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ROM 'the time that the king of Pruffia found himself compelled to raife the fiege of Drefden, it was evident that he could have no hope of acting in Saxony to any good purpofe. The bufy part of the campaign came on faft. Tho' prince Henry had obliged Laudohn to retire from Breslau, that general, able and lately victorious, was ftill formidable; he kept Neiffe and Schweidnitz blocked up; and waited to effect a junction with the Ruflians, by which he propofed to give the final blow to the king's power in Silefia. The Ruffians had now actually arrived in the frontier parts of that province, and wanted but a very few days eafy march to complete that fatal and long-dreaded junction. At the fame time another body of Ruffians had penetrated into Pomerania; laid all the defencelefs parts under contribution, and threatened the ficge of Colberg. The Swedish army, faid to confift of 22,000 men, commenced alfo, tho' with lefs vigour, their operations. In all that country the king of Pruffia had not 5000 men to oppofe them.

In thefe circumftances a plan of mere defence would have proved altogether without effect. The king of Pruffia had but two armies; and it was neceffary that one of them, at least, thould make the moft

rapid and fudden movements to oppofe fo many combinations. On the fide of Silefia the danger feemed most preffing, and accordingly he marched to its relief; advanced near two hun-30th July. dred miles, and left marfhal Daun, who had confiderably the start, far behind him. This march would have been thought an astonishing exploit in a partizan at the head of a fmall and difencumbered corps; but that a numerous army, clogged with its artillery, with above two thoufand waggons, fhould in that time traverfe fuch a space, fhould pafs the Elbe, the Spree, the Neiffe, the Quefs, and the Bober, five confiderable rivers; that they should effect all this, with one army of the enemy on one fide of its flanks, another behind, and with a third in its front (the actual pofition of the Auftrians in Lufatia) was an action referved for, and only to be expected from the king of Pruffia. The attempt itself could have been juftified only by neceffity; and the neceflity was argent. The Ruffians approached, M. Daun followed, towards Silefia; and the king could hardly promife himself fuccefs but from a march of fuch rapidity as might enable him to try his fortune. with general Laudohn, before the triple junction he apprehended had made his enemies irrefiftible.

But notwithstanding the hopes conceived from this march, before the king could come to an action three bodies of Auftrians had joined, Laudohn's, Daun's, and Lacy's; and extending themselves along the Katfbach, a river which falls into the Oder, occupied all the ground from Parchwitz to Coffendau, a space of little less than thirty English miles. But in this extent, their pofts were every where ftrong, and their communications eafy. The king's camp was at Lignitz. It was in vain that for feveral days he attempted, by various devices, to detach one body of the enemy from the reft, or to turn their flanks, and attack them at disadvantage. The nature of the ground or the kill of the oppofite generals always difappointed him.

At length M. Daun took himself the offenfive party. The advantage of his fituation, and the fuperiority of his numbers, prevailed over his cautious nature to rifk an attack. It was therefore refolved, after the fituation of Lignitz had been well reconnoitred, all circumftances maturely weighed, and the defign communicated to the other generals, to attempt the king of Pruffia in his camp, with the united ftrength of the three armies, To enfure fuccefs beyond a doubt, it was determined that this attempt fhould be made by surprise, and therefore in the night. M. Daun remembered the bad guard which had been kept by the Pruffians; and the advantage, which in the year 1758 he derived from a nightattack at the battle of Hochkirchen. In confequence of this plan the whole army, as foon as it should begin to grow dark, was to march from their feveral, pofts to fuch figations as were marked out for

each corps; they were to ftrike their tents, but yet to keep up the fires in their camps, and to have the drums beat the tattoo as ufual.

Some time after marthal Daun had began to move, to his aftonishment the patroles he had fent out returned with the account, that they had met no out-poft. As food as day broke, and the army had advanced, their apprehenfions were confirmed. They were difappointed in their defign, there was no enemy in the camp; but when they caft their eyes from thence, they could perceive at a diftance the rifing of a thick smoke, which left them no room to doubt that their fortune was then on the point of decifion, by a part of their forces only, and that the king and baron Laudohn were on that moment hotly engaged: Daun could only look on and wait the event.

