PRINCE HENRY PENETRATES into BOHEMIA.
About the latter end of March, the king of Prussia assembled his army at Rhonstock, near Strigau; and advancing to the neighbourhood of Landshut, encamped at Bolchenhayne. On the other hand, the Austrian army, under the command of mareschal Daun, was assembled at Munchengratz, in Bohemia; and the campaign was opened by an exploit of general Beck, who surprised and made prisoners a battalion of Prussian grenadiers, posted under colonel Duringsheven, at Griefenberg, on the frontiers of Silesia. This advantage, however, was more than counterbalanced by the activity and success of prince Henry, brother to the Prussian king, who commanded the army which wintered in Saxony. About the middle of April, he marched in two columns towards Bohemia, forced the pass of Peterswalde, destroyed the Austrian magazine at Assig, burned their boats upon the Elbe, seized the forage and provisions which the enemy had left at Lowositz and Leutmeritz, and demolished a new bridge which they had built for their convenience. At the same time general Hulsen attacked the pass of Passberg, guarded by general Reynard, who was taken, with two thousand men, including fifty officers: then he advanced to Sate, in hopes of securing the Austrian magazines; but these the enemy consumed, that they might not fall into his hands, and retired towards Prague with the utmost precipitation.
Prince Henry having happily achieved these adventures, and filled all Bohemia with alarm and consternation, returned to Saxony, and distributed his troops in quarters of refreshment in the neighbourhood of Dresden. In a few days, however, they were again put in motion, and marched to Obelgeburgen; from whence he continued his route through Voightland, in order to attack the army of the empire in Franconia. He accordingly entered this country by the way of Hoff, on the seventh of May, and next day sent a detachment to attack general Macguire, who commanded a body of imperialists at Asch, and sustained the charge with great gallantry: but finding himself in danger of being overpowered by numbers, he retired in the night towards Egra. The army of the empire, commanded by the prince de Deux-Ponts, being unable to cope with the Prussian general in the field, retired from Cullembach to Bamberg, and from thence to Nuremberg, where, in all probability, they would not have been suffered to remain unmolested, had not prince Homy been recalled to Saxony. He had already taken Cronach and the castle of Rottenberg, and even advanced as far as Bamberg, when he received advice that a body of Austrians, under general Gemmingen, had penetrated into Saxony. This diversion effectually saved the army of the empire, as prince Henry immediately returned to the electorate, after having laid the bishopric of Bamberg and the marquisate of Cullembach under contribution, destroyed all the magazines provided for the imperial army, and sent fifteen hundred prisoners to Leipsic. A party of imperialists, under count Palfy, endeavoured to harass him in his retreat; but they were defeated near Hoff, with considerable slaughter: nevertheless, the imperial army, though now reduced to ten thousand men, returned to Bamberg; and as the Prussians approached the frontiers of Saxony, the Austrian general, Gemmingen, retired into Bohemia. During all these transactions, the mareschal count Daun remained with the grand Austrian army at Schurtz, in the circle of Koningsgratz; while the Prussians commanded by the king in person, continued quietly encamped between Landshut and Schweidnitz. General Fouquet commanded a large body of troops in the southern part of Silesia; but these being mostly withdrawn, in order to oppose the Russians, the Austrian general de Fille, who hovered on the frontiers of Moravia with a considerable detachment, took advantage of this circumstance; and advancing into Silesia, encamped within sight of Neiss. As mutual calumny and recriminations of all kinds were not spared on either side, during the progress of this war, the enemies of the Prussian monarch did not fail to charge him with cruelties committed at Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburgh, which his troops had bombarded, plundered of its archives, cannon, and all its youth fit to carry arms, who were pressed into his service: he besides taxed the duchy at seven thousand men and a million of crowns, by way of contribution. He was also accused of barbarity, in issuing an order for removing all the prisoners from Berlin to Spandau; but this step he justified in a letter to his ministers at foreign courts, declaring that he had provided for all the officers that were his prisoners the best accommodation, and permitted them to reside in his capital; that some of them had grossly abused the liberty they enjoyed, by maintaining illicit correspondence, and other practices equally offensive, which had obliged him to remove them to the town of Spandau: he desired, however, that the town might not be confounded with the fortress of that name, from which it was entirely separated, and in which they would enjoy the same ease they had found at Berlin, though under more vigilant inspection. His conduct on this occasion, he said, was sufficiently authorized, not only by the law of nations, but also by the example of his enemies; inasmuch as the empress-queen had never suffered any of his officers who had fallen into her hands to reside at Vienna; and the court of Russia had sent some of them as far as Casan. He concluded with saying, that, as his enemies had let slip no opportunities of blackening his most innocent proceedings, he had thought proper to acquaint his ministers with his reasons for making this alteration with regard to his prisoners, whether French, Austrians, or Russians.
