The decision had scarcely been made when one of the lieutenants ran in.
“Captain Mieville requests me to state that sounds have been heard
in the forest, and that he believes there is a large body of men
approaching.”
“Then, ladies, I must beg you to mount the stairs to the turret at once.
I will place six men on guard there. The main body I must keep in front
of the chateau, as that affords a protection to our rear. Do not be
alarmed. I do not think the place is likely to be attacked; but should
it be, the six men could hold it for any time. As soon as I have beaten
the main body I will at once attack those who may be assailing the
turret, though I hardly think that they will do so, for they know that
there is nothing to be obtained that would in any way repay them for the
loss that they would suffer. They are marching here for the purpose of
attacking us.”
He called to the two sentries.
“See the ladies up the stairs to the turret, and take up your post on
the lower stairs. Four more men shall join you at once.”
He found that Mieville had already got all the men under arms, and had
ranged them between the bivouac fires and the still glowing chateau.
“Move your men along farther, Mieville. Let your left flank rest on the
angle of the old castle, then we shall not be made anxious by another
attack on the turret. Let the right flank rest upon the chateau where
the old castle joins it. We shall then be in darkness, while the
assailants, if they come from that side, will have to cross the ground
lit up by the glow from the ruins. Let the centre of the line be some
ten yards in front of the building; let the line be two deep.”
As soon as this disposition was made he called down the six men, as they
were no longer required to defend the staircase.
“Now, men,” he said when all were formed up, “I need not admonish
soldiers who were so firm under the attack of the whole of the Bavarian
army of the necessity for steadiness. I have no doubt that if we are
attacked it will be in considerable force; but it will be by half armed
peasants, and there probably will not be a gun among them. But even
peasants, when worked up into a state of excitement are not to be
despised. My orders are: The front rank shall continue firing until they
are close at hand, and shall then fix bayonets. Until this is done the
second line are not to fire a shot; but as soon as the front rank are
ready to repel the enemy with fixed bayonets, you will begin. Don't
throw a shot away, but continue loading and firing, as quickly as you
can; and unless very closely pressed, let no man empty his musket until
his comrade on the right has reloaded, so that there will always be some
shots in reserve. Should they rush on in spite of the fire, I shall
give the order, 'Empty your muskets and fix bayonets,' and we will then
charge them. Hunter, you and your three comrades and Paolo will keep
close to me, and if we find the men wavering at any point we will go to
their assistance. If, however, we charge, remember that you six men I
told off to guard the turret are at once to pass through the gates and
take up your post on the steps, for some of them may slip in behind us
and endeavour to rush up.”
The horses, that had been turned loose when Hector and the troopers
mounted the steps, had been seized by the peasants, and tied up to some
trees close by when the latter began to feast. They had been recovered
when the insurgents were scattered by Mieville's company and had then
been placed in the courtyard of the castle. As soon as the alarm was
given, Hector, the four troopers, and Paolo had mounted. The three
officers were also on horseback.
“In case the company charges, Mieville,” he said, “we nine mounted men
can cover the rear and charge any of the insurgents who try to rush in
and take them in the rear. I hope that we shall keep them off with our
musketry fire; but I don't disguise from myself that if they fall upon
us at close quarters we shall have to fight hard. Ah, here they come!”
Suddenly in the darkness from the other side of the chateau a great
crowd of men poured out, shouting and yelling furiously, and brandishing
their rough weapons, which shone blood red in the glow of the fire in
the ruins. Someone had evidently been placed on the watch, and had told
them where the troops had taken up their post, for they came on without
hesitation, bearing outwards until they faced the centre of the line, at
a distance of fifty yards; then one of the men, who appeared to be the
leader, shouted an order, and they rushed impetuously forward. The front
line at once opened fire. Many of the peasants dropped, while the others
hesitated a little, and so gave the men who had first fired time to
reload; but, urged on by the shouts of their leaders, the peasants again
rushed forward.
“Fire a volley, and then fix bayonets!” Hector shouted. The fifty
muskets flashed out, and as the peasants were but fifteen yards away
every shot told, and their front rank was completely swept away.
