The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-03 00:00:00

THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.

(From the Times' Military Correspondent.)
HAD-QUARTERS OF THE FIRST &RUT,
REICIIENBERG, June 24.
Last evening intelligence came to the head-quar-
ters of the Ist Army at Grafenstein which told that
at the same time as Prince Frederick Charles -off
Prussia was crossing the Bohemian frontier o
Austria with his army the Austrians were preparing
to cross the Silesian frontier of Prussia, and had
yesterday forenoon pushed three columns into the
country of Glatz. These columns advanced by three
roads. That on the right by Alstadt on Wilhelms-
that. ; that of the centre by Grulich on Mittelwalde ;
that of the left by Braunau on Wurschelburg. The
commander of the first Prussian army had calcu-
lated upon the possibility of an invasion of Silesia
by the Austrians, where the second army is ready to
meet them, and the news that they were in the
Glatz district availed nothing to shake his resolve
of pushing into Bohemia. On the contrary, it
seemed to accelerate his motions, for he had in-
tended to halt to-day in the position of Grafenstein,
but as soon as he heard of the Austrian advance
aides-de-camp were despatched to the different divi-
sions with orders for them to march early this

morning.
It rained steadily all last night, and the morning
brought with it no improvement in the weather, but
the troops were in high spirits and appeared to care
nothing for the wet. The army marched by three
roads ; the left column by the way of Eisniedel on
Reichenberg ; the centre by Kratzkau on the same
town, while General von Bitterfeld came from the
mountains which lie between this and Dresden, and
moved upon Gabel. Some of the regiments halted
here, and are billeted in the town for the night ;
others were pushed through and took up positions
in front. Many battalions have to bivouac this
evening ; but, although the ground is moist and
damp from the incessant rain, the weather is warm,
and the troops will not take much harm from their
first night in the open air. The army is now drawn
together and concentrated round this town ; for
Gen. von Bitterfeld at Gabel is only 12 miles to the
left. Last night the Prussian advanced posts near
Sratzkau could see the light of the Austrian bivouac
fires, and this morning the Magdeburg Hussars who
cleared the way for the army had a skirmish with
some of Radetzky's Austrian Hussars. Shots were
exchanged, two of the Prussians were wounded, and
five of the Austrians are reported wounded, with
two killed. A combat was expected at Reichenberg.
Three Austrian cavalry regiments, Lichtenstein's
Radetzky's Hussars, and the Hussars of
the Regiment of Hesse Cassel, were known to be in
front of the Prussian advance, and it was anticipated
that in the fine strategical position of Reichenberg
the Austrians might stand to fight; for this town
covers the junction of roads which leads over the
mountains by Gabel, Grottau, Friedland, and from
Ilirschberg. But the Austrian cavalry retired through
the town, and it was occupied about 10 o'clock by
the Prussian advanced guard, and Prince Frederick
Charles is now on the south side of the mountains,
and commands the issues of the passes.
The march to-day, although. over a hill country,
was not on a severe road, for the summit of the
mountain chain dips so deeply into the gorge which
forms the defile of Reichenberg, that the road through
the pass both ascends and descends with a moderate
gradient ; on either side of the way the mountains
rise high, but not steep, for the whole character of
this range is more rounded and swelling than bold
and sharp. As the army passed between the hills
this morning the tops were shrouded in a dense
mist, which occasionally lifted high enough to show
the lower parts of the dense fir woods which clothe
the upper mountain sides, but never to afford a
glimpse of their summits. The rain fell heavily and
without ceasing; it battered down the grain which
grew in the fields by the way side, and filled the
mountain watercourses with rushing mud-coloured
streams ; there was no wind to give it a slanting
direction, and it came straight down on the men's
helmets, only to roll off in large drops upon
their backs and shoulders, but it did not seem to
depress the spirits of the troops ; they stepped along
very cheerily, marching as well as they did the first
day they left their garrisons, and many of the soldiers
said that they preferred the wet weather to heat. All
along the line of march the commander of the army
was loudly cheered.
When Prince Frederick Charles reached the mar-
ket place of Reichenberg he halted to wait the
arrival of the troops who had marched by the
Friedland road. The town looked dull, for as it was
