]
FRIEDRICH
BESIEGES DRESDEN.
Thomas Carlyle
Crossing any of these Brooks,
"the soldiers pounce down, irrepressible, whole ranks of
"them; lift water, clean or dirty; drink it greedily from the
"brim of the hat. Sergeants may wag their tongues and their
"cudgels at discretion: 'showers of cudgel-strokes,' says
"Archenholz; Sergeants going like threshers on the poor
"men; -- 'though the upper Officers had a touch of mercy,
"'and affected not to see this disobedience to the Sergeants
"' and their cudgels,' which was punishable with death. War
"is not an over-fond Mother, but a sufficiently Spartan one, to
"her Sons. There dropt down, in the march that day, 105
"Prussian men, who never rose again. And as to intercepting
"Daun by such velocity, -- Daun too is on march; gone to
"Gorlitz, at almost a faster pace, if at a far heavier, -- like a
"cart-horse on gallop; faring still worse in the heat: '200 of
"'Daun's men died on the road this day, and 300 more were
'"invalided for life. '*
"Before reaching the Spree, Friedrich, who is in the Van-
"guard, hears of this Gorlitz March, and that the bird is flown.
"For which he has, therefore, to devise straightway a new
"expedient: 'Wheel to the right; cross Spree farther down,
"holding towards Bautzen itself," orders Friedrich. And
"settles within two miles of Bautzen; his left being at Dober-
"schiitz, ? on the strong ground he held after Hochkirch,
"while Daun, two years ago, sat watching so quiescent.
"Daun knows what kind of march these Prussians, blocked
''out from relief of Neisse, stole on him then, and saved their
"Silesia, in spite of his watching and blocking; -- and has
"plunged off, in the manner of a cart-horse scared intogallop-
"ing, to avoid the like. " What a Sabbath-day's journey, on
both sides, for those Sons of War! Nothing in the Roman times, though they had less baggage, comes up to such
modern marching: nor is this the fastest ofFriedrich's,though
* Tempelhof, iv. 58; Archenholtz, n. 68; Mitchell, a. 166.
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? 22 FRIEDEICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
7th July 1760.
of Daun's it unspeakably is. "Friedrich, having missed
"Daun, is thinking now to whirl round, and go intoLacy, --
"which will certainly bring Daun back, even better.
"This evening, accordingly, Ziethen occupies Bautzen;
"sweeps out certain Lacy precursors, cavalry in some
"strength, who are there. Lacy has come on as far as
"Bischofswerda: and his Horse-people seem to be wide ahead;
"provokingly pert upon Friedrich's outposts, who determines
"to chastise them, the first thing tomorrow. Tomorrow, as is
"very needful, is to be a rest-day otherwise. For Friedrich's
"wearied people, arest-day; not at all for Daun's, who con-
"tinues his heavy-footed galloping yet another day, and
"another, till he get across the Queiss, and actually reach
"Silesia.
Monday, July 7th. "Rest-day, accordingly, in Bautzen
"neighbourhood; nothing passing but a curious Skirmish of
"Horse, -- in which Friedrich, who had gone westward re-
"connoitering, seeking Lacy, had the main share, and was
"notably situated for some time. Godau, a small town or
"village, six miles west of Bautzen, was the scene of this
"notable passage: actors in it were Friedrich himself, on the
"Prussian part; and, on the Austrian, by degrees Lacy's
"Cavalry almost in whole. Lacy's Cavalry, what Friedrich
"does not know, are all in those neighbourhoods: and no
"sooner is Godau swept clear of them, than they return in
"greater numbers, needing to be again swept; and, in fact,
"they gradually gather in upon him, in a singular and
"dangerous manner, after his first successes on them, and
"before his Infantry have time to get up and support.
"Friedrich was too impatient, in this provoking little
"haggle, arresting him here. He had ordered on the suitable
"Battalion with cannon; but hardly considers that the Batta-
"lion itself is six miles off, -- not to speak of the Order, which
"is galloping on horseback, not going by electricity: -- the
"impatient Friedrich had slashed in at once upon Godau,
"taken above 100 prisoners; but is astonished to see the
"slashed people return, with Saxon-Dragoon regiments, all
"manner of regiments, reinforcing them. And has some
"really dangerous fencing there; -- issuing in dangerous and
"curious pause of both parties; who stand drawn up, scarcely
"beyond pistol-shot, and gazing into one another, for I know
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? chAP. I. ] FIFTH CAMPAIGN OPENS. 23
8th July 1760.
"not how many minutes; neither of them daring to move off,
"lest, on the instant of turning, it be charged and over-
"whelmed. As the impatient Friedrich, at last, almost was,
"-- had not his Infantry just then got in, and given their can-
"non-salvo. He lost about 200, the Lacy people hardly so
"many; and is now out of a considerable personal jeopardy,
"which is still celebrated in the Anecdote-Books, perhaps to
"a mythical extent. 'Two Uhlans' (Saxon-Polish Light-
"Horse)'with their truculent pikes, are just plungingin,' say
"the Anecdote-Books: 'Friedrich's Page, who had got un-
"horsed, sprang to his feet, bellowed in Polish to them:
"'What are you doing here, fellows? ' 'Excellenz' (for the
"Page is not in Prussian uniform, or in uniform at all, only
"well-dressed), 'Excellenz, our horses ran away with us,'
"answer the poor fellows; and whirl back rapidly. " The
story, says Retzow, is true. *
This is the one event of July 7th, -- and of July 8th withal;
which day also, on news of Daun that come, Friedrich rests.
Up to July 8th, it is clear Friedrich is shooting with what we
called the first string of his bow, -- intent, namely, on Silesia.
Nor, on hearing that Daun is forward again, now hopelessly
ahead, does he quit that enterprise; but, on the contrary, to-
morrow morning, July 9th, tries it by anew method, as we
shall see: method cunningly devised to suit the second string
as well. "How lucky that we have a second string, in case of
failure! " --
Tuesday, 8th July. "News that Daun reached Gorlitz
"yester-night; and is due tonight at Lauban, fifty miles
"ahead of us: -- no hope now of reaching Daun. Perhaps a
"sudden clutch at Lacy, in the opposite direction, might be
"the method of recalling Daun, and reaching him? That is
"the method fallen upon.
"Sun being set, the drums in Bautzen sound tattoo,--
"audible to listening Croats in the Environs; -- beat tattoo,
"and, later in the night, other passages of drum-music, also
"for Croat behoof (general-march I think it is); indicating
"That we have started again, in pursuit of Daun. And, in
"short, every precaution being taken to soothe the mind of
"Lacy and the Croats, Friedrich silently issues, with his best
"speed, in Three columns, by Three roads, towards Lacy's
* Retzow, n. 215.
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? 24
PRIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
10th July 1760.
"quarters, which go from that village of Godau westward, in
"a loose way, several miles. In three columns, by three "columns, two are of Infantry, the leftmost and the rightmost,
"on each hand, hidden as much as possible; one is of Cavalry
"in the middle. Coming on in this manner--like a pair of
"triple-pincers, which are to grip simultaneously on Lacy,
"and astonish him, if he keep quiet. But Lacy is vigilant, and
"is cautious almost in excess. Learning by his Pandours that
"the King seems to be coming this way, Lacy gathers himself
"on the instant; quits Godau, by one in the morning; and
"retreats bodily, at his fastest step, to Bischofswerda again;
"nor by any means stops there. "*
For the third time! "Three is lucky," Friedrich
may have thought: and there has no precaution, of
drum-music, of secrecy or persuasive finesse, been ne-
glected on Lacy. But Lacy has ears that hear the
grass grow: our elaborately accurate triple-pincers,
closing simultaneously on Bischofswerda, after eighteen
miles of sweep, find Lacy flown again; nothing to be
caught of him but some 80 hussars. All this day and
all next night, Lacy is scouring through the western
parts at an extraordinary rate; halting for a camp,
twice over, at different places, -- Diirre Fuchs {Thirsty
Fox), Diirre Biihle {Thirsty Sweetheart), or wherever it
was; then again taking wing, on sound of Prussian
parties to rear; in short, hurrying towards Dresden and
the Reichsfolk, as if for life.