On the 13th of July the king was in his camp at Lignitz, when he received advice that the Ruffian army of 24,000 men, under count Czernichew, had thrown bridges over the Oder, at a place called Auras, and that they were to pass the river on that very day. He fufpected alfo, that the enemy had formed the defign of a general attack. Troops which have been a long time oppofed to each other, can reciprocally guefs at each other's defigns; the method ufed by the enemies generals grows familiar, and the leaft motion they make dif-` clofes their defigns.

This is the account the Pruffians gave of the means by, which they came to a knowledge of M. Daun's projects. The Auftrians attributed this difcovery, not to the Pruflian fagacity, but to intelligence givenby deferters.

What

Whatever the means were by which the king of Pruffia became fufpicious of this defign, it is certain, that he took the moft early, the most vigorous, and the most effective measures to defeat it. He was thoroughly fenfible of the danger he ran of being furrounded, if he continued in his poft at Lignitz. Out of that very defign which was calculated for his ruin, is genius drew a new means of fafety. He faw at a glance, that the plan which the enemy had formed to furround him, at the fame time necelarily divided their own armies. And this divifion was the great object he had purfued folong, and thro' fuch difcouraging difappointments. His only bufinefs was to prevent their reuniting in a general attack upon his quarters. There fore in the very evening calculated for the attempt on his camp, he quitted it with as much privacy as the enemy had proposed to attack it, marched and took an advantageous poft on the way through which Laudohn was to pafs.

And now the decifive hour approached, in which he was to put to the risk as great a ftake as had been played for fince the beginning of the war. No vulgar advantage would fuffice in his fitnàtion, and that very fituation in fome fort difabled him from attaining a great one. After four bloody campaigns, and the viciffitudes of a fuccefs in all its changes exhaufting, his old corps was nearly annihilated. Thote who fucceeded to their places had fcarcely feen the brilliant times of the king's fortune; and they inherited neither the fevere difcipline, nor the undaunted spirit of the first companions of his hopes; they were new to fervice, yet dispirited with defeats, The king himself gave

life to the whole, he alone was to rectify a thousand faults, and to sup-. ply a thoufand deficiencies.

The poft which he chofe was fuch, as, whilft it ftopped the progrefs of Laudohn in front, if Daun thould attempt his rear, would, from the nature of the ground, lay him under great difficulties. This rear he further ftrengthened with feveral batteries. As foon as his army was drawn up, he divided it, leaving his right on the ground, where it had been formed to obferve marfhal Daun, and to maintain that poft; whilft with his left he turned in order to fall upon the corps under Laudohn. No difpofitions could have been made with a more perfeet kill.

Mean time Laudohn was advancing faft to the fnare which had been laid for him. Already he had paffed the Kattbach, and was moving towards Lignitz, full of the hopes of no fall thare in the glory of giving the final blow to the king of Pruilia, and had advanced as far as the village of Piaffendorf, when, by three in the morning, the day-light began to dawn a thick fog that had covered all the adjoining grounds fuddenly cleared up, and, like the opening of a great fceue, difclofed at once the whole Pruflian army, regularly embattled, advantageously pofted, furnished with a dreadful and well-placed artillery.

He was now come

15th Aug.

full upon his enemy. It was impofiible to recede; the furprife he intended was turned upon himfelf. But this able general, though furprifed, was not difordered. The beft difpofitions were made that the time would adinit; a tharp and obftinate combat began," which continued, without giving way on either fide, until fix. The

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King of Pruffia exerted himself with incredible diligence to preferve an uniform ftrength in every part of his line, and hazarded his own life with a daring, which nothing but his fitution could excufe from temerity. His cloaths were fhot through in feveral places, his horfe was killed under him. But all these troubles and dangers were fully compenfated by the efforts of his troops, who maintained fo fteady a fire, and puthed the Auftrians with fo much ardour, that they at laft gave ground, and retreated with precipitation, though not without fome order, towards the Katfbach.

The king pnrfued them to this river, and no further. His advantage, as it was gained by the moft vigorous fteps, fo bounds were fet to the ardour of improving it with the-moft guarded caution. He feared, if he purfted his fuccefs too far, it might disjoin the part of the army engaged from that which he had 1 ft to obferve M. Daun; and perhaps give that general an opportunity of taking a fevere revenge on the right, for the fucccffes of the left. Notwithstanding this referve of the king, a referve, the want of which was formerly the only failing in his military character, but which his misfortunes had now perfectly taught him, notwithstanding, I fay, he did not push his good fortune against Baron Laudohn to the utmoit, the victory was complete, glorious, and adorned with all the trophies. By their own confeffion, the Auftrians loft upwards of 6000 men,killed,wounded, and prifoners. The Pruflians made it amount, and not without probability, to 10,000. Among the prifoners, were two generals, and 84 officers; 82 pieces of cannon, and 23 pair of colours

were taken. On the fide of the conquerors, five hundred were killed and 1200 wounded.

