25TH. JUNE.]
The VIth Corps, having made the diversion to Freiwaldau, was withdrawn
to Glatz and Patschkau, from which points it was to follow the Vth.
A corps of observation, consisting of two regiments of infantry, one
of cavalry, and a light battery, was detached at Ratibor to make
demonstrations against Austrian Silesia. In case this detachment
should encounter a large force of the enemy, it was to fall back upon
the fortress of Kosel. During the campaign an unimportant war of
detachments was carried on in this region, generally to the advantage
of the Prussians.