Fergus knew that there were several cavalry posts ahead, and
thought it likely that some of these might be left to give warning
of the Prussian approach. He therefore rode across the country for
some miles. He had begun to think that he must have gone beyond the
limit of their outposts, when he saw a hussar pacing across the
line in front of him, his beat evidently being between two small
woods three or four hundred yards apart.
He checked his horse, as he saw Fergus approaching. He was a
good-tempered looking fellow, and nodded to Fergus as much as to
say that, if he could speak his language, he should like a chat
with him. The latter at once checked his horse, and said good day,
in French.
"Ah, you speak our language!" the soldier said. "I am glad to
exchange a word with someone. It is hot here, especially when one's
time is up, and one ought to have been relieved, an hour ago."
"Yes, I can understand that. I expect you have been forgotten."
"Well, it does not make much difference. I shall get off my next
guard, in consequence."
"You will have to wait some time before you are relieved, if you
stop here."
"What do you mean?" the soldier asked.
"I mean that when I left Erfurt your army was all moving west, and
as I rode along I met several troops of cavalry, galloping to join
them."
"That is strange news. Nothing whatever was known, when I came out
here."
"No, the news only arrived at Erfurt, this morning, that
Frederick's army is within a day's march; and I saw the troops
march out, and the baggage waggons on their way before I started. I
don't say that your troop may have gone. They may have stopped to
form a post of observation."
"Well, at any rate I shall go into the village and see. I ought to
have been relieved an hour ago; and if they had such news as that,
and had remained there, they would have been sure to have sent, to
order all videttes to use special vigilance. We have only been
posted here as a sort of practice, for we did not think that there
was an enemy within a hundred and fifty miles; and now, if the news
is true, we may have the Prussian cavalry coming along at any
moment.
"Well, thank you for warning me," and turning his horse, he went
off at a gallop.
As the outposts would not have been set, except by the party most
in advance, Fergus knew that there was now no more risk of falling
in with the enemy; unless a cavalry force had been sent forward, to
endeavour to get an idea of the force of the Prussians. But as the
generals had so precipitately decided upon a retreat, it was not
likely that they would have ordered any reconnaissance of this kind
to be made.
He therefore presently regained the main road and, riding fast,
arrived at the place where the Prussians had pitched their camp,
thirty miles from Erfurt, having made a twenty-miles march that
day. He dismounted at the house where Keith had established his
quarters.
"I have bad news for you, sir," he said. "Word of your coming
reached Erfurt, at eight o'clock this morning; and by eleven the
whole army were on their march westward, bag and baggage."
"That is bad news, Fergus. You could hardly have brought worse. The
king had hoped to have struck a heavy blow, and then to be off
again to face the Austrians. What strength were they?"
"About fifty thousand."
"How did they get the news of our coming?"
"That I cannot say, sir. I had gone into Erfurt soon after five,
and had already picked up a good deal of news, from the talk of a
party of French non-commissioned officers who were taking breakfast
at a small inn; and who, not imagining that I could understand
them, talked very freely over affairs. They sat over their meal
some time, and I did not go out until they had left.
"Just as I did so, a mounted officer galloped past, at a speed that
showed he was the bearer of an important despatch. I followed him
to Soubise's headquarters. While there, I noticed several mounted
officers rode out in great haste. A quarter of an hour later,
several general officers arrived. There was a consultation for half
an hour, and then officers rode off in all directions; and in a few
minutes trumpets were sounding, and drums beating, all over the
town.
"In a very short time a movement began towards the western gate. By
ten o'clock the tents were all struck round the town, the waggons
loaded, and they were on their way west. An hour later, and the
whole force was in movement in that direction; and as I issued from
the town on this side, I met the cavalry that had been scattered
among the villages, galloping in. I don't think that there is, at
the present moment, an enemy within ten miles of Erfurt."
"You were in no danger, yourself?"
