History of Friedrich II of Prussia, vol 20 | Page 6

eyes
open.
The FIRST great Feat of Marching now follows, On Friedrich's part;
with little or no result to Friedrich; but worth remembering, so
strenuous, so fruitless was it,--so barred by ill news from without! Both
this and the Second stand recorded for us, in brief intelligent terms by
Mitchell, who was present in both; and who is perfectly exact on every
point, and intelligible throughout,--if you will read him with a Map;
and divine for yourself what the real names are, out of the inhuman
blotchings made of them, not by Mitchell's blame at all. [Mitchell,
Memoirs and Papers, ii. 160 et seq.]
TUESDAY, JUNE 17th, second day of Friedrich's stay at Broschwitz,
Mitchell, in a very confidential Dialogue they had together, learned
from him, under seal of secrecy, That it was his purpose to march for
Radeburg to-morrow morning, and attack Lacy and his 30,000, who lie
encamped at Moritzburg out yonder; for which step his Majesty was
pleased farther to show Mitchell a little what the various inducements
were: "One Russian Corps is aiming as if for Berlin; the Austrians are
about besieging Glatz,--pressing need that Fouquet were reinforced in
his Silesian post of difficulty. Then here are the Reichs-people close by;
can be in Dresden three days hence, joined to Daun: 80,000 odd there
will then be of Enemies in this part: I must beat Lacy, if possible, while

time still is!"--and ended by saying: "Succeed here, and all may yet be
saved; be beaten here, I know the consequences: but what can I do?
The risk must be run; and it is now smaller than it will ever again be."
Mitchell, whose account is a fortnight later than the Dialogue itself,
does confess, "My Lord, these reasons, though unhappily the thing
seems to have failed, 'appear to me to be solid and unanswerable.'"
Much more do they to Tempelhof, who sees deeper into the bottom of
them than Mitchell did; and finds that the failure is only superficial.
[Mitchell, Memoirs and Papers, ii. 160 (Despatch,
"June 30th, 1760"); Tempelhof, iv. 44.] The real success, thinks
Tempelhof, would be, Could the King manoeuvre himself into Silesia,
and entice a cunctatory Daun away with him thither. A cunctatory
Daun to preside over matters THERE, in his superstitiously cautious
way; leaving Saxony free to the Reichsfolk,--whom a Hulsen, left with
his small remnant in Schlettau, might easily take charge of, till Silesia
were settled? "The plan was bold, was new, and completely worthy of
Friedrich," votes Tempelhof; "and it required the most consummate
delicacy of execution. To lure Daun on, always with the prospect open
to him of knocking you on the head, and always by your rapidity and
ingenuity to take care that he never got it done." This is Tempelhof's
notion: and this, sure enough, was actually Friedrich's mode of
management in the weeks following; though whether already altogether
planned in his head, or only gradually planning itself, as is more likely,
nobody can say. We will look a very little into the execution,
concerning which there is no dubiety:--
WEDNESDAY, 18th JUNE, "Friedrich," as predicted to Mitchell, the
night before, "did start punctually, in three columns, at 3 A.M. [Sun
just rising]; and, after a hot march, got encamped on the southward side
of Radeburg: ready to cross the Rodern Stream there to-morrow, as if
intending for the Lausitz [should that prove needful for alluring
Lacy],--and in the mean while very inquisitive where Lacy might be.
One of Lacy's outposts, those Saxon light horse, was fallen in with; was
chased home, and Lacy's camp discovered, that night. At Bernsdorf, not
three miles to southward or right of us; Daun only another three to
south of him. Let us attack Lacy to-morrow morning; wind round to get

between Daun and him, [Tempelhof, iv. 47-49.]--with fit arrangements;
rapid as light! In the King's tent, accordingly, his Generals are
assembled to take their Orders; brief, distinct, and to be done with
brevity. And all are on the move for Bernsdorf at 4 next morning; when,
behold,--
"THURSDAY, 19th, At Bernsdorf there is no Lacy to be found.
Cautions Dorn has ordered him in,--and not for Lacy's sake, as appears,
but for his own: 'Hitherward, you alert Lacy; to cover my right flank
here, my Hill of Reichenberg,--lest it be not impregnable enough
against that feline enemy!' And there they have taken post, say 60,000
against 30,000; and are palisading to a quite extraordinary degree. No
fight possible with Lacy or Daun."
This is what Mitchell counts the failure of Friedrich's enterprise: and
certainly it grieved Friedrich a good deal. Who, on riding out to
reconnoitre Reichenberg (Quintus Icilius and Battalion QUINTUS part
of his escort, if that be an interesting circumstance], finds Reichenberg
a