United States or South Africa ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
To this end he ordered his armies in Saxony, Misnia, Lusatia, and Silesia, to enter Bohemia in four different and op-opposite places, nearly at the same time. The first of these he commanded in person, assisted by mareschal Keith; the second was led by prince Maurice of Anhault-Dessau, the third by prince Ferdinand of Brunswick-Bevern, and the fourth by mareschal Schwerin.
The prince Anhault-Dessau, with his corps, drew near the king of Prussia's army; then the latter advanced as far as Budin, from whence the Austrians who had an advantageous camp there, retired to Westwarn, half way between Budin and Prague; and his Prussian majesty having passed the Egra, his army, and that of mareschal Schwerin, were so situated, as to be able to act jointly.
The advanced posts of the prince of Anhault-Dessau at Pirna were attacked, on the tenth of August, by a body of hussars and other irregular troops of the Austrians; but the Prussians soon obliged them to retire, with the loss of several men and two pieces of cannon.
Having thrown several bridges over the Moldaw on the fifth of May, he passed that river in the morning of the sixth, with thirty thousand men, leaving the rest of the army under the command of the prince of Anhault-Dessau; and being immediately joined by the troops under mareschal Schwerin and the prince of Bevern, resolved to attack the enemy on the same day.
Having formed an army of fifty thousand choice troops, near Neiss, in Silesia, he divided them into three columns; the first commanded by mareschal Keith, the second by himself in person, and the third conducted by prince Maurice of Anhault-Dessau.
The Austrians pillaged two of the suburbs; but before they could do any further mischief, they were obliged to retire in great haste, at the approach of the prince of Anhault-Dessau, whose vanguard entered the city in the evening of their departure.
At the same time, other armies were assembled by the king of Prussia in Lusatia and Voigt-land; twenty thousand men were collected at Zwickaw, on the frontiers of Bohemia, towards Egra, under the command of prince Maurice of Anhault-Dessau; and sixty thousand chosen troops began their march towards Great Seidlitz, where their head quarters were settled.
The Prussian array, now re-assembled at this place, amounted to about sixty thousand men, besides twelve battalions and ten squadrons which remained in the famous camp at Pirna, under the prince of Anhault-Dessau, to cover Dresden, secure the gorges of the mountains, and check the incursions of the Austrian irregulars, with whom, as they were continually flying about the skirts of the Prussian army, as well in their encampments as on their marches, almost daily skirmishes happened, with various success.
In the meantime they made frequent and always destructive incursions into Brandenburgh; to oppose which his Prussian majesty ordered detachments from all his regiments in those parts to join the militia of the country, and sent the prince of Anhault-Dessau from Leipsic, with a body of ten thousand men, to guard Berlin, whilst he himself marched with the troops under his command to Interbeck, on the frontier of the Lower Lusatia, to be the more at hand to cover Brandenburgh, and to preserve the communication with Silesia.
Word Of The Day