"None at all, sir. I passed the night at a friendly peasant's hut,
five miles this side of the town, inside their advanced posts. I
left my horse in a wood, and my peasant guided me by bypaths to the
town. I did not exchange a word with anyone, except the landlord of
the hotel where I breakfasted. He was bitterly hostile to the
enemy.
"I also spoke to a solitary French vidette who had, in the hurry of
their retreat, been left behind; and told him that he had best be
off, as the whole army was in full march for the west."
"Well, if you breakfasted at six this morning, you must be hungry.
My dinner will be ready in half an hour, and you had better share
it with me. I must go now, and tell the king the news that you have
brought. I said nothing to him about my having sent you."
In twenty minutes the marshal returned.
"The king wishes to see you, Fergus. Of course he is vexed, but he
always takes bad news well, unless it is the result of the blunder
of one of the officers. He does not say much, even then; but it is
very bad for that officer when he sees him. Frederick never
forgives a blunder."
"Well, Captain Drummond, so you have been playing the spy for us?"
"I have been doing my best, your majesty."
"And the French are gone, bag and baggage?"
"Yes, sire, they have gone off west."
"To perch themselves somewhere among the mountains, I suppose.
Perhaps they will get bolder, presently, when they hear that they
are more than double my strength. Did you learn anything more than
what Marshal Keith has told me?"
"I heard a great deal of talk among a party of French
non-commissioned officers, sire. They expressed great
dissatisfaction with their general, and at the long delays. They
also spoke with absolute contempt of the Confederacy army, both
officers and men; and said that, if it had not been for the
drilling by the Austrian non-commissioned officers, they would be
nothing better than a rabble."
"I daresay Soubise is of the same opinion," the king said, "and
wants them to have a few weeks' more drill before he sets them in
line of battle. However, I have no doubt we shall manage to bring
him to book, before we return.
"Well, I am obliged to you for your zeal, Captain Drummond; and
although Keith tells me that you got in without being questioned,
such business is always dangerous. Mayhap next time you will have a
better opportunity for distinguishing yourself. As you managed to
pass so freely among them, after you made your escape from prison,
you can clearly be trusted on work of this kind."
Fergus saluted, and retired.
The next morning the troops started, as usual, at daybreak. They
were to make but a short march, for they had no longer any occasion
for speed, and they had made the hundred and fifty miles at a very
rapid pace; but when they halted, Frederick with the cavalry rode
straight on into Erfurt.
"Don't wait to put on your uniform now," Keith said to Fergus, on
his return from the royal quarters; "dinner is waiting; and I am
ready, if you are not. Lindsay is going to dine with me, too."
"Well, Lindsay," the marshal said, as the latter entered, "you see
the advantages of this young fellow being able to speak German
well. If you had been taken prisoner at Lobositz, you would have
been fast in Spielberg at present; and you see he is now able to
undertake perilous missions, and peril means promotion."
"I quite see that, marshal," Lindsay said with a smile; "but though
I can get on with French fairly enough, my tongue doesn't seem to
be able to form these crack-jaw German words; and you see, marshal,
it is not the only one that does not. I think, sir, that bad as my
German is, it is not much worse than your own, and you have been
here much longer than I have."
The marshal laughed.
"You are right. I cannot say half a dozen German words; but you see
I have not had your motive for acquiring it, and cannot very well
get promotion. And again, it would not do for me to speak better
German than the King of Prussia; who, beyond a few words necessary
for animating his troops on occasion, knows very little German
himself. For general work here French is amply sufficient, because
every officer speaks it; but as you see, German is very useful,
too, to a young officer who wishes to push himself forward, and is
willing to undertake special work of this kind."
"But even then, marshal, he would have no advantage over a Prussian
officer who speaks French."
"It depends a good deal upon the Prussian officer. The greater
portion of them are mere machines--splendid fighting machines, no
doubt; but of no great use outside their own work. Anyone could
detect, with half an eye, nineteen out of twenty of them; dress
them how you would, disguise them as you like. They step the
regulation length, bring their foot down in the regulation way, are
as stiff as if they had swallowed a ramrod. They have neither
suppleness nor adaptability. They are so accustomed to obey that
they have almost lost the power of originating, and would be taken
and shot before they were in the enemy's lines ten minutes. Now,
Fergus has the advantage of knowing both languages, and of being
quick-witted and sharp."
