The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 109, November, 1866: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and PoliticsVarious
General
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 109, November, 1866: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics
Various
American periodicals
purpose, Count von Bismark bears a strong resemblance to Baron von
Stein, upon whom he seems to have modelled himself,--while Austrian
ascendency in Germany was to him what French ascendency in that country
was to his prototype, only not so productive of furious hatred, because
the supremacy of Austria was offensive politically, and not personally
annoying, like that of France; but Bismark, though sufficiently
demonstrative in the expression of his sentiments, has never outraged
propriety to the extent that it was outraged by Stein. Stein died in
1831, having lived long enough to see the in French Revolution of 1830
that a portion of his work had been done in vain. His Prussian work will
endure forever, and be felt throughout the world.
[51] The Prussian loss in the battle of Waterloo was 6,998; the
_British_ loss, 6,935;--but this does not include the Germans, Dutch,
and Belgians who fell on the field or were put down among the missing.
Wellington's total loss was about 16,000. The number of Prussians
present in the battle was much more than twice the number of Britons.
The number of the latter was 23,991, with 78 guns; of the former,
51,944, with 104 guns. Almost 16,000 of the Prussians were engaged some
hours before the event of the battle was decided; almost 30,000 two
hours before that decision; and the remainder an hour before the Allied
victory was secured. It shows how seriously the French were damaged by
Prussian intervention, that Napoleon had to detach, from the army that
he had intended to employ against Wellington only, 27 battalions of
infantry (including 11 battalions of the Guard), 18 squadrons of
cavalry, and 66 guns, making a total of about 18,000 men, or about a
fourth part of his force and almost a third of his artillery. This
subtraction from the army that ought to have been used in fighting
Wellington would alone have suffered gravely to compromise the French;
and it is well known that Napoleon felt the want of men to send against
the English long before the conflict was over; and this want was the
consequence of the pressure of the Prussians on his right flank,
threatening to establish themselves in his rear. But this was not all
the aid derived by Wellington from the Prussian advance. It was the
arrival of a portion of Zieten's corps on the field of Waterloo that
enabled the British commander to withdraw from his left the
comparatively untouched cavalry brigades of Vivian and Vandeleur, and to
station them in or near the centre of his line, where they were of the
greatest use at the very "crisis" of the battle,--Vivian, in particular,
doing as much as was done by any one of Wellington's officers to secure
victory for his commander. The Prussians followed the flying French for
hours, and had the satisfaction of giving the final blow to Napoleonism
for that time. It has risen again.
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