Nay, what is most important of all, France has
(unconsciously, or by mere help of Noailles and luck)
got a real General to her Armies: Comte de Saxe, now
Marshal de Saxe; who will shine very splendent in
?
(unconsciously, or by mere help of Noailles and luck)
got a real General to her Armies: Comte de Saxe, now
Marshal de Saxe; who will shine very splendent in
?
Thomas Carlyle
net/2027/hvd.
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hathitrust.
org/access_use#pd-google
? HISTORY
OF
FRIEDRICH n. OF PRUSSIA,
CALLED
FREDERICK THE GREAT.
BY
THOMAS CARLYLE.
copy incur edition.
VOL. VIII.
LEIPZIG
BEENHARD TAUCHNITZ
1864.
The liight of Translation is reserved.
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? V
^HARVARcT
UNIVERSITYl
LIBRARY
FEB 23 1959
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? CONTENTS
OF VOLUME VIII.
BOOK XV.
SECOND SILESIAN WAR, IMPORTANT EPISODE IN THE
GENERAL EUROPEAN ONE. 1744-1745.
CHAPTER PJ
I. Preliminary: how the Moment arrived
Prince Karl gets across the Rhine (20th June--2d July
1744), p. 6. Friedrich decides to intervene, 12.
II. Friedrich marches upon Prag, captures Prag
III. Friedrich, diligent in his Bohemian Conquests,
unexpectedly comes upon Prince Karl,
with no French attending him
Friedrich, leaving small Garrison in Prag, rushes swiftly
up the Moldau Valley, upon the Tabor - Budweis
Country; to please his French Friends, p. 34.
The French are little grateful for the Pleasure done
them at such ruinous Expense, 39.
IV. Friedrich reduced to Straits; cannot main-
tain his Moldau Conquests against Prince
Karl
Friedrich tries to have Battlo from Prince Karl, in the
Moldau Countries; cannot, owing to the Skill of Prince
Karl or of old Feldmarschall Traun; -- has to retire
behind the Sazawa, and ultimately behind the Elbe,
with much Labour in Vain, p. 48.
Friedrich's Retreat; especially Einsiedel's from Prag, 59.
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? VI
CONTENTS OF VOLUME TO
CHAPTER
V. Friedrich under Difficulties , prepares for a
new Campaign
Old Dessauer repels the Silesian Invasion (Winter
1744-5), p. 71.
The French fully intend to behave better next Season
to Friedrich and their German Allies; -- but are pre-
vented by various Accidents (November 1744--April
1745; April -- August 1745), 76.
Strange Accident to Marechal de Belleisle in the Harz
Mountains (20th December 1744), 79.
The Kaiser Karl VII. gets secured from Oppressions, in
a tragic Way. Friedrich proposes Peace, but to no
purpose, 85.
VI. VAlori goes on An Electioneering Mission to
Dresden
1? . Friedrich's Position towards Saxony, p. 94.
2". There is a "Onion of Warsaw" (8th January 1745);and still more specially a "Treaty ofWarsawv(8th January -- 18th May 1745), 95.
3". Valori's Account of hisMission (incompressed form) 98.
Middle-Rhine Army in a staggering State; the Bavarian
Intricacy settles itself, the wrong Way, 101.
VII. Friedrich in Silesia; unusually busy
, King Friedrich to Podewils in Berlin (under various
dates, March -- April 1745), p. 108.
Friedrich to Podewils (as before, April -- May 1745),116.
VIII. The Martial Boy And his English versus the
. Laws of Nature
Battle of Fontenoy (11th May 1745), p. 122.
IX. The Austrian-Saxon Army invades Silesia,
across the Mountains
X. BAttle of Hohenfriedberg
XI. CAmp of Chlum: Friedrich cannot achieve Peace
Camp ofDieskau: Britannic Majesty makes Peace, for
himself, with Friedrich; but cannot for Austria or
Saxony, p. 175.
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? CONTENTS OP VOLUME TOI. VII
CHAPTER PAGE
Schfinbrunn, 2d August 1745, Robinson has Audience of
her Hungarian Majesty, 178.
Grand-Duke Franz is elected Kaiser (13th September
1745); Friedrich, the Season and Forage being done,
makes for Silesia, 182.
XII. Battle of Sohr 188
XIII. Saxony and Austria make a surprising last
Attempt 207
Friedrich goes out to meet his Three-legged Monster;
cuts one Leg of it in two (Fight of Hennersdorf,
23d November 1745), p. 211.
Prince Karl, cut in two, tumbles home again double-
quick, 221.
XIV. Battle of Kesselsdorf 224
XV. Peace of Dresden: Friedrich does march home 237
BOOK XVI.
THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. 1746-1756.
I. Sans-Souci 253
Friedrich declines the Career of Conquering Hero; goes
into Law-Reform; and gets ready a Cottage Resi-
dence for himself, p. 259.
II. Peep at Voltaire and his divine Emilie (by
Candle-light) in the Tide of Events . 268
Voltaire and the divine Emilie appear suddenly, one
Night, at Sceaux, p. 276.
War-Passages in 1747, 286.
Marshal Keith comes to Prussia (Sept. 1747), 291.
III. European War palls done: Treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle 294
Marechal de Saxe pays Friedrich a visit, p. 301.
Tragic News that concern us, of Voltaire and others, . 305.
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? vm
CONTENTS OP VOLUME VTH.
CHAPTER PAGE
IV. CoCCEJI FINISHES THE LaW R. EFORM J FrIEDRICH
IS PRINTING HIS PoESIES 309
V. StrAngers of note come to Berlin, in 1750 . 315
Candldatus Linsenbarth (quasi"Lentil-beard") likewise
visits Berlin, p. 321.
Sir Jonas Hanway stalks across the Scene, too; in a
pondering and observing Manner, 333.
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? BOOK XV.
SECOND SILESIAN WAR, IMPORTANT EPISODE IN THE GENERAL EUROPEAN ONE.
15th Aug. 1744--25th Dec. 1745.
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. VIII.
i
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? July--Aug. 1744.
CHAPTER I.
preliminary: how the moment arrived.