Lacy's retreat, I hear, was ingeniously done, with
a minimum of disorder in the circumstances: but cer-
tainly it was with a velocity as if his head had been on
fire; and, indeed, they say he escaped annihilation by
being off in time. He put up finally, not at Thirsty
"routes, all
with punctuality, on Lacy. Of the* Tempelhof, iv. 61-63.
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? CHAP. I. ] FIFTH CAMPAIGN OPENS. 25
10th July 1760.
Sweetheart, still less at Thirsty Fox, successive Hamlets
and Public Houses in the sandy Wilderness which lies
to north of Elbe, and is called Dresden Heath; but
further on, in the same Tract, at Weisse Hirsch {White
Hart); which looks close over upon Dresden, within
two miles or so; and is a kind of Height, and military
post of advantage. Next morning, July 10th, he crosses
Dresden Bridge, comes streaming through the City;
and takes shelter with the Reichsfolk near there: --
towards Plauen Chasm; the strongest ground in the
world; hardly strong enough, it appears, in the present
emergency.
Friedrich's first string, therefore, has snapt in two; but, on the instant, he has a second fitted on: may that prove luckier!
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? 26
FRIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
10th-29th July 1760.
CHAPTER II.
FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN.
From and after the Evening of Wednesday July
9th, it is upon a Siege of Dresden that Friedrich goes;
-- turning the whole war-theatre topsy-turvy; throwing
Daun, Loudon, Lacy, everybody out, in this strange
and sudden manner. One of the finest military feats
ever done, thinks Tempelhof. Undoubtedly a notable
result so far, and notably done; as the impartial reader
(if Tempelhof be a little inconsistent) sees for himself.
These truly are a wonderful series of marches, opulent
in continual promptitudes, audacities, contrivances; --
done with shining talent, certainly; and also with result
shining, for the moment. And in a Fabulous Epic I
think Dresden would certainly have fallen to Friedrich,
and his crowd of enemies been left in a tumbled con-
dition.
But the Epic of Reality cares nothing for such
considerations; and the time allowable for capture of
Dresden is very brief. Had Daun, on getting warning,
been as prompt to return as he was to go, frankly
fronting at once to chances of the road, he might have
been at Dresden again perhaps within a week, -- no
Siege possible for Friedrich, hardly the big guns got
up from Magdeburg. But Friedrich calculated there
would be very considerable fettling and haggling on
Daun's part; say a good Fortnight of Siege allowed;
-- and that, by dead-lift effort of all hands, the thing
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? CHAP. n. ) FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN. 27
10th-29th July 1760.
was feasible within that limit. On Friedrich's part, as
we can fancy, there was no want of effort; nor on his
people's part, -- in spite of his complainings, say
Retzow and the Opposition party; who insinuate their
own private belief of impossibility from the first.
Which is not confirmed by impartial judgments, --
that of Archenholtz, and others better. The truth is,
Friedrich was within an inch of taking Dresden by the
first assault, -- they say he actually could have taken
it by storm, the first day; but shuddered at the thought
of exposing poor Dresden to sack and plunder; and
hoped to get it by capitulation.
One of the rapidest and most furious Sieges any-
where on record. Filled Europe with astonishment,
expectancy, admiration, horror: -- must be very briefly
recited here. The main chronological epochs, salient
points of crisis, and successive phases of occurrence,
will sufficiently indicate it to the reader's fancy.
"It was Thursday Evening, 10th July, when Lacy got to
"his Reichsfolk, and took breath behind Plauen Chasm.
"Maguire is Governor of Dresden. The consternation of
"garrison and population was extreme. To Lacy himself it
"did not seem conceivable that Friedrich could mean a Siege
"ofDresden. Friedrich, that night, is beyond the River, in
"Daun's old impregnability of Keichenberg: 'He has no
"siege-artillery,' thinks Lacy; 'no means, no time. '
"Nevertheless, Saturday, next day after tomorrow,--
"behold, there is Hiilsen, come from Schlettau to our neigh-
"bourhood, on our Austrian side of the River. And at Kaditz
"yonder, a mile below Dresden, are not the King's people
"building their Pontoons; in march since2in the morning,
"--evidently coming across, if not to besiege Dresden, then
"to attack us; which is perhaps worse! We outnumber them,
"-- but as to trying fight in any form? Zweibriick leaves
"Maguire an additional 10,000; -- every help and encourage-
"ment to Maguire; whose garrison is now 14,000: 'Be of
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? 28 FRIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
14th July 1760.
"courage, Excellenz Maguire! Nobody is better skilled in
"siege-matters. Feldmarschall and relief will be here with
"despatch! ' -- and withdraws, Lacy and he, to the edge of
"the Pirna Country, there to be well out of harm's way. Lacy
"and he, it is thought, would perhaps have got beaten, trying
"to save Dresden from its misery. Lacy's orders were, Not
"on any terms to get into fighting with Friedrich, but only to
"cover Dresden. Dresden, without fighting, has proved im-
"possible to cover, and Lacy leaves it bare. '^*
'At Kaditz,' says Mitchell, 'where the second bridge of
'boats took a great deal of time, I was standing by his
'Majesty, when news to the above effect came across from
'General Hiilsen. The King was highly pleased -t and, turn-
'ing to me, said: "Just what I wished! They have saved
'me a very long march" (roundby Dippoldiswalde or so, in
'upon the rear of them) "by going of will. " And immediately
'the King got on horseback; ordering the Army to follow as
'fast as it could. '** "Through Preisnitz, Plauen-ward, goes
"the Army; circling round the Western and the Southern "side of Dresden" (a dread spectacle from the walls); "across
"Weiseritz Brook and the Plauen Chasm" (comfortably left
vacant); "and encamps on the South-eastern side of Dresden,
"at Gruna, behind the Great Garden; ready to begin business
"on the morrow. Gruna, about a mile to south-east of Dres-
"den Walls, is headquarter during this Siege.
"Through the night, the Prussians proceed to build bat-
"teries, the best they can; -- there is no right siege-artillery
"yet; a few accidental howitzers and 25-pounders, the rest
"mere field-guns; -- but tomorrow morning, be as it may,
"business shall begin. Prince von Holstein (nephew of the
Holstein Beck, or 'Holstein Silver-Plate,' whom we lost long
ago), "from beyond the River, encamped at the White Hart
"yonder, is to play upon the Neustadt simultaneously.
Sunday 14th, "At 6 A. m. , cannonade began; diligent
"on Holstein's part and ours; but of inconsiderable effect.
"Maguire has been summoned: 'Will' (with such a garrison,
"in spite of such trepidations from the Court and others)
"' defend himself to the last man. ' Free-Corps people" (not
Quintus's, who is on the other side of the River), *** "with
? Tempelbof, iv. 65. ** Mitchell, n. 168.
*** Tempelhof, iv. 67.
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? CHAP. II.
] FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN. 29
18th July 1760.
"regulars to rear, advance on the Pima Gate; hurl in
"Maguire's Out-parties; and had near got in along with
"them,--might have done so, they and their supports, it is
"thought by some, had storm seemed the recommendable
"method.
"For four days, there is livelier and livelier cannonading;
"new batteries getting opened in the Moschinska Garden,
"and other points: on the Prussian part, great longing that
"the Magdeburg artillery were here. The Prussians are
"making diligently ready for it, in the mean while (refitting
"the old Trenches,'old Envelope' dug by Maguire himself in
"the Anti-Schmettau time; these will do well enough): -- the
"Prussians reinforce Holstein at the Weisse Hiisch, throw a
"new bridge across to him; and are busy day and night.
