great hopes as were formed from the rifing gallantry of a prince, who fo nobly fupported the martial spirit of his family, and had fallen whilft he was emulating the heroic actions of his brother the hereditary prince and his uncle Ferdinand.

On the fide of Weftphalia, the prince de Soubife perfevered, notwithstanding fome checks, in his defign of laying fiege to Munfler; there was great reafon to apprchend that he might fucceed in that enterprize, as it was always in marhal Broglio's power, by taking fome fteps on the fide of Hanover, to make it neceffary to draw away the greatest part of the force destined to the fuccour of Munfter. He therefore began to make the previous arrangements at Dorfen. The hereditary prince, who knew that he was continually liable to be called off, took the firft opportunity of attacking this place. Aug. 30th. A battalion of French troops formed its garrifon, and made a brave defence, but it was affaulted with fo much refolution and perfeverance, that they were obliged to furrender prifoners of war. The prince totally destroyed the ovens which were established here, and by this means not only fruftrated their defign of befieging Munfter, but compelled them for a time, to retire from the Lippe.

As to prince Ferdinand, he faw clearly, that the intentions of marfhal Broglio were to make himself mafter of his majefty's, and the duke of Brunswick's territories. To attempt to follow him, and to beat him from thence, would only be irrecoverably to transfer the feat of war into thofe countries, and wholly to abandon Weftphalia to the enemy. Diverfion therefore, and

not direct oppofition, became his object. He refolved, that as often as he perceived marthal Broglio's making any progrefs on the fu pected quarter, he fhould throw himfelf as far into Heffe, as the enemy had advanced towards Hanover, and by flopping their subfilence, oblige them to quit their enterprize. This plan at first fucceeded to his wifhes, and drew back marshal Broglio into Heffe, upon whofe approach prince Ferdinand retired to his old quarters at Paderborn, and was ready 19th Oct. for a new movement as foon as Broglio fhould return to the execution of his former defign.

Accordingly he foon returned to the Wefer. Then the hereditary` prince, who had by this time rejoined the grand army, advanced into Heffe, and pushed to the fartheft extremities of that country, even as far as Fitzlar; but though he fucceeded fo far in his attempts as to deftroy all the leffer magazines which he found in the open country; yet as all the fortreffes were in the hands of the enemy, as the garifons had been newly reinforced, and the grand magazines were well fecured in thofe places, he kept his ground in his advanced pofition.

It was on this occafion principally that prince Ferdinand found the difadvantage of not being able to form two armies, which might act feparately. For on one hand, marfhal Broglio, when he had perfectly fecured his pofts in Heffe, took a fituation in which he watched all the motions of prince Ferdinand, and kept himself in readiness to fall back into Heffe, or to advance into Hanover, as might beft agree with his defigns. From hence he

fent

fent out fome powerful detachments which acted with great effect. One of thefe detachments entered the Harts Forest (the remains of the great Hercynian, fo famous among the ancients) and befieged the ftrong cattle of Schartsfelts, which they took and demolished. Then

they laid the whole tract of country under fevere contrbution. Another, and ftill more powerful detachment under prince Xavier of Saxony appeared before Wolfenbuttel, a confiderable city, and ftrongly fituated, as it is Oct. 5th. wholly furrounded by the Ocker. But the French, as they knew that the town is moftly built of wood, commenced their ope. rations with a very fierce bombardment. This had fuch an effect, that the resistance of the place was not proportioned to its ftrength; in five days it furrendered, and was fubject, like the reft, to a grievous contribution.

Flushed with this fuccefs, the French fallowed their blow, and advanced, keeping ftill the course of the Ocker, to Brunswick; and began also to inveft that city. The reigning prince, unable to protect his fubjects, or to fecure his perfon in his dominions, fled to Hamburg, where he met the landgrave of Heffe, whom the rage of war had in the fame manner driven from his territories. This free city now be'came a place of general refuge, and enriched itfelf by the calamities, as it had in better times done by the profperity of Germany. It was lately computed, that the ftrangers there had increased to forty thou fand, amongst whom they could reckon two fovereign princes, and feveral other perfons of the first diftinction.

This rapid and unrefifted progrefs of the French to the eastward of the Wefer, was to the highest degree alarming. Prince Ferdinand with all the expedition in his power, detached the hereditary prince to the relief of Brunswick. This measure fortunately faved that very important place. This active commander compelled the enemy not only to raise the fiege of Brunfwick, but to abandon Wolfenbuttel, and to make a precipitate êtreat with the lofs of fome of their can non, and upwards of a thoufand men.

