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
Evening of April 25th, Friedrich rose from his Freyberg cantonments;
moved back, that is, northward, a good march; then encamped himself
between Elbe and the Hill-Country; with freer prospect and more
elbow-room for work coming. His left is on Meissen and the Elbe; his
right at a Village called the Katzenhauser, an uncommonly strong camp,
of which one often hears afterwards; his centre camp is at Schlettau,
which also is strong, though not to such a degree. This line extends
from Meissen southward about 10 miles, commanding the Reich-ward Passes
of the Metal Mountains, and is defensive of Leipzig, Torgau and the
Towns thereabouts. [Tempelhof, iv. 16 et seq.] Katzenhauser is but a
mile or two from Krogis--that unfortunate Village where Finck got his
Maxen Order: "ER WEISS,--You know I can't stand having difficulties
raised; manage to do it!"
Friedrich's task, this Year, is to defend Saxony; Prince Henri having
undertaken the Russians,--Prince Henri and Fouquet, the Russians and
Silesia. Clearly on very uphill terms, both of them: so that Friedrich
finds he will have a great many things to assist in, besides defending
Saxony. He lies here expectant till the middle of June, above seven
weeks; Daun also, for the last two weeks, having taken the field in a
sort. In a sort;--but comes no nearer; merely posting himself astride of
the Elbe, half in Dresden, half on the opposite or northern bank of the
River, with Lacy thrown out ahead in good force on that vacant side; and
so waiting the course of other people's enterprises.
Well to eastward and rearward of Daun, where we have seen Loudon about
to be very busy, Prince Henri and Fouquet have spun themselves out into
a long chain of posts, in length 300 miles or more, "from Landshut,
along the Bober, along the Queiss and Oder, through the Neumark,
abutting on Stettin and Colberg, to the Baltic Sea." [Tempelhof, iv.
21-24.] On that side, in aid of Loudon or otherwise, Daun can attempt
nothing; still less on the Katzenhauser-Schlettau side can he dream of
an attempt: only towards Brandenburg and Berlin--the Country on that
side, 50 or 60 miles of it, to eastward of Meissen, being vacant of
troops--is Daun's road open, were he enterprising, as Friedrich hopes
he is not. For some two weeks, Friedrich--not ready otherwise, it being
difficult to cross the River, if Lacy with his 30,000 should think of
interference--had to leave the cunctatory Feldmarschall this chance or
unlikely possibility. At the end of the second week ("June 14th," as we
shall mark by and by), the chance was withdrawn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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