"Maguire, too, is most industrious, resisting and preparing:
"Thursday shuts up the Weistritz Brook (a dam being ready
"this long while back, needing only to be closed), and
"lays the whole South side of Dresden underwater. Many
"rumours about Daun: coming, not coming; -- must for cer-
"tain come, but will possibly be slowish. "
Thursday 18th. "Joy to every Prussian soul: here are "the heavy guns from Magdeburg. These, at any rate, are
"come; beds for them all ready; and now the cannonading
"can begin in right earnest. As it does with a vengeance.
"To Mitchell, and perhaps others, 'the King of Prussia says
'''He will now be master of the Town in a few days. And the
"'disposition he has made of his troops on the other side of
'"the River is intended not only to attack Dresden on that
"'side' (and defend himself from Daun), 'but also to prevent
"'the Garrison from retiring. ' . . . 'This morning, Thurs-
"' day 18th, the Suburb of Pirna, the one street left of it, was
"'set fire to, by Maguire; and burnt out of the way, as the
"'others had been. Many of the wretched inhabitants had
"'fled to our camp: ""Let them lodge in Plauen, no fighting
"'there, quiet artificial water-expanses there instead. "" Many
"'think the Town will not be taken; or that, if it should, it
'"will cost very dear, -- so determined seems Maguire. '*
"And, in effect, from this day onwards, the Siege became
"altogether fierce, and not only so, but fiery as well; and
* Mitchell, in. 170,171.
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? 30 FRIEDRICH NOT TO EE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
19th July 1760.
"though lasting in that violent form only four, or at the very
"utmost seven, days more, had near ruined Dresden from the
"face of the world. "
Friday 19th, "Maguire, touched to the quick by these new
"artilleries of the Prussians this morning, found good to
"mount a gun or two on the leads of the Kreuz-Kirche"
(Protestant High Church, where, before now, we have noticed
Friedrich attending quasi-divine service more than once); --
"that is to say, on the crown of Dresden; from which there is
"view into the bottom of Friedrich's trenches and operations.
"Others say, it was only two or three old Saxon cannon,
"which stand there, for firing on gala-days; and that they
"hardly fired on Friedrich more than once. For certain, this
"is one of the desirablest battery stations, -- if only Fried-
"rich will leave it alone. Which he will not for a moment;
"but brings terrific howitzers to bear on it; cannonballs,
"grenadoes; tears it to destruction, and the poor Kreuz-
"Kirche along with it. Kirche speedily all in flames, street
"after street blazing up round it, again and again for eight-
'' and-forty hours coming; hapless Dresden, during two days
"andnights, a mere volcano henceforth. " 'Bymistake, all
that, and without order of mine,' says Friedrich once; --?
meaning, I think, all that of the Kreuz-Kirche: and perhaps
wishing he could mean the bombardment altogether,* --
who nevertheless got, and gets, most of the credit of the
thing from a shocked outside world.
"This morning," same Friday 19th, "Daun is reported to
"have arrived; vanguard of him said to be at Schonfeld, over
"in Thirsty- Sweetheart Country yonder: which Friedrich,
"going to reconnoitre, finds tragically indisputable: 'There,
"for certain; only five miles from Holstein's post at the
"White Hart, and no River between; -- as the crow flies,
"hardly five from our own Camp. Perhaps it will be some
"days yet before he do anything? ' So that Friedrich per-
"sists in his bombardment, only the more, 'By fire-torture,
"then! Let the bombarded Royalties assail Maguire, and
"Maguire give in; -- it is our one chance left; and succeed
"we will and must! ' Cruel, say you? -- Ah, yes, cruel
"enough, not merciful at all. The soul of Friedrich, Iper-
* SchHning, n. 361: "To Prince Henri atGiessen" (Frankfurt Coun-
try), "23d July 1760. "
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? CHAP. n. l FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN. '31
10th-29th July 17C0.
"ceive, is not in a bright mood at this time, but ina black
"and wrathful, worn almost desperate against the slings and
"arrows of unjust Fate: 'Ahead, I say! If everybody will
"do miracles, cannot we perhaps still manage it, in spite of
"Fate? ' Mitchell is very sorry; but will forget and forgive
"those inexorable passages of war. "
'"I cannot think of the bombardment of Dresden without
"'horror,'" says he; "'nor of many other things I have seen.
"'Misfortunes naturally sour men's temper (even royal
"men's); 'and long continued, without interval, at last ex-
"'tinguish humanity. ' We are now in a most critical and
"dangerous situation, which cannot long last: one lucky
"event, approaching to a miracle, may still save all: butthe
"extreme caution and circumspection of Marshal Daun --! "*
If Daun could be swift, and end the miseries of
Dresden, surely Dresden would be much obliged to
him. It was ten days yet, after that of the Kreuz-
Kirche, before Dresden quite got rid of its Siege: Daun
never was a sudden man. By a kind of accident, he
got Holstein hustled across the River that first night
(July 19th), -- not annihilated, as was very feasible,
but pushed home, out of his way. Whereby the North
side of Dresden is now open; and Daun has free com-
munication with Maguire.
Maguire rose thereupon to a fine pitch of spirits;
tried several things, and wished Daun to try; but with
next to no result. For two days after Holstein's de-
parture, Daun sat still, on his safe Northern shore;
stirring nothing but his own cunctations and investiga-
tions, leaving the bombardment, or cannonade, to take
its own course. One attempt he did make in concert
with Maguire (night of Monday 21st), and one attempt
only, of a serious nature; which, like the rest, was un-
successful. And would not be worth mentioning, --
* Mitchell, II. 184, 185.
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? 32 FEIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [ijoOK XX.
Kd July 1760.
except for the poor Regiment Bernbury's sake; Bern-
burg having got into strange case in consequence
of it.
"This Attempt" (Night of 21st-22d July) "was a com-
"bined sally and assault, -- Sally by Maguire's people, a
"General Nugent heading them, from the South or Plauen
"side of Dresden, and Assault by 4,000 of Daun's from the
"North side, -- upon Friedrich's Trenches. Which are to
"be burst in upon, in this double way, and swept well clear,
"as may be expected. Friedrich, however, was aware of the
"symptoms, and had people ready waiting, -- especially,
"hadltegiment Bernburg, Battalions 1st and 2d; a Regiment
"hitherto without stain.
"Bernburg accordingly, on General Nugent's entering
"their trenches from the south side, falls altogether heartily
"on General Nugent; tumbles him back, takes 200 prisoners,
"Nugent himself one of them" (who is considered to have
been the eye of the enterprise, worth many hundreds this
night): "all this Bernburg, in its usually creditable manner,
"does, as expected of it. But after, or during all this, when
"the Daun people from the north come streaming in, say
"four to one, both south and north, Bernburg looked round
"for support; and seeing none, had, after more or less of
"struggle, to retire as a defeated Bernburg, -- Austrians
"taking the battery, and ruling supreme there for some time,
"Till Wedell, or somebody with fresh Battalions, came up;
"and, rallying Bernburg to him, retook their Battery, and
"drove out the Austrians, with a heavy loss of prisoners. *
"I did not hear that Bernburg's conduct was liable to the
"least fair censure. But Friedrich's soul is severe at this
"time; demanding miracles from everybody: 'You runaway
"Bernburg, shame on you! ' -- and actually takes the swords
"from them, and cuts off their Hat-tresses: 'There! ' Which
"excited such an astonishment in the Prussian Army as was
"seldom seen before. And affected Bernburg to the length
"almost of despair, and breaking of heart, -- in a way that is
"not ridiculous to me at all, but beautiful and pathetic. Of
"which there is much talk, now and long afterwards, in
* Tempelnof, iv. 79.
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? CHAP. II. ] FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN. 33
10th-29th July 1760.