Battle being once seen to be inevitable, it was
Friedrich's plan not to wait for it, but to give it.
Thanks to Friedrich Wilhelm and himself, there is no
Army, nor ever was any, in such continual preparation.
Military people say, "Some Countries take six months,
some twelve, to get in motion for war: but in three
weeks Prussia can be across the marches, and upon
the throat of its enemy. " Which is an immense ad-
vantage to little Prussia among its big neighbours.
"Some Countries have a longer sword than Prussia;
but none can unsheathe it so soon:" -- we hope,
too, it is moderately sharp, when wielded by a deft
hand.
The French, as was intimated, are in great vigour,
this Year; thoroughly provoked; and especially since
Friedrich sent his Rothenburg among them, have been
doing their very utmost. Their main effort is in the
Netherlands, at present; -- and indeed, as happened,
continues all through this War to be. They by no
means intend, or ever did, to neglect Teutschland; yet
it turns out, they have pretty much done with their
fighting there. And next Year, driven or led by ac-
cidents of various kinds, they quit it altogether; and
turning their whole strength upon the Netherlands
and Italy, chiefly on the Netherlands, leave Friedrich,
1*
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? 4 SECOND SILESIAN WAR. > [book XV.
July --Aug. 1744.
much to his astonishment, with the German War
hanging wholly round his neck, and take no charge of
it farther! In which, to Friedrich's Biographers, there
is this inestimable benefit, if far the reverse to Fried-
rich's self: That we shall soon have done with the
French, then; with them and with so much else; and
may, in time coming, for most part, leave their huge
Sorcerer's Sabbath of a European War to dance itself
out, well in the distance, not encumbering us farther,
like a circumambient Bedlam, as it has hitherto done.
Courage, reader! Let us give, in a glance or two,
some notion of the course things took, and what moment
it was when Friedrich struck in: -- whom alone, or
almost alone, we hope to follow thenceforth; "Dismal
Swamp" (so gracious was Heaven to us) lying now
mostly to rearward, little as we hoped it!
It was mere accident, a series of bad accidents,
that led King Louis and his Ministers into gradually
forsaking Friedrich. They were the farthest in the
world from intending such a thing. Contrariwise, what
brain-beating, diplomatic spider-weaving, practical con-
triving, now and afterwards, for that object; especially
now! Rothenburg, Noailles, Belleisle, Cardinal Tencin,
have been busy; not less the mistress Chateauroux,
who admires Friedrich, being indeed a high-minded
unfortunate female, as they say; and has thrown out
Amelot, not for stammering alone. They are able,
almost high people, this new Chateauroux Ministry,
compared with some; and already show results.
Nay, what is most important of all, France has
(unconsciously, or by mere help of Noailles and luck)
got a real General to her Armies: Comte de Saxe, now
Marshal de Saxe; who will shine very splendent in
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? CHAP. J. ] PRELIMINARY. 5
July--Aug. 1744.
these Netherland operations, -- counter-shone by mere
Wades, D'Ahrembergs, Cumberlands, -- in this and
the Four following Years. Noailles had always re-
cognised Comte de Saxe; had long striven for him, in
Official quarters; and here gets the light of him un-
veiled at last, and set on a high place: loyal Noailles. This was the Year, this 1744, when Louis XV. ,
urged by his Chateauroux, the high-souled unfortunate
female, appeared in person at the head of his troops:
"Go, Sire, go, mon Chou (and I will accompany); show
yourself where a King should be, at the head of your
troops; be a second Louis-le-Grand! " Which he did,
his Chateauroux and he; actually went to the Nether-
lands, with baggage-train immeasurable, including not
cooks only, but play-actors with their thunder-barrels
(off from Paris, May 3d), to the admiration of the
Universe. * Took the command, nominal-command,
first days of June; and captured in no-time Menin,
Ipres, Fumes, and the Fort of Knock, and as much of
the Austrian Netherlands as he liked, -- that is to
say, saw Noailles and Saxe do it; -- walking rapidly
forward from Siege to Siege, with a most thundering
artillery; old Marshal Wade and consorts dismally
eating their victuals, and looking on from the distance,
unable to attempt the least stroke in opposition. So
that the Dutch Barrier, if anybody now cared for it,
did go all flat; and the Balance of Power gets kicked
out of its sacred pivot: to such purpose have the
Dutch been hoisted! Terrible to think of; -- had not
there, from the opposite quarter, risen a surprising
counterpoise; had not there been a Prince Karl, with
* Adelung, iv. 113; Barbier, n. 391, 394; Dulaure, Hist, de Paris; &c.
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? 6 SECOND SILESIAN WAH. [book XV.
July-- Aug. 1744.
his 70,000, pressing victoriously over the Rhine; which
stayed the French in these sacrilegious procedures.
Prince Karl gets across the Rhine (20th June--2d July
1744. )
Prince Karl, some weeks ago, at Heilbronn, joined
his Rhine Army, which had gathered thither from the
Austrian side, through Baiern, and from the Hither-
Austrian or Swabian Winter-quarters; with full intent
to be across the Rhine, and home upon Elsass and the
Compensation Countries this Summer, under what dif-
ficulties soever. Karl, or as some whisper, old Marshal
Traun, who is nominally second in command, do make
a glorious campaign of it, this Year; -- and lift the
Cause of Liberty, at one time, to the highest pitch it
ever reached. Here, in brief terms, is Prince Karl's
Operation on the Rhine, much admired by military
men:
"Stockstadt, June 20th, 1744. Some thirty and odd miles
"north of Mannheim, the Rhine, before turning westward at
"Mainz, makes one other of its many Islands (of which there
"are hundreds since the leap at Schaffhausen): one other,
"and I think the biggest of them all; perhaps two miles by
"five; which the Germans call Kuhkopf (Covrhea. d), from the
"shape it has, -- a narrow semi-ellipse; Kiver there splitting
"in two, one split (the western) going straight, the other
"bending luxuriantly round: so that the Am<2-head or straight
"end of the Island lies towards France, and the round end,
"or cow-lips (so to speak) towards native Teutschland, and
"the woody Hills of the Berg-Strasse thereabouts. Stock-
"stadt, chief little Town looking over into this Cowhead
"Island, lies under the chin: understand only farther that
"the German branch carries more than two-thirds of the
"River; that on the Island itself there is no town, or post of
"defence; and thatStockstadt is the place for getting over.
