deceptive measures of frederick.—plans for the invasion of silesia.—avowed reasons for the invasion.—the ball in berlin.—the march of the army.—hardships and successes.—letter to voltaire.—capture of glogau.—capture of brieg.—bombardment of neisse.
with the utmost secrecy frederick matured his plans. it could not be concealed that he was about to embark in some important military enterprise. the embassadors from other courts exerted all their ingenuity, but in vain, to ascertain in what direction the army was to march. though the french had an embassador at berlin, still it would seem that voltaire was sent as a spy, under the guise of friendship, to attempt to ferret out the designs of the king. these men, who did not profess any regard to the principles of religion, seem also to have trampled219 under feet all the instincts of honor. voltaire endeavored to conceal his treachery beneath smiles and flattery, writing even love verses to the king. the king kept his own secret. voltaire was not a little chagrined by his want of success. in his billet of leave he wrote:
“non, malgré vos vertus, non malgré vos appas, mon ame n’est point satisfaite: non, vous n’êtes qu’une coquette, qui subjuguez les c?urs, et ne vous donnez pas.”39
frederick, while equally complimentary, while lavishing gifts and smiles upon his guest, to whom he had written that as there “could be but one god, so there could be but one voltaire,” wrote from ruppin to m. jordan, on the 28th of november, just before voltaire took his leave.
“thy miser” (voltaire) “shall drink to the lees of his insatiable desire to enrich himself. he shall have the three thousand thalers [$2250]. he was with me six days. that will be at the rate of five hundred thalers [$375] a day. that is paying dearly for a fool. never had court fool such wages before.”
the austrian envoy expressed to his court a suspicion that silesia might be threatened. the reply which came back was that the austrian court would not, and could not, believe that a prince who was under such obligations to the father of maria theresa, and who had made such loud professions of integrity and philanthropy, could be guilty of such an outrage.
frederick did what he could to divert the attention of the court at reinsberg by multiplying gayeties of every kind. there was feasting, and music, and dancing, and theatric exhibitions, often continuing until four o’clock in the morning. in the mean time couriers were coming and going. troops were moving. provisions and the materiel of war were accumulating. anxious embassadors watched every movement of the king’s hand, weighed every word which escaped his lips, and tried every adroit measure to elicit from him his secret. the danish minister, pr?torius, wrote to his court from berlin:
220 “from all persons who return from reinsberg the unanimous report is that the king works the whole day through with an assiduity which is unique, and then, in the evening, gives himself to the pleasures of society with a vivacity of mirth and sprightly humor, which makes those evening parties charming.”
the marquis of botta, the austrian envoy, endeavoring to penetrate the plans of frederick, descanted upon the horrible condition of the roads in silesia, which province he had traversed in coming to berlin. the king listened with a quiet smile, and then, with much apparent indifference, replied,
“the worst which can happen to those who wish to travel in silesia is to get spattered with the mud.”
the english envoy, sir guy dickens, being utterly baffled in all his endeavors to discover the enterprise upon which the king was about to embark, wrote to his court:
“nobody here, great or small, dares make any representation to this young prince against the measures he is pursuing, though all are sensible of the confusion which must follow. a prince who had the least regard to honor, truth, and justice, could not act the part he is going to do. but it is plain his only view is to deceive us all, and conceal for a while his ambitious and mischievous designs.”
dickens at length ventured to ask the king directly, “what shall i write to england?”
frederick angrily replied, “you can have no instructions to ask that question. and if you had, i have an answer ready for you. england has no right to inquire into my designs. your great sea armaments, did i ask you any question about them? no! i was, and am, silent on that head.”40
221 by the 10th of december, within a fortnight of the time that the king received the tidings of the death of the emperor, he had collected such a force on the frontiers of silesia that there could be no question that the invasion of that province was intended. as not the slightest preparation had been made on the part of austria to meet such an event, the king could with perfect ease overrun the province and seize all its fortresses. but austria was, in territory, resources, and military power, vastly stronger than prussia. it was therefore scarcely possible that frederick could hold the province, after he had seized it, unless he could encourage others to dispute the succession of maria theresa, and thus involve europe in a general war. frederick, having made all his arrangements for prompt and vigorous action, sent to maria theresa a message which could be regarded only as an insult:
“surrender to me peaceably,” was the substance of this demand, “the province of silesia, and i will be the ally of your majesty in maintaining your right to the throne, and in defending the integrity of all the rest of your realms. i will exert my influence to have the grand-duke francis41 chosen emperor of germany, and will also immediately pay one million of dollars into the austrian treasury.”
