In the beginning of September, 1744, war again broke out between the Houses of Austria and Prussia. We marched with all speed towards Prague, traversing Saxony without opposition. I will not relate in this place what the great Frederic said to us, with evident emotion, when surrounded by all his officers, on the morning of our departure from Potzdam.
Should any one be desirous of writing the lives of him and his opponent, Maria Theresa, without flattery and without fear, let him apply to me, and I will relate anecdotes most surprising on this subject, unknown to all but myself, and which never must appear under my own name.
All monarchs going to war have reason on their side; and the churches of both parties resound with prayers, and appeals to Divine Justice, for the success of their arms. Frederic, on this occasion, had recourse to them with regret, of which I was a witness.
If I am not mistaken, the King's army came before Prague on the 14th of September, and that of General Schwerin, which had passed through Silesia, arrived the next day on the other side of the Moldau. In this position we were obliged to wait some days for pontoons, without which we could not establish a communication between the two armies.
The height called Zischka, which overlooks the city, being guarded only by a few Croats, was instantly seized, without opposition, by some grenadiers, and the batteries, erected at the foot of that mountain, being ready on the fifth day, played with such success on the old town with bombs and red-hot balls that it was set on fire.
The King made every effort to take the city before Prince Charles could bring his army from the Rhine to its relief.
General Harsh thought proper to capitulate, after a siege of twelve days, during which not more than five hundred men of the garrison, at the utmost, were killed and wounded, though eighteen thousand men were made prisoners.
Thus far we had met with no impediment. The Imperial army, however, under the command of Prince Charles of Lorraine, having quitted the banks of the Rhine, was advancing to save Bohemia.
During this campaign we saw the enemy only at a distance; but the Austrian light troops being thrice as numerous as ours, prevented us from all foraging. Winter was approaching, dearth and hunger made Frederic determine to retreat, without the least hope from the countries in our rear, which we had entirely laid waste as we had advanced. The severity of the season, in the month of November, rendered the soldiers excessively impatient of their hardships; and, accustomed to conquer, the Prussians were ashamed of and repined at retreat: the enemy's light troops facilitated desertion, and we lost, in a few weeks, above thirty thousand men. The pandours of my kinsman, the Austrian Trenck, were incessantly at our heels, gave us frequent alarms, did us great injury, and, by their alertness, we never could make any impression upon them with our cannon. Trenck at length passed the Elbe, and went and burnt and destroyed our magazines at Pardubitz: it was therefore resolved wholly to evacuate Bohemia.
The King hoped to have brought Prince Charles to the battle between Benneschan and Kannupitz, but in vain: the Saxons, during the night, had entered a battery of three-and-twenty cannon on a mound which separated two ponds: this was the precise road by which the King meant to make the attack.
Thus were we obliged to abandon Bohemia. The dearth, both for man and horse, began to grow extreme. The weather was bad; the roads and ruts were deep; marches were continual, and alarms and attacks from the enemy's light troops became incessant. The discontent all these inspired was universal, and this occasioned the great loss of the army.
Under such circumstances, had Prince Charles continued to harass us, by persuading us into Silesia, had he made a winter campaign, instead of remaining indolently at ease in Bohemia, we certainly should not have vanquished him, the year following, at Strigau; but he only followed at a distance, as far as the Bohemian frontiers.
This gave Frederic time to recover, and the more effectually because the Austrians had the imprudence to permit the return of deserters.
This was a repetition of what had happened to Charles XII. when he suffered his Russian prisoners to return home, who afterwards so effectually punished his contempt of them at the battle of Pultawa.
Prague was obliged to be abandoned, with considerable loss; and Trenck seized on Tabor, Budweis, and Frauenberg, where he took prisoners the regiments of Walrabe Kreutz.
No one would have been better able to give a faithful history of this campaign than myself, had I room in this place, and had I at that time been more attentive to things of moment; since I not only performed the office of adjutant to the King, when he went to reconnoitre, or choose a place of encampment, but it was, moreover, my duty to provide forage for the headquarters. The King having only permitted me to take six volunteers from the body guard, to execute this latter duty, I was obliged to add to them horse chasseurs, and hussars, with whom I was continually in motion. Iwas peculiarly fortunate on two occasions, by happening to come after the enemy when they had left loaded waggons and forage bundles.
I seldom passed the night in my tent during this campaign, and my indefatigable activity obtained the favour and entire confidence of Frederic. Nothing so much contributed to inspire me with emulation as the public praises I received, and my enthusiasm wished to perform wonders. The campaign, however, but ill supplied me with opportunities to display my youthful ardour.
At length no one durst leave the camp, notwithstanding the extremity of the dearth, because of the innumerable clouds of pandours and hussars that hovered everywhere around.
No sooner were we arrived in Silesia, than the King's body guard were sent to Berlin, there to remain in winter quarters.