With regard to Silefia, the victory near Lignitz produced fome moit immediate, and moft ufeful effects. Although M. Daun, not difpirited with his late mifadventure, and only folicitous to repair his lofs, had detached a ftrong corps under prince Lowenftein and general Beck to ftrengthen the Ruffians and encourage them to advance, count Czernichew wasfo intimidated with the late defeat of the Auftrians, that he repaffed the Oder by the fame bridges on which he had lately croffed it.

Thus one great end of the king of Pruffia's march was obtained. He prevented the dreaded junction of thofe two powers. In the other port of his defign, he did not fo perfectly fucceed. M. Daun, fince the action of Piaffendorf, could indeed make no progress in Silefia; but on the other hand, the king was not able entirely to drive him out of that province. The Auftrians, even after their defeat far fuperior to the king, had been befides largely reinforced. The emprefs exerted all her power to reimove the ill effect this late check might have had on the reputation of her arms: at the fame time that the augmented her troops, the comforted and encouraged baron Laudohn, and by a very generous and gracious letter let him fee, that the was not a fovereign, in whofe mind a late misfortune cancels the memory of paft fervices. In the praifes which this letter beftowed on Laudohn, feveral were of opinion, was couched an indirect cenfure on the conduct of count Daun, the flownets of whofe temper fo ill

agreed

agreed with the ardour of her ambition, and with thofe great hopes, which the number of her forces, and the strength of her alliance, had encouraged her to entertain.

The king after this victory joined his brother prince Henry at Newmarcke. One part of that prince's army under gen. Goltze, had paffed the Oder to ebierve the Ruffians, who, fince the repaffing that river, feemed to direct their motions northward. The king being firengthened by this junction, and having his communication with Breflau clear, marched against Daun, who had begun to form the blockade of Schweidnitz, fell upon a corps under general Beck, made two battalions of Croats prifoners, difperfed feveral fquadrons, and by this lively affair obliged the enemy's grand army to raise the blockade, and, by a precipitate retreat, to take refuge in the mountains of Landfhut.

While his majefty was thus exerting the most heroic efforts in defence of Silefia, gen. Hulfen, who commanded for him in Saxony, feconded his endeavours in that quarter with uncommon bravery and fuccefs. The army of the empire had formed a defign of cutting him off from Torgau. To fruftrate their intentions, that general quitted his camp at Meilen, and marched to Strebla. The enemy divided into two bodies; one attacked an advanced port about a cannon-fhot from his camp upon every fide, with the greateft fury, from day-break to fix in the morning, whilft an20 Aug. other corps was fo placed as to keep his camp in awe, and to prevent his attempting any thing for the relief of the advanced pott. Gen. Hulfen faw that unless he could fpecdily do fomething for its fuc

cour, that body muft inevitably perith. He therefore, in this exigency, gave orders to his cavalry to make a circuit round an height, and to charge if poffible the enemy's flank. This order was executed with the utmoft promptitude and spirit. The Imperialifts were charged on their flank; their battalions and horfe were thrown upon one another in confufion, and 41 officers and 1200 men were made prifoners. The lofs of the Pruflians was inconfiderable. General Hulfen, by this advantage, was enabled to encamp under Torgau, while he retreated through an apprehenfion, as the grand army of the Imperialists was coming up, that he might be cut off from his communication with the Elbe. This retreat made the Auftrians magnify the affair into a victory on their fide; but the circumftances render the Pruffian account much more probable.

Fortune feemed once more to have fmiled, after a long interval of gloom, on the king of Pruffia's affairs; and the reputation of his arms began to revive. But the victories he obtained, though glorious, were decifive of little more than the field upon which they were fought. They were far from having lowered the power of the enemy to an equality with his. And the movements he made to gain thofe advantages, and to protect one part of his dominions, neceffarily expofed the reft. The enemy was able to detach without end; and whilft bodies of Ruffians traverfed the Lower Silefia, several. corps of Auftrians fcoured Lufatia; and thus together they broke off all regular communication between the king's army and his hereditary dominions, and of courfe between him

and