GEORGE II. 1727-1760
GENERAL WEDEL DEFEATED BY THE RUSSIANS.
In the beginning of June, the king of Prussia, understanding that the Russian army had begun their march from the Vistula, ordered the several bodies of his troops, under Hulsen and Wobersnow, reinforced by detachments from his other armies, to join the forces under count Dohna, as general in chief, and march into Poland. Accordingly, they advanced to Meritz, where the count having published a declaration [523] [See note 4 D, at the end of this Vol.], he continued his march towards Posna, where he found the Russian army, under count Soltikoff, strongly encamped, having in their rear that city and the river Warta, and in their front a formidable intrenchment mounted with a great number of cannon.
Count Dohna, judging it impracticable to attack them in this situation with any prospect of success, endeavoured to intercept their convoys to the eastward; but for want of provisions, was in a little time obliged to return towards the Oder: then the Russians advanced to Zullichaw, in Silesia. The king of Prussia thinking count Dohna had been rather too cautious, considering the emergency of his affairs, gave him leave to retire for the benefit of his health, and conferred his command upon general Wedel, who resolved to give the Russians battle without delay. Thus determined, he marched against them in two columns, and on the twenty-third day of July attacked them at Kay, near Zullichaw, where, after a very obstinate engagement, he was repulsed with great loss, Wobersnow being killed and Manteuffel wounded in the action; and in a few days the Russians made themselves masters of Franckfort upon the Oder.
By this time the armies of count Daun and the king of Prussia had made several motions. The Austrians having quitted their camp at Schurtz, advanced towards Zittau in Lusatia, where having halted a few days, they resumed their march, and encamped at Gorlithayn, between Sudenberg and Mark-Dissau. His Prussian majesty, in order to observe their motions, marched by the way of Hertzberg to Lahn, and his vanguard skirmished with that of the Austrians, commanded by Laudohn, who entered Silesia by the way of Griffenberg. The Austrian general was obliged to retreat with loss; while the king penetrated into Silesia, that he might be at hand to act against the Russians, whose progress was now become the chief object of his apprehension. He no sooner received intimation that Wedel had been worsted, than he marched with a select body of ten thousand men from his camp in Silesia, in order to take upon him the command of Wedel’s army, leaving the rest of his forces strongly encamped, under the direction of his brother prince Henry, who had joined him before this event. Count Daun being apprized of the king’s intention, and knowing the Russians were very defective in cavalry, immediately detached a body of twelve thousand horse to join them, under the command of Laudohn, and these, penetrating in two columns through Silesia and Lusatia, with some loss, arrived in the Russian camp at a very critical juncture. Meanwhile the king of Prussia joined general Wedel on the fourth day of August, at Muhlrose, where he assumed the command of the army; but finding it greatly inferior to the enemy, he recalled general Finck, whom he had detached some time before, with a body of nine thousand men, to oppose the progress of the imperialists in Saxony; for when prince Henry joined his brother in Silesia, the army of the empire had entered that electorate. Thus reinforced, the number of the king’s army at Muhlrose did not exceed fifty thousand, whereas the Russians were more numerous by thirty thousand. They had chosen a strong camp at the village of Cunersdorf, almost opposite to Franckfort upon the Oder, and increased the natural strength of their situation, by intrenchments mounted with a numerous artillery. In other circumstances it might have been deemed a rash and ridiculous enterprise, to attack such an army under such complicated disadvantages; but here was no room for hesitation. The king’s affairs seemed to require a desperate effort, and perhaps he was partly impelled by self-confidence and animosity.