Bohemian fide with mountains, and it contains places of fuch ftrength as to be above the neceffity of yielding to the firft army that appears before them. Indeed it is to be remarked, that fuch a degree of ftrength feems fufficient for the kind of fervice which has diftinguished this war. Never was a war of fuch a length and extent, in which fewer fieges of confequence have been formed; and the late service which affords fo large a field for experience in every other fpecies of military operations, affords very little matter of improving in the art of reducing or defending ftrong places.

The king of Pruflia's defign feems to have been to fave himself as much as poffible to the end of the campaign; the only time when his fuccefs might be decifive, and his illfortune not ruinous. He therefore formed a defenfive plan. In purfuance of this he withdrew his outpofts from Freyberg, and drawing a chain of cantonments from the foreft of Tharandt on his right to the Elbe, he took a most advantageous camp between that river and the Multa: ftrongly entrenching it where it had not been previoully fortified by nature; and furnished it with fo numerous an artillery, that they reckoned in their front only 250 pieces of cannon.

In this fituation he covered the moft material parts of Saxony, kept the attention of M. Daun's army engaged, and was enabled to fend out reinforcements to prince Henry or elsewhere, as occafion fhould require, without expofing one part whilft he defended another.

Whilft the king's army defended his conquefts in Minia, prince Henry had affembled an army about Frankfort on the Oder, and took

various pofitions about that place and Croffen. In this pofition, he commanded three principal communications, in fuch a manner as to protect at once Silefia, the new. marche of Brandenburgh, and the avenues to Berlin; all which were threatened by feveral bodies of the enemy. Gen. Fouquet had establifhed his quarters near the country of Glatz, and whilft he covered that fide of Silefia communicated with prince Henry; and was fo difpofed as to fend to or to receive fuccours from him, as either party fhould happen to be preffed.

M. Daun, as foon as he faw that the king of Pruflia had fortified himself in his poft, he too buried himself in entrenchments, and kept the most attentive eye upon all his majefty's motions. Whilft he confined himself in this pofition, in order to tie down the king of Pruflia, general Laudohn, with a strong but light and difincumbered army, moved from the camp he had occupied during the winter in Bohemia, and prefenting himself alternately on the fide of Lufatia, and on the frontiers of Silefia, threatened fometimes to penetrate to Berlin, fometimes by a bold ftroke to effect a junction with the Ruffians, and attack prince Henry, fometimes to fit down before Glatz, Schweidnitz, or Breflau; and thus the alarm was fpread upon every fide, not knowing were the ftorm would fall.

At length he declared himself. Having by feveral feints perfuaded general Fouquet that his intentions were against Schweidnitz, that general marched thither a confiderble body of his troops, and left Glatz uncovered. As foon as Laudohn perceived this movement, he on his fide made another, and

poffeffed

poffeffed himself of Landfhut; and when he had taken Landshut, he pretended a defign of fecuring this poft by leaving a fmall body of troops there. This feint alfo fucceeded, and drew general Fouquet from Schweidnitz back again to Landshut. He drove the Auftrians from that place without difficulty; but in the mean time Laudolin made himself master of feveral important paffes, by which he was in fome fort enabled to furround the corps of general Fouquet.

That commander, finding himfelf in thofe dangerous circumftances, had nothing left but to fortify his poft, formerly made a very strong one, with additional works; which he did with fuch effect, that it had more the resemblance of a regular fortification that an entrenchment. However, the army he commanded was far from numerous; and he was obliged to weaken it ftill farther by a detachment of 2000 men, to preferve, if poflible, a communication with Schweidnitz.

Laudohn longed to diftinguish bimfelf by fome capital ftroke; and he had now by a series of very artful movements procured a moft favourable opportunity. First, therefore, he thut up with great dexterity the paffes on every fide, and rendered his adverfary's retreat impracticable. Then he began an attack on the Pruffian enJune 23. trenchments in the dead of the night in three different places. The fignal for the affault was given by four hawbitzers fired in the air. The Auftrians ruthed to

the attack with uncommon fury, and maintained it with fo fteady a refolution, that in three quarters of an hour the two ftrongest entrenchments were carried, and the line of communication forced. The Pruffians at day-break found themfelves puthed back from hill to hill, and line to line, to their laft entrenchments. Their refiftance was all along brave, and their retreat regular. The enemy purchafed every advantage at the dearest rate; but at laft, preffed upon every fide, worn down by a terrible flaughter, their general difabled by two mortal wounds, at eight in the morning the remnant of the army threw down their arms, and furrendered on the field of battle.