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? CHAP. I. ] PRELIMINARY. 7
July--Aug. 1744.
"Coigny and the French, some 40,000, are guarding the River
"hereabouts, with lines, with batteries, cordons, the best
"they can; Seckendorf, with 20,000 more ("Imperial'Old-
"Bavarian Troops, revivified, recruited by French pay), is
"in his garrison of Philipsburg, ready to help when needed:"
--not moulting now, at Wembdingen, in that dismal manner;
new-feathered now into 'Kaiser's Army;' waiting in his Phi-
lipsburg to guard the River there. "Coigny's French have
"ramparts, ditches, not quite unfurnished, on their own
"shore, opposite this CowheadIsland (Isle de Heron, as they
"call it); looking over to the hind-head, namely: but they
"have nothing considerable there; and in the Island itself,
"nothing whatever. 'If now Stockstadt were suddenly
'snatched by us,' thinks Karl; -- 'if a few pontoons were
'nimbly swung in? '
"June 20th, -- Coigny's people all shooting feu-de-joie, for
"that never enough to be celebrated Capture of Menin and
"the Dutch Barrier a fortnight ago, -- this is managed to be
"done. The active General Barenklau, active Brigadier
"Daun under him, pushes rapidly across into Kuhkopf;
"rapidly throws up entrenchments, ramparts, mounts cannon,
"digs himself in, -- greatly to Coigny's astonishment; whose
"people hereabouts, and in all their lines and posts, are busy
"shooting feu-de-joie for those immortal Dutch victories, at
"the moment, and never dreaming of such a thing. Fresh
"force floods in, Prince Karl himself arrives next day, in
"support of Barenklau; Coigny (head - quarters at Speyer,
"forty miles south) need not attempt dislodging him; but
"must stand upon his guard, and prepare for worse. Which
"he does with diligence; shifting northward into those Stock-
"stadt-Mainz parts; calling Seckendorf across the River, and
"otherwise doing his best, --for about ten days more, when
"worse, and almost worst, did verily befal him.
"No attempt was made on Barenklau; nor, beyond the
"alarming of the Coigny-Seckendorf people, did anything
"occur in Cowhead Island, --unless it were the finis of an
"ugly bully and ruffian, who has more than once afflicted us:
"which may be worth one word. Colonel Mentzel" (copper-
faced Colonel, originally Playactor, "Spy in Persia," and I
know not what) "had been at the seizure of Kuhkopf; a pro-
minent man. Whom, on the fifth day after ('June 25th').
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? 8 SECOND SILESIAN WAK. [book XV.
July --Aug. 1744.
"Prince Karl overwhelmed with joy, by handing him aPatent
"of Generalcy: 'Just received from Court, my Friend, on
"' account of your merits old and late. ' -- 'Aha,' said Baren-
"klau, congratulating warmly: 'Dine with me, then, Herr
''' General Mentzel, this very day. The Prince himself is to be
"'there, Highness of Hessen-Darmstadt, and who not; all are
"'impatient to drink your health! ' "Mentzel had a glorious
"dinner; still more glorious drink,-- Prince Karl and the
"others, it is said, egging him into much wild bluster and
"gasconade, to season their much wine. Eminent swill of
"drinking, with the loud coarse talk supposable, on the part
"of Mentzel and consorts did go on, in this manner, allafter-
"noon: in the evening, drunk Mentzel came out for air; went
"strutting and staggering about; emerging finally on the
"platform of some rampart, face of him huge and red as that
"of the foggiest rising Moon; -- and stood, looking over into
"the Lorraine Country; belching out a storm of oaths, as to
"his taking it, as to his doing this and that; and was even
"flourishing his sword by way of accompaniment; when, lo,
"whistling slightly through the summer air, a rifle-ball from
"some sentry on the French side (writers say, it was a French
"drummer, grown impatient, and snatching a sentry's piece)
"took the brain of him, or the belly of him; and he rushed
"down at once, a totally collapsed monster, and mere heap
"of dead ruin, never to trouble mankind more. " * For which
my readers and I are rather thankful. Voltaire; and perhaps
other memorable persons, sometimes mention this brute (mira-
culous to the Plebs and Gazetteers); otherwise eternal obli-
vion were the best we could do with him. Trenck also, readers
will be glad to understand, ends in jail and bedlam by and by.
"Prince Karl had not the least intention of crossing by
"this CowheadIsland. Nevertheless he set about two other
"Bridges in the neighbourhood, nearer Mainz (few miles
"below that City); kept manceuvering his Force, in huge
"half-moon, round that quarter, and mysteriously up and
"down; alarming Coigny wholly into the Mainz region. For
"the space of ten days; and then, stealing off to Schrock, a
"little Rhine Village above Philipsburg, many miles away
"from Coigny and his vigilances, he --
* Guerre tfe Bohime, in. 165.
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? CHAP. I. ] PRELIMINARY. 9
3d July 1744.
"Night of 30th June -- 1st July, Suddenly shot Pandour
"Trenck, followed by Nadasti and 6,000, across at Schrock;
"who scattered Seckendorf's poor outposts thereabouts to the
"winds; 'built a bridge before morning, and next day an-
"'other. ' Next day Prince Karl in person appeared; and on
"the 3d of July, had his whole Army with its luggages across;
"and had seized the Lines of Lauterburg and Weissenburg
"(celebrated northern defence of Elsass), -- much to Coigny's
"amazement; and remained inexpugnable there, withElsass
"open to him, and to Coigny shut, for the present! * Coigny
"made bitter wailj accusation, blame of Seckendorf, blame
"of men and of things; even tried some fighting, Seckendorf
"too doing feats, to recover those Lines of Weissenburg: but
"could not do it. And, in fact, blazing to and fro in that
"excited rather than luminous condition, could not do any-
"thing; except retire into the strong posts of the background;
"and send express on express, swifter than the wind if you
"can, to a victorious King overturning the Dutch Barrier:
'"Help, your Majesty, or we are lost; and France is -- what
'"shallI say! '"
"Admirable feat of Strategy! What a General, this
Prince Karl! " exclaimed mankind,? -- Cause-of-Liberty
mankind with special enthusiasm; and took to writing
Lives of Prince Karl,** as well as tar-burning and te-
rleum-'mg on an extensive scale. For it had sent the
Cause of Liberty bounding up again to the top of
things, this of crossing the Rhine, in such fashion.