“Every other man in the second line fire!” Hector ordered, and
twenty-five shots added to the confusion among the peasants. The
slaughter, however, only had the effect of maddening the great crowd,
who numbered upwards of two thousand, and with a howl of fury they
rushed forward again. Hector waited until they almost touched the row of
bayonets, and then gave the order for the remaining men to fire and all
to fix bayonets. The instant this was done he shouted “Charge!” for he
saw that while standing quiet his men were no match for the peasants,
whose long poles with the scythes at the end gave them great advantage
over the shorter weapons of the soldiers. With a cheer the latter threw
themselves upon their opponents, their close formation and more handy
weapons depriving their enemies of this advantage. Thrusting and
overthrowing all in front of them, the line burst its way through
the mob, the little party of cavalry charging furiously whenever the
peasants endeavoured to fall upon their rear, and the latter, boldly as
they fought against the infantry, shrank back before the flashing swords
and the weight of horses and riders.
As soon as they had passed through the crowd Hector gave the order for
his troops to face about, and they again burst their way through the mob
that had closed in behind them. Four times was the manoeuvre repeated,
the resistance growing fainter each time, as the peasants found
themselves unable to withstand the charge of the disciplined troops.
When for the fifth time they reached the gate of the castle the crowd no
longer pressed upon their rear, but stood hesitatingly some fifty yards
away. Hector took advantage of the pause, and ordered his men, who were
panting from their exertions, to load again. He formed them in single
line now.
“Don't fire a shot until I give the word,” he said; “then pour in your
volley, fix bayonets instantly, and charge.”
Standing in the shade as they did, the movement of loading was
unobserved by the peasants, who, as they saw the line again advancing,
prepared to meet them, but gave a yell of surprise when a terrible
volley was poured into them at a distance of twenty yards. Then, before
they had recovered from their surprise, the long line was upon them with
levelled bayonets. Only a few stood their ground. These were instantly
overthrown. The rest, throwing away their weapons, fled in all
directions.
“Thank God that is over!” Hector said, as he told the troops to halt and
reload. “If they had all been as courageous as their leader they
would have annihilated us, but each time we charged I observed that
a considerable number fell away on either flank, so that it was not
a solid mass through which we had to make our way. What is our loss,
Mieville?”
“I rode along the line and counted the numbers. There are but
seventy-five on foot,” he said, “and most of these have got more or less
severe wounds with their ugly weapons.”
“Let the ground over which we have passed be carefully searched,” he
said, “and any of our men who show signs of life be carried in front of
the chateau.”
Twelve men were found to be living; their wounds were at once attended
to and bandaged.
“I think most of them will do,” Captain Mieville said. “They are ugly
looking gashes, but it is not like a bullet in the body.”
The men who had been killed were found in most cases to have been
slain outright from the blows of hatchets, which had in several cases
completely severed their heads. While the wounds of the soldiers were
being attended to, Hector went to the gate at which the baroness and her
daughter were now standing.
“You are unhurt, I hope,” the lady said as Hector approached.
“I have two or three more wounds,” he said, “but, like those I had
before, they are of little account.”
“It was a terrible fight,” she said. “We watched it from the top of the
turret, and it seemed to us that you were lost each time you plunged
into the crowd, you were so few among such numbers. Have you lost any
men?”
“We have only had thirteen killed outright,” he said. “Twelve more are
very seriously wounded, but I think most of them will recover. As to
the rest of the company, I fancy that most of them will require some
bandaging. And now I shall recommend you and your daughter to return to
your shelter. I have no fear whatever of their coming back again.”
“That we cannot do,” she said firmly. “It is our duty to do what we can
to aid those who have fought so bravely.”
“The men are now attending to each other's wounds,” Hector said. “Every
man in my regiment carries, by my orders, a couple of bandages. We found
them most useful at Freiburg, and many a life was saved that would have
been lost but for their use; but if you insist upon doing anything, I
would ask you to carry wine and water round. The troopers will draw the
water for you from the well in the courtyard here.”
“That we will do willingly,” she said.
For the next two hours the ladies were busy at work, moving among the
men and supplying them with refreshments. Not until all their wants were
amply supplied did they retire.
