History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 12Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 12
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
For the Prussian Horse fly wildly; and it is in vain to rally. The King
is among them; has come in hot haste, conjuring and commanding: poor
Schulenburg addresses his own regiment, "Oh, shame, shame! shall it be
told, then?" rallies his own regiment, and some others; charges fiercely
in with them again; gets a sabre-slash across the face,--does not mind
the sabre-slash, small bandaging will do;--gets a bullet through the
head (or through the heart, it is not said which); [_Helden-Geschichte,
_ i. 899.] and falls down dead; his regiment going to the winds again,
and HIS care of it and of other things concluding in this honorable
manner. Nothing can rally that right wing; or the more you rally, the
worse it fares: they are clearly no match for Romer, these Prussian
Horse. They fly along the front of their own First Line of Infantry,
they fly between the two Lines; Romer chasing,--till the fire of the
Infantry (intolerable to our enemies, and hitting some even of our
fugitive friends) repels him. For the notable point in all this was
the conduct of the Infantry; and how it stood in these wild vortexes
of ruin; impregnable, immovable, as if every man of it were stone;
and steadily poured out deluges of fire,--"five Prussian shots for two
Austrian:"--such is perfect discipline against imperfect; and the iron
ramrod against the wooden.
The intolerable fire repels Romer, when he trenches on the Infantry:
however, he captures nine of the Prussian sixty guns; has scattered
their Horse to the winds; and charges again and again, hoping to break
the Infantry too,--till a bullet kills him, the gallant Romer; and
some other has to charge and try. It was thought, had Goldlein with his
Austrian Infantry advanced to support Romer at this juncture, the Battle
had been gained. Five times, before Romer fell and after, the Austrians
charged here; tried the Second Line too; tried once to take Prince
Leopold in rear there. But Prince Leopold faced round, gave intolerable
fire; on one face as on the other, he, or the Prussian Infantry
anywhere, is not to be broken. "Prince Friedrich", one of the Margraves
of Schwedt, King's Cousin, whom we did not know before, fell in these
wild rallyings and wrestlings; "by a cannon-ball, at the King's hand,"
not said otherwise where. He had come as Volunteer, few weeks ago,
out of Holland, where he was a rising General: he has met his fate
here,--and Margraf Karl, his Brother, who also gets wounded, will be a
mournful man to-night.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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