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
For, in the mean time,--I think while the dispute at Sterbohol, on the
extreme of the Austrian right wing "in joiner's-square form," was past
the hottest (but nobody will give the hour),--there has occurred
another thing, much calculated to settle that. And, indeed, to settle
everything;--as it did. This was a volunteer exploit, upon the very
elbow or angle of said "joiner's-square;" in the wet grounds between
Hlaupetin and Kyge, a good way north of Sterbohol. Volunteer exploit; on
the part of General Mannstein, our old Russian friend; which Friedrich,
a long way off from it, blames as a rash fault of Mannstein's, made good
by Prince Henri and Ferdinand of Brunswick running up to mend it; but
which Winterfeld, and subsequent good judges, admit to have been highly
salutary, and to have finished everything. It went, if I read right,
somewhat as follows.
In the Kyge-Hlaupetin quarter, at the corner of that Austrian right
wing EN POTENCE, there had, much contrary to Browne's intention, a
perceptible gap occurred; the corner is open there; nothing in it but
batteries and swamps. The Austrian right wing, wheeling southward, there
to form POTENCE; and scrambling and marching, then and subsequently,
through such ground at double-quick, had gone too far (had thinned and
lengthened itself, as is common, in such scrambling, and double-quick
movement, thinks Tempelhof), and left a little gap at elbow; which
always rather widened as the stress at Sterbohol went on. Certain
enough, a gap there is, covered only by some half-moon battery in
advance: into this, General Mannstein has been looking wistfully a long
time: "Austrian Line fallen out at elbow yonder; clouted by some battery
in advance?"--and at length cannot help dashing loose on it with
his Division. A man liable to be rash, and always too impetuous in
battle-time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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