And in effect, the Cause of Liberty, and Prince Karl
himself, had risen hereby to their acme or culminating
point in World-History; not to continue long at such
height, little as they dreamt of that, among their tar-
burnings. The feat itself, -- contrived by Nadasti,
* Adelung, lv. 139-141.
** For instance, The Life of his Highness Prince Charles of&c. ,with&c. &c.
(London, 1746); one of the most distracted Blotches ever published under
the name of Book; -- awakening thoughts of a public dimness very con-
siderable indeed, to which this could offer itself as lamp!
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? 10 SECOND SILESIAN WAR. [BOOK XV.
July--Aug. 1744.
people say, and executed (what was the real difficulty)
by Traun, -- brought Prince Karl very great renown,
this Year; and is praised by Friedrich himself, now
and afterwards, as masterly, as Julius Caesar's method,
and the proper way of crossing rivers (when execut-
able) in face of an enemy. And indeed Prince Karl,
owing to Traun or not, is highly respectable in the
way of Generalship at present; and did in these Five
Months, from June onward, really considerable things.
At his very acme of Life, as well as of Generalship;
which, alas, soon changed, poor man; never to cul-
minate again. He had got, at the beginning of the
Year, the high Maria Theresa's one Sister, Archduchess
Maria Anna, to Wife;* the crown of long mutual at-
tachment: she safe now at Brussels, diligent Co-Regent,
and in a promising family-way; he here walking on
victorious: -- need any man be happier? No man
can be supremely happy long; and this General's
strategic felicity and his domestic were fatally cut
down almost together. The Cause of Liberty, too,
now at the top of its orbit, was -- But let us stick by
our Excerpting!
"Dunkirk, 19th July 1744" (Princess Ulrique's Wedding,
just two days ago). "King Louis, on hearing of the Job's-
"news from Elsass, instantly suspended his Conquests in
"Flanders; detached Noailles, detached this one and that,
"double-quick, Division after Division (leaving Saxe, with
"45,000, to his own resources, and the fatuities of Marshal
"Wade); and, 19th July, himself hastens off from Dunkirk
"(leaving much of the luggage, but not the Chateauroux
"behind him), to save his Country, poor soul. But could not,
* Age then twenty-five gone: "born 14th September 1718; married to
"Prince Karl, 7th January 1744; died, of childbirth, 16th December same
. '? year'' (Hormayr, (Esterreichischer Plutarch, rv. erstes Bandchen, 54).
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? CHAP. I. ]
8th Aug. 1744.
PRELIMINARY.
11"in the least, save it; the reverse rather. August 4th, he
"gottoMetz, Belleisle's strong Town, about 100 miles from
"the actual scene; his detached reinforcements, say 50,000
"men or so, hanging out ahead like flame-clouds, butuncer-
"tain how to act; -- Noailles being always cunctatious, in
"Compeller; -- and then,
"Metz, August8th, TheMostChristian King fell ill; danger-!
"ously, dreadfully, just like to die. Which entirely paralysed
"Noailles and Company, or reduced them to mere hysterics,
"and excitement of the unluminous kind. And filled France
"in general, Paris in particular, with terror, lamentation,
"prayers of forty hours; and such a paroxysm of hero-worship
"as was never seen for such an object before. " *
For the Cause of Liberty here, we consider, was
the culminating moment; Elsass, Lorraine, and the
Three Bishoprics lying in their quasi-moribund condi-
tion; Austrian claims of Compensation ceasing to be
visions of the heated brain, and gaining some footing
on the Earth as facts. Prince Karl is here actually in
Elsass, master of the strong passes; elate in heart, he
and his; France, again, as if fallen paralytic, into
temporary distraction; offering for resistance nothing
hitherto but that universal wailing of mankind, Hero-
worship of a thrice-lamentable nature, and the Prayers
of Forty-Hours! Most Christian Majesty, now in ex-
tremis, centre of the basest hubbub that ever was, is
dismissing Chateauroux. Noailles, Coigny and Company
hang well back upon the Hill regions, and strong
posts which are not yet menaced; or fly vaguely, more
or less distractedly, hither and thither; not in the least
like fighting Karl, much less like beating him. Karl
has Germany free at his back (nay it is a German
"time of crisis, and
Louis himself nothing of a Cloud? * Espaguac, ii,12; Adelung, iv. 180; Fastes de Louis XV, n. 423; &c. &c.
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? 12 SECOND SILESIAN WAR. [book XV.
8th Aug. 1744.
population round him here); neither haversack nor
cartridge-box like to fail: before him are only a
Noailles and consorts, flying vaguely about, -- and
there is in Karl, or under the same cloak with him at
present, a talent of manoeuvering men, which even
Friedrich finds masterly. If old Marshal Wade, at the
other end of the line, should chance to awaken and
press home on Saxe, and his remnant of French, with
right vigour? In fact, there was not, that I can see,
for centuries past, not even at the Siege of Lille
in Marlborough's time, a more imminent peril for
France.
Friedrich decides to intervene.
King Friedrich, on hearing of these Rhenish
emergencies and of King Louis's heroic advance to the
rescue, perceived that for himself too the moment was
come; and hastened to inform heroic Louis, That
though the terms of their Bargain were not yet com-
pleted, Sweden, Russia and other points being still in
a pendent condition, he, Friedrich, -- with an eye to
success of their Joint Adventure, and to the indis-
pensability of joint action, energy, and the top of one's
speed now or never, -- would, by the middle of this
same August, be on the field with 100,000 men. "An
invasion of Bohemia, will not that astonish Prince
Karl; and bring him to his Rhine-Bridges again? Over
which, if your Most Christian Majesty be active, he
will not get, except in a half or wholly ruined state.
