Battle of Königgrätz

“ The battle lasted from 8 A. M to 4 P. M., and resulted in the rout of the Austrians, who lost 21,000 men and 22,000 prisoners. The Prussian loss was 9,000 men. This battle, which is often called Königgratz from a town eight miles distant, decided the Austro-German or Seven Weeks' War of 1866. ”

“ They drew the infantry out of the battle and formed their cavalry in such a manner that it would be available either in pursuing the Austrians in case of victory or for retarding the pursuit in the event of defeat. General von Rhetz, the chief of the staff, went away with an escort to look for the Second Army. He returned very soon, bringing the joyous intelligence that the Second Army was forming for an attack on Lipa, and that the Austrian artillery on the right had been firing against the Crown Prince's advance. ”

“ The knights grew impatient, but at a sudden signal from Conrad the entire band swept down the slope like the whirlwind. The front ranks of the enemy were shattered and gave way. Steeds and their riders were piled in heaps. Nothing could withstand the Germans. They dashed into the thickest of the fight, unmindful of dead or dying, and exchanging their lances for the terrible battle-axe, they rained blows upon the Turks, death following every stroke. It was a terrible harvest of death in that small area. The Turks were appalled by the sudden attack. ”

“ The Austrian artillery performed such effective work in this position that it seemed, a little after mid-day, as though the Prussians would be unable to advance any farther. They were obliged to fight very hard to retain the position they had gained. At one time most of their guns had been dismounted by the Austrian artillery fire, and where the ground was thickly wooded the needle-gun could not be used to advantage, so that the infantry fight was about even. Prince Frederick Charles ordered forward the 5th and 6th divisions which had been held in reserve. ”

“ Prince Frederick Charles led his own regiment across the Sadowa bridge and along the road, and was followed closely by all his light cavalry. As he reached the top of the slope the retreating squadrons and battalions of the Austrians were within range of the Prussian artillery and crossed a depression lying between Lipa and Streselitz, a village about two miles farther southward. On the crest of the Lipa Hill the Prussian artillery halted and fired with great rapidity at the dense masses of fugitives. ”

“ As soon as the cannonading became furious, the guns of the Prussian 7th division opened upon the village of Benatek, which formed the Austrian right. For some time an artillery duel took place at this point, shot being given for shot, and neither side advancing or retreating. The same was the state of affairs in the centre; each side pushed many batteries into position and kept up a severe cannonading. The artillery fire was as even as it was possible to make it. ”

“ It is a region which it is very much easier to defend than to attack. The greater part of it is covered with marshes, lakes and forests, most difficult country for an army to traverse. The means of communication are poor, the roads—a most important consideration in connection with the movement of the heavy artillery necessary for a successful invasion—are in many instances little better than tracks. Moreover, it is strongly fortified. Königsberg is a first-class modern fortress, whilst those on the line of the Vistula at Thorn, Graudenz and Dantzig are even more powerful. ”

“ Three guns were smashed to pieces, and the gun carriages were burned. We halted for a few seconds to take breath. And all the time that whistling and banging of the shells continued. It is a wonder one is not driven mad."
Admiration cannot be withheld from General von Kluck for his splendid fight at the battle of Coulommiers. He was out-generaled, for one thing, because of his plan—or his orders—to strike a southeasterly blow; he was outmaneuvered by the presence of a vastly larger British force than he had any reason to expect, and he was outnumbered almost two to one. ”

“ When the bottom of the hill was reached, the trumpets sounded, the cavalry and horse artillery pushed toward the river Bistritz, and then the movement became fully apparent to the Austrians. Their guns opened quickly upon the advancing Prussians from a battery stationed in a field near the village of Dub, where the main highway crossed the Bistritz. ”

“ This, again, is not an example of the mistakes made by subordinate commanders in the field, but a settled matter of policy approved by the highest German military experts, and proved hopelessly wrong under the actual test of war. Attacks by massed guns and not by massed infantry have been the most powerful factors in winning the German successes. We saw in the appalling slaughter of the great battle of Ypres how little infantry, resolute and well handled, have to fear from the advance of men who simply come on in solid masses to be shot down. ”

“ On November 12, 1914, the Russians sustained a defeat near Czernowitz, capital of the Austrian province of Bukowina. The Austrians made an unexpected movement, crossing the Pruth, a few kilometers north of Czernowitz and suddenly attacking the Russian right wing. The Russians were completely surprised and after a short resistance decided to fall back upon their base, which seemed free. However, they were then taken under fire by Austrian artillery, which caused great losses among the Russian detachments. The battle field was strewn with corpses. ”

“ The knights halted for rest in vain, however, for the enemy, elated by their seeming victory, rushed forward and the Christians were forced back toward their camp. The brothers, unprepared for battle, were suddenly surrounded in the mêlée and were in imminent danger of capture. Their critical position appealed to the heroic soul of the old Barbarossa, and he determined to give battle anew. In thunder tones he shouted to his knights: “Comrades-in-arms, help to defend my protégés. Let me not be guilty of breaking faith with the dying!” ”

“ The number of guns appeared almost precisely the same, and shot seemed to be given for shot, although the fire was so rapid that the reports followed as quickly together as in file firing with musketry. Considerable havoc was created on both sides, officers and men fell very rapidly, and a great many horses were killed or disabled. The Prussians pushed forward their batteries as fast as they could be brought up from the rear, and after a time their fire was considerably stronger than that of the Austrians. ”

“ The Austrian infantry were in strong force at the approaches to the villages, and they poured a destructive fire upon the Prussians as they advanced. The latter were at great disadvantage, as the road was narrow and the Austrians were shielded by the villages and detached houses, so that they were able to inflict considerable damage on the Prussians while losing comparatively little themselves. The Prussian rifles were fired more rapidly than were those of the Austrians, but the latter were so shielded by the houses, trees, and smoke that the Prussians were rarely able to take accurate aim. ”