"military circles. The sorrows of these poor Bernburgers,
"their desperate efforts to wash out this stigma, their actual
"washing of it out, not many weeks hence, and their magnifi-
"cent joy on the occasion, -- these are the one distinguishing
"point in Daun's relief of Dresden, which was otherwise
"quite a cunctatory, sedentary matter. "
Daun built three Bridges, -- he had a broad stone
one already, -- but did little or nothing with them;
and never himself came across at all. Merely shot out
nocturnal Pandour Parties, and ordered up Lacy and
the Reichsfolk to do the like, and break the night's rest
of his Enemy. He made minatory movements, one at
least, down the River, by his own shore, on Friedrich's
Ammunition Boats from Torgau, and actually inter-
cepted certain of them, which was something; but, ex-
cept this, and vague flourishings of the Pandour kind,
left Friedrich to his own course.
Friedrich bombarded for a day or two farther;
cannonaded, out of more or fewer batteries, for eight,
or I think ten days more. Attacks from Daun there
were to be, now on this side, now on that; many
rumours of attack, but, except once only (midnight
Pandours attempting the King's lodging, "a Farmhouse
near Gruna," but to their astonishment rousing the
whole Prussian Army "in the course of three minutes"*),
rumour was mainly all. For guarding his siege-lines, Friedrich has to alter his position; to shift slightly,
now fronting this way, now the other way; is "called
always at midnight" (against these nocturnal disturbances),
and "never has his clothes off. " Nevertheless, continues
* Archenholtz, n. 81 (who is very vivid, but does not date); Rodenbeck,
n. 24 (quotes similar account by another Eye-witness, and guesses it to be
"night of July 22d-23d").
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. XII. 3
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? 34 FRIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
20th July 1760.
his bombardment, and then his cannonading, till his
own good time, which I think is till the. 26th. His
"ricochet-battery," which is good against Maguire's
people, innocent to Dresden, he continued for three
days more; -- while gathering his furnitures about
Plauen Country, making his arrangements at Meissen;
-- did not march till the night of June 29th. Alto-
gether calmly; no Daun or Austrian molesting him in
the least; his very sentries walking their rounds in the
trenches, till daylight; after which they also marched,
unmolested, Meissenward.
Unfortunate Friedrich has made nothing of Dres-
den, then. After such a June and July of it, since
he left the Meissen Country; after all these intricate
manoeuverings, hot fierce marchings and superhuman
exertions, here is he returning to Meissen Country
poorer than if he had stayed. Fouquet lost, Glatz un-
relieved -- Nay, just before marching off, what is this
new phenomenon? Is this by way of "Happy journey
to you! " Towards sunset of the 29th, exuberant joy-
firing rises far and wide from the usually quiet Aus-
trian lines, -- "Meaning what, once more? " Meaning
that Glatz is lost, your Majesty; that, instead of a
siege of many weeks (as might have been expected
with Fouquet for Commandant), it has held out, under
Fouquet's Second, only a few hours; and is gone with-
out remedy! Certain, though incredible. Imbecile
Commandant, treacherous Garrison (Austrian deserters
mainly), with stealthy Jesuits acting on them: no use
asking what. Here is the sad Narrative, in succinct
form:
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? CHAP. II. ] FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEK. 35
a>>th July 1760.
Capture of Glatz (26th July 1760).
"Loudon is a swift man, when he can get bridle; butthe
"curb-hand of Daun is often heavy on jhim. Loudon has had
"Glatz blockaded since June 7th; since June 23d, he has had
"Fouquet rooted away, and the ground clear for a Siege of
"Glatz. But had to abstain altogether, in the mean time; to
"take camp at Landshut, to march and manoeuvre about, in
"support of Daun, and that heavy-footed gallop of Daun's
"which then followed: on the whole, it was not till Friedrich
"went for Dresden that the Siege-Artillery, from Olmiitz, "could be ordered forward upon Glatz; not for a fortnight
"more that the Artillery could come; and, in spite of Lou-
"don's utmost despatch, not till break of day, July 26th, that
"the batteries could open. After which, such was Loudon's
"speed and fortune, -- and so diligent had the Jesuits been in
"those seven weeks, -- the 'Siege,' as they call it, was over
"in less than seven hours.
"One Colonel D'O" (Piedmontese by nation, an incompe-
tent person, known to loud Trenck during his detention here)
"was Commandant of Glatz, and had the principal Fortress,
"-- for there are two, one on each side the Neisse River; --
"his Second was a Colonel Quadt, by birth Prussian, seem-
"ingly not very competent he either, who had command of
"the Old Fortress, round which lies the Town of Glatz: a
"little Town, abounding in Jesuits; -- to whose Virgin, if
"readers remember, Friedrich once gave a new gown; with
"small effect on her, as would appear. The Quadt-D'O gar-
rison was 2,400, -- and, if tales are true, it had been well be-
"jesuited during those seven weeks. * At four in the morning,
"July 26th, theTiattering began on Quadt; Quadt, Iwillbe-
"lieve, responding what he could, especially from a certain
"Arrowhead Redoubt (or Fleche) he has, which ought to have
"been important to him. After four or five hours of this, there
"was mutual pause, -- as if both parties had decided upon
"breakfast before going farther.
"Quadt's Fortress is very strong, mostly hewn in the rock;
"and he has that important outwork of a Fleche; which is ex-
cellent for enfilading, as it extends well beyond the glacis;
"and, beingof rock like the rest, is also abundantly defensible.
* (Euvres de Frederic, v. 55.
3*
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? 36 FRIEDEICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
29th July 1760.
"Loudon's people, looking over into this Fleche, find it negli-
"gently guarded; Quadt at breakfast, as would seem: -- and
"directly send for Harsch, Captain of the Siege, and even for
"Loudon, the General-in-Chief. Negligently guarded, sure
"enough; nothing in the Fleche but a few sentries and these in
"the horizontal position, taking their unlawful rest there,
"after such a morning's work. 'Seize me that,' eagerly
"orders Loudon; 'hold that with firm grip! ' Which isdone;
"only to step in softly, two battalions of you, and lay hard
"hold. Incompetent Quadt, figure in what a flurry, rushing
"out to recapture his Fleche, -- explodes instead into mere
"anarchy, whole Companies of him flinging down their arms
"at their Officers' feet, and the like. So that Quadt is totally
"driven in again, Austrians along with him; and is obliged to
"beat chamade; -- D'O following the example, about an hour
"after, without even a capitulation. Was there ever seen
"such a defence! Major Unruh, one of a small minority, was
"Prussian, and stanch: here is Unruh's personal experience,
"-- testimony on D'O's Trial, I suppose, -- and now pretty
"much the one thing worth reading on this subject.
"Major Unruh testifies: 'At four in the morning, 26th July
"'1760, the Enemy began to cannonade the Old Fortress'
(that of Quadt); 'and about nine, I was ordered with 150 men
"'to clear the Envelope from Austrians. Just when I had got
'to the Damm-Gate, halt was called. I asked the Comman-
'"dant, who was behind me, which way I should march; to
"'the Crownwork or to the Envelope? Being answered, To
"'the Envelope, I found on coming out at the Field-Gate
"'nothing but an Austrian Lieutenant-Colonel and some men.
