Seydlitz Saves the Day at Zorndorf
Notwithstanding obstacles of the kind related in the last chapter, which
were frequent in that region, the progress of the army was not checked
and Silesia was reached. The King left the larger part of the army at
Landeshut with Field-Marshal Keith,[16] for the protection of Silesia,
and pushed on by exhausting marches under the scorching sun to the
relief of Count Dohna, who was in great danger from the attacks of the
Russians. The latter, leaving devastation in their wake, had invaded
Prussia as far as Cüstrin, as already mentioned. This place they had
captured after great destruction, and they also forced it to pay a heavy
contribution in money. Trampled fields and burning villages marked the
route of the northern barbarians. The unfortunate inhabitants of cities
and villages, driven from house and home, wandered in bands, seeking
shelter and help. Deeply touched by the indescribable wretchedness of
his countrymen, Frederick marched all the more rapidly until he came up
with the Russians at Zorndorf. A little stream alone separated the two
armies.
As so much depended upon securing an accurate idea of the whole
situation, the exact position as well as numbers of the enemy, the King,
attended by an aide, a servant who carried his spyglass, and a groom,
rode to the bank of the stream, dismounted and bade his servant also
alight. Resting his glass upon the latter’s shoulder, he began making
observations. The moment the Russians saw him, they opened a continuous
fire from the nearest battery, the shot striking so near the King as to
cover his coat with dirt. He calmly continued his observations without
moving his glass or a change in the expression of his face. At last his
aide thought it was his duty to remind him of the danger to which he was
exposed. He stepped up, gently pulled the skirts of the King’s coat, and
said: “Your Majesty is in too great danger here. See how the shots are
striking all around you. Your coat and hat are covered with dirt.”
It was some little time before the King replied. At last he turned to
the aide, saying with the utmost coolness: “If you are afraid, you can
ride back”; and then resumed his observations at once. After he had seen
all he wished, he said to his servant: “Now you can pack up.” With these
words he mounted his horse and leisurely rode away under a very shower
of shot, talking in the meanwhile with his aide on various matters,
utterly indifferent to danger.
The ruin caused by the Russians so infuriated the King that he decided
upon a battle to the death, and issued orders that none of the barbarous
enemy should be spared.
It was in the early morning of August 25, 1758, that the Prussian army,
thirty-two thousand strong, confronted, in battle array, an enemy
greatly exceeding it in strength, for the Russians numbered fifty-two
thousand men. After all preparations for the battle had been made, and
as the Prussians were marching out of camp, the King conversed with
officers and the rank-and-file upon various matters as they passed by,
with as much composure as if it were a parade. He was somewhat surprised
at an old corporal in the grenadier battalion of the Berlin garrison,
named Beek, whose very bald head was covered with the grenadier’s cap
while his wig was hanging from his knapsack. The King rode up to him and
noticed that the old man was still very active.
“My friend,” said he, “it is high time somebody looked after you. Have
you had an education?”
“No, Your Majesty, I have learned nothing; I can neither read nor write.
I had to be a soldier when I was very young, and I am of no use except
to be shot at.”
“How long have you been in the service?”
“Forty-four years already, and yet I am perfectly sound. If the war
lasts long enough, however, my time to die will come. I don’t care for
that, for I have always lived the soldier’s life. There is only one
thing that troubles me. If it were not for that, Your Majesty, I
shouldn’t care if I were shot to-day. I would die right willingly.”
The King listened attentively and then asked:
“Well, what troubles you?”
“Your Majesty, I have an only boy who is making some progress. His
mother has taught him to read quite well, and I would be glad to have
him learn whatever is proper for him, and go to some good school, so
that he will know more than I do. That will help him when he goes out
into the world, I cannot afford to give him anything out of my
allowance.”
“Where is your son to be found?”
The father gave him his son’s residence, and told his name, and then the
King rode away. A few minutes after this the battle began.