an embassador, count de gotter, was sent to vienna to present this demand to maria theresa. he was authorized, in case these terms were not accepted, to declare war. but in the mean time, before the count could possibly reach vienna, consequently before there was any declaration of war, or even any demand presented, frederick, at the head of his troops, had entered silesia, and was seizing its defenseless fortresses.42
as the king was about to embark upon this enterprise, it was proposed to place upon the banners the words “for god and our country.” but frederick struck out the words “for god,” saying that it was improper to introduce the name of the deity into the quarrels of men, and that he was embarking in war to gain a province, not for religion.43 in a brief speech to his soldiers he said,
“gentlemen, i do not look upon you as my subjects, but as my friends. the troops of brandenburg have always signalized222 themselves by their courage, and given, on different occasions, the fullest evidences of their bravery. i shall be an eye-witness to all your exploits. you will always fight in my presence. i will recompense those who shall distinguish themselves for their zeal in my service rather as a father than as a sovereign.”
in reference to this campaign the king subsequently wrote: “at the death of the emperor there were but two austrian regiments in silesia. being determined to assert my right to that duchy, i was obliged to make war during the winter, that i might make the banks of the neisse the scene of action. had i waited till the spring, what we gained by one single march would certainly have cost us three or four difficult campaigns.”44
to the summons which frederick sent to maria theresa, demanding the surrender of silesia, no response could be returned, consistent with the dignity of the crown, but a peremptory refusal. the reply was unanswerable in its logic. though it was, in general, couched in courteous terms, one sentence crept into it of rather scornful defiance.
“it seems strange,” said the austrian minister of war, “that his prussian majesty, whose official post in germany, as chamberlain of the emperor, is to present the basin and towel to the house of austria, should now presume to prescribe rules to it.”
on tuesday night, the 12th of december, 1740, there was a very splendid masked ball in berlin. the king and queen were both present. the mind of the king was evidently preoccupied, though he endeavored to assume an air of gayety. privately quitting the ball at a late hour, he set out, early in the morning, to place himself at the head of forty thousand troops whom he had assembled near the silesian frontier. a small escort only accompanied him. it was a cold winter’s day. driving rapidly, they reached frankfort that night, sixty miles distant. in the dawn of the next day the king was again upon the road, and, after a drive of forty miles, reached crossen, a border town, where he established his head-quarters.
two silesian barons called upon him, and presented a protest from the authorities they represented against his meditated invasion, the design of which was now manifest to all. the king received them very courteously, tossed the protest to a secretary223 to file away or to cast into the waste-paper basket, and invited the two gentlemen to dine with him.
the next day the prussian army, in two divisions, occupying a space about ten miles long and ten broad in the lines of march, crossed the frontiers, and entered the silesian territory.45 frederick issued a proclamation declaring that he had come as a friend; that no one would be molested in person, property, or religious privileges; and that every thing used by the army would be amply paid for.
in very rapid march, the troops advanced through grünberg toward glogau, about forty miles in the interior. here there was a fortified town, which was considered the key of northern silesia. it was but feebly garrisoned, and was entirely unprepared for resistance. by great exertions, the austrian governor of the province, count wallis, and his second in command, general browne, succeeded in placing behind the works a little garrison of one thousand men. the whole population was summoned to work upon the ramparts. count wallis remained in glogau. general browne took command of the troops and garrisons abroad. but there was a division of sentiment within the walls. quite a large portion of the population was protestant, and would be glad to come under the protection of protestant prussia. the catholics were zealous for the continued reign of austria.
