1758

Frederick was concerned enough to inquire frequently as to Seydlitz's health. His worries were ended, however, when his cavalry general reported for duty in the spring of 1758.

Seydlitz's star was to shine anew in 1758 at the hard fought battle of Zorndorf. This time, Seydlitz's opponents were to be Russian. The Russian army, under the new general of the campaigning season, Count Villim Villimovich Fermor, had pushed its way through East Prussia and Poland to the Oder River. Here the army crossed via the right bank of the Warthe River and was menacing the important Prussian fortress town of Custrin. The only Prussian forces available, under General Dohna, were too weak to engage Fermor's green-clad host alone and were posted near the town of Gorgast from which position they watched and waited. Help was soon coming in the form of Frederick himself, marching from Landshut with sixteen battalions and twentyeight squadrons of cavalry. This army, numbering some 14,000 of Fritz's best troops, united with Dohna at Gorgast on the 21" of August. The combined army numbered around 32,000 men and 117 guns.

Deftly maneuvering, Frederick initially deceived the Russians into thinking that he meant to cross the Oder and defend Custrin. What he instead intended was to march around the Russians and attack them from the rear. Frederick posted his army behind the villages of Zorndorf and Quartschen with his left flank resting on a small stream known as the Mietzel and his right flank against the forest of Drewitz. Informed of Frederick's maneuver, Fermor had to change his front in order to meet the Prussian threat.

On the afternoon of August 24th, Frederick decided that he was going to attack the Russian right flank, which seemed to be more vulnerable and exposed, than the left flank that was the target of his original plan. He began a flanking march via the left around the whole enemy position on the following morning. Fermor was no fool; he had already shifted his positions in the night, so that what was intended as a flanking attack became more of a frontal assault as at Kolin. Fermor's troops were now pressed together in the form of an irregular square between the marshy Zabergrund and the town of Zicher with their front facing the town of Wilkersdorf.

August 25th, 1758

The Prussian troops advance out of the woods, through Wilkersdorf and into the plain. Nearly all of the cavalry is under Seydlitz on the left flank. When the action commences, Frederick orders Seydlitz to march two dragoon regiments and two cuirassier regiments against the Russian right flank. Reluctant to expose his cavalry needlessly to enemy fire, Seydlitz stays put. Frederick sends him two more orders in rapid succession. The last indicates that he will have to justify further disobedience with his head. Still Seydlitz does not budge. Instead he replies, "Tell the king that my head shall be at his service after the action, if only he will allow me to make use of it meantime in his interest." (Lawley, page 65.)

Seydlitz, in fact, has a better view of the lay of the land and the positions of the troops than Frederick has, and he is not about to waste his cavalry uselessly. With his cavalry on the left flank separated from the infantry by the marshy Zabergrund, he realizes that his troopers are unable directly to support the infantry advance. He is content to await the right moment to send them forth.

As the Prussian infantry surge forward, they deviate from their line of march. Instead of resting their left flank on the Zabergrund, they pull away and expose it to the fire of the Russians. Also, instead of advancing in two lines, the Prussians form one overextended line. This is able to push back the first Russian line, but then falters against the second one. The Russians, sensing their numerical superiority, attack with fourteen squadrons of cavalry, driving the Prussians back and taking twenty-six cannon.

Seydlitz sees the debacle unfolding before his very eyes. He decides to counterattack the advancing Russians. Having found three spots in the Zabergrund through which he can wend his way with his cavalry, (He is said to have had these passages marked with "whips of straw" placed by his officers and pioneers. See Greenly, page 30.) he forms them up on the other side and charges the enemy. At the head of his own regiment and accompanied by two hussar regiments, he falls upon the Russian cavalry as the Life Guards and the Gendarmes plow into the now disorganized Russian infantry. Having quickly defeated the Russian horse, he reorganizes his own squadrons and launches them against the Russian infantry. Another fifteen squadrons ordered to support the Prussian left also fall into the fray at Seydlitz's orders.

