History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
History
History of Frederick the Second, Called Frederick the Great.
Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786
On the 18th of January, 1742, Frederick visited Dresden, to confer
with Augustus III., King of Poland, who was also Elector of Saxony,
and whose realms were to be increased by the annexation of Moravia.
His Polish majesty was a weak man, entirely devoted to pleasure. His
irresolute mind, subjected to the dominant energies of the Prussian
king, was as clay in the hands of the potter.
“You are now,” said Frederick, “by consent of the allies, King of
Moravia. Now is the time, now or never, to become so in fact. Push
forward your Saxon troops. The Austrian forces are weak in that
country. At Iglau, just over the border from Austria, there is a large
magazine of military stores, which can easily be seized. Urge forward
your troops. The French will contribute strong divisions. I will
join you with twenty thousand men. We can at once take possession of
Moravia, and perhaps march directly on to Vienna.”
Frederick, in describing this interview, writes: “Augustus answered
_yes_ to every thing, with an air of being convinced, joined to a look
of great _ennui_. Count Brühl,[61] whom this interview displeased,
interrupted it by announcing to his majesty that the Opera was about
to commence. Ten kingdoms to conquer would not have kept the King of
Poland a minute longer. He went, therefore, to the Opera; and the King
of Prussia obtained at once, in spite of those who opposed it, a final
decision.”[62]
The next morning, in the intense cold of midwinter, Frederick set
out several hours before daylight for the city of Prague, which the
French and Bavarians had captured on the 25th of November. Declining
all polite attentions, for business was urgent, he eagerly sought M.
De Séchelles, the renowned head of the commissariat department, and
made arrangements with him to perform the extremely difficult task of
supplying the army with food in a winter’s campaign.
The next morning, at an early hour, he again dashed off to the east,
toward Glatz, a hundred miles distant, where a portion of the Prussian
troops were in cantonments, under the young Prince Leopold. Within a
week he had ridden over seven hundred miles, commencing his journey
every morning as early as four o’clock, and doing a vast amount of
business by the way.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account