the prussian troops, meeting with no opposition, spread over the country, and a strong division reached weichau on saturday, the 17th. there they spent sunday in rest. frederick was anxious to win to his cause the protestant population. he consequently favored their religious institutions, and ordered that protestant worship should be held in the villages which he occupied, and where there was no protestant church edifice, one part of the day in the catholic churches. this plan he continued through the campaign, much to the gratification of the chaplains of his regiments and the protestant community in silesia. though the austrian government had not been particularly oppressive to the protestants, still it leaned decidedly against what224 it deemed heresy. the jesuits, favored by the governmental officials, were unwearied in their endeavors to promote the interests of their church. frederick, by allowing the impression to be spread abroad that he was the champion of protestantism, was enabled to secure the sympathies of quite a strong party in silesia in his favor. it is said that two thirds of the inhabitants of silesia were protestants, and therefore favorable to frederick.
the march into silesia.
in the suburbs of glogau there was a protestant church which count wallis deemed it a military necessity to order to be burned down, lest it should protect the prussians in their attack. “the prussians,” said wallis, “will make a block-house of it.” the protestants pleaded earnestly for a brief respite, and sent a delegation to frederick to intercede for the safety of their church. the king very courteously, and with shrewd policy, replied,
“you are the first who have asked any favor of me on silesian ground. your request shall be granted.”
immediately he sent a polite note to count wallis, assuring him that the attack, if attack were necessary, should be made on the other side of the city, so that no military advantage could be taken of the church. this popular act resounded widely not225 only through the protestant community of silesia, but throughout europe.
monday morning, december 19th, the army was again on the move, now spread out into a length of nearly fifteen miles, and even more than that in breadth. concentration was unnecessary, as there was no foe to be encountered. the occupation of this wide area enabled frederick to take advantage of good roads, and also to obtain abundance of supplies. their advance led them in a southerly direction, up the western banks of the oder, which stream here runs nearly north.
it seems to be ever the doom of an army to encounter mud and rain. it was cold, gloomy, december weather. the troops were drenched and chilled by the floods continually falling from the clouds. the advance of the army was over a flat country where the water stood in pools. all day long, monday and tuesday, the rain continued to fall without intermission. but the prussian army, under its impetuous leader, paid no regard to the antagonistic elements.
“waters all out, bridges down,” writes carlyle; “the country one wide lake of eddying mud; up to the knee for many miles together; up to the middle for long spaces; sometimes even to the chin or deeper, where your bridge was washed away. the prussians marched through it as if they had been slate or iron. rank and file—nobody quitted his rank, nobody looked sour in the face—they took the pouring of the skies and the red seas of terrestrial liquid as matters that must be; cheered one another with jocosities, with choral snatches, and swashed unweariedly forward. ten hours some of them were out, their march being twenty or twenty-five miles.”
they reached milkau tuesday night, the 20th. here they were allowed one day of rest, and frederick gave each soldier a gratuity of about fifteen cents. on thursday the march was resumed, and the advance-guard of the army was rapidly gathered around glogau, behind whose walls count wallis had posted his intrepid little garrison of a thousand men. here frederick encountered his first opposition. the works were found too strong to be carried by immediate assault, and frederick had not yet brought forward his siege cannon. the following extracts from the correspondence which frederick carried on at226 this time develop the state of public sentiment, and the views and character of the king. his friend jordan, who had been left in berlin, wrote to him as follows, under date of december 14, 1740, the day after the king left to place himself at the head of his army:
“every body here is on tiptoe for the event, of which both origin and end are a riddle to most. those who, in the style of theologians, consider themselves entitled to be certain, maintain that your majesty is expected with religious impatience by the protestants; and that the catholics hope to see themselves delivered from a multitude of imposts, which cruelly tear up the beautiful bosom of their church. you can not but succeed in your valiant and stoical enterprise, since both religion and worldly interest rank themselves under your flag. wallis, they say, has punished a silesian heretic, of enthusiastic turn, as blasphemer, for announcing that a new messiah is just coming. i have a taste for that kind of martyrdom. critical persons consider the present step as directly opposed to certain maxims in the anti-machiavel.”
again m. jordan wrote, a week later, on the 20th of december:
“the day before yesterday, in all churches, was prayer to heaven for success to your majesty’s arms, interest of the protestant religion being one cause of the war, or the only one assigned by the reverend gentleman. at the sound of these words the zeal of the people kindles. ‘bless god for raising such a defender! who dared suspect our king’s indifference to protestantism?’”
on the 19th of december the king wrote, from the vicinity of glogau, to m. jordan. perhaps he would not so frankly have revealed his ambition and his want of principle had he supposed that the private letter would be exposed to the perusal of the whole civilized world.