“ At last the Turks in overwhelming force directed 114 an attack upon the spot where the Emperor and the bravest of his knights were fighting, for they knew the battle must be decided there. Thousands of scymitars flashed about the heads of the little Christian band and glanced off from shields and mail. Hundreds fell victims to German steel, but fresh fighters took their places as if they sprang from the earth to avenge the slain. The slaughter was appalling, for at every blow of the Germans’ heavy two-edged swords, death followed. ”

“ And it is a military axiom that no matter how far an army may retreat and no matter how much territory may have been conquered, no battle is decisive until the enemy has been destroyed, either entirely or in large part. The Germans were to be reminded of this fact more than once on the Russian front.
Up till this time Boyadjieff, at the head of his Bulgarian army, was attacking the Serbians from two directions: along the Timok against Kniashevatz, Zaichar, and Negotin, and along the Nishava against Pirot. ”

“ They may also fire salvoes. Cambacères will make the proclamation.
No. 78.
June 16th.—Königsberg captured by Soult—"what was left to the King of Prussia is conquered."
To the Empress, at St. Cloud.
Friedland, June 16, 1807, 4 P.M.
My Dear,—Yesterday I despatched Moustache with the news of the battle of Friedland. Since then I have continued to pursue the enemy. Königsberg, which is a town of 80,000 souls, is in my power. I have found there many cannon, large stores, and, lastly, more than 160,000 muskets, which have come from England. ”

“ At the present time howitzers2 (B.L. rifled) are the principal siege weapons, while heavy direct-fire guns (see Ordnance passim) still retain a part of the work formerly assigned to the artillery of the attack. For an account of a siege with modern artillery see Macalik and Länger, Kampf um eine Festung, which describes an imaginary siege of Königgrätz. On the whole, it may be said that modern artillery has caused a revolution in methods of fortification and siegecraft, which is little less far-reaching than the original change from the trébuchet to the bombard. ”

“ The fighting among the villages continued for nearly an hour; then the Prussians having reinforced their columns, made a dash upon the Austrian infantry, whom they drove back, but not far, the Austrians simply retiring a short distance up the slope until they were in line with their own batteries. The wood above Sadowa was full of Austrian infantry, while the wood between Sadowa and Benatek was equally well held, and it seemed next to impossible for the Prussians to be able to break through the barrier before them. ”

“ There are more than ten million Allies now under arms against more than seven million Germans and Austrians. These numbers have not as yet all been brought face to face with one another on the line of battle, owing to modern methods of warfare; but under old-time methods with old-time arms, they would have been at once brought into collision in two enormous armies. In ancient times, less mobilization could be effected in a year than can now be effected in a month, but when the collision came, the issue of the war was decided on one great field. ”

“ The battle of Kunersdorf, fought on the 12th of August 1759, was the most disastrous to him in the course of the war. He had here to contend both with the Russians and the Austrians; and although at first he had some success, his army was in the end completely broken. “All is lost save the royal family,” he wrote to his minister Friesenstein; “the consequences of this battle will be worse than the battle itself. I shall not survive the ruin of the Fatherland. ”

“ A great deal of blind firing was done by the Austrians. They judged by the sound the positions of the attacking columns, and simply fired in the direction whence the sounds came. The cloud of smoke in the drizzly rain lay heavily on the ground, and for a considerable time it was impossible to see any thing through it, but, though slowly, the Prussians advanced steadily, losing men at every step, and in some places literally leaving the ground covered with their dead and wounded. ”

“ To engage the Koenigsberg with any prospect of success, five, six, or seven miles of one of the river branches would certainly have to be traversed. There was, it is true, a choice of three mouths by which these vessels might proceed. But it would be almost certain that the different mouths would be protected by artillery, machine guns, and rifles, and highly probable that one or all of them would be mined. The thick bush would make it impossible for the monitors to engage any hidden opponents with sufficient success to silence their fire. ”

“ The crew of the Königsberg had been active in fortifying their position during the time the cruiser had been sheltering in the river. They had established shore batteries with German thoroughness that commanded all the turnings of the river, and there were observation towers from which they could get the range of any vessel attacking. The British could not get a clear view of the enemy because of the dense jungle, but their aeroplanes were of great service in directing the action of the guns. There was never any doubt of what the ultimate fate of the Königsberg would be. ”

“ Prince Frederick Charles decided to attack the Austrians. He ordered an immediate advance of his own army beyond Horwitz, and wrote to the Crown Prince an urgent request to advance in the morning from Miletin and attack the Austrian right flank at the same time that the First Army attacked the Austrians in front. ”

“ On this day our troops carried by assault a very important Austrian position on the great crest of the Beskid Mountains." The Russian captures for the day amounted to 100 officers, 5,600 men, and a number of machine guns. Advancing from Jasliska the Russians seriously threatened the Austro-German position in the Laborcza Valley, to which strong reenforcements were sent on March 25. With terrific violence the battle raged till far into the night of the 27th, the Russians forcing their way to within seven miles of the Hungarian frontier. ”

“ The Russian offensive was shifted September 21 from the Lemberg sector to the east of Kovel and a few days after a fresh offensive began along the entire eastern front, heavy fighting being reported west of Lutsk and in the Carpathians. Turkish troops at this time appeared on the Riga front, with German equipment and led by German and Austrian officers. The great 300-mile battle continued unabated to the end of October, with fighting all along the line from the Pinsk marshes on the north to the Roumanian frontier on the south. ”