"' He called to me, " "There had been chamade beaten, and I
"' was not to run into destruction (rnich unglilcklich machen)! ""
"I offered him Quarter; and took him in effect prisoner, with
"20 of his best men; and sent him to the Commandant, with
"request that he would keep my rear free, or send me rein-
"forcement. I shot the Enemy a great many people here;
"chased him from the Field-Gate, and out of both the Enve-
lope and the Redoubt called the Crane" (that is the Fleche
itself, only that the Austrians are mostly not now there, but
gone through into the interior there! ) -- "Returning to the
"Field-Gate, I found that the Commandant had beaten
"chamade a second time; there were marching in, by this
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"the soldiers pounce down, irrepressible, whole ranks of
"them; lift water, clean or dirty; drink it greedily from the
"brim of the hat. Sergeants may wag their tongues and their
"cudgels at discretion: 'showers of cudgel-strokes,' says
"Archenholz; Sergeants going like threshers on the poor
"men; -- 'though the upper Officers had a touch of mercy,
"'and affected not to see this disobedience to the Sergeants
"' and their cudgels,' which was punishable with death. War
"is not an over-fond Mother, but a sufficiently Spartan one, to
"her Sons. There dropt down, in the march that day, 105
"Prussian men, who never rose again. And as to intercepting
"Daun by such velocity, -- Daun too is on march; gone to
"Gorlitz, at almost a faster pace, if at a far heavier, -- like a
"cart-horse on gallop; faring still worse in the heat: '200 of
"'Daun's men died on the road this day, and 300 more were
'"invalided for life. '*
"Before reaching the Spree, Friedrich, who is in the Van-
"guard, hears of this Gorlitz March, and that the bird is flown.
"For which he has, therefore, to devise straightway a new
"expedient: 'Wheel to the right; cross Spree farther down,
"holding towards Bautzen itself," orders Friedrich. And
"settles within two miles of Bautzen; his left being at Dober-
"schiitz, ? on the strong ground he held after Hochkirch,
"while Daun, two years ago, sat watching so quiescent.
"Daun knows what kind of march these Prussians, blocked
''out from relief of Neisse, stole on him then, and saved their
"Silesia, in spite of his watching and blocking; -- and has
"plunged off, in the manner of a cart-horse scared intogallop-
"ing, to avoid the like. " What a Sabbath-day's journey, on
both sides, for those Sons of War! Nothing in the Roman times, though they had less baggage, comes up to such
modern marching: nor is this the fastest ofFriedrich's,though
* Tempelhof, iv. 58; Archenholtz, n. 68; Mitchell, a. 166.
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? 22 FRIEDEICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
7th July 1760.
of Daun's it unspeakably is. "Friedrich, having missed
"Daun, is thinking now to whirl round, and go intoLacy, --
"which will certainly bring Daun back, even better.
"This evening, accordingly, Ziethen occupies Bautzen;
"sweeps out certain Lacy precursors, cavalry in some
"strength, who are there. Lacy has come on as far as
"Bischofswerda: and his Horse-people seem to be wide ahead;
"provokingly pert upon Friedrich's outposts, who determines
"to chastise them, the first thing tomorrow. Tomorrow, as is
"very needful, is to be a rest-day otherwise. For Friedrich's
"wearied people, arest-day; not at all for Daun's, who con-
"tinues his heavy-footed galloping yet another day, and
"another, till he get across the Queiss, and actually reach
"Silesia.
Monday, July 7th. "Rest-day, accordingly, in Bautzen
"neighbourhood; nothing passing but a curious Skirmish of
"Horse, -- in which Friedrich, who had gone westward re-
"connoitering, seeking Lacy, had the main share, and was
"notably situated for some time. Godau, a small town or
"village, six miles west of Bautzen, was the scene of this
"notable passage: actors in it were Friedrich himself, on the
"Prussian part; and, on the Austrian, by degrees Lacy's
"Cavalry almost in whole. Lacy's Cavalry, what Friedrich
"does not know, are all in those neighbourhoods: and no
"sooner is Godau swept clear of them, than they return in
"greater numbers, needing to be again swept; and, in fact,
"they gradually gather in upon him, in a singular and
"dangerous manner, after his first successes on them, and
"before his Infantry have time to get up and support.
"Friedrich was too impatient, in this provoking little
"haggle, arresting him here. He had ordered on the suitable
"Battalion with cannon; but hardly considers that the Batta-
"lion itself is six miles off, -- not to speak of the Order, which
"is galloping on horseback, not going by electricity: -- the
"impatient Friedrich had slashed in at once upon Godau,
"taken above 100 prisoners; but is astonished to see the
"slashed people return, with Saxon-Dragoon regiments, all
"manner of regiments, reinforcing them. And has some
"really dangerous fencing there; -- issuing in dangerous and
"curious pause of both parties; who stand drawn up, scarcely
"beyond pistol-shot, and gazing into one another, for I know
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? chAP. I. ] FIFTH CAMPAIGN OPENS. 23
8th July 1760.
"not how many minutes; neither of them daring to move off,
"lest, on the instant of turning, it be charged and over-
"whelmed. As the impatient Friedrich, at last, almost was,
"-- had not his Infantry just then got in, and given their can-
"non-salvo. He lost about 200, the Lacy people hardly so
"many; and is now out of a considerable personal jeopardy,
"which is still celebrated in the Anecdote-Books, perhaps to
"a mythical extent. 'Two Uhlans' (Saxon-Polish Light-
"Horse)'with their truculent pikes, are just plungingin,' say
"the Anecdote-Books: 'Friedrich's Page, who had got un-
"horsed, sprang to his feet, bellowed in Polish to them:
"'What are you doing here, fellows? ' 'Excellenz' (for the
"Page is not in Prussian uniform, or in uniform at all, only
"well-dressed), 'Excellenz, our horses ran away with us,'
"answer the poor fellows; and whirl back rapidly. " The
story, says Retzow, is true. *
This is the one event of July 7th, -- and of July 8th withal;
which day also, on news of Daun that come, Friedrich rests.
Up to July 8th, it is clear Friedrich is shooting with what we
called the first string of his bow, -- intent, namely, on Silesia.
Nor, on hearing that Daun is forward again, now hopelessly
ahead, does he quit that enterprise; but, on the contrary, to-
morrow morning, July 9th, tries it by anew method, as we
shall see: method cunningly devised to suit the second string
as well. "How lucky that we have a second string, in case of
failure! " --
Tuesday, 8th July. "News that Daun reached Gorlitz
"yester-night; and is due tonight at Lauban, fifty miles
"ahead of us: -- no hope now of reaching Daun. Perhaps a
"sudden clutch at Lacy, in the opposite direction, might be
"the method of recalling Daun, and reaching him? That is
"the method fallen upon.
"Sun being set, the drums in Bautzen sound tattoo,--
"audible to listening Croats in the Environs; -- beat tattoo,
"and, later in the night, other passages of drum-music, also
"for Croat behoof (general-march I think it is); indicating
"That we have started again, in pursuit of Daun. And, in
"short, every precaution being taken to soothe the mind of
"Lacy and the Croats, Friedrich silently issues, with his best
"speed, in Three columns, by Three roads, towards Lacy's
* Retzow, n. 215.
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? 24
PRIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
10th July 1760.
"quarters, which go from that village of Godau westward, in
"a loose way, several miles. In three columns, by three "columns, two are of Infantry, the leftmost and the rightmost,
"on each hand, hidden as much as possible; one is of Cavalry
"in the middle. Coming on in this manner--like a pair of
"triple-pincers, which are to grip simultaneously on Lacy,
"and astonish him, if he keep quiet. But Lacy is vigilant, and
"is cautious almost in excess. Learning by his Pandours that
"the King seems to be coming this way, Lacy gathers himself
"on the instant; quits Godau, by one in the morning; and
"retreats bodily, at his fastest step, to Bischofswerda again;
"nor by any means stops there. "*
For the third time! "Three is lucky," Friedrich
may have thought: and there has no precaution, of
drum-music, of secrecy or persuasive finesse, been ne-
glected on Lacy. But Lacy has ears that hear the
grass grow: our elaborately accurate triple-pincers,
closing simultaneously on Bischofswerda, after eighteen
miles of sweep, find Lacy flown again; nothing to be
caught of him but some 80 hussars. All this day and
all next night, Lacy is scouring through the western
parts at an extraordinary rate; halting for a camp,
twice over, at different places, -- Diirre Fuchs {Thirsty
Fox), Diirre Biihle {Thirsty Sweetheart), or wherever it
was; then again taking wing, on sound of Prussian
parties to rear; in short, hurrying towards Dresden and
the Reichsfolk, as if for life.
