10th-25th Sept. 1761. 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, maneuverings, 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 County, 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

10th-25th Sept. 1761.

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 160,000 men, 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 messrooms 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.

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Now, as formerly, Ferdinand's first grand business is to 'guard Lippstadt,-guard it now from these two Generals:and, singular to see, instead of opposing the junction of them, 'he has submitted cheerfully to let them join. And in the 'course of a week or two after taking the field, is found to be ' on the western or outmost flank of Soubise, crushing him up 'towards Broglio, not otherwise! And has, partly by acci'dent, taken a position at Vellinghausen which infinitely puzzles 'Broglio and Soubise, when they rush into junction at Soest (July 6th), and study the thing, with their own eyes, "for eight whole days, in concert." What continual reconnoiter'ing, galloping about of high-plumed gentlemen together or apart; what memoir-ing, mutual consulting, beating of brains, 6 to little purpose, during those eight days!—

'Ferdinand stands in moory difficult ground, length of him ' about eight miles, looking eastward; with his left at Vellinghausen and the Lippe; centre of him is astride of the Ahse (centre partly, and right wing wholly, are on the south side

10th-25th Sept. 1761.

' of Ahse), which is a branch of Lippe; and in front, he has ' various little Hamlets, Kirch-Denkern' (Kirch-Denkern, for there are three or four other Denkerns thereabouts), 'Scheid'ingen, Wambeln, and others; and his right wing is covered 'farther by a quaggy brook, which runs into the above-said Ahse, and is a sub-branch of Lippe. At most of these Vil'lages Ferdinand has thrown up something of earthworks: there are bogs, rough places, woods; all are turned to advantage. 'Ferdinand is in a strongish, but yet a dangerous position; and 'will give difficulties, and does give endless dubieties, to these high-plumed gentlemen galloping about with their spyglasses 'for eight days. One possibility they pretty soon discern in 'him: His left flank rests on Lippe, yes; but his right flank 'is in the air, has nothing to rest on;-here surely is some possibility for us? A strong Position, that of his; but if driven out of it by any method, he has no retreat; is tumbled back 'into the angle where Ahse and Lippe meet, and 'Town of Hamm there, where his Magazine is. 'for him, if we succeed!—

into the little

What a fate

"Ferdinand, by the incessant reconnoitering and other symptoms, judges what is coming; concludes he will be attacked in this posture of his; and on the whole, what critics now reckon very wise and very courageous of him, determines to stand his 'chance in it. The consultations of Broglio and Soubise are a thing unique to look upon; spread over volumes of Official 6 Record, and about a volume and a half even of Bourcet, where it is still almost amusing to read;13 and ending in helpless 'downbreak on both parts. Of strategic faculty nobody supposes they had much, and nearly all of it is in Broglio; Soubise 'being strong in Court-favour only. Exquisitely polite they both strive to be; and under the exquisite politeness, what 'infirmities of temper, splenetic suspicions, and in fact mutual 'hatred lay hidden, could never be accurately known. "Attack 'him, Sunday next; on the 13th!" so, at the long last, both of

13 Mémoires Historiques (that is to say, for most part, Selection of Official Papers) sur la Guerre que les Français ont soutenue en Allemagne depuis 1757 jusq'au 1762: Par M. de Bourcet, Lieutenant-Général des Armées du Roi (3 tomes, Paris, 1792);-worthily done; but occupied, two-thirds of it, with this Vellinghausen and the paltry 'Campaign of 1761 !'

10th-25th Sept. 1761. 'them had said. And then, on more reflexion, Broglio after'wards: "Or not till the 15th, M. le Prince; till I reconnoitre ‘yet again, and drive in his outposts?" "M. le Maréchal's will is always mine: Tuesday, 15th, reconnoitre him, drive him in ; 'be it so, then!" answers Soubise, with extreme politeness,—but 'thinking in his own mind (or thought to be thinking), "Wants ' to do it himself, or to get the credit of doing it, as in former cases; and bring me into disgrace!" Not quite an insane notion

' either, on Soubise's part, say some who have looked into the Broglio-Soubise Controversy;—which far be it from any of us,