The Russians, hemmed in, are mowed down by the hundreds where they stand, selling their lives dearly and with great fortitude. The situation is soon stabilized. However, the main body of the Russians still remains in good order behind an area known as the Galgengrund, where they lay protected from the cavalry. Seydlitz chooses not to assault this position. Instead, he reforms his men behind Zorndorf and once again waits for the opportune moment to attack.

There is a brief lull as both armies regroup. Having observed the retreat of his left, Frederick decides to bring up his right flank and assault the Russian left. His artillery, however, having advanced too far in their zeal to bombard the Russians, is soon attacked and captured by the Russian cavalry. Then the latter swoop down on the Prussian infantry. Here they meet their match. These foot soldiers are Silesians and the cream of Fritz's army. Supported by the right flank cavalry, they drive back their opponents and recapture their own artillery. Then, as the entire Prussian army advances, a sanguinary ebb and flow ensues as each side brings up additional troops and commits them to battle. The Prussian infantry on the left flank, already manhandled earlier, are unable to follow the example of their Silesian brothers and begin to break and run. They ignore the desperate cries of their sovereign as Frederick himself strides forth, flag of the Below infantry regiment in hand, to try to rally them. His efforts fail.

It appears that the battle is lost for the Prussians, but then in dashes Seydlitz! (Here the author seems to have lost his objectivity. But then again, what a errand spectacle we are about to witness! )

Crying out, "My children, follow me!" (Lawley, page 68.) he leads sixty-one squadrons of lathered horseflesh and pumped-up humanity against the Russian host. Riding through the intervals between the Prussian foot, he hurls his troopers against the Russian cavalry, who, disordered by their own success, are driven into the marshes of Quartschen. Frederick advances once more against the Russian left, only to be greeted by stalemate as both sides collide. Neither line is inclined to yield an inch; they exchange volleys in a withering firefight.

Then on comes Seydlitz once more. Returned from chasing off the enemy horse, he throws his troopers into the fray. The tintinnabulation of musket balls careering off breastplates is heard as the cuirassiers, who form the spearhead of this final cavalry attack, charge home with cold steel. In a gruesome gavotte of foot and horse replete with all the heroism of which great tales are told, the Prussians at last gain the upper hand. By eight o'clock, the Russians have to fall back. The battle is won, barely.

The Russians had lost 18,000 men. The Prussian casualties amounted to 12,800, or a third of Frederick's force, After glaring at each other for a few days, the two armies parted ways, the Russians to Landsberg, where they were no longer a threat, and the Prussians back to Silesia and Saxony.

Frederick was unstinting in his praise of his gallant General. He later told his confidant and reader, Catt:

"That was a terrible day, and there was one moment when everything seemed to be going to the devil. All would have been lost, my friend, but for brave General Seydlitz and the courage of the right wing... " (Quoted in Duffy, Frederick the Great, page 171. )

Joining his army with that of his brother, Prince Henry, at Dresden, Frederick moved toward the Austrian army under Marshal Daun, hoping to drive them back into Bohemia. Daun, despite his numerical superiority, was a cautious general. Thus he fell back and assumed a strong position between Bautzen and Lobau. On the 10th of October 1758, Frederick put his army in bivouac nearly within range of the enemy guns near the town of Hochkirch.

Discerning no evidence of enemy aggressive moves, Frederick believed that Daun was not of a mind to attack him here, despite the rather dispersed nature of the Prussian encampments that left his right flank hanging in the air. Ignoring the admonitions of some of his generals such as Seydlitz, Zieten, and Keith, on the evening of October 13th, Fritz ordered that his troops would rest on the following day instead of breaking camp as earlier intended. He also ordered the cavalry to unsaddle their horses. Zieten followed orders, but Seydlitz quietly told his men, "The King has given us positive orders, which we must obey; let your horses be unsaddled, but at twelve o'clock saddle them again; he does not forbid that." (Lawley, page 75.)