In the morning Hector said: “Now, Madame de Blenfoix, I have been
thinking the matter over, and consider that it would be a wholly
unnecessary journey and a loss of four days were you to travel to Nancy
with us. You are only ten days' journey from Poitou, and I should
advise you to start at once. My man, Paolo, and two of the troopers will
accompany you as an escort. Your road will lead through Orleans, which
will be almost halfway, and you will also pass through Tours. At both
these towns you can, if you will, stay for a day to rest. I will ride
down with you into Blenfoix, where I shall be able to get paper and
pens, and will write letters to Captain MacIntosh and to my intendant
explaining exactly the position that you will occupy. One of the
troopers will ride forward with these from your last halting place
before you arrive there, in order that you may find everything prepared
and be received properly on your arrival. Do you both ride, or would you
rather have a pillion's place behind the troopers?”
“We both ride,” she said; “but I should prefer, on a journey like this,
that my daughter should ride behind me on a pillion. You are altogether
too good, Colonel Campbell. You are heaping kindnesses upon us.”
“Not at all, madam. And now you will doubtless be glad to hear that in
searching round the place this morning, we have discovered that two of
your horses that had doubtless been turned loose by the peasants have
found their way back. No difficulty will therefore arise on that score.
The saddles are hanging from the beams in the stable, so that everything
is in readiness for your departure.”
A quarter of an hour later the whole party left the ruined chateau, the
troops taking their way to the point at which they had left the road,
while Hector with his four troopers and Paolo rode down into Blenfoix
with the ladies. Here the baroness purchased a few necessaries for the
journey while Hector was writing his letters. Hunter and Macpherson were
to form their escort, and were by turns to lead the spare horse, which
on alternate days was to carry the double burden. Paolo carried the
purse, which contained a sum ample for the expenses of the journey.
When all was ready the adieus were said, and the baroness repeated the
heartfelt thanks of her daughter and herself for the kindness shown
them. Paolo took his place beside the ladies, the two troopers fell in
behind, and they started west, while Hector with the other two troopers
galloped off to overtake his company.
At Joinville they found that de Thiou's company had just marched in, but
it was not until the next day that the other two returned. All had met
with scattered bodies of peasants, but these had dispersed as soon as
the troops were seen, and there had been no actual fighting except with
the parties Hector had met. The bodies of the soldiers that had fallen
were buried near the chateau. Those of the peasants were left where they
lay, and would doubtless be carried off by their friends as soon as the
latter knew that the troops had left. The lesson had been a severe
one indeed, upwards of two hundred and eighty being killed in the two
encounters. The insurgents were completely disheartened by their loss,
and during the rest of the winter the aid of the troops was not again
called for.
As soon as spring set in, the Poitou regiment marched to join the
marshal. The Bavarian army had been weakened by the withdrawal of four
thousand men to aid the Imperialists, who had been defeated by the
Swedes in Bohemia. Turenne, on hearing the news, at once prepared to
take advantage of it, crossed the Rhine on a bridge of boats at Spires,
and passed the Neckar, General Merci retiring before him. Stuttgart
opened its gates, and Turenne established himself at Marienthal on the
river Tauber. Merci, as he fell back, had caused a rumour to be spread
that he was making for the Danube.
There was a great scarcity of forage in the country round Marienthal,
and the officers of the cavalry strongly urged upon Turenne that they
should divide and take up stations at various points where they could
obtain food for their animals, which were much exhausted by their long
and heavy marches. Turenne for some time resisted their entreaties, but
at last, seeing that the cavalry would speedily be ruined unless they
could obtain food, permitted this course to be taken. Before allowing
them to leave, however, he sent parties of horse forward in various
directions to discover what the enemy were doing. These returned with
the news that the Bavarian army had broken up, and was fortifying itself
in the towns among which it had been divided. Turenne, however, was
still apprehensive. He kept his cannon and the greater part of the
infantry with him, and also General Rosen with a portion of his horse,
and refused to let the rest of the cavalry go farther than three leagues
from the army. He himself rode out with a regiment of cavalry some ten
miles beyond Marienthal, along the road by which the Imperialists would
advance were they to assemble to attack him.