The next two months were passed in marches to and fro. Seidlitz,
with some cavalry, took possession of Gotha, to the great
satisfaction of the duke and duchess; and the king himself rode
over and dined with them.
While Seidlitz remained there as governor, with a couple of
regiments of horse, a strong body of French and Austrian hussars,
grenadiers, and artillery marched against Gotha. Seidlitz, having
so few men to oppose them, evacuated the place, and the enemy
marched into it in triumphant procession. The duke and duchess made
the best of matters, and invited all the principal officers to a
banquet.
Just as they were sitting down to this, Seidlitz with his Prussians
reappeared; his men being so artfully scattered about that they
appeared a great deal stronger than they were. The enemy were
seized with panic. Soubise and his generals mounted in great haste,
and in a few minutes the whole were retreating at top speed;
Seidlitz pursuing for some distance, killing thirty and taking
sixty prisoners, with a large amount of baggage and plunder, and
then returning to Gotha to eat the dinner prepared for the enemy.
Ferdinand of Brunswick, with his division, had been sent off to
check, if possible, the movements of the French army under
Richelieu, near Magdeburg.
In October came the startling news that Berlin itself was
threatened, and that a force, said to be fifteen thousand strong,
under General Haddick, was in rapid motion towards it. Prince
Maurice was ordered to hasten to its defence, and the king also
moved in that direction.
The invading force was but four thousand strong. Their numbers,
however, were so magnified by rumour that the governor of Berlin,
who had but four thousand troops, did not venture to oppose them,
but sent the royal family and archives away under a strong escort.
Haddick occupied a suburb of the city, but knowing that as soon as
his real force was known he would be hotly opposed, and receiving
news that Prince Maurice was rapidly approaching, demanded a ransom
of 45,000 pounds; and finally accepted 27,000 pounds, and then
hurried away. Prince Maurice arrived twenty-four hours later.
The consequences of this little success--magnified by report into
"Berlin captured, Prussian royal family in flight."--turned out
very advantageous to Frederick. The enthusiasm in Paris and Vienna
was enormous, and orders were despatched to the armies to set to,
without further delay, and finish the work. Fifteen thousand men
were sent from Richelieu's army to reinforce Soubise, who thereupon
issued from his mountain stronghold and marched against Leipzig.
Frederick, however, arrived there first, Ferdinand and Maurice
joining him a day or two later; and while waiting there, Frederick
received the joyful news that England requested him to appoint Duke
Ferdinand, of Brunswick, commander-in-chief of the army until now
commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, who had just sailed for
England.
Pitt had now risen to almost absolute power in England, and was
busied in reforming the abuses in the army and navy, dismissing
incapable officials, and preparing to render some efficient aid to
its hard-pressed ally. The proposal that Prince Ferdinand should
assume the command of the army--whose efforts had hitherto been
rendered nugatory by the utter incompetence of the Duke of
Cumberland who, although personally as brave as a lion, was
absolutely ignorant of war--afforded immense satisfaction to the
king.
No better choice could have been made. Ferdinand was related to the
royal families both of England and Prussia. He was a capable
general, prudent and at the same time enterprising, firm under
difficulties, ready to seize opportunities; and under his command
there was no doubt that the northern army, which had hitherto been
useless, and had only been saved from absolute destruction by the
incompetence of the French generals, would now play a useful part.
On October 30th Soubise, in spite of his orders to fight, and the
fact that he had double the strength of the Prussians, fell back
before them. Soubise himself felt no confidence in his troops, but
upon the other hand his officers and those of the Confederate army
were puffed up with vanity, and remonstrated hotly against retreat.
