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fent out fome powerful detachments which afted with great effect. One of thefe detachments entered the Harts Foreft (the remains of the great Hercynian, fo famous among the ancients) and befieged the ftrong castle of Scharts felts, which they took and demolished. Then they laid the whole tra& of country under fevere contrbution. Another, and still more powerful detachment under prince Xavier of Saxony appeared before Wolfenbuttel, a confiderable city, and O. 5th. ftrongly fituated, as it is 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 refillance 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 courfe of the Ocker, to Brunfwick; and began alfo 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 became 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 dif

tinction.

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

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Whilft Broglio's detachments proceeded thus in diftrefling 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 opposing 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 such an extremity, that the boors were at length compelled to rife, and with

fuch

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

Oa. 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 garrifon. 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, advantageoufly 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 fubfiftence. If the English had loft Bremen, they must have seen 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 exafperated by the example of the French rigour, which they had feen on every fide of them. They therefore joined the garrifon, inftead 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.

CHAP. VI.

Condition of the king of Pruffia. His inaction. Motions of the Ruffians and of Laudobn. Breflau cannonaded. Tottleben removed. Colberg befieged. Ruffian magazines in Poland destroyed. War transferred to Pomerania. King of Pruffia quits his strong camp. Schweidnitz taken by a coup de main. General Platen repuljed. General Knoblock made prifoner at TrepPrince Wurtenburg retreats. Colberg taken. Rufians winter in

tor. Pomerania.

UN

NTIL this year the operations of the Pruffian armies took the lead in intereft and importance before ail the other events of the war. The firmnefs and activity of their illuftrious monarch, the number and animofity of his enemies, the blows that he gave and thefe 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 mote copious materials for political and military inftruction; and probably, therefore, this part of all our modern hiftory, will be the most carefully ftudied 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, be. fides 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

eleven of thefe battles, the king 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 fome inftances, one may fay, almoft created. We have oblerved that the laft campaign had ended more to his advantage, than the one preceeding had done; for thofe 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 moft of the preceeding campaigns. But every one was furprized to oblerve, that this year he had totally altered the fyftem of his conduct. Au inactivity and langour was diffused over all his proceedings. Ee feemed to have adopted the caution and flowneís which had been fo long oppofed to

his vivacity by M. Daun. The fummer was almoft wholly spent, and the king of Pruffia had fcarcely been mentioned,

It was not fufpected that the propofed negotiation at Augfburg could have had much if any influence upon his method of proceeding. No particular proposals had been made concerning his affairs, nor indeed any other marks of a pacific difpofition towards him fhewn, except what were contained in thofe general declarations, which a regard to common decency had exacted. It must have added to the anxiety of his fituation, that Great Britain and France were at that time engaged in a separate treaty, in which the latter power was in a condition to make so many flattering offers in relation to Germany, that he might well have dreaded the withdrawing of that affiftance which had hitherto been his great fupport against all attacks, and his final refource in all his diftreffes. Perhaps he was well affured, that the faith of Great Britain was proof against every offer how ever alluring; in fact it proved to be fo; for in rejecting the German neutrality, which the French propofed in the late negotiation, our country afforded as convincing a proof of an unfhakable public faith, as any people had ever given to their allies.

However, whilft this point remained in any degree of fufpence, it would have appeared natural, that the king of Pruffia fhould make fome uncommon exertions to confirm the faith of his allies, as well as to put himself upon a more refpectable footing at the enfuing congrefs. It is notwithflanding certain, that he contented himfelf with acting wholly upon the defen

five; a conduct, which perhaps his circumftances had rendered abfolutely unavoidable. Prince Henry commanded an army in Saxony, which entrenched itself ftrongly under Leipfic. M. Daun continued near Dreiden; and thefe two armies did no more than watch each other during the campaign. The king was alfo entrenched in a very ftrong pofition in Upper Silefia, not far from Schweidnitz, whilft the fortreffes in the lower part of that country were filled with fuch garrifons, as put them out of the reach of any fudden infult.

This pofition was pointed out by the motions and apparent defigns of his enemies. The Ruffian army was this year, as well as in the former, divided into two ftrong bodies; one of which, led by Tottleben, directed its march towards Pomerania: and the other under M. Butterlin, entered into the Upper Silefia, advancing towards Breflau. Baron Laudohn entered that province in the part oppofite to them, and they propofed to unite their armies, in order to attack the king, or to take Breflau or Schweidnitz in his prefence. The remarkable drought in the beginning of the feafon, which had greatly lowered the Oder, facilitated their junction. The Ruffians spread themselves over all the open country of Silefia, and exacted heavy contributions. A body of Aug. 1. them appeared before Breflau, and began to cannonade the town from feven batteries. Laudohn exerted the whole of his fkill to draw the king from his poft, and to engage him in a difadvantageous action. Sometimes he advanced, as if he meant to join the Ruffians: fometimes his motions indicated

indicated a defign on Schweidnitz; these attempts failing, he turned off and made a feint as if he propofed to fall upon the Lower Silefia, in hopes that he might at least oblige the king of Pruffia to detach and divide his forces; but the king continued immoveable in his post.

Whilft thefe various movements were making with little effect, on the fide of Silefia, the other grand divifion of the Ruffians advanced without oppofition into Pomerania; and it was expected that their proceedings would be attended with greater effect fince the removal of Tottleben, and the appointment of general Romanzow to that command. Tottleben had been long suspected, and, it is faid, at length convicted, of a fecret correfpondence with the king of Pruffia. The fituation of this monarch obliged him to fight with every fort of weapon; and Tottleben, a foldier of fortune, without any national attachment or particular allegiance, was a fit object for the king of Pruffia's pecuniary ftratagems. He did not fucceed fo well in the attempts of the fame kind which he is faid to have made upon Laudohn, Every circumftance concurred to render the method of corruption less successful in that quarter,

Colberg, regularly befieged, or closely ftreightened every campaign, fince the Mofcovites made them selves masters of the kingdom of Pruffia, was now affaulted with greater and more determined force than ever. A ftrong fleet, confifting of forty fail of all kinds, blockaded it by fea, whilst the army of general Romanzow formed the fiege by land. On the other hand, the place threatened a defence worthy of its former efforts. This city was VOL. IV.

from the beginning of the war of greater ftrength than it had commonly been reprefented; every attempt of the Ruffians, by demonftrating where any weakness lay, taught the Pruffians, who were fully fenfible of its importance, in what part and in what manner it was neceffary to add to its works; and they had omitted no opportunity. In addition to this defence, the prince of Wurtenburg was ftrongly entrenched under the cannon of the town, with a body of fix or feven thoufand men.

The king of Pruffia was extremely alarmed at the danger of this momentous poft, the key of his dominions to the north, from the relief of which he was removed, and, as it were, chained down, at fuch an immenfe distance. Though Laudohn and Butterlin found abundant employment for all his forces, he refolved to fend a confiderable detachment under general Platen to the affiftance of Colberg. The fertility of his genious propofed two ends from this fingle expedient. He ordered Platen to direct his march through Poland,and to deftroy the Ruffian magazines, which had been amaffed on the frontiers of that kingdom, and from which their army in Silefia drew its whole fubfiftence. This fervice might, he hoped, be performed without any confiderable interruption to the progrefs of the detachment towards Colberg. The event was entirely anfwerable to his wishes. General Platen ruined three principal magazines of the enemy. He attacked a great convoy of their waggons; deftroyed 500, and burned or dif perfed the provifions they carried. Four thoufand men who protected this convoy were, for the greater,

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