History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 18Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 18
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
Up to Custrin, the Journal of the Operations of the Russian Army, which
I could give from day to day, ["TAGEBUCH BEYDER &c. (Diary of both
Armies from the beginning of the Campaign till Zorndorf"), in Tielcke,
ii. 1-75; Tempelhof, ii. 136, 216-224; _Helden-Geschichte,_ v.; &c.
&c.] is of no interest except to the Nether Powers of this Universe; the
Russian Operations hitherto having consisted in slow marches, sluttish
cookeries, cantonings, bivouackings, with destruction of a poor innocent
Country, and arson, theft and murder done on the great scale by inhuman
vagabonds, Cossacks so called, not tempered on this occasion by the
mercy of Calmucks. The regular Russian Army, it appears, participates
in the common horror of mankind against such a method of making war; but
neither Feldmarschall Fermor, nor General Demikof (properly THEMICOUD, a
Swiss, deserving little thanks from us, who has taken in hand to command
these Missionaries of the Pit), can help the results above described.
Which are justly characterized as abominable, to gods and men; and
not fit to be recorded in human Annals; execration, and, if it were
possible, oblivion, being the human resource with them., The Russian
Officers, it seems, despise this Cossack rabble incredibly; for their
fighting qualities withal are close on zero, though their talent for
arson and murder is so considerable. And contrariwise, the Cossacks, for
their part, have no objection to plunder, or even, if obstreperous,
to kill, any regular Officer they may meet unescorted in a good place.
Their talent for arson is great. They do uncountable damage to the Army
itself; provoking all the Country people to destroy by fire what could
be eaten or used, the foraging, food and equipments of horse and man;
so that horse and man have to be fed by victual carted hundreds of miles
out of Poland; and the Russian Army sticks, as it were, tethered with a
welter of broken porridge-pots and rent meal-bags hung to every foot it
has.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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