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at this or at any time, to do. Here are the facts that ensued. Tuesday, July 15th, 1761, Broglio reconnoitered with intensity all day, drove in all Ferdinand's outposts; and about six in 'the evening, seeing hope of surprise, or spurred by some notion ' of doing the feat by himself, suddenly burst into onslaught on 'Ferdinand's Position: "Vellinghausen yonder, and the woody 'strengths about, could not we get hold of that; it would be 'so convenient tomorrow morning!" Granby and the English are in camp about Vellinghausen; and are taken quite on the 'sudden but they drew out rapidly, in a state of bottled indig❝ nation, and fought, all of them,—Pembroke's Brigade of Horse, 'Cavendish's of Foot, Berg-Schotten, Maxwell's Brigade, and the 'others, in a highly satisfactory way,-" mit unbeschreiblicher Tapferkeit," says Mauvillon on this occasion again. Broglio 'truly has burst out into enormous cannonade, musketade, and cavalry-work, in this part; and struggles at it, almost four 'hours, a furious, and especially a very noisy business, charg'ing, recharging through the woods there;-but, met in this 6 manner, finds he can make nothing of it; and about 10 at 'night, leaves off till a new morning.

'Next morning, about 4, Broglio, having diligently warned 'Soubise overnight, recommenced; again very fiercely, and with 'loud cannonading; but with result worse than before. Ferdi'nand overnight, while Broglio was warning Soubise, had con'siderably strengthened his left wing here,-by detachments 'from the right or Anti-Soubise wing; judging, with good fore'sight, how Soubise would act. And accordingly, while poor 'Broglio kept storming forward with his best ability, and got 'always hurled back again, Soubise took matters easy; "had

10th-25th Sept. 1761. 'understood the hour of attack to be" so-and-so, "had understood" this and that; and on the whole, except summoning or 'threatening, in the most languid way, one outlying redoubt ("redoubt of Scheidingen") on Ferdinand's right wing, did nothing, or next to nothing, for behoof of his Broglio. Who, 'hour after hour, finds himself ever worse bested;-those Granby people proving "indescribable" once more' (their Wutgenau also, with his Hanoverians, not being absent, as they rather were last night);—and about 10 in the morning, gives up the bad job; and sets about retiring. If retiring be now 'permissible; which it is not altogether. Ferdinand, watching 'intently through his glass the now silent Broglio, discerns "Some confusion in the Maréchal yonder!"--and orders a gene'ral charge of the left wing upon Broglio; which considerably quickened his retreat; and broke it into flight, and distressful 'wreck and capture, in some parts,-Regiment Rouge, for one ' item, falling wholly, men, cannon, flags and furniture, to that 'Maxwell and his Brigade.

'Ferdinand lost, by the indistinct accounts, "from 1,500 to '2,000:" Broglio's loss was "above 5,000; 2,000 of them pri'soners." Soubise, for his share, "had of killed 24,”—O you laggard of a Soubise 14 And it is a Battle lost to Choiseul's grand Pair of Armies; a Campaign checked in mid volley; and nothing but recriminations, courts-martial, shrieky jargon'ings,—and plain incompatibility between the Two Maréchaux 'de France; so that they had to part company, and go each his ' own road henceforth. Choiseul remonstrates with them, urges, 6 encourages; writes the "admirablest Despatches;" to no pur"pose. "How ridiculous and humiliating would it be for us, if, "with Two Armies of such strength, we accomplished nothing, " and the whole Campaign were lost!" writes he once to them.

'Which was in fact the result arrived at; the two Generals 14 Mauvillon, ii. 171-189; Tempelhof, v. 207-221; Bourcet, ii. 75 et seq. In Helden-Geschichte (vi. 770-782-792) the French Account, and the English (or Allied), with Lists, and the like. Slight Letter from Sir Robert Murray Keith to his Excellency Papa, now at Petersburg, ‘Excellency first,' as we used to define him, stands in the miserably edited Memoirs and Correspondence (London, 1849), i. 104-5; and may tempt you to a reading; but alters nothing, adds little or nothing. Sir R. fights here as a Colonel of Highlanders, but afterwards became 'Excellency second' of his name.