History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 14Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 14
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
"The English Officers also, it is evident, behaved in their usual
way:--without knowledge of war, without fear of death, or regard to
utmost peril or difficulty; cheering their men, and keeping them steady
upon the throats of the French, so far as might be. And always, after
that first stumble with the French Horse was mended, they kept gaining
ground, thrusting back the Enemy, not over the Dettingen Brook and
Moor-ground only, but, knock after knock, out of his woody or other
coverts, back and ever back, towards Welzheim, Kahl, and those Two
Bridges of his. The flamy French [ligneous fire burning lower and lower,
VERSUS anthracitic glowing brighter and brighter] found that they had
a bad time of it;--found, in fact, that they could not stand it; and
tumbled finally, in great torrents, across their Bridges on the Mayn,
many leaping into the River, the English sitting dreadfully on the
skirts of them. So that had the English had their Cavalry in readiness
to pursue, Noailles's Army, in the humor it had sunk to, was ruined, and
the Victory would have been conspicuously great. But they had, as too
common, nothing ready. Impetuous Stair strove to get ready; "pushed out
the Grey Dragoons" for one item. But the Authorities refused Stair's
counsel, as rash again; and made no effectual pursuit at all;--too glad
that they had brushed their Battle-field triumphantly clear, and got out
of that fatal pinfold in an honorable manner.
MAP: BOOK XIV, Chap V, page 257 GOES HERE--------------------------
"They stayed on the ground till 10 at night; settling, or trying to
settle, many things. The Surgeons were busy as bees, but able for
Officers only;--'Dress HIM first!' said the glorious Duke of Cumberland,
pointing to a young Frenchman [Excellency Fenelon's Son, grand-nephew
of TELEMAQUE] who was worse wounded than his Highness. Quite in the
Philip-Sydney fashion; which was much taken notice of. 'All this while,
we had next to nothing to eat' (says one informant).--Ten P.M.: after
which, leaving a polite Letter to Noailles, 'That he would take care of
our Wounded, and bury our Slain as well as his own,' we march [through a
pour of rain] to Hanau, where our victuals are, and 12,000 new Hessians
and Hanoverians by this time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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