The next day Frederick came in sight of Soubise's army, which was
camped on a height near the town of Weissenfels. Frederick had but
one-half of his force with him, the other half, under Keith, being
still detached. Five thousand men garrisoned Weissenfels, but
Frederick made short work of the place. His cannon burst down the
gates, and his troops rushed forward with all speed; but the
garrison fled across the bridge over the Saale, which had already
been prepared for burning; and they set it on fire in such haste
that four hundred were unable to cross, and were made prisoners.
The fugitives joined their army on the other side of the Elbe, and
its guns opened upon the burning bridge, to prevent the Prussians
from trying to extinguish the flames.
The Prussians returned the fire, and the artillery duel was kept up
until three o'clock, by which time the bridge was consumed.
Frederick had already fixed upon a spot suitable for the erection
of another, and during the night, while the enemy were falling back
to take up a fresh position upon higher ground, the engineers,
working diligently, succeeded in throwing a bridge across.
Keith arrived at Merseburg the next morning. A strong force lay
opposite, ready to dispute the passage; but when Soubise found that
the king was crossing by his new bridge, he called in all his
detachments and marched away, to a strong position, and there set
himself in array ready to receive an attack. Keith's bridges were
finished on the 3rd of November, and that afternoon he crossed and
joined Frederick.
On the 4th the army was on the move by two o'clock in the morning.
A bright moon was shining and, by its light, it was discovered that
the enemy had shifted his position for one much stronger, with
approaches protected by patches of wood and bog. The Prussian army
therefore marched back to their camp, the king hoping that, being
so far from their base of supplies, the enemy would be forced ere
long to make some movement that would afford him a chance of
attacking them under better circumstances.
The ground from Weissenfels rises, very gradually, to a height of a
hundred and twenty feet or so; which in so flat a country is
regarded as a hill. On this slight swelling are several small
villages. Of these Rossbach is the principal, standing high up on
its crest. Here Frederick's right wing was posted, while his left
was at Bedra. The king took up his quarters at a large house in
Rossbach; and from its roof, at eight o'clock on the morning of the
5th, he saw that the enemy were getting into motion and moving away
towards their left.
The movement had begun much earlier. Half an hour later they had
passed through the village of Grost, and were apparently making
their way to Freiburg, where they had some magazines. Hoping to
have a chance of attacking their rear, Frederick ordered the
cavalry to saddle, and the whole army to be in readiness, and then
sat down to dinner with his officers at noon. Little did he dream,
at the time, that the slow and clumsy movement that he was watching
was intended, by the enemy, to end in a flank attack on himself.
On the previous day Soubise, with his generals, looking down on the
Prussian camp, had reckoned their force at ten thousand. In reality
they had seen only a portion of their camp, the site being hidden
by a dip of the ground. Even Soubise thought that, with the odds of
over five to one in his favour, he could fight a battle with a
certainty of success; and planned a masterly march, by which he
would place himself on Frederick's left and rear, drive him into
the bend made by the Saale, and annihilate his army. In his
enthusiasm at this happy idea, he sent off a courier to carry the
news, to Versailles, that he was about to annihilate the Prussian
army, and take the king prisoner.
Frederick's dinner was prolonged. There was nothing to be done, and
patience was one of the king's strong points. At two o'clock an
officer, who had remained on watch on the housetop, hurried down
with news that the enemy had suddenly turned to the left. The king
went up to the roof with his officers, and at once divined the
intention of his foes.
It was a glorious moment for him. At last, after three weary
months, he was to meet them in battle. Instantly his orders were
given, and in half an hour the Prussian army was all in movement,
with the exception of some irregular corps which were left to
occupy the attention of the enemy's horse, which had been posted as
if to threaten Rossbach. By the line taken, the Prussians were at
once hidden behind the crest of the hill from the enemy; and so
Soubise thought that the Prussians, being afraid of his attack,
were marching away with all speed for Keith's bridge at Merseburg.
He accordingly hurried on his cavalry, and ordered the infantry to
go at a double, for the purpose of capturing the runaway Prussians.