The prudent Marshal Daun, moreover, was in a mood to fight. After observing the weakness of the Prussian position, he decided to attack the Prussian right flank.

October 14th, 1758

At one o'clock in the morning, protected by screens of Croat and Pandour light infantry, the Austrian army streams forth in battalion columns. Quickly, two of Frederick's Freikorps battalions protecting the flank are swept away. After a brief but heroic resistance a key Prussian redoubt housing a battery of heavy artillery falls into Austrian hands. Awakened by the sound of spent musket balls hitting the side of his residence, the King rouses himself, mounts his horse and rides out to survey the situation. Deceived as to the true nature of the situation, Frederick exclaims, "They're only Croats!" at his obviously worried troops. He soon learns the truth when twelve-pound balls from captured Prussian artillery begin flying through his camp.

Fritz cobbles together his army and attempts to resist the onslaught. Prince Moritz falls, seriously wounded. Keith tumbles from his horse, dead. Major General Krakow, commanding the Schonaich Cuirassiers (Cuirassier Regiment #6) receives preemptory orders from General Zieten to "... wheel to the right and attack the Austrian army." (Duffy, Frederick the Great, page 175.)

He forms a column of squadrons and proceeds with his charge. He is mortally wounded, but his regiment returns with a captured Austrian color and many prisoners.

UNequal Contest

Despite the gallantry of Krakow and many other Prussian men and officers, the contest is unequal. Frederick tries to form a new line northeast of the town of Pommritz. Then he withdraws to another position northwest of Klein-Bautzen.

By now, the Prussian right wing cavalry have done all that can be expected of them. The Prussian infantry are withdrawing in the face of enormous opposition. Seydlitz and his men, constituting part of the reserve and having been placed elsewhere on the field, have thus far not been in on the fighting. Descrying Seydlitz and the Markgraf Carl nearby, Frederick asks of them whether one more last ditch charge would be worth the effort. Their silences speak volumes. Frederick orders the retreat. This is done in good order, with Seydlitz's cavalry forming the rear guard. Perceiving the Austrian cavalry about to charge the flank of some retreating infantry, he wheels his squadrons by divisions to the right to meet this challenge. He places his horse between the Prussian infantry and the Austrians and prepares for a charge. The Austrian troopers, although they outnumber Seydlitz's men by a two-to-one ratio, are so surprised by his bold move that they stand down and allow the Prussians to retreat unvexed by further pursuit. (Lawley, page 76.)

1759

The campaigning season of 1759 opened with the King of Prussia lacking the resources to conduct an offensive campaign. He thus decided to keep on the defensive and let the war come to him. Of his total of 130,000 men, he kept 44,000 under his command in Silesia and distributed the rest between Prince Henry in Saxony, General Fouque in Upper Silesia, and Dohna near the Polish frontier to watch the Russians. In April, he got his army together near Landshut and sent out raiding parties against his enemies' magazines. These expeditions met with much success, and Frederick was surprised that no great enterprise had been attempted against him thus far.

The relative quiet was broken in early July, however, when Daun advanced on Lusatia with a force of 75,000 men and the new Russian commander of the year, General Saltykov, at last began preparations to move his 60,000-man army out of Posen and towards the River Oder. Frederick tried to keep his army between those of the Austrians and the Russians during the month of July, lest they should combine and try conclusions with him.

In the middle of July, he learned that General Dohna was retreating in the face of the advancing Russians. He sent Lieutenant General Wedel to assume command over the 28,000 men there with orders to halt the Russian advance and then attack them at an advantageous moment. The result was the ill-fated Prussian assault of July 23rd known variously as the battle of Kay, Paltzig, or Zullichau. Not only were the Russians not stopped, but also Wedel was killed, and the Prussians lost around 8,000 men. Perceiving the dangerous situation there, Frederick betook himself to Dohna's rescue bringing with him some reinforcements including Seydlitz and his cavalry. At the same time, a 12,000-man force of Austrians under General Loudon was dispatched from Daun's army to link up with the Russians.