Sunday the shops .were all shut, and at first the
Bohemians seemed inclined to remain in their houses ;
but the bands of the marching regiments roused
their curiosity, and they soon collected and lined
the streets in dense crowds to see the troops go by.
The soldiers who bad arrived early and had been
dismissed from their ranks joined in the crowd, and
and a common language soon made them friends
with the townspeople. Many tales are told of the
dreadful devastation to which a country is subjectel
by the plunderers of an invading army. So far as
the Prussian army has yet advanced into Bohemia
the soldiers have treated the Austrians with the
greatest kindness ; as in the British service, every-
thing that a soldier wishes to buy must be scrupu-
lously paid for, and there seems to be no desire
among the men that it should be otherwise; in fact,
the troops are much more plundered than plunder
ers, for the cigar merchants and publichouse keepers
are driving a most prosperous trade, and take very
good care that they themselves do not suffer, for the
soldiers are unaccustomed to Austrian currency, and
have to pay in an equivalent of Prussian coin.
Reichenberg was in the hands of the Austrians
this morning, and was duly occupied by the Prus-
sians about 10 o'clock. Since that time nearly
the whole army, attended by artillery and wag-
gons, has marched through the narrow winding
streets of a town which to these artificial disadvan-
tages for free 13comotion adds the natural one of
being built upon a steep hill ; still there has been
no confusion in the marching columns, and
although the troops had to move by different streets
and were sometimes obliged to march in and out of
the town by country lanes and narrow paths, no
column took a false direction or made an unneces-
sary halt ; yet the Quartermaster-General von
Btuhtnahl bad only a few minutes allowed him in
which he could arrange his plans.
The column which had marched by the Friedland
wall was brought through the marketplace and
past the Commander-in-Chief. This corps is chiefly
composed of men of the province of Brandenburg ;
they are taller than the average of the Prussian
infantry, but are not so thick or stout, and do not
look so strong as the sturdy Pomeranians; but they
have intelligent faces,
ir and can readily be seen to be,
as they are, men of an education superior to that
which is usually found in the ranks. The regiment
of the late King led ' .
the men bore his cipher on
their shoulder cords, instead
whole corps marched magnificently. Ater aof a number. The
day and a long
journey
they wet
came up the hill of
Reichenberg with ranks closed up, with as perfect
a step as on a holiday parade
and went swinging
along as if they could not know fatigue ; yet they
were heavily encumbered, for every
carried
severely
his knapsack, the weight of which tellssn
against a soldier's marching, and might,e •
sog,s be
try where transport is apparently
plentiful,mrac.
oewgt regiment
carried for him. After the late Kin
came the 61th, Prince Frederick Charles's the
faces of the soldiers showed that they recognised
their colonel, and they went 'past 116 without
cheering, for in the town the men marched as on
parade, but with that appearance which is more
pleasing to a soldier than any acclamations.
The head-quarters have been established in the
Schloss, or Castle of. Iteichenberg, another of the
properties of Count Clam Gallas, who has thus
twice been the involuntary host of Prince Frede-
rick Charles. Ilere a curious scene is afforded ;
the castle stands on a hill, overlooks the pic-
turesque town, and commands a beautiful view of
the plains and mountains beyond it. The side
of this hill below the castle is covered with care-
fully tended turf and luxuriant shrubberies. The
place looks only fit to be the quiet home of a cent):
try gentleman, but up and down its gravelled avenue
chargers are being led ready saddled for the aides-

de-camp, who are waiting to carry out the evening
orders ; military train horses are being led to water,
soldiers, in stable dress, are hurrying about, mounted
dragoons are in attendance as orderlies, and near
the door of the castle stands the horse of the officer
of Uhlans, who has brought in the last report from
the outposts.
This afternoon the Thuringian regiment of Uhlans,
who are much the same as the Lancers of our ser-
vice, took up outpost duty, and one squadron of
them has had a skirmish with some of Radetzky's
Hussars. The Hussars were led by a staff officer,
who came too near the Prussian infantry picket, and
the deadly needle-gun shot the first officer who has
fallen a victim to this war. The Hussars and
Uhlans mutually charged each other, and in the
melee which ensued two Prussian officers and 17
men were wounded. The Austrian loss is not
clearly ascertained.