At two o'clock the next morning a party he had sent to watch the
Bavarians brought in the news that Merci was advancing with all his
force. Rosen was ordered to hurry forward to the spot where the advanced
division was lying. Messengers were sent off in all directions to recall
the scattered cavalry, and having seen that everything had been done to
place affairs in a better position, Turenne rode off with what troops
he could gather to aid Rosen. The latter had made a serious blunder. In
front of the position held by the advanced division was a large wood,
through which the Bavarians must pass. Instead of taking possession of
this and holding it until reinforcements came up, he fell back, drew up
his troops on the plain, and allowed the Bavarians to occupy the wood
without resistance. With the troops which arrived with him, the marshal
had now under him some three thousand infantry and seven regiments of
horse. He placed his infantry on his right with two squadrons to support
them; with the rest of his cavalry, he formed his left wing.
He himself took the command here. Rosen commanded on the right. Merci,
after passing through the wood, drew up his army in order of battle and
opened fire on the French. The artillery, however, in no way shook their
firmness, and seeing more troops in the distance advancing to reinforce
them, Merci began the battle by an attack on a little wood on which the
French right rested; while at the same time Turenne charged the Bavarian
right wing with his cavalry, broke it up, and captured the cannon and
twelve standards. But while on this side the victory was almost won,
on the other side disaster had befallen the French. Their infantry,
perceiving that the Bavarians, who were advancing to attack them, were
much superior in force, were seized with a panic and scattered in
all directions. The left wing of the Bavarians advanced rapidly, and,
throwing themselves behind Turenne's wing, prepared to fall upon him in
the rear.
Turenne ordered his cavalry to retire, and passing through the wood
found beyond it three regiments that had just arrived. These with the
fifteen hundred horse that had been with him in the battle placed him in
a position to make a vigorous defence, but the Bavarians did not venture
to attack him. He now sent an officer to rally the scattered infantry,
and gave orders that they should at once retreat without a stop to
Philippsburg, a distance of seventy miles. He himself with his cavalry
started for Hesse, whose landgravine was in alliance with France. With
two regiments he covered the retreat, and so enabled the rest of the
cavalry as they came up from their distant quarters to cross the Tauber.
This was a bold and successful movement, for had he fallen back with his
infantry to Philippsburg the enemy would have possessed themselves
of all the towns he had captured, whereas they could not now advance
without exposing their line of communication to his attack.
The Poitou regiment had, when Turenne advanced to Marienthal, been
left at a town some four leagues away. A messenger reached Hector from
Turenne with a note scribbled in pencil:--
We have been beaten. The infantry behaved shamefully, and are hastening,
a crowd of stragglers, towards Philippsburg. I shall retire along the
Tauber with the cavalry and make for Hesse, do you march with all speed
for that river. If as you approach the river you hear that we have
already passed, do you direct your march to Hesse. I leave the choice of
route to you, and you must be guided by circumstances. At any rate you
are unlikely to be attacked except by cavalry, and these, if not in too
great numbers, you may be trusted to beat off.
Ten minutes after the receipt of this order the regiment was on the
march. They arrived on the Tauber just in time, for a quarter of an hour
after they had piled arms, after a tremendous march, the cavalry came
along. They were in scattered parties, for the roads were terribly bad,
and they were obliged to break up and make their way as best they could
by mere tracks across the rocky and hilly country. Turenne himself, when
he arrived, had but twenty horsemen with him.
“I hardly expected you to be up in time, Campbell,” he said, as he
dismounted. “Your men must have marched well indeed. As you see, though
unbeaten, for we on our side defeated the enemy's horse, we are as much
dispersed as if we had suffered a disaster. I am trying to cover the
retreat with two regiments of cavalry that were not engaged in the
battle. Half an hour since we charged and drove back in confusion a
party of Bavarian horse, but they formed up again. The main body is
ahead, but is as scattered as we are, for besides the difficulty of
keeping together on these horrible roads, it is necessary that we should
occupy every track by which the enemy's horse could move, or they might
get in front of us and play havoc with us.
“You will have to march all night, and I should advise you to break
up your command into half companies, with orders to each to attach
themselves as far as possible to such parties of my two regiments of
cavalry as they may come across. We shall not proceed at any great pace,
as we must give time for the troops ahead of us to get clear. The horses
are utterly worn out, being half starved and fatigued with their march.