Follow him close; send the rest of your force to
threaten Hanover; sit well on the skirts of Prince Karl.
Him as he hurries homeward, ruined or half-ruined,
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? CHAP. I. ] PRELIMINARY. 13
9ih Aug.
? HISTORY
OF
FRIEDRICH n. OF PRUSSIA,
CALLED
FREDERICK THE GREAT.
BY
THOMAS CARLYLE.
copy incur edition.
VOL. VIII.
LEIPZIG
BEENHARD TAUCHNITZ
1864.
The liight of Translation is reserved.
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? V
^HARVARcT
UNIVERSITYl
LIBRARY
FEB 23 1959
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? CONTENTS
OF VOLUME VIII.
BOOK XV.
SECOND SILESIAN WAR, IMPORTANT EPISODE IN THE
GENERAL EUROPEAN ONE. 1744-1745.
CHAPTER PJ
I. Preliminary: how the Moment arrived
Prince Karl gets across the Rhine (20th June--2d July
1744), p. 6. Friedrich decides to intervene, 12.
II. Friedrich marches upon Prag, captures Prag
III. Friedrich, diligent in his Bohemian Conquests,
unexpectedly comes upon Prince Karl,
with no French attending him
Friedrich, leaving small Garrison in Prag, rushes swiftly
up the Moldau Valley, upon the Tabor - Budweis
Country; to please his French Friends, p. 34.
The French are little grateful for the Pleasure done
them at such ruinous Expense, 39.
IV. Friedrich reduced to Straits; cannot main-
tain his Moldau Conquests against Prince
Karl
Friedrich tries to have Battlo from Prince Karl, in the
Moldau Countries; cannot, owing to the Skill of Prince
Karl or of old Feldmarschall Traun; -- has to retire
behind the Sazawa, and ultimately behind the Elbe,
with much Labour in Vain, p. 48.
Friedrich's Retreat; especially Einsiedel's from Prag, 59.
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? VI
CONTENTS OF VOLUME TO
CHAPTER
V. Friedrich under Difficulties , prepares for a
new Campaign
Old Dessauer repels the Silesian Invasion (Winter
1744-5), p. 71.
The French fully intend to behave better next Season
to Friedrich and their German Allies; -- but are pre-
vented by various Accidents (November 1744--April
1745; April -- August 1745), 76.
Strange Accident to Marechal de Belleisle in the Harz
Mountains (20th December 1744), 79.
The Kaiser Karl VII. gets secured from Oppressions, in
a tragic Way. Friedrich proposes Peace, but to no
purpose, 85.
VI. VAlori goes on An Electioneering Mission to
Dresden
1? . Friedrich's Position towards Saxony, p. 94.
2". There is a "Onion of Warsaw" (8th January 1745);and still more specially a "Treaty ofWarsawv(8th January -- 18th May 1745), 95.
3". Valori's Account of hisMission (incompressed form) 98.
Middle-Rhine Army in a staggering State; the Bavarian
Intricacy settles itself, the wrong Way, 101.
VII. Friedrich in Silesia; unusually busy
, King Friedrich to Podewils in Berlin (under various
dates, March -- April 1745), p. 108.
Friedrich to Podewils (as before, April -- May 1745),116.
VIII. The Martial Boy And his English versus the
. Laws of Nature
Battle of Fontenoy (11th May 1745), p. 122.
IX. The Austrian-Saxon Army invades Silesia,
across the Mountains
X. BAttle of Hohenfriedberg
XI. CAmp of Chlum: Friedrich cannot achieve Peace
Camp ofDieskau: Britannic Majesty makes Peace, for
himself, with Friedrich; but cannot for Austria or
Saxony, p. 175.
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? CONTENTS OP VOLUME TOI. VII
CHAPTER PAGE
Schfinbrunn, 2d August 1745, Robinson has Audience of
her Hungarian Majesty, 178.
Grand-Duke Franz is elected Kaiser (13th September
1745); Friedrich, the Season and Forage being done,
makes for Silesia, 182.
XII. Battle of Sohr 188
XIII. Saxony and Austria make a surprising last
Attempt 207
Friedrich goes out to meet his Three-legged Monster;
cuts one Leg of it in two (Fight of Hennersdorf,
23d November 1745), p. 211.
Prince Karl, cut in two, tumbles home again double-
quick, 221.
XIV. Battle of Kesselsdorf 224
XV. Peace of Dresden: Friedrich does march home 237
BOOK XVI.
THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. 1746-1756.
I. Sans-Souci 253
Friedrich declines the Career of Conquering Hero; goes
into Law-Reform; and gets ready a Cottage Resi-
dence for himself, p. 259.
II. Peep at Voltaire and his divine Emilie (by
Candle-light) in the Tide of Events . 268
Voltaire and the divine Emilie appear suddenly, one
Night, at Sceaux, p. 276.
War-Passages in 1747, 286.
Marshal Keith comes to Prussia (Sept. 1747), 291.
III. European War palls done: Treaty of Aix-la-
Chapelle 294
Marechal de Saxe pays Friedrich a visit, p. 301.
Tragic News that concern us, of Voltaire and others, . 305.
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? vm
CONTENTS OP VOLUME VTH.
CHAPTER PAGE
IV. CoCCEJI FINISHES THE LaW R. EFORM J FrIEDRICH
IS PRINTING HIS PoESIES 309
V. StrAngers of note come to Berlin, in 1750 . 315
Candldatus Linsenbarth (quasi"Lentil-beard") likewise
visits Berlin, p. 321.
Sir Jonas Hanway stalks across the Scene, too; in a
pondering and observing Manner, 333.
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? BOOK XV.
SECOND SILESIAN WAR, IMPORTANT EPISODE IN THE GENERAL EUROPEAN ONE.
15th Aug. 1744--25th Dec. 1745.
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. VIII.
i
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? July--Aug. 1744.
CHAPTER I.
preliminary: how the moment arrived.
Battle being once seen to be inevitable, it was
Friedrich's plan not to wait for it, but to give it.
Thanks to Friedrich Wilhelm and himself, there is no
Army, nor ever was any, in such continual preparation.