Two excellent institutions of the Prussian army
have been quickly established and put in working
order at every halting-place ; they are the Field
Telegraph and the Field Post-office. As soon as
it is determined where Ilead-Quarters are to be
fixed for the night, the Field Telegraph division
start off to the nearest permanent telegraph sta-
tion where the line can be fixed in working order ;
from am starting point they carry a single
line along the side of the shortest road to the

Head-Quarter house, and generally by the time
the chief of the staff arrives at his quarters he finds
his telegraph ready, by which he can get informa-
tion or send his orders. The Field Post-office, to
which I am indebted for being able to send my cor-
respondence to you since we crossed the frontier, is
established also at Head-quarters, but has branch
offices at the Head-quarters of each corps d'armee ; it
carries the private letters of soldiers and officers, as
well as official despatches, and sends out a mail
nearly daily. This is a greater convenience than
the Field Telegraph, but the latter is one of the neat-
est appliances of modern science to the art of war
which it is possible to conceive. The whole of its
apparatus is carried in two light waggons ; one con-
tains the batteries and needles, and is used as a
small room in which the telegraphist works ; the
second waggon carries the poles and wires, with the
implements for putting them up. The wires are coiled
round revolving discs, which are fitted in the wag-
gon, so that the wire can be passed as the waggon
gets along, or the disc can be transferred to a
stretcher carried between two men, so that it may
1)e laid off the road in places where it is desirable to
cut off corners. The detachment who lay the lines
are all instructed in repairing damage done to the
permanent wires. When it is remembered that yes-
terday morning the Austrians were close up to the
frontier, and that at midday the Castle of Grafen-
stein, five miles from the nearest permanent station,
was in direct telegraphic communication with Berlin
some idea can be formed of the advantages which
this apparatus gives to an army in the field.
The Prussian army restores the railways as it
goes. This afternoon railway communication was
reopened for military purposes from this place to
Berlin, so that with the telegraph for information,
and the railway for rapid movements, this army
may be concentrated on any point of the railway
communication with an extraordinary rapidity.
SICHROW, June 26.

The head-quarters of the lstarmy halted at Reich-
enberg on the 25th to allow the cavalry that came
by the Friedland road which had covered the march
of the column to come in. During the day the out-
posts were pushed forward, but the Austrians were
not felt.

The road from Reichenberg to Turnau crosses a
range of hills which separates the valley of the
Upper Neisse from the country beyond, and drops
down from this range by some sharp zigzags
to the valley in which lies the village of Lie-
benau. This village is built on the banks of a
stream, which forms a defile through a second
range of hills lying between Liebenau and Turnau.
This rivulet, in the part of its course above the vil-
lage of Liebenau, runs at right angles to the defile,

and forms a valley between the two hills which lie
north of Liebenau towards Reichenberg, and those
which lie to the south towards Turnau. The rail-
way from Liebena.o to Turnau passes through the
defile formed by the stream which runs through the
village; but the road turns to the left and ascends

the southern range, passing near the top between a
.steep cutting through rocks. This cutting is about
100 yards in length, and here the road is only about
30 feet wide. The hills are on their side covered
with thick plantations of fir trees ; but when the
traveller leaving Liebenau has by the road gained
the summit of the range which lies south of the vil-
lage he finds before him a wide plateau extending
for about two miles in the direction of Turnau. This
plateau was this morning covered with high-stand-
ing corps of wheat and barley, already whitening
for the harvest. The road runs through the corn-
fields, and at the end of the plateau drops down by
a gentle slope into the valley of the Iser. From the
brow of this slope Turnau can be seen lying in the
river towards the left front. The Schloss of Sichrow,
standing on the very edge of the Liebenau defile, is
directly on the right, and the view to the front is
bounded by the fir-clad and fantastically rocky hills
which form the Southern boundary of the valley of
the Iser, while on the left the church of Gentscho-
witz stands raised on a knoll above the general plain,
and looking down upon the orchards and cottages
of the little hamlet which clusters round its foot.
Between the bottom of the slope which falls from
this flat plain into the valley of the Iser and about
halfway between the foot of the hill and the river
itself there runs a low range of hills having an
elevation considerably inferior to that of the pla-
teau. On this lower range, immediately surrounded
by orchards, but in the midst of a wide stretch-
ing corn land, lies the village of Dauby. Last
night the Prussian advance posts were pushed for-
ward to the tops of the range of hills which bound
the valley of Liebenau on the north. This morning
Gen. von Horne, who with the Bth division held
the outposts, had advanced early to occupy Liebe-
nau. As his advanced guard entered the village,
the Austrian rearguard were discovered tearing up
the pavement, in order to form a barricade across
the narrow street through which the high road runs.
On the approach of the advanced guard they re-
tired to the hill over which the road to Turnau
passes south of the village. Here the Austrians took
up position ; their artillery, placed on the brow of
the hill, looked down upon the village of Liebenau,
which Horne had just occupied, and their cavalry
covered the guns. But they were not in force. They
had no infantry, and their whole strength appeared
to be only four regiments of cavalry, with two bat-
teries of horse artillery. Horne's division passed
through the village, and began to ascend the hill,
while Gen. von Haunn came down to Liebenau
with the cavalry, and the field artillery took up a
position on the hills which bound the Liebnau val-
ley on the north. Thus the guns of the Austrians
were on the southern, those of the Prussians on the
northern range which form the valley of Liebenau ;
the valley between them is about 600 yards wide,
and there seemed to be an opportunity for a smart
combat.
Down in Liebenau, between the opposed
osfuinllgorritreo'smdi
vios,
hsei vn aagned,
columns were
ee thealready w i wings
s.
batteries,
making their way along both the railway and the
chaussee, while the skirmishers were getting among
that clothe the bill beside the
the short spruce firs