In the meantime Seidlitz, with four thousand horse, trotted briskly
along until he reached, still concealed from the enemy's sight, the
spot towards which they were hurrying, in two great columns headed
by seven thousand cavalry. He allowed them to move forward until he
was on their flank, and then dashed over the crest of the hill, and
charged like a thunderbolt upon them.
Taken completely by surprise, the enemy's cavalry had scarce time
to form. Two Austrian regiments and two French were alone able to
do so. But there was no withstanding the impetus of the Prussian
charge. They rode right through the disordered cavalry; turned,
formed, and recharged, and four times cut their way through them,
until they broke away in headlong flight; and were pursued by
Seidlitz until out of sight from the hill, when he turned and
waited, to see where he could find an opportunity of striking
another blow.
By this time Frederick, with the infantry, was now pouring over the
crest of the hill, their advance heralded by the fire of
twenty-four guns. Rapidly, in echelon, they approached the enemy.
In vain Soubise endeavoured to face round the column, thus taken in
flank, to meet the coming storm. He was seconded by Broglio and the
commander of the Confederate army, but the two columns were jammed
together, and all were in confusion at this astounding and
unexpected attack. Orders were unheard or disobeyed, and everything
was still in utter disorder, when six battalions of Prussian
infantry hurled themselves upon them.
When forty paces distant, they poured in their first terrible
volley, and then continued their fire as fast as they could load;
creating great havoc among the French troops on whom they had
fallen, while away on each flank the Prussian artillery made deep
gaps in the line. Soon the mass, helpless under this storm of fire,
wavered and shook; and then Seidlitz, who had been concealed with
his cavalry in a hollow a short distance away, hurled himself like
a thunderbolt on their rear, and in a moment they broke up in
headlong flight. In less than half an hour from the first
appearance of the Prussians on the hill, the struggle had ended,
and an army of from fifty to sixty thousand men was a mob of
fugitives; defeated by a force of but twenty-two thousand men, not
above half of whom were engaged.
The loss of the allies was three thousand killed and wounded, five
thousand prisoners, and seventy-two guns; while the Prussians lost
but one hundred and sixty-five killed, and three hundred and
seventy-six wounded. The victory was one of the most remarkable and
surprising ever gained, for these figures by no means represent the
full loss to the defeated.
The German portion of the army, after being chased for many miles,
scattered in all directions; and only one regiment reached Erfurt
in military order, and in two days the whole of the men were on
their way to their homes, in the various states composing the
Confederation. The French were in no less disgraceful a condition.
Plundering as they went, a mere disorganized rabble, they continued
their flight until fifty-five miles from the field of battle, and
were long before they gathered again in fighting order.
The joy caused in Prussia and in England, by this astonishing
victory, was shared largely by the inhabitants of the country
through which the French army had marched. Everywhere they had
plundered and pillaged, as if they had been moving through an
enemy's country instead of one they had professed to come to
deliver. The Protestant inhabitants had everywhere been most
cruelly maltreated, the churches wrecked, and the pastors treated
as criminals. The greater portion of Germany therefore regarded the
defeat of the French as a matter for gratification, rather than the
reverse.
In England the result was enormous. It had the effect of vastly
strengthening Pitt's position, and twenty thousand British troops
were, ere long, despatched to join the army under the Duke of
Brunswick, which was now called the allied army, and from this time
the French force under Richelieu ceased to be dangerous to
Frederick. France and England were old antagonists, and entered
upon a duel of their own; a duel that was to cost France Canada,
and much besides; to establish England's naval preponderance; and
to extinguish French influence in the Netherlands.
Fergus Drummond was not under fire, at the memorable battle of
Rossbach. Keith's division was not, in fact, engaged; the affair
having terminated before it arrived. Keith, however, had ridden to
the position on the brow of the hill where the king had stationed
himself; and his staff, following him, had the satisfaction of
seeing the enemy's heavy columns melt into a mass of fugitives, and
spread in all directions over the country, like dust driven before
a sudden whirlwind.
"What next, I wonder?" Fergus said to Lindsay; who had, three days
before, been promoted to the rank of captain, as much to the
satisfaction of Fergus as to his own.