Military people say, "Some Countries take six months,
some twelve, to get in motion for war: but in three
weeks Prussia can be across the marches, and upon
the throat of its enemy. " Which is an immense ad-
vantage to little Prussia among its big neighbours.
"Some Countries have a longer sword than Prussia;
but none can unsheathe it so soon:" -- we hope,
too, it is moderately sharp, when wielded by a deft
hand.
The French, as was intimated, are in great vigour,
this Year; thoroughly provoked; and especially since
Friedrich sent his Rothenburg among them, have been
doing their very utmost. Their main effort is in the
Netherlands, at present; -- and indeed, as happened,
continues all through this War to be. They by no
means intend, or ever did, to neglect Teutschland; yet
it turns out, they have pretty much done with their
fighting there. And next Year, driven or led by ac-
cidents of various kinds, they quit it altogether; and
turning their whole strength upon the Netherlands
and Italy, chiefly on the Netherlands, leave Friedrich,
1*
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? 4 SECOND SILESIAN WAR. > [book XV.
July --Aug. 1744.
much to his astonishment, with the German War
hanging wholly round his neck, and take no charge of
it farther! In which, to Friedrich's Biographers, there
is this inestimable benefit, if far the reverse to Fried-
rich's self: That we shall soon have done with the
French, then; with them and with so much else; and
may, in time coming, for most part, leave their huge
Sorcerer's Sabbath of a European War to dance itself
out, well in the distance, not encumbering us farther,
like a circumambient Bedlam, as it has hitherto done.
Courage, reader! Let us give, in a glance or two,
some notion of the course things took, and what moment
it was when Friedrich struck in: -- whom alone, or
almost alone, we hope to follow thenceforth; "Dismal
Swamp" (so gracious was Heaven to us) lying now
mostly to rearward, little as we hoped it!
It was mere accident, a series of bad accidents,
that led King Louis and his Ministers into gradually
forsaking Friedrich. They were the farthest in the
world from intending such a thing. Contrariwise, what
brain-beating, diplomatic spider-weaving, practical con-
triving, now and afterwards, for that object; especially
now! Rothenburg, Noailles, Belleisle, Cardinal Tencin,
have been busy; not less the mistress Chateauroux,
who admires Friedrich, being indeed a high-minded
unfortunate female, as they say; and has thrown out
Amelot, not for stammering alone. They are able,
almost high people, this new Chateauroux Ministry,
compared with some; and already show results.
Nay, what is most important of all, France has
(unconsciously, or by mere help of Noailles and luck)
got a real General to her Armies: Comte de Saxe, now
Marshal de Saxe; who will shine very splendent in
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? CHAP. J. ] PRELIMINARY. 5
July--Aug. 1744.
these Netherland operations, -- counter-shone by mere
Wades, D'Ahrembergs, Cumberlands, -- in this and
the Four following Years. Noailles had always re-
cognised Comte de Saxe; had long striven for him, in
Official quarters; and here gets the light of him un-
veiled at last, and set on a high place: loyal Noailles. This was the Year, this 1744, when Louis XV. ,
urged by his Chateauroux, the high-souled unfortunate
female, appeared in person at the head of his troops:
"Go, Sire, go, mon Chou (and I will accompany); show
yourself where a King should be, at the head of your
troops; be a second Louis-le-Grand! " Which he did,
his Chateauroux and he; actually went to the Nether-
lands, with baggage-train immeasurable, including not
cooks only, but play-actors with their thunder-barrels
(off from Paris, May 3d), to the admiration of the
Universe. * Took the command, nominal-command,
first days of June; and captured in no-time Menin,
Ipres, Fumes, and the Fort of Knock, and as much of
the Austrian Netherlands as he liked, -- that is to
say, saw Noailles and Saxe do it; -- walking rapidly
forward from Siege to Siege, with a most thundering
artillery; old Marshal Wade and consorts dismally
eating their victuals, and looking on from the distance,
unable to attempt the least stroke in opposition. So
that the Dutch Barrier, if anybody now cared for it,
did go all flat; and the Balance of Power gets kicked
out of its sacred pivot: to such purpose have the
Dutch been hoisted! Terrible to think of; -- had not
there, from the opposite quarter, risen a surprising
counterpoise; had not there been a Prince Karl, with
* Adelung, iv. 113; Barbier, n. 391, 394; Dulaure, Hist, de Paris; &c.
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? 6 SECOND SILESIAN WAH. [book XV.
July-- Aug. 1744.
his 70,000, pressing victoriously over the Rhine; which
stayed the French in these sacrilegious procedures.
Prince Karl gets across the Rhine (20th June--2d July
1744. )
Prince Karl, some weeks ago, at Heilbronn, joined
his Rhine Army, which had gathered thither from the
Austrian side, through Baiern, and from the Hither-
Austrian or Swabian Winter-quarters; with full intent
to be across the Rhine, and home upon Elsass and the
Compensation Countries this Summer, under what dif-
ficulties soever. Karl, or as some whisper, old Marshal
Traun, who is nominally second in command, do make
a glorious campaign of it, this Year; -- and lift the
Cause of Liberty, at one time, to the highest pitch it
ever reached. Here, in brief terms, is Prince Karl's
Operation on the Rhine, much admired by military
men:
"Stockstadt, June 20th, 1744. Some thirty and odd miles
"north of Mannheim, the Rhine, before turning westward at
"Mainz, makes one other of its many Islands (of which there
"are hundreds since the leap at Schaffhausen): one other,
"and I think the biggest of them all; perhaps two miles by
"five; which the Germans call Kuhkopf (Covrhea. d), from the
"shape it has, -- a narrow semi-ellipse; Kiver there splitting
"in two, one split (the western) going straight, the other
"bending luxuriantly round: so that the Am<2-head or straight
"end of the Island lies towards France, and the round end,
"or cow-lips (so to speak) towards native Teutschland, and
"the woody Hills of the Berg-Strasse thereabouts. Stock-
"stadt, chief little Town looking over into this Cowhead
"Island, lies under the chin: understand only farther that
"the German branch carries more than two-thirds of the
"River; that on the Island itself there is no town, or post of
"defence; and thatStockstadt is the place for getting over.
