By way of accelerating Butturlin, Friedrich, next day, September 11th, despatched General Platen with some 8,000 (so I will guess them from Tempelhof's enumeration by battalions), to get round the flank of Butturlin, and burn his Magazines. Platen, a valiant skilful person, did this business, as he was apt to do, in a shining style; shot dexterously forward by the skirts of Butturlin;heard of a big WAGENBURG or Travelling Magazine of his, at Gostyn over the Polish Frontier; in fact, his travelling bread-basket, arranged as "Wagon-fortress" in and round some Convent there, with trenches, brick walls, cannon and defence considered strong enough for so important a necessary of the road. September 15th, Platen, before cock-crow, burst out suddenly on this Wagon-fortress, with its cannons, trenches, brick walls and defensive Russians;stormed into it with extraordinary fury: "Fixed bayonets," ordered he at the main point of their defence, "not a shot till they are tumbled out!"--tumbled them out accordingly, into flight and ruin;took of prisoners 1,845, seven cannon, and burnt the 5,000provender wagons, which was the soul of the adventure; and directly got upon the road again. [Tempelhof, v. 281-293; <italic>
Helden-Geschichte, <end italic> vi. 643-649.] Detachments of him then fell on Posen, on Posen and other small Russian repositories in those parts,--hay-magazines, biscuit-stores soldiers' uniforms;distributed or burnt the same;--completely destroying the travelling haversack or general road-bag of Butturlin; a Butturlin that will have to hasten forward or starve.
Which done, Platen (not waiting the King's new orders, but anticipating them, to the King's great contentment) marched instantly, with his best speed and skilfulest contrivance of routes and methods, not back to the King, but onward towards Colberg,--(which he knows, as readers shall anon, to be much in need of him at present);--and without injury, though begirt all the way by a hurricane of Cossacks and light people doing their utmost upon him, arrived there September 25th; victoriously cutting in across the Besieging Party: and will again be visible enough when we arrive there. Indignant Butturlin chased violently, eager to punish Platen; but could get no hold: found Platen was clear off, to Pommern,--on what errand Butturlin knew well, if not so well what to do in consequence. "Reinforce our poor Besiegers there, and again reinforce [to enormous amounts, 40,000 of them in the end];--get bread from them withal:--and, before long, flow bodily thitherward, for bread to ourselves and for their poor sake!"That, on the whole, was what Butturlin did.
Friedrich stayed at Bunzelwitz above a fortnight after Butturlin.
"Why did not Friedrich stay altogether, and wait here?" said some, triumphantly soon after. That was not well possible.
His Schweidnitz Magazine is worn low; not above a month's provision now left for so many of us. The rate of sickness, too, gets heavier and heavier in this Bunzelwitz Circuit. In fine, it is greatly desirable that Loudon, who has nothing but Bohemia for outlook, should be got to start thither as soon as possible, and be quickened homeward. September 25th-26th, Friedrich will be under way again.
And, in the mean while, may not we employ this fortnight of quiescence in noting certain other things of interest to him and us which have occurred, or are occurring, in other parts of the Field of War? Of Henri in Saxony we undertook to say nothing; and indeed hitherto,--big Daun with his Lacys and Reichsfolk, lying so quiescent, tethered by considerations (Daun continually detaching, watching, for support of his Loudon and Russians and their thrice-important operation, which has just had such a finish),--there could almost nothing be said. Nothing hitherto, or even henceforth, as it proves, except mutual vigilances, multifarious bickerings, manoeuvrings, affairs of posts: sharp bits of cutting (Seidlitz, Green Kleist and other sharp people there); which must not detain us in such speed. But there are two points, the Britannic-French Campaign, and the Third Siege of Colberg; which in no rate of speed could be quite omitted.
OF FERDINAND'S BATTLE OF VELLINGHAUSEN (15th-16th July);AND THE CAMPAIGN 1761.
Vellinghausen is a poor little moory Hamlet in Paderborn Country, near the south or left bank of the Lippe River; lies to the north of Soest,--some 15 miles to your left-hand there, as you go by rail from Aachen to Paderborn;--but nobody now has ever heard of it at Soest or elsewhere, famous as it once became a hundred years ago.
Ferdinand had taken a singular position there, in the early days of July, 1761. Here is brief Notice of that Affair, and of some results, or adjuncts, still more important, which it had:--"This Year, Ferdinand's Campaign is more difficult than ever;Choiseul having made a quite spasmodic effort towards Hanover, while negotiating for Peace. Two Armies, counting together 160,000men, in great completeness of equipment, Choiseul has got on foot, against Ferdinand's of 95,000. Had a fine dashing plan, too;--devised by himself (something of a Soldier he too, and full of what the mess-rooms call 'dash');--not so bad a Plan of the dashing kind, say judges. But it was marred sadly in one point:
That Broglio, on issuing from his Hessian Winter-quarters, is not to be sole General; that Soubise, from the Lower-Rhine Country, is to be Co-General;--such the inexorable will of Pompadour.
This clause of the business Ferdinand, at an early stage, appears to have guessed or discerned might, for him, be the saving clause.