Lacy's retreat, I hear, was ingeniously done, with
a minimum of disorder in the circumstances: but cer-
tainly it was with a velocity as if his head had been on
fire; and, indeed, they say he escaped annihilation by
being off in time. He put up finally, not at Thirsty
"routes, all
with punctuality, on Lacy. Of the* Tempelhof, iv. 61-63.
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? CHAP. I. ] FIFTH CAMPAIGN OPENS. 25
10th July 1760.
Sweetheart, still less at Thirsty Fox, successive Hamlets
and Public Houses in the sandy Wilderness which lies
to north of Elbe, and is called Dresden Heath; but
further on, in the same Tract, at Weisse Hirsch {White
Hart); which looks close over upon Dresden, within
two miles or so; and is a kind of Height, and military
post of advantage. Next morning, July 10th, he crosses
Dresden Bridge, comes streaming through the City;
and takes shelter with the Reichsfolk near there: --
towards Plauen Chasm; the strongest ground in the
world; hardly strong enough, it appears, in the present
emergency.
Friedrich's first string, therefore, has snapt in two; but, on the instant, he has a second fitted on: may that prove luckier!
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? 26
FRIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
10th-29th July 1760.
CHAPTER II.
FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN.
From and after the Evening of Wednesday July
9th, it is upon a Siege of Dresden that Friedrich goes;
-- turning the whole war-theatre topsy-turvy; throwing
Daun, Loudon, Lacy, everybody out, in this strange
and sudden manner. One of the finest military feats
ever done, thinks Tempelhof. Undoubtedly a notable
result so far, and notably done; as the impartial reader
(if Tempelhof be a little inconsistent) sees for himself.
These truly are a wonderful series of marches, opulent
in continual promptitudes, audacities, contrivances; --
done with shining talent, certainly; and also with result
shining, for the moment. And in a Fabulous Epic I
think Dresden would certainly have fallen to Friedrich,
and his crowd of enemies been left in a tumbled con-
dition.
But the Epic of Reality cares nothing for such
considerations; and the time allowable for capture of
Dresden is very brief. Had Daun, on getting warning,
been as prompt to return as he was to go, frankly
fronting at once to chances of the road, he might have
been at Dresden again perhaps within a week, -- no
Siege possible for Friedrich, hardly the big guns got
up from Magdeburg. But Friedrich calculated there
would be very considerable fettling and haggling on
Daun's part; say a good Fortnight of Siege allowed;
-- and that, by dead-lift effort of all hands, the thing
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? CHAP. n. ) FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN. 27
10th-29th July 1760.
was feasible within that limit. On Friedrich's part, as
we can fancy, there was no want of effort; nor on his
people's part, -- in spite of his complainings, say
Retzow and the Opposition party; who insinuate their
own private belief of impossibility from the first.
Which is not confirmed by impartial judgments, --
that of Archenholtz, and others better. The truth is,
Friedrich was within an inch of taking Dresden by the
first assault, -- they say he actually could have taken
it by storm, the first day; but shuddered at the thought
of exposing poor Dresden to sack and plunder; and
hoped to get it by capitulation.
One of the rapidest and most furious Sieges any-
where on record. Filled Europe with astonishment,
expectancy, admiration, horror: -- must be very briefly
recited here. The main chronological epochs, salient
points of crisis, and successive phases of occurrence,
will sufficiently indicate it to the reader's fancy.
"It was Thursday Evening, 10th July, when Lacy got to
"his Reichsfolk, and took breath behind Plauen Chasm.
"Maguire is Governor of Dresden. The consternation of
"garrison and population was extreme. To Lacy himself it
"did not seem conceivable that Friedrich could mean a Siege
"ofDresden. Friedrich, that night, is beyond the River, in
"Daun's old impregnability of Keichenberg: 'He has no
"siege-artillery,' thinks Lacy; 'no means, no time. '
"Nevertheless, Saturday, next day after tomorrow,--
"behold, there is Hiilsen, come from Schlettau to our neigh-
"bourhood, on our Austrian side of the River. And at Kaditz
"yonder, a mile below Dresden, are not the King's people
"building their Pontoons; in march since2in the morning,
"--evidently coming across, if not to besiege Dresden, then
"to attack us; which is perhaps worse! We outnumber them,
"-- but as to trying fight in any form? Zweibriick leaves
"Maguire an additional 10,000; -- every help and encourage-
"ment to Maguire; whose garrison is now 14,000: 'Be of
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? 28 FRIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
14th July 1760.
"courage, Excellenz Maguire! Nobody is better skilled in
"siege-matters. Feldmarschall and relief will be here with
"despatch! ' -- and withdraws, Lacy and he, to the edge of
"the Pirna Country, there to be well out of harm's way. Lacy
"and he, it is thought, would perhaps have got beaten, trying
"to save Dresden from its misery. Lacy's orders were, Not
"on any terms to get into fighting with Friedrich, but only to
"cover Dresden. Dresden, without fighting, has proved im-
"possible to cover, and Lacy leaves it bare. '^*
'At Kaditz,' says Mitchell, 'where the second bridge of
'boats took a great deal of time, I was standing by his
'Majesty, when news to the above effect came across from
'General Hiilsen. The King was highly pleased -t and, turn-
'ing to me, said: "Just what I wished! They have saved
'me a very long march" (roundby Dippoldiswalde or so, in
'upon the rear of them) "by going of will. " And immediately
'the King got on horseback; ordering the Army to follow as
'fast as it could. '** "Through Preisnitz, Plauen-ward, goes
"the Army; circling round the Western and the Southern "side of Dresden" (a dread spectacle from the walls); "across
"Weiseritz Brook and the Plauen Chasm" (comfortably left
vacant); "and encamps on the South-eastern side of Dresden,
"at Gruna, behind the Great Garden; ready to begin business
"on the morrow. Gruna, about a mile to south-east of Dres-
"den Walls, is headquarter during this Siege.
"Through the night, the Prussians proceed to build bat-
"teries, the best they can; -- there is no right siege-artillery
"yet; a few accidental howitzers and 25-pounders, the rest
"mere field-guns; -- but tomorrow morning, be as it may,
"business shall begin. Prince von Holstein (nephew of the
Holstein Beck, or 'Holstein Silver-Plate,' whom we lost long
ago), "from beyond the River, encamped at the White Hart
"yonder, is to play upon the Neustadt simultaneously.
Sunday 14th, "At 6 A. m. , cannonade began; diligent
"on Holstein's part and ours; but of inconsiderable effect.
"Maguire has been summoned: 'Will' (with such a garrison,
"in spite of such trepidations from the Court and others)
"' defend himself to the last man. ' Free-Corps people" (not
Quintus's, who is on the other side of the River), *** "with
? Tempelbof, iv. 65. ** Mitchell, n. 168.
*** Tempelhof, iv. 67.
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? CHAP. II.
] FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN. 29
18th July 1760.
"regulars to rear, advance on the Pima Gate; hurl in
"Maguire's Out-parties; and had near got in along with
"them,--might have done so, they and their supports, it is
"thought by some, had storm seemed the recommendable
"method.
"For four days, there is livelier and livelier cannonading;
"new batteries getting opened in the Moschinska Garden,
"and other points: on the Prussian part, great longing that
"the Magdeburg artillery were here. The Prussians are
"making diligently ready for it, in the mean while (refitting
"the old Trenches,'old Envelope' dug by Maguire himself in
"the Anti-Schmettau time; these will do well enough): -- the
"Prussians reinforce Holstein at the Weisse Hiisch, throw a
"new bridge across to him; and are busy day and night.