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? CHAP. I. ] PRELIMINARY. 7
July--Aug. 1744.
"Coigny and the French, some 40,000, are guarding the River
"hereabouts, with lines, with batteries, cordons, the best
"they can; Seckendorf, with 20,000 more ("Imperial'Old-
"Bavarian Troops, revivified, recruited by French pay), is
"in his garrison of Philipsburg, ready to help when needed:"
--not moulting now, at Wembdingen, in that dismal manner;
new-feathered now into 'Kaiser's Army;' waiting in his Phi-
lipsburg to guard the River there. "Coigny's French have
"ramparts, ditches, not quite unfurnished, on their own
"shore, opposite this CowheadIsland (Isle de Heron, as they
"call it); looking over to the hind-head, namely: but they
"have nothing considerable there; and in the Island itself,
"nothing whatever. 'If now Stockstadt were suddenly
'snatched by us,' thinks Karl; -- 'if a few pontoons were
'nimbly swung in? '
"June 20th, -- Coigny's people all shooting feu-de-joie, for
"that never enough to be celebrated Capture of Menin and
"the Dutch Barrier a fortnight ago, -- this is managed to be
"done. The active General Barenklau, active Brigadier
"Daun under him, pushes rapidly across into Kuhkopf;
"rapidly throws up entrenchments, ramparts, mounts cannon,
"digs himself in, -- greatly to Coigny's astonishment; whose
"people hereabouts, and in all their lines and posts, are busy
"shooting feu-de-joie for those immortal Dutch victories, at
"the moment, and never dreaming of such a thing. Fresh
"force floods in, Prince Karl himself arrives next day, in
"support of Barenklau; Coigny (head - quarters at Speyer,
"forty miles south) need not attempt dislodging him; but
"must stand upon his guard, and prepare for worse. Which
"he does with diligence; shifting northward into those Stock-
"stadt-Mainz parts; calling Seckendorf across the River, and
"otherwise doing his best, --for about ten days more, when
"worse, and almost worst, did verily befal him.
"No attempt was made on Barenklau; nor, beyond the
"alarming of the Coigny-Seckendorf people, did anything
"occur in Cowhead Island, --unless it were the finis of an
"ugly bully and ruffian, who has more than once afflicted us:
"which may be worth one word. Colonel Mentzel" (copper-
faced Colonel, originally Playactor, "Spy in Persia," and I
know not what) "had been at the seizure of Kuhkopf; a pro-
minent man. Whom, on the fifth day after ('June 25th').
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? 8 SECOND SILESIAN WAK. [book XV.
July --Aug. 1744.
"Prince Karl overwhelmed with joy, by handing him aPatent
"of Generalcy: 'Just received from Court, my Friend, on
"' account of your merits old and late. ' -- 'Aha,' said Baren-
"klau, congratulating warmly: 'Dine with me, then, Herr
''' General Mentzel, this very day. The Prince himself is to be
"'there, Highness of Hessen-Darmstadt, and who not; all are
"'impatient to drink your health! ' "Mentzel had a glorious
"dinner; still more glorious drink,-- Prince Karl and the
"others, it is said, egging him into much wild bluster and
"gasconade, to season their much wine. Eminent swill of
"drinking, with the loud coarse talk supposable, on the part
"of Mentzel and consorts did go on, in this manner, allafter-
"noon: in the evening, drunk Mentzel came out for air; went
"strutting and staggering about; emerging finally on the
"platform of some rampart, face of him huge and red as that
"of the foggiest rising Moon; -- and stood, looking over into
"the Lorraine Country; belching out a storm of oaths, as to
"his taking it, as to his doing this and that; and was even
"flourishing his sword by way of accompaniment; when, lo,
"whistling slightly through the summer air, a rifle-ball from
"some sentry on the French side (writers say, it was a French
"drummer, grown impatient, and snatching a sentry's piece)
"took the brain of him, or the belly of him; and he rushed
"down at once, a totally collapsed monster, and mere heap
"of dead ruin, never to trouble mankind more. " * For which
my readers and I are rather thankful. Voltaire; and perhaps
other memorable persons, sometimes mention this brute (mira-
culous to the Plebs and Gazetteers); otherwise eternal obli-
vion were the best we could do with him. Trenck also, readers
will be glad to understand, ends in jail and bedlam by and by.
"Prince Karl had not the least intention of crossing by
"this CowheadIsland. Nevertheless he set about two other
"Bridges in the neighbourhood, nearer Mainz (few miles
"below that City); kept manceuvering his Force, in huge
"half-moon, round that quarter, and mysteriously up and
"down; alarming Coigny wholly into the Mainz region. For
"the space of ten days; and then, stealing off to Schrock, a
"little Rhine Village above Philipsburg, many miles away
"from Coigny and his vigilances, he --
* Guerre tfe Bohime, in. 165.
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? CHAP. I. ] PRELIMINARY. 9
3d July 1744.
"Night of 30th June -- 1st July, Suddenly shot Pandour
"Trenck, followed by Nadasti and 6,000, across at Schrock;
"who scattered Seckendorf's poor outposts thereabouts to the
"winds; 'built a bridge before morning, and next day an-
"'other. ' Next day Prince Karl in person appeared; and on
"the 3d of July, had his whole Army with its luggages across;
"and had seized the Lines of Lauterburg and Weissenburg
"(celebrated northern defence of Elsass), -- much to Coigny's
"amazement; and remained inexpugnable there, withElsass
"open to him, and to Coigny shut, for the present! * Coigny
"made bitter wailj accusation, blame of Seckendorf, blame
"of men and of things; even tried some fighting, Seckendorf
"too doing feats, to recover those Lines of Weissenburg: but
"could not do it. And, in fact, blazing to and fro in that
"excited rather than luminous condition, could not do any-
"thing; except retire into the strong posts of the background;
"and send express on express, swifter than the wind if you
"can, to a victorious King overturning the Dutch Barrier:
'"Help, your Majesty, or we are lost; and France is -- what
'"shallI say! '"
"Admirable feat of Strategy! What a General, this
Prince Karl! " exclaimed mankind,? -- Cause-of-Liberty
mankind with special enthusiasm; and took to writing
Lives of Prince Karl,** as well as tar-burning and te-
rleum-'mg on an extensive scale. For it had sent the
Cause of Liberty bounding up again to the top of
things, this of crossing the Rhine, in such fashion.