The Prussians were unable to prevent this junction with a result that the combined Austro-Russian army, allowing for various detached parties, now numbered some 64,000 men. Frederick, meanwhile, had rendezvoused with Dohna and a corps from Berlin under General Finck. He now commanded an army of around 49,000 men. Fritz had faced worse odds in the past. He was determined to deliver a deathblow.

On August 10th, the Prussian army began crossing the Oder in search of the Russians. On the afternoon of the 11th, Frederick caught sight of the them entrenched along some heights near the village of Kunersdorf. He decided to march around their right flank as he did at Zorndorf and strike them from the flank and rear.

The Russians were well posted with their left flank on a hill known as the Judenberg, and their right on another known as the Muhlberg. Numerous fieldworks had been thrown up and artillery emplacements constructed. A starshaped redoubt had been placed atop the Muhlberg and festooned with guns that commanded the position. Observing the march of the Prussian troops, General Saltykov countermarched his entire line, so that by the time the Prussians had gotten into position, they were now facing a new Russian front, this time with its left flank on the Muhlberg and its right on the Judenberg.

August 12th, 1759

Seeing that his intended area of attack is seriously constricted by a series of low ponds, Frederick makes a last-minute adjustment to his plans. He decides that the main assault will occur just east of the ponds against the salient of the Muhlberg. (See Duffy, Frederick the Great, page 185, et passim. )

At 11:30 a.m. the Prussian batteries begin pouring fire onto the Russian position. All goes well for the Prussians at first. Generals von Schenkendorf and Lindstedt storm the star-shaped redoubt atop the Muhlberg. Taken in front and flank, the Russians waver, then are pushed back. Finck's infantry on the right cross the HUhnerfleiss stream and also assault the enemy position. Seventy Russian cannon are captured.

The Prussian left wing, after some nasty fighting in Kunersdorf itself, then becomes bogged down by some ponds between the town and the woods. The terrain does not favor a rapid Prussian advance. Many battalions have to stop and dress their ranks before moving on. Frederick orders his artillery to be advanced, but the uneven sandy soil makes redeployment difficult.

Observing the progress of the battle from an eminence known as the KleinerSpitzberg are General Seydlitz and Frederick. Noting the shower of musket and cannonballs falling nearby, Seydlitz politely requests that the King carry his royal person elsewhere out of harm's way. Frederick dismisses Seydlitz's suggestion, saying, "Eh! What? The gnats only play." (50 Lawley, page 87. )

The battle is going nowhere. The enemy use the lull in the Prussian advance to bring up fresh troops and guns. At length, Frederick decides that it's time to send in the cavalry. He orders Seydlitz to bring up the squadrons that have been standing idle on the left wing. Seydlitz and the Prince von Wurttemberg bring their troopers around the ponds near Kunersdorf and survey the terrain over which they are to advance. The ground does not look favorable for a cavalry charge. The cavalry remain stationary.

The King, growing impatient, again orders a cavalry charge. Seydlitz sends back a message stating that the time and place are not right. Angered by his subordinate's reticence, Frederick sends one last message that, "In the name of the devil he should attack." (Ibid, page 88.)

Perhaps remembering the battle of Zorndorf, Seydlitz obeys his orders. He places himself at the head of a regiment of cuirassiers and orders an attack. The cavalry gallop forward into a hornets' nest of small arms fire and canister. The irregularity of the ground and numerous pitfalls dug by the Russians cause the horses to stumble and fall. The attack wavers. Then a musket or canister ball strikes Seydlitz's sword. The guard shatters, his hand is broken, and pieces of the sword guard are driven into his flesh. Wracked with pain, he falls from his horse, and his attendants are obliged to drag him off.

