SKIRMISHES BETWEEN THE PRUSSIANS AND
AUSTRIANS IN SAXONY.
At the beginning of the campaign, the king of Prussia’s chief aim was to take measures for the preservation of Silesia, the conquest of which seemed to be the principal object with the court of Vienna. While the Austrian army, under mareschal count Daun, lay strongly intrenched in the neighbourhood of Dresden, the king of Prussia had endeavoured, in the month of December, to make him quit that advantageous situation, by cutting off his provisions, and making an irruption into Bohemia. For these purposes he had taken possession of Dippeswalde, Maxen, and Pretchendorff, as if he intended to enter Bohemia by the way of Passberg: but this scheme being found impracticable, he returned to his camp at Fribourg, and in January the Prussian and Austrian armies were cantoned so near each other, that daily skirmishes were fought with various success. The head of the Prussian camp was formed by a body of four thousand men under general Zettwitz, who, on the twenty-ninth day of January, was attacked with such impetuosity by the Austrian general Beck, that he retreated in great confusion to Torgau, with the loss of five hundred men, eight pieces of artillery, and a considerable quantity of new clothing and other baggage. Another advantage of the same nature was gained by the Austrians at Neustadt, over a small body of Prussians who occupied that city. In the month of Maroh, general Laudohn advanced with a strong detachment of horse and foot, in order to surprise the Prussians, who, in attempting to effect a retreat to Steinau, were surrounded accordingly, and very roughly handled. General Laudohn summoned them twice by sound of trumpet to lay down their arms; but their commanders, the captains Blumenthal and Zettwitz, rejecting the proposal with disdain, the enemy attacked them on all hands with a great superiority of number. In this emergency the Prussian captains formed their troops into a square, and by a close continued fire kept the enemy at bay; until, perceiving that the Croats had taken possession of a wood between Siebenhausen and Steinau, they, in apprehension of being intercepted, abandoned their baggage, and forced their way to Steinau, which they reached with great difficulty, having been continually harassed by the Austrians, who paid dear for this advantage. Several other petty exploits of this kind were achieved by detachments on both sides, before the campaign was begun by the grand armies.
POSITION OF THE ARMIES IN SAXONY AND SILESIA.
Towards the end of April the king of Prussia altered his position, and withdrew that part of his chain of cantonments, extending from the forest of Thurundt to the right of the Elbe. He now took possession of a very strong camp between the Elbe and the Mulda, which he intrenched in every part that was accessible, and fortified with two hundred and fifty pieces of cannon. By these precautions he was enabled to keep his ground against the army of count Daun, and at the same time detach a body of troops, as a reinforcement to his brother prince Henry, who assembled a separate army near Franckfort upon the Oder, that he might be at hand either to oppose the Russians, or march to the relief of Silesia, which the enemy was bent upon invading. It was for this purpose that the Austrian general Laudohn advanced, with a considerable army, into Lusatia about the beginning of May; and general Beck, with another body of troops, took possession of Corbus: meanwhile count Daun continued in his old situation on the Elbe; general Lascy formed a small detached army upon the frontiers of Saxony, to the southward of Dresden; and the prince de Deuxponts marched into the same neighbourhood with the army of the empire. Prince Henry of Prussia having encamped with his army for some time at Sagan, in Silesia, moved from thence to Gorlitz, in Lusatia, to observe the motions of general Laudohn, encamped at Koningsgratz; from whence, in the beginning of June, he marched into the country of Glatz, and advanced to the neighbourhood of Schweidnitz, which he seemed determined to besiege, having a train of eight pieces of cannon. With a view to thwart his designs, prince Henry reinforced the body of troops under general Fouquet; and at the same time he sent a detachment into Pomerania, under colonel Lessow, who defeated the rear guard of general Tottleben, and compelled that officer to evacuate Pomerania. By this time, however, mareschal Soltikoff had arrived from Petersburg, and taken the command of the grand Russian army, which passed the Vistula in June, and began its march towards the frontiers of Silesia.
GEN. LAUDOHN DEFEATS GEN. FOUQUET, AND REDUCES GLATZ.
In the month of June, general Laudohn made an unsuccessful attempt to carry Glatz by assault; but he succeeded better in his next enterprise. Understanding that general Fouquet, who occupied the posts at Landshut, had weakened himself by sending off detachments under the majors-general Zeithen and Grant, he resolved to attack him with such a superiority of number that he should not be able to resist. Accordingly, on the twenty-third day of June, at two in the morning, he began the assault with his whole army upon some redoubts which Fouquet occupied; and these were carried one after another, though not without a very desperate opposition. General Fouquet being summoned to surrender, refused to submit; and having received two wounds, was at length taken prisoner: about three thousand of his men escaped to Breslan; the rest were killed or taken: but the loss of the victors is said to have exceeded that of the vanquished. In July, general Laudohn undertook the siege of Glatz, which was taken after a very faint resistance; for, on the very day the batteries were opened against the place, the garrison abandoned part of the fortifications, which the besiegers immediately occupied. The Prussians made repeated efforts to regain the ground they had lost; but they were repulsed in all their attempts. At length the garrison laid down their arms, and surrendered at discretion. From this tame behaviour of the Prussians, one would imagine the garrison must have been very weak; a circumstance which we cannot reconcile with the known sagacity of the Prussian monarch, as the place was of great importance, on account of the immense magazine it contained, including above one hundred brass cannon, a great number of mortars, and a vast quantity of ammunition.