“seigneur jordan,” the king writes, “thy letter has given me a great deal of pleasure in regard to all these talkings thou reportest. to-morrow i arrive at our last station this side of glogau, which place i hope to get in a few days. all things favor my designs; and i hope to return to berlin, after executing them, gloriously, and in a way to be content with. let the ignorant227 and the envious talk. it is not they who shall ever serve as load-star to my designs; not they, but glory. with the love of that i am penetrated more than ever. my troops have their hearts big with it, and i answer to thee for success. adieu! dear jordan. write me all the ill the public says of thy friend, and be persuaded that i love and will esteem thee always.”
to voltaire the king wrote, in a very similar strain, four days later, on the 23d of december:
“my dear voltaire,—i have received two of your letters, but could not answer sooner. i am like charles twelfth’s chess king, who was always on the move. for a fortnight past we have been kept continually afoot and under way in such weather as you never saw.
“i am too tired to reply to your delightful verses, and shivering too much with cold to taste all the charm of them. but that will come round again. do not ask poetry from a man who is actually doing the work of a wagoner, and sometimes even of a wagoner stuck in the mud. would you like to know my way of life? we march from seven in the morning till four in the afternoon. i dine then; afterward i work—i receive tiresome visits; with these comes a detail of insipid matters of business. ’tis wrong-headed men, punctiliously difficult, who are to be set right; heads too hot which must be restrained, idle fellows that must be urged, impatient men that must be rendered docile, plunderers to be restrained within the bounds of equity, babblers to hear babbling, dumb people to keep in talk; in fine, one has to drink with those that like it, to eat with those who are hungry; one has to become a jew with jews, a pagan with pagans. such are my occupations, which i would willingly make over to another if the phantom they call glory did not rise on me too often. in truth, it is a great folly, but a folly difficult to cast away when once you are smitten by it.
“adieu, my dear voltaire! may heaven preserve from misfortune the man i should so like to sup with at night after fighting in the morning. do not forget the absent who love you.
“frederick.”
as we have mentioned, the army advanced mainly in two columns.228 while the left was briefly delayed at glogau, the right, under the command of general schwerin, was pushed rapidly forward a few leagues, to liegnitz. they reached the city, unexpectedly to its inhabitants, just at the dawn of a drear, chill winter’s morning, the rain having changed to freezing cold. it was wednesday, december 28. the prussian grenadiers stole softly upon the slumbering sentinels, seized them, and locked them in the guard-house. then the whole column marched into the heart of the city silently, without music, but with a tramp which aroused all the sleepers in the streets through which they passed—many of whom, in their night-caps, peered curiously out of their chamber windows. having reached the central square, or market-place, the forces were concentrated, and the drums and bugles pealed forth notes of triumph. the prussian flag rose promptly from rampart and tower. liegnitz was essentially a protestant town. the inhabitants, who had received but few favors from the catholic austrian government, welcomed their invaders with cautious demonstrations of joy.
frederick, having completed the investment of glogau, cutting off all its supplies, left a sufficient detachment there to starve the city into submission. there were about seven thousand inhabitants within the walls—“a much-enduring, frugal, pious, and very desirable people.” as it was probable that the feeble garrison, after a brief show of resistance, would surrender, frederick hastened in person, with all his remaining available troops, toward breslau, the capital of silesia. on the 27th he wrote to m. jordan:
“i march to-morrow for breslau, and shall be there in four days. you berliners have a spirit of prophecy which goes beyond me. in fine, i go my road; and you will shortly see silesia ranked in the list of our provinces. adieu! this is all i have time to tell you. religion and our brave soldiers will do the rest.”
with almost unprecedented rapidity frederick pressed his troops along, accomplishing “in three marches near upon seventy miles.” the course of the oder here is, in its general direction, northwest. the army marched along its southwestern banks. on saturday evening, the last day of the year, the advance-guard took possession of the southern and western suburbs of breslau.229 the city, of one hundred thousand inhabitants, was spread out over both banks of the stream. frederick established his headquarters at the palace of pilsnitz, about five miles from the city. there were many protestants in breslau, who rejoiced in the idea of exchanging a catholic for a protestant government. it is said that some of the sentinels on the walls would watch their opportunity and present arms to the prussian soldiers, and even at times exclaim, “welcome, dear sirs!”
