History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 20Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 20
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
"SEPTEMBER 12th. News yesterday of reinforcement, men and provender,
coming from Stettin; is to be at Treptow on the 13th. Werner, night of
the 11th, stealthily sets out to meet it, IT in the first place; then,
joined with it, to take by rearward a certain inconvenient battery,
which Romanzow is building to westward of us, out that way; to demolish
said battery, and be generally distressful to the rear of Romanzow. At
Treptow, after his difficult night's march, Werner is resting, secure
now of the adventure;--too contemptuous of his slow Russians, as
appeared! Who, for once, surprise HIM; and, at and round Treptow, next
morning, Werner finds himself suddenly in a most awkward predicament.
Werner, one of the rapidest and stormiest of skilful men, plunged
valiantly into the affair; would still have managed it, they say, had
not, in some sudden swoop,--charge, or something of critical or vital
nature,--rapid Werner's horse got shot, and fallen with him; whereby not
only the charge failed, but Werner himself was taken prisoner. A loss of
very great importance, and grievous to everybody: though, I believe,
the reinforcement and supply, for this time, got mostly through, and
the dangerous battery was got demolished by other means. [Seyfarth,
_Beylagen,_ iii. 238; Tempelhof, v. 314.] This is Romanzow's first item
of success, this of getting such a Werner snatched out of the game [and
sent to Petersburg instead as we shall hear]; and other items fell to
Romanzow thenceforth by the aid of time and hunger.
"In the way of storming, battering or otherwise capturing Eugen's Camp,
not to speak of Heyde's town, Romanzow finds, on trial after trial, that
he can do as good as nothing; and his unwieldy sea-comrades (equinoctial
gales coming on them, too) are equally worthless. September 19th [a week
after this of Werner, tenth day after Bunzelwitz had ended], Romanzow
made his fiercest attempt that way; fiercest and last: furious
extremely, from 2 in the morning onwards; had for some time hold of the
important 'Green Redoubt;' but was still more furiously battered and
bayoneted out again, with the loss of above 3,000 men; and tried that
no farther. Impossible by that method. But he can stand between the
Eugen-Heyde people and supplies; and by obstinacy hunger them out: this,
added to the fruitless bombardment, is now his more or less fruitful
industry.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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