"I suppose some more marching," Lindsay replied. "You may be sure
that we shall be off east again, to try conclusions with Prince
Karl. Bevern seems to be making a sad mess of it there. Of course
he is tremendously outnumbered, thirty thousand men against eighty
thousand; but he has fallen back into Silesia without making a
single stand, and suffered Prince Karl to plant himself between
Breslau and Schweidnitz; and the Prince is besieging the latter
town with twenty thousand men, while with sixty thousand he is
facing Bevern."
Four days after the victory, indeed, Frederick set out with
thirteen thousand men; leaving Prince Henry to maintain the line of
the Saale, and guard Saxony; while Marshal Keith was to go into
Bohemia, raise contributions there, and threaten as far as might be
the Austrian posts in that country.
Fergus, however, went with the king's army, the king having said to
the Marshal:
"Keith, lend me that young aide-de-camp of yours. I have seen how
he can be trusted to carry a despatch, at whatever risk to his
life. He is ingenious and full of devices; and he has luck, and
luck goes for a great deal.
"I like him, too. I have observed that he is always lively and
cheery, even at the end of the longest day's work. I notice too
that, even though your relation, he never becomes too familiar; and
his talk will be refreshing, when I want something to distract my
thoughts from weighty matters."
So Fergus went with the king, who could ill afford to lose Keith
from his side. With none was he more friendly and intimate and, now
that Schwerin had gone, he relied upon him more implicitly than
upon any other of his officers.
But Keith had been, for some time, unwell. He was suffering from
asthma and other ailments that rendered rapid travel painful to
him; and he would obtain more rest and ease, in Bohemia, than he
could find in the rapid journey the king intended to make.
On the fifth day of his march Frederick heard, to his stupefaction,
that Schweidnitz had surrendered. The place was an extremely strong
one, and the king had relied confidently upon its holding out for
two or three months. Its fortifications were constructed in the
best manner; it was abundantly supplied with cannon, ammunition,
and provisions; and its surrender was inexcusable.
The fault was doubtless, to a large degree, that of its commandant,
who was a man of no resolution or resources; but it was also partly
due to the fact that a portion of the garrison were Saxons, who had
at Pirna been obliged to enter the Prussian service. Great numbers
of these deserted; a hundred and eighty of them, in one day, going
over from an advanced post to the enemy. With troops like these,
there could be no assurance that any post would be firmly held--a
fact that might well shake the confidence of any commander in his
power of resistance.
The blow was none the less severe, to Frederick, from being partly
the result of his own mistaken step of enrolling men bitterly
hostile in the ranks of the army. Still, disastrous as the news
was, it did not alter his resolution; and at even greater speed
than before he continued his march. Sometimes of an evening he sent
for Fergus, and chatted with him pleasantly for an hour or two,
asking him many questions of his life in Scotland, and discoursing
familiarly on such matters, but never making any allusion to
military affairs.
On the tenth day of the march they arrived at Gorlitz, where
another piece of bad news reached Frederick. Prince Karl, after
taking Schweidnitz, had fallen with sixty thousand men on Bevern.
He had crossed by five bridges across the Loe, but each column was
met by a Prussian force strongly intrenched. For the space of
fifteen hours the battles had raged, over seven or eight miles of
country. Five times the Austrians had attacked, five times had they
been rolled back again; but at nine o'clock at night they were
successful, more or less, in four of their attacks, while the
Prussian left wing, under the command of Ziethen, had driven its
assailants across the river again.
During the night Bevern had drawn off, marched through Breslau, and
crossed the Oder, leaving eighty cannon and eight thousand killed
and wounded--a tremendous loss, indeed, when the army at daybreak
had been thirty thousand strong. Bevern himself rode out to
reconnoitre, in the gray light of the morning, attended only by a
groom, and fell in with an Austrian outpost. He was carried to
Vienna, but being a distant relation of the emperor, was sent home
again without ransom.