before sunrise sunday morning the prussians had seized upon many important posts. about seven o’clock a flag of truce, or rather a trumpeter, approached one of the gates, demanding admittance to communicate to the chief magistrate of the city the intentions and requisitions of the prussian king. after some delay, two colonels were admitted. they demanded the entire surrender of the city, and that the authority of frederick, the king of prussia, should be recognized instead of that of maria theresa, queen of austria. all their local laws and customs were to be respected, and they were to be protected in all their rights and privileges. their own garrison should guard the city. no prussian soldier should enter the gates with other than side-arms. the king himself, in taking possession of the city, should be accompanied by a body-guard of but thirty men. the city council was assembled to consider this summons, and thirty hours were spent in anxious deliberation.
in the mean time frederick took positions which commanded the three gates on his, the southern, side of the river; constructed a bridge of boats; and sent four hundred men across the stream, and made preparations to force an entrance. at four o’clock in the afternoon of monday, not a gun having yet been fired, a messenger brought the intelligence that the town would be surrendered. at eight o’clock the next morning, tuesday, 3d of january, 1741, the city authorities came in their coaches, with much parade, to welcome their new sovereign. it was a bitter cold morning. the king had ridden away to reconnoitre the walls in their whole circuit. it was not until near noon that he was prepared to accompany the officials to the palace which was made ready for him. he then, on horseback, attended by his principal officers, and followed by an imposing retinue, in a grand entrance, proudly took possession of his easy conquest.230 he rode a very magnificent gray charger, and wore his usual cocked hat and a blue cloak, both of which were somewhat the worse for wear. four footmen, gorgeously dressed in scarlet, trimmed with silver lace, walked by the side of his horse. the streets through which he passed were thronged, and the windows and balconies were crowded with spectators of both sexes. though frederick did not meet with an enthusiastic reception, he was very gracious, bowing to the people on each side of the street, and saluting with much courtesy those who seemed to be people of note.
on the evening of the 5th his prussian majesty gave a grand ball. all the nobility, high and low, were invited. the provident king arranged that the expenses, which he was to defray, should not exceed half a guinea for each guest. early hours were fashionable in those days. frederick entered the assembly-rooms at six o’clock, and opened the ball with a silesian lady. he was very complaisant, and walked through the rooms with a smile upon his countenance, conversing freely with the most distinguished of his guests. about ten o’clock he silently withdrew, but the dancing and feasting continued until a late hour.
the king exerted all his powers of fascination to gain the affections of the people. though he dismissed all the austrian public functionaries, and supplied their places by his own friends, he continued to the catholics their ancient privileges, and paid marked attention to the bishop and his clergy. at the same time, he encouraged the protestants with the expectation that he would prove their especial friend. at the assemblies which he gave each evening that he was in the city, he lavished his smiles upon the ladies who were distinguished either for exalted rank or for beauty. but there is no evidence that, during this campaign, he wrote one line to his absent, neglected wife, or that he expended one thought upon her.
about thirty miles southeast of breslau is the pleasant little town of ohlau, situated in the delta formed by the junction of the ohlau river with the oder. it was a place of some strength, and the austrian authorities had thrown into it a garrison of three hundred men. frederick appeared before its gates on the morning of january the 9th. he immediately sent in the following summons to the garrison:
231 “if you make any resistance, you shall be treated as prisoners of war. if you make no resistance, and promise not to serve against us, you may march out of the city unmolested, with your arms.”