So far we know not whether the whole of the Bavarian cavalry is behind
us, but it is probable that one of their two divisions is pursuing the
infantry. I wish you had been there with them. In the first place your
example would have prevented their breaking, and in the second you could
have covered their retreat. As it is, I fear that but few of the three
thousand who were with me will reach Philippsburg. I shall be glad if
you yourself will remain near me. If your regiment were going to keep
together I would not take you from them, but being broken up into
fragments, you could exercise no supervision over them in the darkness.”
Hector at once called the officers together, and gave them the necessary
orders. “You understand,” he said, “that your main object is not so much
to save yourselves, though that is most important, but to enable the
cavalry to beat back the Bavarian horse.”
It was a terrible march; both horse and foot made their way along with
difficulty through the darkness. Men and horses were alike fatigued, and
the cavalry for the most part dismounted and led their animals along.
There were several sharp fights with bodies of the enemy, who, ignorant
of the line by which the French were retreating, feared to press
the rearguard too close, lest they should find them in very superior
numbers. Once, when they passed a lane running down to the river,
Turenne--who had taken every opportunity of making his way across the
line of retreat and seeing how all was going on--said to Hector, “Will
you ride up here, Campbell, and cheer up any parties you may come
across. Tell them that all is going on well, and that by morning we
shall find that the enemy have given up the pursuit, and shall be able
to halt and take a few hours' rest, and give battle should the enemy
come up in force. Their horses must be as fatigued as ours, for they
must have been marching for eight or ten hours since the morning.”
Hector had only Paolo now with him, having appointed the four troopers
to go with different parties of the infantry, and to act as orderlies
to their captains. He rode rapidly up the lane, and presently heard the
cavalry passing across it.
“There is one party, Paolo,” he said, urging his horse into a gallop. In
two or three minutes he came up with the column of horse.
“Where is your officer?” he asked, drawing rein as he reached them.
“Seize him!” a voice cried in German, and before he and Paolo could turn
their horses half a dozen troopers were upon them.
“I surrender,” he cried in German, seeing that resistance was
impossible.
“Who are you, monsieur?” an officer demanded.
“I am colonel of the Poitou regiment of infantry,” he said. “This man is
my lackey.”
“Where are your cavalry, sir?”
“That I cannot tell you exactly, seeing that no one knows. I thought
that you formed part of our rearguard.”
“How comes it that you, an infantry officer, were there? We heard that
there were no infantry with them.”
“We joined them just before nightfall, and were at once divided up among
the various regiments of horse.”
“I must inform our colonel of that. Come along with me,” and they pushed
past the troopers until they arrived at the head of the column, when the
officer reported to the colonel.
“Donner Blitzen!” the latter exclaimed, “it is well that we learned this
news, for we should have fared very ill if we had come upon horse and
foot together. The Poitou regiment! That is the one that we heard beat
back our charges so often at Freiburg, and they say the best regiment in
the French service. It is no use our going farther; we might well fall
into an ambush, and in these lanes they could shoot us down helplessly.
We will move on quietly until we get to a place where there is space
enough for us to dismount and bivouac. We could not have gone many more
miles, for if we did we should be a regiment without horses tomorrow
morning.”
They proceeded very slowly and cautiously until, when they came upon an
open tract of ground, the colonel ordered them to dismount and sound the
trumpets. His regiment, like those of Turenne, had been broken up, and
he had but half a squadron with him. In an hour the whole regiment
was assembled; a few fires were lighted, but most of the men threw
themselves down by their horses and at once went off to sleep. The
colonel and his officers sat down at one of the fires, where Hector was
requested to join them.
“I suppose that your regiment took no part in the battle?”
“No, sir; we were some way from Marienthal, and I received orders only
after the day was lost, to join Marshal Turenne and his cavalry on
the Tauber. We arrived on the river just at sunset, having marched ten
leagues in eight hours. I regret bitterly that my regiment was not on
the field, for assuredly they would not have given way. Had they stood,
the rest of the infantry would have stood.”
“And in that case you would now be the pursuers,” the colonel broke in,
“for Turenne completely shattered our right wing. Well, sir, it is the
fortune of war, and we at least have the honour of having given your
marshal a defeat. He is a grand general, but we caught him napping
today.”
