The Dawn of Peace
The King entered upon another year with serious anxiety, for he could
not escape the conviction that the longer the war continued the worse
was his situation. His army was continually dwindling away. The old and
tried troops, with which he had almost done wonders at the beginning of
field operations, were now nearly all gone. His former sources of money
had also run dry. Saxony, which until now had helped him greatly with
its generous contributions, had paid out its last mark, and Prussia was
so utterly exhausted that it could do nothing in any direction. With the
enemy it was different. They confronted him with renewed strength and
increased numbers. The combination of the two great armies was the most
serious danger to his small force. It was by this combination that the
fall of Schweidnitz was hastened. Frederick saw no prospect of victory
anywhere, and yet the truth of his saying, “When necessity is greatest,
help is nearest,” was confirmed at that very time.
The Empress Elizabeth of Russia,[24] a faithful ally of Maria Theresa,
died January 5, 1762. Both empresses, in alliance with France, had sworn
to ruin the King of Prussia. Elizabeth’s successor was Peter III, who
was friendly to the King, and who at the very beginning of the war
expressed his regret that Russia had taken part in hostilities against
the King whom he greatly esteemed for his heroism. Frederick knew this,
and hence was inclined to regard the death of the Empress as a fortunate
event which would make for his success. He reckoned rightly, for hardly
had Peter ascended the throne before he sent a messenger with orders to
his army to retire from all of Frederick’s provinces, to release all
prisoners without further ceremony, and hand over the contents of the
great storehouses in Pomerania to the people living there without cost.
In place of a bitter enemy, the King had a warm friend in Russia. On May
fifth, Peter made peace with Prussia; and not only this, but soon
afterward he sent Czernichef with his twenty thousand men to join the
Prussians. When this was known, Sweden, which had also been a party to
the alliance, out of deference to Russia, decided to forego the pleasure
of making war upon Prussia any longer. It did not waste any time in
acquainting Frederick with its wishes. In fact, the proposition was made
so suddenly that the great King facetiously said to the messenger who
brought it:
“I was not aware I had been at war with Sweden. To be sure, I have heard
of some dealings which my General Belling has had with that people, but
they shall have peace if they wish it.” The treaty of peace with Sweden
was concluded May twenty-second.
How suddenly the aspect of his affairs changed! All at once Frederick
was free from all danger, and was in a position to attack once more. Up
to this time his weakness had forced him to act on the defensive. Now he
was able to take the offensive, and make a stout resistance to his
remaining enemies. He did not wait long, but marched his army with its
Russian reënforcement into Silesia, to expel the Austrians and save that
province from the enemy. Daun was seized with consternation when he
heard of the King’s advance. He hastily fell back, took a new position
on the Burkersdorf hills, and entrenched himself as well as he could. It
was Frederick’s firm intention to attack the enemy at that point, and he
had even fixed the day upon which he would measure strength with the
foe, but an entirely unexpected as well as unfortunate event occurred,
which frustrated all his plans and menaced both him and the Fatherland.
After ruling six months, Peter was dethroned by conspirators, and died
shortly afterward.[25] His wife, Catharine, was made regent by the
dominant party. The shrewd Frederick may have anticipated such an
occurrence, for, in all his letters to the young Emperor, he gave him
much fatherly advice, and particularly entreated him to be prudent in
his administration, and conciliatory in all his relations to his wife.
This was a fortunate thing for the King, for when the ambitious Empress
read this correspondence she was so deeply touched by Frederick’s
attitude toward her that she hastened negotiations for peace, declared
she would have nothing to do with the war, and furthermore ordered her
armies to return home at once.
The friendly sentiments of the Empress were very agreeable to Frederick,
and yet he was greatly disappointed, as the Empress’ order came just at
the time he was about to strike a blow at the enemy. It was necessary to
strike quickly, and yet he must act very cautiously. He knew the weak
side of General Czernichef, his love of gold, and with this inducement
he persuaded him to make a show of marching out with his army and
occupying a threatening position, with the understanding that after
three days he should return home. It was a rash act on the general’s
part, and one that might easily have cost him his head; but his
good-will to the King, and his avarice, overcame all scruples.