When Frederick learns of this incident, he sends an aide-de-camp to inquire of his general's health. Seydlitz, angry and in pain, recalls Frederick's earlier comment at the KleinerSpitzberg and sarcastically replies that, "...he had merely been stung by a gnat." (Ibid, page 88.)

Major General Puttkamer attacks with his White Hussars (Hussar Regiment #4) and falls dead with a bullet in his chest. His men are overwhelmed and put to flight by "...Austrian dragoons and Russian Tartars and Cossacks." (Duffy, Frederick the Great, page 187.)

The Prince von Wurttemberg likewise wounded, hears Frederick remark as he's carried off the field, "Had I been able to take this height [the Judenkirchhof], the battle would have been won." Wurttemberg replies, "I believe you would, but whenever has anyone heard that mere cavalry storm fortresses?" (Ibid, pages 88-89.)

The cavalry retire once more behind the village of Kunersdorf. The King is not content merely to possess the Muhlberg, He wants to crush completely Saltykov's force, knowing that General Wunsch has already occupied Frankfurtan-der-Oder and cut off the Russian retreat. Lieutenant General von Finck has earlier advised the King to be content with his victory over the Russian left flank and that the enemy will have to withdraw in the night, as their position is untenable. In this opinion Seydlitz and other generals have seconded him. But Frederick's blood is up.

As General Longstreet will write more than a century later of his own commanding general at Gettysburg, Fritz has lost his "equipoise." Frederick sends in his second line. This is a mistake. General Loudon has had time to bring up a sizeable force of Austrian and Russian cavalry. Loudon orders a charge.

As Lieutenant General Platen, who now commands the cavalry, leads them forward in one more assault, the leading regiment of Schorlemer Dragoons (Dragoon Regiment #6) is decimated by artillery fire and the rest of the Prussian cavalry are driven into the lakes and marshes by Loudon's magnificent attack. The Prussian army collapses from the heat, exhaustion, and enemy fire. As he abandons the field, the King can only count 3,000 effective men under his immediate command. (Duffy, Frederick the Great, page 188.) The Russian victory is now complete.

The Prussians had in fact lost 19,000 men and virtually all their artillery. Frederick was in such a state of despair that he turned over command of the army temporarily to Lieutenant General von Finck. He wrote a pathetic letter to his brother, Prince Henry, hinting of suicide. It was not until August 16th that Frederick had recovered sufficiently to resume command. Unaccountably, after a few tentative maneuvers, instead of descending on Berlin, the Austrians and Russians marched in the direction of Lieberose. On receipt of this news, Frederick proclaimed it the "miracle of the house of Brandenburg." In fact, the Russians and Austrians had fallen into disagreement as to how best to exploit their victory and frittered away its fruits.

Painful Wound...from Cupid

Seydlitz's wound was not only painful, but also dangerous. Shortly thereafter, he seems to have suffered a mild stroke that rendered him incapable of speech for a few days. In modern parlance, he probably "threw a clot" that went to his brain. He was transported to Berlin to heal from his wound and remained there for quite some time.

While he was recovering, Seydlitz became smitten by Cupid's arrow. For the first time in his life, the doyen of the Prussian cavalry determined to take him a wife. Her name was Susanna Albertina, Countess von Hacke, and her father, a lieutenant general, had been the commandant of Berlin. Considered to be a good catch in Berlin society, she lavished attention on the wounded general and won his heart.

As was the way of things at the time, Seydlitz had to write to Frederick to obtain permission to marry. Fritz, a misogynist for the most part, did not think highly of his best cavalry commander saddling himself with anything other than a horse and voiced his initial disapproval. Undaunted, the bold cavalier again importuned his sovereign for permission, writing a letter sufficiently smarmy that Fritz finally assented to the union with a terse handwritten endorsement: "I wish him success in it. - FdII." (Lawley, page 100.)

Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Seydlitz (February 3, 1721 - November 3, 1773)

Introduction
1756 and 1757
1758 and 1759
1760, 1761, and 1762
Post War

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