"Maguire, too, is most industrious, resisting and preparing:
"Thursday shuts up the Weistritz Brook (a dam being ready
"this long while back, needing only to be closed), and
"lays the whole South side of Dresden underwater. Many
"rumours about Daun: coming, not coming; -- must for cer-
"tain come, but will possibly be slowish. "
Thursday 18th. "Joy to every Prussian soul: here are "the heavy guns from Magdeburg. These, at any rate, are
"come; beds for them all ready; and now the cannonading
"can begin in right earnest. As it does with a vengeance.
"To Mitchell, and perhaps others, 'the King of Prussia says
'''He will now be master of the Town in a few days. And the
"'disposition he has made of his troops on the other side of
'"the River is intended not only to attack Dresden on that
"'side' (and defend himself from Daun), 'but also to prevent
"'the Garrison from retiring. ' . . . 'This morning, Thurs-
"' day 18th, the Suburb of Pirna, the one street left of it, was
"'set fire to, by Maguire; and burnt out of the way, as the
"'others had been. Many of the wretched inhabitants had
"'fled to our camp: ""Let them lodge in Plauen, no fighting
"'there, quiet artificial water-expanses there instead. "" Many
"'think the Town will not be taken; or that, if it should, it
'"will cost very dear, -- so determined seems Maguire. '*
"And, in effect, from this day onwards, the Siege became
"altogether fierce, and not only so, but fiery as well; and
* Mitchell, in. 170,171.
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? 30 FRIEDRICH NOT TO EE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
19th July 1760.
"though lasting in that violent form only four, or at the very
"utmost seven, days more, had near ruined Dresden from the
"face of the world. "
Friday 19th, "Maguire, touched to the quick by these new
"artilleries of the Prussians this morning, found good to
"mount a gun or two on the leads of the Kreuz-Kirche"
(Protestant High Church, where, before now, we have noticed
Friedrich attending quasi-divine service more than once); --
"that is to say, on the crown of Dresden; from which there is
"view into the bottom of Friedrich's trenches and operations.
"Others say, it was only two or three old Saxon cannon,
"which stand there, for firing on gala-days; and that they
"hardly fired on Friedrich more than once. For certain, this
"is one of the desirablest battery stations, -- if only Fried-
"rich will leave it alone. Which he will not for a moment;
"but brings terrific howitzers to bear on it; cannonballs,
"grenadoes; tears it to destruction, and the poor Kreuz-
"Kirche along with it. Kirche speedily all in flames, street
"after street blazing up round it, again and again for eight-
'' and-forty hours coming; hapless Dresden, during two days
"andnights, a mere volcano henceforth. " 'Bymistake, all
that, and without order of mine,' says Friedrich once; --?
meaning, I think, all that of the Kreuz-Kirche: and perhaps
wishing he could mean the bombardment altogether,* --
who nevertheless got, and gets, most of the credit of the
thing from a shocked outside world.
"This morning," same Friday 19th, "Daun is reported to
"have arrived; vanguard of him said to be at Schonfeld, over
"in Thirsty- Sweetheart Country yonder: which Friedrich,
"going to reconnoitre, finds tragically indisputable: 'There,
"for certain; only five miles from Holstein's post at the
"White Hart, and no River between; -- as the crow flies,
"hardly five from our own Camp. Perhaps it will be some
"days yet before he do anything? ' So that Friedrich per-
"sists in his bombardment, only the more, 'By fire-torture,
"then! Let the bombarded Royalties assail Maguire, and
"Maguire give in; -- it is our one chance left; and succeed
"we will and must! ' Cruel, say you? -- Ah, yes, cruel
"enough, not merciful at all. The soul of Friedrich, Iper-
* SchHning, n. 361: "To Prince Henri atGiessen" (Frankfurt Coun-
try), "23d July 1760. "
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? CHAP. n. l FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN. '31
10th-29th July 17C0.
"ceive, is not in a bright mood at this time, but ina black
"and wrathful, worn almost desperate against the slings and
"arrows of unjust Fate: 'Ahead, I say! If everybody will
"do miracles, cannot we perhaps still manage it, in spite of
"Fate? ' Mitchell is very sorry; but will forget and forgive
"those inexorable passages of war. "
'"I cannot think of the bombardment of Dresden without
"'horror,'" says he; "'nor of many other things I have seen.
"'Misfortunes naturally sour men's temper (even royal
"men's); 'and long continued, without interval, at last ex-
"'tinguish humanity. ' We are now in a most critical and
"dangerous situation, which cannot long last: one lucky
"event, approaching to a miracle, may still save all: butthe
"extreme caution and circumspection of Marshal Daun --! "*
If Daun could be swift, and end the miseries of
Dresden, surely Dresden would be much obliged to
him. It was ten days yet, after that of the Kreuz-
Kirche, before Dresden quite got rid of its Siege: Daun
never was a sudden man. By a kind of accident, he
got Holstein hustled across the River that first night
(July 19th), -- not annihilated, as was very feasible,
but pushed home, out of his way. Whereby the North
side of Dresden is now open; and Daun has free com-
munication with Maguire.
Maguire rose thereupon to a fine pitch of spirits;
tried several things, and wished Daun to try; but with
next to no result. For two days after Holstein's de-
parture, Daun sat still, on his safe Northern shore;
stirring nothing but his own cunctations and investiga-
tions, leaving the bombardment, or cannonade, to take
its own course. One attempt he did make in concert
with Maguire (night of Monday 21st), and one attempt
only, of a serious nature; which, like the rest, was un-
successful. And would not be worth mentioning, --
* Mitchell, II. 184, 185.
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? 32 FEIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [ijoOK XX.
Kd July 1760.
except for the poor Regiment Bernbury's sake; Bern-
burg having got into strange case in consequence
of it.
"This Attempt" (Night of 21st-22d July) "was a com-
"bined sally and assault, -- Sally by Maguire's people, a
"General Nugent heading them, from the South or Plauen
"side of Dresden, and Assault by 4,000 of Daun's from the
"North side, -- upon Friedrich's Trenches. Which are to
"be burst in upon, in this double way, and swept well clear,
"as may be expected. Friedrich, however, was aware of the
"symptoms, and had people ready waiting, -- especially,
"hadltegiment Bernburg, Battalions 1st and 2d; a Regiment
"hitherto without stain.
"Bernburg accordingly, on General Nugent's entering
"their trenches from the south side, falls altogether heartily
"on General Nugent; tumbles him back, takes 200 prisoners,
"Nugent himself one of them" (who is considered to have
been the eye of the enterprise, worth many hundreds this
night): "all this Bernburg, in its usually creditable manner,
"does, as expected of it. But after, or during all this, when
"the Daun people from the north come streaming in, say
"four to one, both south and north, Bernburg looked round
"for support; and seeing none, had, after more or less of
"struggle, to retire as a defeated Bernburg, -- Austrians
"taking the battery, and ruling supreme there for some time,
"Till Wedell, or somebody with fresh Battalions, came up;
"and, rallying Bernburg to him, retook their Battery, and
"drove out the Austrians, with a heavy loss of prisoners. *
"I did not hear that Bernburg's conduct was liable to the
"least fair censure. But Friedrich's soul is severe at this
"time; demanding miracles from everybody: 'You runaway
"Bernburg, shame on you! ' -- and actually takes the swords
"from them, and cuts off their Hat-tresses: 'There! ' Which
"excited such an astonishment in the Prussian Army as was
"seldom seen before. And affected Bernburg to the length
"almost of despair, and breaking of heart, -- in a way that is
"not ridiculous to me at all, but beautiful and pathetic. Of
"which there is much talk, now and long afterwards, in
* Tempelnof, iv. 79.
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? CHAP. II. ] FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEN. 33
10th-29th July 1760.