Whilft Broglio's detachments proceeded thus in diftreffing the country to the eastward of the Wefer, the prince of Soubife, who by the removal of the hereditary prince of Brunswick to another quarter, faw no longer any thing capable of oppofing him, fpread his army by detachments over all Weftphalia, and ravaged it in the most cruel manner. They took Ofnabrug; and because the contributions were not immediately paid, they gave up the place to be pillaged by their troops, who rifled the miferable inhabitants without mercy. Another body pushed as far as Embden. This important town was immediately furrendered by the garrifon (two English companies of invalids) at the defire of the timid inhabitants, and the pro、 mife of favourable treatment: notwithstanding this capitulation, and the merit of so easy a surrender, the town, as well as the whole country of Eaft-Friesland, was laid under a ruinous contribution. But their exorbitances grew to fuch an extremity, that the boors were at length compelled to rife, and with

fuch

fuch arms as a fudden rage fupplied them, to drive these oppreffors out of their country.

o&. 3d.

A more confiderable corps commanded by the prince de Conde, laid fiege to Meppen, a place on the Ems of fome confequence, and where we had fome magazines. In three days it was reduced, and the garrison of five hundred men were made pri foners of war.

The city of Bremen was defended by a weak garrison. This was a place of far greater moment than Meppen, the allies having amaffed there immenfe magazines, as it was a great and trading town, advantageously fituated on the river Wefer; and the poffeffion of this place muft undoubtedly have given to the French the command of that river, through which the allies derived all their fubfittence. If the English had loft Bremen, they must have feen themselves invested and locked up in a barren country, in the heart of Germany, furrounded by their enemies, and deprived of every refource. Fortunately the inhabitants of this city proved as brave as thofe of Embden were timid. They were exasperated by the example of the French rigour, which they had seen on every fide of them. They therefore joined the garrifon, instead of difcouraging them in the defence of the place. The French were obliged to retire precipitately; and a strong reinforcement was thrown into Bremen, to fecure that

very important city from the like enterprizes for the future.

Whilft the two French armies in this manner ravaged all the country held by the allies, prince Ferdinand, who faw the rage of war spread all around him, with his ufual firmness, kept that central pofition which he had taken foon after the battle of Kirch Denkern; no movements of the enemy could terrify or allure him from it. He had fettled his head quarters at Buhne, and his army extended from thence towards Hammelen. Pofted in this manner, he fecured the courfe of the Wefer, by preventing the enemy from making themfelves mafters either of Hammelen or Minden; he lay in the best fituation in which it was poffible to place a fingle army, that was to act against two; and knowing that he could not follow their movements with the body of his army, without hazarding the king's electoral dominions, and indeed every object of the war, he contented himself with fending out fuch detachments as he could fpare, fucceffively to the relief of the places which were attacked. He faw that the winter approached, which had always been a circumstance favourable to him; and it was evident that whilft he continued with his main body immoveably fixed as it was, and his detachments active on every fide, it was impoffible for the enemy to keep any of thofe places, they had feized in their incurfions.

CHAP.

tow.

Pomerania.

tions of the Pruffian armies took the lead in intereft and impor. tance before all the other events of the war. The firmness and activity of their illuftrious monarch, the number and animofity of his enemies, the blows that he gave and thofe that he fuffered, his diftreffing and terrible falls, his amazing and almoft miraculous recoveries, kept all eyes fixed on his mo tions, as the great center of public attention. Undoubtedly nothing that has ever been acted on the scene of human affairs, attracted the minds of men to it with greater juftice; none perhaps afforded at once more entertainment to the imagination, and furnished more copious materials for political and military inftruction; and probably, therefore, this part of all our modern hiftory, will be the most carefully studied by pofterity, when it comes to be properly known, and worthily written,

To judge of the importance of this branch of the general war, it will be proper to recollect that, befides a number of fieges which were profecuted, together with innumerable and bloody fkirmishes, no lefs than nineteen pitched battles, or capital actions, have been fought on his part fince the clofe of the year 1756, when the king of Pruffia first feized upon Saxony, and made an irruption into Bohemia.

In

or his generals were defeated. He was victorious only in eight. Ten of them were fought under his own command; and feven out of the eight victories which were gained, were obtained by himfelf in perfon; of the eleven defeats, he was prefent only at

three.

From thefe circumftances fome judgment may be formed of the active and enterprizing character of this monarch, and of the amazing. refources he had prepared, or formed, or feized, and in some instances, one may fay, almoft created. We have obferved that the last campaign had ended more to his advantage, than the one preceeding had done; for those two great victories of Lig. nitz, and Torgau, with which he then ended his operations, had not only refcued his affairs on Silefia and Saxony from impending deftruction but had enlarged his field for recruiting, and prepared him, to all appearance, for more early and vigorous action, than could have been expected in most of the preceeding campaigns. But every one was furprized to obferve, that this year he had totally altered the fyftem of his conduct. An inactivity and langour was diffufed over all his proceedings. He feemed to have adopted the caution and flownels which had been so long oppofed to