the surrender was made. fifteen miles nearly east from ohlau, on the southern banks of the oder, is the little town of brieg. frederick approached it with divisions of his army on both sides of the river. the country was flat and densely wooded. on the southern side, where frederick marched with the major part of his troops, it was traversed by an admirably paved road. this was constructed one hundred and fifty-six years before by one of the dukes of that realm. it was a broad highway, paved with massive flat stones, climbing the mountains, threading the valleys, traversing the plains—a road such as those which the romans constructed, and over which the legions of the c?sars tramped in their tireless conquests. this duke, in consequence of his religious character, was called “george the pious.” his devotional spirit may be inferred from the following inscription, in latin, which he had engraved on a very massive monument, constructed in commemoration of the achievement:
“others have made roads for us. we make them for posterity. but christ has opened for us all a road to heaven.”46
on the 11th, brieg was summoned to surrender. the prompt and resolute response was “no.” the place was found unexpectedly strong, and a gallant little garrison of sixteen hundred men had been assembled behind its walls. frederick was much annoyed by the delay thus occasioned. he promptly invested the city so as to cut off all supplies, and dispatched an order to glogau to have the field artillery sent, as speedily as possible, up the oder to brieg.
two days before frederick reached brieg, a column of his army, under general schwerin, which had advanced by a line parallel to the oder, but several miles to the west, encountering no opposition, reached ottmachau, a considerable town with a strong castle on the river neisse. this was near the extreme southern border of silesia. the austrian commander, general browne, had placed here also a garrison of sixteen hundred men,232 with orders not to yield upon any terms, for that re-enforcements should be speedily sent to them. a slight conflict ensued. twelve of the prussians were killed. this was the first blood which was shed. a delay of three days took place, when four cannon were brought up, and the gates, both of the town and of the castle, were blown open. the garrison offered to withdraw upon the terms proposed in the summons to surrender. the king was sent for to obtain his decision. he rebuked the garrison sternly, and held all as prisoners of war. the officers were sent to cüstrin, the common soldiers to berlin.
preparations were now made for the capture of neisse. this was an opulent, attractive, well-fortified town of about seven thousand inhabitants. it then occupied only the left or north bank of the stream, which runs from the west to the east. the region around, being highly cultivated, presented a beautiful aspect of rich meadows, orchards, and vineyards. it was the chief fortress of southern silesia, and, being very near the frontier of austria proper, was a position of great importance. frederick, having encountered so little opposition thus far, was highly elated, expecting that neisse would also immediately fall into his hands. from ottmachau he wrote, on the 14th of january, to m. jordan as follows:
“my dear monsieur jordan, my sweet monsieur jordan, my quiet monsieur jordan, my good, my benign, my pacific, my most humane monsieur jordan,—i announce to thy serenity the conquest of silesia. i warn thee of the bombardment of neisse, and i prepare thee for still more projects, and instruct thee of the happiest successes that the womb of fortune ever bore.”47
three days after, on the 17th, the king wrote again to m. jordan:
“i have the honor to inform your humanity that we are christianly preparing to bombard neisse; and that, if the place will not surrender of good-will, needs must that it be beaten to powder. for the rest, our affairs go the best in the world; and soon233 thou wilt hear nothing more of us, for in ten days it will all be over, and i shall have the pleasure of seeing you and hearing you in about a fortnight.
“i have seen neither my brother48 nor keyserling.49 i left them at breslau, not to expose them to the dangers of war. they perhaps will be a little angry, but what can i do? the rather as, on this occasion, one can not share in the glory unless one is a mortar!
“adieu; go and amuse yourself with horace, study pausanias, and be gay over anacreon. as to me, who for amusement have nothing but merlons, fascines, and gabions, i pray god to grant me soon a pleasanter and peacefuler occupation, and you health, satisfaction, and whatever your heart desires.”
a letter of the same date as the above, addressed to count algarotti,50 contains the following expressions:
“i have begun to settle the figure of prussia. the outline will be altogether regular; for the whole of silesia is taken in except one miserable hamlet, which perhaps i shall have to keep blockaded until next spring. up to this time the whole conquest has cost me only twenty men and two officers.
“you are greatly wanting to me here. in all these three hundred miles i have found no human creature comparable to the swan of padua. i would willingly give ten cubic leagues of ground for a genius similar to yours. but i perceive i was about entreating you to return fast, and join me again, while you are not yet arrived where your errand was. make haste to arrive then, to execute your commission, and fly back to me. i wish you had a fortunatus hat; it is the only thing defective in your outfit.