Frederick, happy that his wishes were now realized, vigorously attacked
the enemy at Burkersdorf, while the Russians held their position, as
agreed, a little distance off. Daun, who was ignorant of this
arrangement, feared Czernichef and his strong force more than he did the
King, and sent a considerable force against him. This was just what
Frederick wished. This division of the enemy’s strength made the battle
easier, and the result was a complete victory for the Prussians. When
the Austrians approached, the Russians retired, and on the day after the
battle they began their homeward march.
Frederick now set out for Schweidnitz, and most skilfully and closely
invested that fortress. His impatience at the slow progress of his
laborers excited him to such a degree as to threaten serious physical
consequences, and one day he decided to be bled in the open field. He
inquired if there were a surgeon near by, and one was brought. The King
alighted, took off his coat, seated himself, and the operation began.
The cut was already bleeding, when a shell struck near the King, and
sprinkled him and the surgeon with blood. The surgeon fled as fast as he
could, leaving the King sitting. The latter was perfectly composed, and
ordered him to come back and bandage the cut, adding some of his very
emphatic threats. The surgeon finally returned in a very uneasy frame of
mind. “I know your heart is in the right place; bandage the cut,” said
the King. Half scared to death, the surgeon did as he was ordered with
trembling hands, after which the King mounted and rode away.
Notwithstanding all of Frederick’s blustering the laborers made slow
progress on account of the hardness of the soil, which the King did not
take into consideration. He visited his displeasure principally upon his
engineers. He spoke very harshly with a staff captain of that corps
about the trenches, and at last in a burst of temper exclaimed: “Go to
the d—l!”
The officer quietly withdrew, but the King called him back and said: “I
wish that you would take charge of the work and then it may get on.”
The officer at once replied: “Your Majesty, I am gratified that you will
allow me to have a leg or an arm shot off before I leave the service,
but I have great need of both, and beside, it will save Your Majesty the
expense of carrying me back home.”
The King was not displeased at his boldness, but laughed and ordered him
back to work and handsomely remembered him.
The investment was now rapidly pushed on all sides and the fall of the
fortress was inevitable. At this time Frederick had his headquarters at
Peterswaldau, not far from Reichenbach, where he was much surprised by a
sudden attack from the besieged. After the Austrians were driven back
the Prussians strengthened their position, and the King decided that on
the following day he would celebrate the victory by a general parade of
the army. Frederick rode out from Peterswaldau with the Prussian princes
to view the spectacle. A colonel from Schwerin, seeing him approach,
rode quickly forward to receive his orders, but had the misfortune to be
thrown from his horse, which stumbled. He was uninjured, and his horse
waited quietly for him. The colonel remounted and galloped to meet the
King as if nothing had happened. As they met, the King said: “You have
had a fall!”
“Yes, but not from your favor.”
“No,” was the King’s reply, “only out of the saddle into the sand.”
The storming of Schweidnitz was successful and Frederick looked for
important results to come from its fall, especially hoping it would
revive the old battle spirit of his troops. This proved to be the case.
Almost immediately came the glad tidings that Prince Henry, on the
twenty-ninth of October, had completely routed the enemy in a sanguinary
battle at Freiberg, Saxony. This was the last battle in the Seven Years’
War, and good fortune did not again desert Frederick. As gloriously and
successfully as he had maintained himself against the Austrians and
Russians did Henry in the last year of the war maintain himself against
the French, notwithstanding the meagre help he received. Though often
forced to fall back, yet he always managed to advance again and
successfully cope with the enemy. He so misled them by his extraordinary
craftiness that his marches and counter-marches were a puzzle to the
French. It was due to his military discipline and strategic skill that
he won victories over a much stronger force at Billingshausen,
Wilhelmsthal, and Luttenberg. Next he captured the capital at Cassel,
November 1, 1762, and was preparing to take advantage of the favorable
season to drive the French over the Rhine, when his plans were
interrupted by an unlooked-for event. France asked for peace, and the
King made no delay in seizing the opportunity to secure what he had long
desired. The treaty between France, England, and Prussia was formally
negotiated February 10, 1763.