“It was not his fault, sir. General Rosen and his officers insisted so
strongly that unless they were allowed to move off in search of forage,
the whole army would be disabled by the loss of their horses by hunger,
that he was almost forced to comply with their request.”
“But, even so, he made a mistake,” the colonel said. “If instead of
marching to meet us in front of Marienthal he had fallen back directly
he had the news of our coming, he could have been joined by all his
detached troops before we came up with him.”
“He said as much to me tonight,” Hector replied; “but even the greatest
generals are liable to make a mistake sometimes. And, indeed, had
General Rosen with the advanced division held the wood in front of them,
instead of retiring on to the plain, they should have been able to keep
you at bay until all our troops came up.”
“Undoubtedly that was a terrible blunder on his part,” the colonel
said, “and he rather than Turenne is to blame. And now, sir, may I
ask how is it that you, who cannot be more than twenty, come to be a
colonel, and in command of a regiment?”
“I have been five years an officer, and was fortunate on two occasions
to obtain the approval, once of Monsieur de Turenne, and once of the Duc
d'Enghien.”
“I congratulate you, sir. It is seldom indeed that so young an officer
has opportunities of distinguishing himself. I myself had seen well nigh
thirty years service before I came to command a regiment. And now, sir,
will you give me your parole not to attempt to escape?”
“Certainly, sir,” Hector replied promptly. He knew that should he refuse
four or five troopers would be set to watch him, and even if he evaded
these, which was well nigh impossible, he might be recaptured on the
following morning, as detachments of the Bavarian horse would be sure to
be pressing hard upon Turenne's troops. The pursuit was indeed taken up
again during the night, but Turenne succeeded in keeping his pursuers
at bay, and reaching the frontiers of Hesse. There he found the infantry
and cavalry who had not been engaged already assembled, for they had
received orders to march instantly to that spot. He had now with him
some four thousand horse and two thousand foot, and was joined by six
thousand troops from Hesse and four thousand Swedes. He was thus soon
in a position to advance with a much stronger force than that which he
commanded before the battle of Marienthal.
The Bavarian cavalry that had followed him rejoined General Merci at
Kirchheim. Hector was with Paolo taken to that place, and upon his
refusal to continue his parole, was confined in a prison there, Paolo
being allowed at his request to remain with him. He had had an interview
with General Merci, who had treated him with much courtesy; for there
were Scotch and Irish officers serving in the Imperial army as well as
in that of France, and they were held in high esteem for their courage
and daring.
The battle of Marienthal was fought on the 2nd of May, and it was late
in July before any fresh movements took place. Turenne would willingly
have advanced with his army, but his movements were arrested by a
peremptory order from Paris, sent on receipt of the news of the defeat,
that he was not to take the offensive until joined by Enghien, who had
with him a force of eight thousand men. He therefore marched to join the
reinforcements, and the two armies met at Spires on the 2nd of July.
As before, Enghien was in supreme command, with de Gramont as his
lieutenant general. Long conferences took place between these generals:
Turenne, General Geis, who commanded the Hessians, and Konigsmark,
who commanded the Swedes. The Bavarians were known to be very strongly
posted, and to have been reinforced by four thousand Imperialists under
the command of General Geis.
There was much difference of opinion between them as to the best course
to be pursued, but Enghien, who was always in favour of great battles,
finally determined so to place the army that the enemy would be forced
to come out and fight. He therefore marched to Venecher, captured
Wimpfen, and threw a bridge across the river, whereupon General Merci
fell back twenty leagues into Franconia. As soon as they had passed
the river an occurrence took place that threatened to overthrow all the
plans of the campaign. Some hasty words spoken by Enghien so angered the
Generals Geis and Konigsmark that they determined to retire at once with
the Swedes and Hessians. Turenne was requested by Enghien to endeavour
to arrange matters, and by his kind and gentle manner succeeded
in conciliating Geis, who consented to remain with the Hessians.
Konigsmark, however, as hot tempered as Enghien himself, refused to do
so, and with his whole force retired to Bremen, in Lower Saxony.
The French and Hessians marched towards the Tauber, captured Rothenburg
and other towns, and thereby obtained a large quantity of provisions
and stores; and hearing that the Bavarians were advancing to Nordlingen,
marched in all haste to give them battle there.