234 “adieu, dear swan of padua. think, i pray, sometimes of those who are getting themselves cut in slices for the sake of glory here; and, above all, do not forget your friends who think a thousand times of you.”
the river neisse is quite narrow. in preparation for the bombardment, frederick planted his batteries on the south side of the stream, and also approached the city from the north. it will be remembered that frederick had an army in silesia at his command of about forty thousand men, abundantly provided with all the munitions of war. the little austrian garrison hurriedly thrown into neisse consisted of but sixteen hundred men, but poorly prepared either for battle or for siege. the austrian commandant, general roth, determined upon a heroic resistance. to deprive the assailants of shelter, the torch was applied to all the beautiful suburbs. in a few hours the cruel flames destroyed the labor of ages. many once happy families were impoverished and rendered homeless. ashes, blackened walls, and smouldering ruins took the place of gardens, villas, and comfortable homes.
on sunday morning, january 15th, the deadly, concentric fire of shot and shell was opened upon the crowded city, where women and children, torn by war’s merciless missiles, ran to and fro frantic with terror. the dreadful storm continued to rage, with but few intermissions, until wednesday. still there were no signs of surrender. the king, though his head-quarters were a few miles distant, at ottmachau, was almost constantly on the ground superintending every thing. as he felt sure of the entire conquest of silesia, the whole province being now in his possession except three small towns, he looked anxiously upon the destruction which his own balls and bombs were effecting. he was destroying his own property.
on wednesday morning general borck was sent toward the gates of the city, accompanied by a trumpeter, who, with bugle blasts, was to summon general roth to a parley. general borck was instructed to inform the austrian commander that if he surrendered immediately he should be treated with great leniency, but that if he persisted in his defense the most terrible severity should be his doom. to the people of neisse it was a matter of but very little moment whether they were under austrian or235 prussian domination. they would gladly accede to any terms which would deliver them from the dreadful bombardment. general roth, therefore, would not allow what we should call the flag of truce to approach the gates. he opened fire upon general borck so as not to wound him, but as a warning that he must approach no nearer. the king was greatly angered by this result.
attack upon neisse.
in burning the suburbs, one of the mansions of the bishop, a few miles from neisse, had escaped the general conflagration. the prussians had taken possession of this large and commodious structure, with its ample supply of winter fuel. general roth employed a resolute butcher, who, under the pretense of supplying the prussians with beef, visited the bishop’s mansion, and secretly applied the torch. it was a cold winter’s night. the high wind fanned the flames. scarcely an hour passed ere the whole structure, with all its supplies, was in ashes. the prussian officers who had found a warm home were driven into the icy fields.
these two events so exasperated his prussian majesty that the next morning, at an early hour, he reopened upon the doomed236 city with renewed vigor his fire of bombshells and red-hot shot. fire companies were organized throughout the city, to rush with their engines wherever the glowing balls descended, and thus the flames which frequently burst out were soon extinguished. all day thursday, thursday night, friday, and until nine in the morning of saturday, the tempest of battle, with occasional lulls, hurled its bolts and uttered its thunders. there was then a short rest until four o’clock on sunday afternoon, when the batteries again opened their action more vigorously than ever, nine bombs being often in the air at the same time.
frederick, not willing utterly to destroy the city, which he wished to preserve for himself, and perhaps, though no word of his indicates it, influenced by some sympathy for the seven thousand unoffending inhabitants of the place, men, women, and children, very many of whom were protestants, who were suffering far more from the missiles of war than the austrian garrison, arrested the fire of his batteries, and decided to convert the siege into a blockade. his own troops were suffering much in the bleak fields swept by the gales of winter. the whole of silesia was in his hands excepting the small towns of brieg, glogau, and neisse. these were so closely invested that neither food nor re-enforcements could be introduced to them. should they hold out until spring, frederick could easily then, aided by the warm weather, break open their gates.
he therefore spread his troops abroad in winter quarters, levying contributions upon the unhappy inhabitants of silesia for their support. the king, ever prompt in his movements, having on monday, the 23d of january, converted the siege into a blockade, on wednesday, the 25th, set out for home. visiting one or two important posts by the way, he reached berlin the latter part of the week. here he was received with great acclamations as a conquering hero. in six weeks he had overrun silesia, and had virtually annexed it to his own realms. whether austria would quietly submit to this robbery, and whether frederick would be able to retain his conquest, were questions yet to be decided.