On the fide of the vanquished the flain were about 4000. The pri- foners were, one general of foot, namely, general Fouquet; two major-generals; four colonels; two hundred and thirteen officers of the inferior ranks; and upwards of 7000 private foldiers, fifty-eight pieces of artillery, with a number of colours. Never was a more entire and decifive victory. The whole army, general officers, every thing was defiroyed. Scarce three. hundred of the body intrenched by Landfhut efcaped. The corps alone which was to preserve the communication, together with fome bodics of cavalry who had not been engaged, with difficulty got into Schweidnitz, where they expected every moment to be befieged. This advantage coft the Auftrians above 12,000 men killed and wounded.

CHAP.

obtained with courage and addrefs. Baron Laudohn immediately turned back from Landthut, and fell like a ftorm upon Glatz. Glatz confits of two fortreffes, the old and the new The old was taken by ftorm; the new furrendered at difcretion. Two thousand brave men and fome good works could not defend it againft the impetuofity of the Auftrians. One hundred and one pieces of brass cannon were taken. Immenfe magazines of provifion and military ftores, piled up in this frontier-place to favour, in better times, an irruption into Bohemia, fell into the hands of the conqueror. Every thing gave way. The poffeffion of Glatz laid all Silefia open, and the Auftrians might turn their arms upon any fide without the leaft danger to the freedom of their retreat. Neither was there any fort of army to give the least obstruction. The king of Pruffia, held down by M. Daun, was in Saxony. Prince Henry was alfo at a great distance towards Cuftrin. If that prince attempted to move to the relief of Silefia, he laid open Brandenburgh and even Berlin itself, to the irruptions of the Ruffians. If he remained in his poft, Silefia was inevitably loft. Even his fpeedieft march feemed by no means a certain way to relieve it. The king

and unhinge the whole fcheme of his defence; expofing at once Saxony and Berlin. The lofs of his third army, fmall as that army was, laid him under difficulties that feemed infuperable.

Favoured by thefe circumftances, Laudohn had only to chufe what direction he fhould give his arms. Silefia, as has been obferved, lay open before him. He had threatened Schweidnitz; but he faw that Breslau was a place of greater confequence, much more eafily reduced, and that the poffeffion of it facilitated a junction with the Ruffians; a point on which the ultimate improvement of his victory wholly depended. The place befides is of fo great extent, and the works of fo little comparative ftrength, that he had no fmall hopes of mafering it before Prince Henry could come, if he fhould at all attempt to come to its relief.

He therefore delayed no longer than the march of his heavy artillery and the neceffary preparatives required, to lay fiege to the capital of Silefia, of whofe fatety the most fanguine friends of his Pruflian majetty began to defpair.

But in the interval between the battle of Landshut and the commencement of the fiege of Breflau, the king of Prullia was not

idle,

idle. His thoughts were continually employed to repair this difafter; all ordinary refources were impracticable or ineffectual. His genius alone could enter the lifts with his ill fortune. Placing therefore his hopes in himself, he aimed, by a daring and unexpected ftroke, to draw even from fo fevere a miffortune fome new and more brilliant advantages.

In pursuance of the plan 2d July. he had laid, he difpofed all things for a march towards Silefia, and had paffed the Elbe, and penetrated through a woody country without oppofition; had the enemy been apprifed of his march as early as he began it, it had been attended with great and unfurmountable difficulties. Marthal Daun no fooner had advice of his march, than he alfo immediately moved with the utmoft expedition at the head of his main army towards Silefia, leaving the army of the empire, and a body, under general Lacy, to awe Saxony in his

abfence.