And in effect, the Cause of Liberty, and Prince Karl
himself, had risen hereby to their acme or culminating
point in World-History; not to continue long at such
height, little as they dreamt of that, among their tar-
burnings. The feat itself, -- contrived by Nadasti,
* Adelung, lv. 139-141.
** For instance, The Life of his Highness Prince Charles of&c. ,with&c. &c.
(London, 1746); one of the most distracted Blotches ever published under
the name of Book; -- awakening thoughts of a public dimness very con-
siderable indeed, to which this could offer itself as lamp!
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? 10 SECOND SILESIAN WAR. [BOOK XV.
July--Aug. 1744.
people say, and executed (what was the real difficulty)
by Traun, -- brought Prince Karl very great renown,
this Year; and is praised by Friedrich himself, now
and afterwards, as masterly, as Julius Caesar's method,
and the proper way of crossing rivers (when execut-
able) in face of an enemy. And indeed Prince Karl,
owing to Traun or not, is highly respectable in the
way of Generalship at present; and did in these Five
Months, from June onward, really considerable things.
At his very acme of Life, as well as of Generalship;
which, alas, soon changed, poor man; never to cul-
minate again. He had got, at the beginning of the
Year, the high Maria Theresa's one Sister, Archduchess
Maria Anna, to Wife;* the crown of long mutual at-
tachment: she safe now at Brussels, diligent Co-Regent,
and in a promising family-way; he here walking on
victorious: -- need any man be happier? No man
can be supremely happy long; and this General's
strategic felicity and his domestic were fatally cut
down almost together. The Cause of Liberty, too,
now at the top of its orbit, was -- But let us stick by
our Excerpting!
"Dunkirk, 19th July 1744" (Princess Ulrique's Wedding,
just two days ago). "King Louis, on hearing of the Job's-
"news from Elsass, instantly suspended his Conquests in
"Flanders; detached Noailles, detached this one and that,
"double-quick, Division after Division (leaving Saxe, with
"45,000, to his own resources, and the fatuities of Marshal
"Wade); and, 19th July, himself hastens off from Dunkirk
"(leaving much of the luggage, but not the Chateauroux
"behind him), to save his Country, poor soul. But could not,
* Age then twenty-five gone: "born 14th September 1718; married to
"Prince Karl, 7th January 1744; died, of childbirth, 16th December same
. '? year'' (Hormayr, (Esterreichischer Plutarch, rv. erstes Bandchen, 54).
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? CHAP. I. ]
8th Aug. 1744.
PRELIMINARY.
11"in the least, save it; the reverse rather. August 4th, he
"gottoMetz, Belleisle's strong Town, about 100 miles from
"the actual scene; his detached reinforcements, say 50,000
"men or so, hanging out ahead like flame-clouds, butuncer-
"tain how to act; -- Noailles being always cunctatious, in
"Compeller; -- and then,
"Metz, August8th, TheMostChristian King fell ill; danger-!
"ously, dreadfully, just like to die. Which entirely paralysed
"Noailles and Company, or reduced them to mere hysterics,
"and excitement of the unluminous kind. And filled France
"in general, Paris in particular, with terror, lamentation,
"prayers of forty hours; and such a paroxysm of hero-worship
"as was never seen for such an object before. " *
For the Cause of Liberty here, we consider, was
the culminating moment; Elsass, Lorraine, and the
Three Bishoprics lying in their quasi-moribund condi-
tion; Austrian claims of Compensation ceasing to be
visions of the heated brain, and gaining some footing
on the Earth as facts. Prince Karl is here actually in
Elsass, master of the strong passes; elate in heart, he
and his; France, again, as if fallen paralytic, into
temporary distraction; offering for resistance nothing
hitherto but that universal wailing of mankind, Hero-
worship of a thrice-lamentable nature, and the Prayers
of Forty-Hours! Most Christian Majesty, now in ex-
tremis, centre of the basest hubbub that ever was, is
dismissing Chateauroux. Noailles, Coigny and Company
hang well back upon the Hill regions, and strong
posts which are not yet menaced; or fly vaguely, more
or less distractedly, hither and thither; not in the least
like fighting Karl, much less like beating him. Karl
has Germany free at his back (nay it is a German
"time of crisis, and
Louis himself nothing of a Cloud? * Espaguac, ii,12; Adelung, iv. 180; Fastes de Louis XV, n. 423; &c. &c.
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? 12 SECOND SILESIAN WAR. [book XV.
8th Aug. 1744.
population round him here); neither haversack nor
cartridge-box like to fail: before him are only a
Noailles and consorts, flying vaguely about, -- and
there is in Karl, or under the same cloak with him at
present, a talent of manoeuvering men, which even
Friedrich finds masterly. If old Marshal Wade, at the
other end of the line, should chance to awaken and
press home on Saxe, and his remnant of French, with
right vigour? In fact, there was not, that I can see,
for centuries past, not even at the Siege of Lille
in Marlborough's time, a more imminent peril for
France.
Friedrich decides to intervene.
King Friedrich, on hearing of these Rhenish
emergencies and of King Louis's heroic advance to the
rescue, perceived that for himself too the moment was
come; and hastened to inform heroic Louis, That
though the terms of their Bargain were not yet com-
pleted, Sweden, Russia and other points being still in
a pendent condition, he, Friedrich, -- with an eye to
success of their Joint Adventure, and to the indis-
pensability of joint action, energy, and the top of one's
speed now or never, -- would, by the middle of this
same August, be on the field with 100,000 men. "An
invasion of Bohemia, will not that astonish Prince
Karl; and bring him to his Rhine-Bridges again? Over
which, if your Most Christian Majesty be active, he
will not get, except in a half or wholly ruined state.
Follow him close; send the rest of your force to
threaten Hanover; sit well on the skirts of Prince Karl.
Him as he hurries homeward, ruined or half-ruined,
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? CHAP. I. ] PRELIMINARY. 13
9ih Aug.
