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
Friedrich's dispositions for the Battle, this day, are allowed to have
been masterly; but there was one signal fault, thinks Retzow: That
he did not, as Schwerin counselled, wait till the morrow. Fault which
brought many in the train of it; that of his "tired soldiers," says
Retzow, being only a first item, and small in comparison. "Had he waited
till the morrow, those fish-ponds of Sterbohol, examined in the interim,
need not have been mistaken for green meadows; Prince Moritz, with his
15,000, would have been a fact, instead of a false hope; the King might
have done his marching down upon Sterbohol in the night-time, and been
ready for the Austrians, flank, or even rear, at daybreak: the King
might"--In reality, this fault seems to have been considerable; to have
made the victory far more costly to him, and far less complete. No doubt
he had his reasons for making haste: Daun, advancing Prag-ward with
30,000, was within three marches of him; General Beck, Daun's vanguard,
with a 10,000 of irregulars, did a kind of feat at Brandeis, on the
Prussian post there (our Saxons deserting to him, in the heat of
action), this very day, May 6th; and might, if lucky, have taken part at
Ziscaberg next day. And besides these solid reasons, there was perhaps
another. Retzow, who is secretly of the Opposition-party, and well worth
hearing, knows personally a curious thing. He says:--
"Being then [in March or April, weeks before we left Saxony] employed to
translate the PLAN OF OPERATIONS into French, for Marshal Keith's
use, who did not understand German, I well know that it contained the
following three main objects: 1. 'All Regiments cantoning in Silesia as
well as Saxony march for Bohemia on one and the same day. 2. Whole Army
arrives at Prag May 4th [Schwerin was a day later, and got scolded in
consequence]; if the Enemy stand, he is attacked May 6th, and beaten.
3. So soon as Prag is got, Schwerin, with the gross of the Army, pushes
into Mahren,' and the heart of Austria itself; 'King hastens with 40,000
to help of the Allied Army,'"--Royal Highness of Cumberland's; who will
much need it by that time! [Retzow, i. 84 n.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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