The two armies continued their route through Lufatia: that of the king of Pruffia a little to the northward, that of marthal Daun to the fouthward; both apparently pufhing towards the fame object, and with equal eagernefs. But as the army of the marfhal had rather the fhorter cut to make, and as he moved with far greater and more unaffected diligence, he got very confiderably the ftart of the king. When his majefty was apJuly 8. prifed that marfhal Daun had gained full two days march upon him; that he had actually arrived at Gorlitz, and was puthing by forced marches to Lauban; his great purpose was obtained. Immediately he

ftruck into marshal Daun's track, but wheeled into the oppofite direc-. tion, repaffed the Spree near Bautzen, and whilft every one imagined him on the frontiers of Silefia, he fuddenly fprung up like a mine before Drefden. The army of the empire retired. Lacy's corps was obliged to fhift its fituation. The Pruflian generals Hulfen and Ziethen, who had probably been prepared to act in concert with the king, joined him before that place, and knowing there was no room for delay, began the fiege with the utmost vigour.

13th July.

Then was this moft unfortunate city a third time expofed to the fury of war. The inhabitants fuffered in their habitations for the weakness of the works; and there were armies both without and within of fuch mutual and determined rage, and fo careless of all things, but their enmity, that they little fcrupled to ftrike at each other through the bodies of the suffering Saxons. All Europe had now its eyes turned to the event of this masterly manoeuvre; and certainly, through the whole courfe of this eventful war, nothing appeared more worthy of regard, nor at any time had there been exhibited a piece of generalfhip more complete,. than the conduct of the king of Prufia's march.

Since Drefden had fallen into. the hands of the Auftrians, it had been ftrengthened with the addition of feveral new works. The burning of the suburb by the Pruffians, in order to keep them out, became an advantage to them when they came to poffefs the town. In fhort, the place was rendered in all refpects more defenfible than formerly. It had alfo a

very large garrifon under general Macguire, an officer of courage and experience, who refolved to maintain it to the laft extremity: when he was fummoned to furrender, he made answer, "That it was impoffible the king could have been apprifed of his being entrusted with the command of that capital; other wife fo great a captain as his majefty would not make fuch a propofal to an officer of his ftanding: that he would defend himself to the laft man; and wait whatever the king fhould think proper to attempt."

Both parties being therefore infpired with the utmost refolution, the one to attack, the other to defend, the fiege was pushed on by every method of force and addrefs; there was scarce any intermiffion of affaults, furprifes, coup de mains, fallies, and all kinds of actions used on fuch occafions; and all the moft vigorous in their way. In the mean time three batteries of cannon and mortars played continually, but with much greater damage to the buildings than effect on the fortifications. Marthal Daun was in Silefia, when he heard all at once of the deceit put upon him by the king of Pruflia, of his return to Saxony, of the fiege, and the extreme danger of Drefden. His return was as rapid as his march had been. On the 19th he appeared within a league of Drefden: His approach only caused the Pruffians to redouble their efforts; that day they had received reinforcements of heavy cannon and mortars, and battered the place with new fury. The cathedral church, the new fquare, feveral principal ftreets, fome palaces, the noble manufactory of porcelain, were all entirely reduced to ashes.

YOL. III.

The fiege continued till the 22d The night of the 21ft M. Daun had thrown fixteen battalions into Drefden. It was in vain to continue any longer the pretence of befieging a whole army within the town, whilft at the fame time there was another army to reinforce it without. The king withdrew his forces without moleftation from the fuburbs, tho' there were three confiderable armies of the enemy in the neighbourhood, befides that which was within the walls.

Thus ended, without the fuccefs fo mafterly a procceding deferved, the king of Pruflia's famous ftratagem. But the want of suc-. cels can detract nothing from the merit of the measure. By drawing Marshal Daun from Saxony to Sile fia he gained the ufe of eight days, free of obstruction from the enemy's grand army; eight days at a time when hours and even moments were critical. In this time he had certainly a chance at leaft of reducing Drefden; and by the poffeffion of that place he would have found himself infinitely better able to carry his arms to the defence of every part of his territories for the prefent, and for the future would have that great place of retreat in cafe of any misfortune. If he failed in this attempt, his affairs were precifely in their former condition; and he could not fuffer in reputation by having made it.

As the king of Pruffia could not be blamed for the fpéedy return of Marshal Daun, and the confequences of that return; fo neither in effect could the marshal suffer any juft imputation in having been deceived by the king's march. He knew that there were very plau fible motives to call, and even to

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