It was the opinion of Frederick that he had given himself up
intentionally, and on his return he was ordered at once to take up
his former official post at Stettin; where he conducted himself so
well, in the struggle against the Russian armies, that two years
later he was restored to Frederick's favour.
As if this misfortune was not great enough, two days later came the
news that Breslau had surrendered without firing a shot; and this
when it was known that the king was within two days' march, and
pressing forward to its relief. Here ninety-eight guns and an
immense store and magazine were lost to Prussia.
Frederick straightway issued orders that the general who had
succeeded Bevern should be put under arrest, for not having at once
thrown his army into Breslau; appointed Ziethen in his place, and
ordered him to bring the army round to Glogau and meet him at
Parchwitz on December 2nd, which Ziethen punctually did.
In spite of the terrible misfortunes that had befallen him,
Frederick was still undaunted. Increased as it was by the arrival
of Ziethen, his force was but a third of the strength of the
Austrians. The latter were flushed with success; while Ziethen's
troops were discouraged by defeat, and his own portion of the force
worn out by their long and rapid marches, and by the failure of the
object for which they had come. Calling his generals together on
the 3rd, he recounted the misfortunes that had befallen them; and
told them that his one trust, in this terrible position, was in
their qualities and valour; and that he intended to engage the
enemy, as soon as he found them, and that they must beat them or
all of them perish in the battle.
Enthusiastically, the generals declared that they would conquer or
die with him; and among the soldiers the spirit was equally strong,
for they had implicit confidence in their king, and a well-justified
trust in their own valour and determination. That evening Frederick,
eager as he was to bring the terrible situation to a final issue,
cannot but have felt that it would have been too desperate an
undertaking to have attacked the enemy; posted as they were with a
river (known as Schweidnitz Water) and many other natural difficulties
covering their front, and having their flanks strengthened, as was the
Austrian custom, with field works and batteries. Fortunately the
Austrians settled the difficulty by moving out from their stronghold.
Daun had counselled their remaining there, but Prince Karl and the
great majority of his military advisers agreed that it would be a
shameful thing that ninety thousand men should shut themselves up,
to avoid an attack by a force of but one-third their own strength;
and that it was in all respects preferable to march out and give
battle, in which case the Prussians would be entirely destroyed;
whereas, if merely repulsed in an attack on a strong position, a
considerable proportion might escape and give trouble in the
future.
The Austrians, indeed, having captured Schweidnitz and Breslau,
defeated Bevern, and in the space of three weeks made themselves
masters of a considerable portion of Silesia, were in no small
degree puffed up, and had fallen anew to despising Frederick. The
blow dealt them at Prague had been obliterated by their success at
Kolin; and Frederick's later success over the French and Federal
army was not considered, by them, as a matter affecting themselves,
although several Austrian regiments had been among Soubise's force.
The officers were very scornful over the aggressive march of
Frederick's small army, which they derisively called the Potsdam
Guards' Parade; and many were the jokes cut, at the military
messes, at its expense.
The difference, then, with which the two armies regarded the coming
battle was great, indeed. On the one side there was the easy
confidence of victory, the satisfaction that at length this
troublesome little king had put himself in their power; on the
other a deep determination to conquer or to die, a feeling that,
terrible as the struggle must be, great as were the odds against
them, they might yet, did each man do his duty, come out the
victors in the struggle.
"And what think you of this matter, lad?" Frederick said, laying
his hand familiarly on the young captain's shoulder.
"I know nothing about it, your majesty; but like the rest, I feel
confident that somehow you will pull us through. Of one thing I am
sure, that all that is possible for the men to do, your soldiers
will accomplish."
"Well, we shall see. It is well that I know all the country round
here, for many a review have I held of the garrison of Breslau, on
the very ground where we are about to fight. Their position is a
very strong one, and I am afraid that crafty old fox Daun will
here, as he did at Prague, persuade Prince Karl to hide behind his
batteries. Were it not for that, I should feel confident; whereas I
now but feel hopeful. Still, I doubt not that we shall find our way
in, somehow."