"military circles. The sorrows of these poor Bernburgers,
"their desperate efforts to wash out this stigma, their actual
"washing of it out, not many weeks hence, and their magnifi-
"cent joy on the occasion, -- these are the one distinguishing
"point in Daun's relief of Dresden, which was otherwise
"quite a cunctatory, sedentary matter. "
Daun built three Bridges, -- he had a broad stone
one already, -- but did little or nothing with them;
and never himself came across at all. Merely shot out
nocturnal Pandour Parties, and ordered up Lacy and
the Reichsfolk to do the like, and break the night's rest
of his Enemy. He made minatory movements, one at
least, down the River, by his own shore, on Friedrich's
Ammunition Boats from Torgau, and actually inter-
cepted certain of them, which was something; but, ex-
cept this, and vague flourishings of the Pandour kind,
left Friedrich to his own course.
Friedrich bombarded for a day or two farther;
cannonaded, out of more or fewer batteries, for eight,
or I think ten days more. Attacks from Daun there
were to be, now on this side, now on that; many
rumours of attack, but, except once only (midnight
Pandours attempting the King's lodging, "a Farmhouse
near Gruna," but to their astonishment rousing the
whole Prussian Army "in the course of three minutes"*),
rumour was mainly all. For guarding his siege-lines, Friedrich has to alter his position; to shift slightly,
now fronting this way, now the other way; is "called
always at midnight" (against these nocturnal disturbances),
and "never has his clothes off. " Nevertheless, continues
* Archenholtz, n. 81 (who is very vivid, but does not date); Rodenbeck,
n. 24 (quotes similar account by another Eye-witness, and guesses it to be
"night of July 22d-23d").
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. XII. 3
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? 34 FRIEDRICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
20th July 1760.
his bombardment, and then his cannonading, till his
own good time, which I think is till the. 26th. His
"ricochet-battery," which is good against Maguire's
people, innocent to Dresden, he continued for three
days more; -- while gathering his furnitures about
Plauen Country, making his arrangements at Meissen;
-- did not march till the night of June 29th. Alto-
gether calmly; no Daun or Austrian molesting him in
the least; his very sentries walking their rounds in the
trenches, till daylight; after which they also marched,
unmolested, Meissenward.
Unfortunate Friedrich has made nothing of Dres-
den, then. After such a June and July of it, since
he left the Meissen Country; after all these intricate
manoeuverings, hot fierce marchings and superhuman
exertions, here is he returning to Meissen Country
poorer than if he had stayed. Fouquet lost, Glatz un-
relieved -- Nay, just before marching off, what is this
new phenomenon? Is this by way of "Happy journey
to you! " Towards sunset of the 29th, exuberant joy-
firing rises far and wide from the usually quiet Aus-
trian lines, -- "Meaning what, once more? " Meaning
that Glatz is lost, your Majesty; that, instead of a
siege of many weeks (as might have been expected
with Fouquet for Commandant), it has held out, under
Fouquet's Second, only a few hours; and is gone with-
out remedy! Certain, though incredible. Imbecile
Commandant, treacherous Garrison (Austrian deserters
mainly), with stealthy Jesuits acting on them: no use
asking what. Here is the sad Narrative, in succinct
form:
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? CHAP. II. ] FRIEDRICH BESIEGES DRESDEK. 35
a>>th July 1760.
Capture of Glatz (26th July 1760).
"Loudon is a swift man, when he can get bridle; butthe
"curb-hand of Daun is often heavy on jhim. Loudon has had
"Glatz blockaded since June 7th; since June 23d, he has had
"Fouquet rooted away, and the ground clear for a Siege of
"Glatz. But had to abstain altogether, in the mean time; to
"take camp at Landshut, to march and manoeuvre about, in
"support of Daun, and that heavy-footed gallop of Daun's
"which then followed: on the whole, it was not till Friedrich
"went for Dresden that the Siege-Artillery, from Olmiitz, "could be ordered forward upon Glatz; not for a fortnight
"more that the Artillery could come; and, in spite of Lou-
"don's utmost despatch, not till break of day, July 26th, that
"the batteries could open. After which, such was Loudon's
"speed and fortune, -- and so diligent had the Jesuits been in
"those seven weeks, -- the 'Siege,' as they call it, was over
"in less than seven hours.
"One Colonel D'O" (Piedmontese by nation, an incompe-
tent person, known to loud Trenck during his detention here)
"was Commandant of Glatz, and had the principal Fortress,
"-- for there are two, one on each side the Neisse River; --
"his Second was a Colonel Quadt, by birth Prussian, seem-
"ingly not very competent he either, who had command of
"the Old Fortress, round which lies the Town of Glatz: a
"little Town, abounding in Jesuits; -- to whose Virgin, if
"readers remember, Friedrich once gave a new gown; with
"small effect on her, as would appear. The Quadt-D'O gar-
rison was 2,400, -- and, if tales are true, it had been well be-
"jesuited during those seven weeks. * At four in the morning,
"July 26th, theTiattering began on Quadt; Quadt, Iwillbe-
"lieve, responding what he could, especially from a certain
"Arrowhead Redoubt (or Fleche) he has, which ought to have
"been important to him. After four or five hours of this, there
"was mutual pause, -- as if both parties had decided upon
"breakfast before going farther.
"Quadt's Fortress is very strong, mostly hewn in the rock;
"and he has that important outwork of a Fleche; which is ex-
cellent for enfilading, as it extends well beyond the glacis;
"and, beingof rock like the rest, is also abundantly defensible.
* (Euvres de Frederic, v. 55.
3*
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? 36 FRIEDEICH NOT TO BE OVERWHELMED. [book XX.
29th July 1760.
"Loudon's people, looking over into this Fleche, find it negli-
"gently guarded; Quadt at breakfast, as would seem: -- and
"directly send for Harsch, Captain of the Siege, and even for
"Loudon, the General-in-Chief. Negligently guarded, sure
"enough; nothing in the Fleche but a few sentries and these in
"the horizontal position, taking their unlawful rest there,
"after such a morning's work. 'Seize me that,' eagerly
"orders Loudon; 'hold that with firm grip! ' Which isdone;
"only to step in softly, two battalions of you, and lay hard
"hold. Incompetent Quadt, figure in what a flurry, rushing
"out to recapture his Fleche, -- explodes instead into mere
"anarchy, whole Companies of him flinging down their arms
"at their Officers' feet, and the like. So that Quadt is totally
"driven in again, Austrians along with him; and is obliged to
"beat chamade; -- D'O following the example, about an hour
"after, without even a capitulation. Was there ever seen
"such a defence! Major Unruh, one of a small minority, was
"Prussian, and stanch: here is Unruh's personal experience,
"-- testimony on D'O's Trial, I suppose, -- and now pretty
"much the one thing worth reading on this subject.
"Major Unruh testifies: 'At four in the morning, 26th July
"'1760, the Enemy began to cannonade the Old Fortress'
(that of Quadt); 'and about nine, I was ordered with 150 men
"'to clear the Envelope from Austrians. Just when I had got
'to the Damm-Gate, halt was called. I asked the Comman-
'"dant, who was behind me, which way I should march; to
"'the Crownwork or to the Envelope? Being answered, To
"'the Envelope, I found on coming out at the Field-Gate
"'nothing but an Austrian Lieutenant-Colonel and some men.
"' He called to me, " "There had been chamade beaten, and I
"' was not to run into destruction (rnich unglilcklich machen)! ""
"I offered him Quarter; and took him in effect prisoner, with
"20 of his best men; and sent him to the Commandant, with
"request that he would keep my rear free, or send me rein-
"forcement. I shot the Enemy a great many people here;
"chased him from the Field-Gate, and out of both the Enve-
lope and the Redoubt called the Crane" (that is the Fleche
itself, only that the Austrians are mostly not now there, but
gone through into the interior there! ) -- "Returning to the
"Field-Gate, I found that the Commandant had beaten
"chamade a second time; there were marching in, by this
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