The Russians were formed in a huge quadrilateral. The Prussian artillery
played havoc with this dense, unwieldy mass, for Captain Möller that day
had one hundred and seventeen cannon and howitzers. Seydlitz was chief
in command of all the cavalry. The Russian general, Fermor, opened the
battle prematurely by a sudden attack with his cavalry, which dashed
upon the Prussians with loud cheers. Seydlitz did not neglect his
opportunity. With his characteristic energy he repulsed the cavalry and
hurled back the enemy’s infantry. The ensuing confusion, greatly
increased by the dust, smoke, and furious battle cries, was so great
that the Russian rear guard fired upon their own men. Dreadful slaughter
followed, but the Russians stood as if rooted to the earth and fought
like lions. At last, by the aid of invincible courage and judicious
leadership, the Prussian army weakened the enemy, but as yet without
decisive result. An eyewitness describes the further progress of the
battle as follows:
“Fiercely blazed the noonday sun upon the exhausted troops, who had been
on their feet since four o’clock in the morning. The cavalry was
particularly fatigued, for it had been engaged at the most dangerous
points. Both men and animals needed refreshment, which could only be
procured for a short time back of the village of Zorndorf, where
Seydlitz’s squadrons had been stationed. The King was anxious to make
the battle decisive, and therefore, in the afternoon, ordered it to be
renewed. The Russian army stood ready in battle order. Fifteen thousand
infantry, twelve ranks deep, occupied a strong position, and one hundred
cannon covered their flanks and poured a deadly fire into the
approaching Prussian regiments. Their onset was checked, and they fell
back. The fate of Prussia and its heroic King hung in the balance.
Seydlitz, who had formed his cavalry in three divisions, recognized the
danger and rushed forward. He had his sixty-one squadrons in such shape
that they could make repeated assaults upon the obstinate enemy. The
first division was composed of eighteen squadrons of cuirassiers,
assisted by a fine regiment of carbineers and a corps of _gens d’armes_.
At a hundred yards away were three regiments of dragoons in the second
division, which supported the first and filled up gaps. The third
division, two hundred and fifty yards distant, consisted of three
regiments of hussars, whose duty it was to capture artillery, take
charge of prisoners, and destroy broken battalions.
“In order to save the badly weakened men and horses as much as possible,
Seydlitz ordered that at first all movements should be made in slow and
regular time; but at the final ‘March, march,’ they should not spare the
spur, but hurl themselves upon the enemy with all possible force and
fury. The powerful body began its slow movement, greatly hindered by the
retreating battalions of Dohna’s infantry. With clear, far-reaching
voice Seydlitz ordered, ‘Make ready for attack!’ for the Russian shots
were already falling among them. Quickly followed the first ‘March,
march,’ order, blown by two hundred trumpeters, but the squadrons moved
forward at an easy gallop. Nearer and nearer, enveloped in dense clouds
of dust, they rushed upon the Russian colossus. Then came the
thunder-shock. Grapeshot made frightful havoc in the Prussian ranks. At
last the trumpeters sounded the final ‘March, march,’ and with all their
force the Prussian centaurs hurled themselves upon the enemy’s bayonets.
With incessant and irresistible fury the whole sixty-one squadrons
repeatedly charged. The cannon were captured, men were mowed down.
Suddenly firing ceased. Death came by cut and thrust. Darkness and the
complete exhaustion of men and horses ended the slaughter.”
Frederick was jubilant over his brilliant victory. One hundred and three
cannon, twenty-seven standards, and the money chests were the spoils of
the day, but ten thousand Prussians were left upon the field of honor.
On this day, Seydlitz and his cavalry had rescued the Fatherland and
saved Prussia’s military glory. He had performed miracles of bravery,
and when the infantry wavered it was his cavalry which put the enemy to
flight. The King himself acknowledged this, for when he was
congratulated upon the great victory he turned to Seydlitz, and said:
“But for this man things would have looked bad for us by this time.”