road.
A little before 9 o'clock Prince Frederick Charles
and his staff came upon the
hill
where the
o'clock artillerywhen
was placed. It was almost exactly 9
a flash of fire, with a heavy puff of white smoke on
the Austrian hill, showed that their artillery had
opened, and a lille shell came whistling over the
heads of Horne's division. The Prussian artillery
answered, and for a few minutes the hills echoed
with the noise of their rapid discharges ;
while the smoke, drifting but slowly on the lazy
breeze, bid from sight the opposite guns, though the
quick reports and the whistling of the shells told
that they were not idle. But the Prussian guns were
too numerous, norne's division was pushing up the
hill, and the Austrian artillery had to retire. Then
the Prussian cavalry pushed forward by the road,
and in at short time eight fine cavalry regiments
were formed on the northern edge of the plateau.
The Thuringian Uhlans, the Uhlans of the Prince
of Hohenlohe, and the dragoons of the Prince of

Mecklenburg were extended to the left, while the
Brandenburg Hussars of Ziethen, conspicuous by
their red uniform, were nearer the road. On the

right of the cavalry was the horse artillery, and
Prince Frederick Charles, himself a cavalry officer,

was in the front.

The retreat of the Austrians could be traced by the
broad paths trampled down in the corn, and every
now and then they halted, their artillery came into
action, and two or three rounds were fired at the
forming lines. When Prince Frederick Charles had

completed his dispositions he ordered the advance,
and the troops pressed forward. The cavalry and
artillery moved on the plateau, while Horne's in-
fantry, on the right, made for the Schloss of Sichrow
and the woods around it. The cavalry pushed on

quickly, and the guns moved well with it, but
every now and then halted and came into action.
The Austrians, inferior in numbers and already
retiring, could not hope to stand against the force
thus displayed, and they drew quickly over the
plateau, making for the hills of Dauba. Three
regiments of cavalry were launched after them and
went dashing through the corn, but did not reach
the retiring troops before the latter had quitted
the plateau, and then the woods and broken ground
on the side of the slopes impeded their progress.
As soon as the Austrians gained the Dauba hills
their artillery opened and poured shells briskly
into the advancing lines, but the gliding motion
of the advancing troops and the undulating ground
deceived their aim, for only about 20 casualties oc-
curred. When the Prussian guns gained the
southern brow of the plateau, they opened on the
Austrian batteries ; a smart cannonade ensued, but
the Austrians were ultimately silenced. Yet they
did well, for they made good their retreat ; but had
not the Prussian horse been detained by having to
pass through the narrow street of Liebenau, the

field artillery which to-day fired into the Prussian
ranks would probably have gone as a trophy to

Berlin.

It is evident that the Austrian commander had not
calculated on the rapid advance of General von
Horne. His dispositions for the defence of the Liebe-
nau position were incomplete; the street of Liebe-
nau was not rendered impracticable, for the work-
men were disturbed by the Prussian advance guard,
and in the cutting which the road leading from the
village passes through at the top of the hill leading
on to the plateau, although the trees which stood
by the wayside had been cut down, they were not
formed into abattis, nor was the cutting blocked by
waggons or any barricade. The Austrians re-
treated across the Iser, and broke the bridges, but
the Prussians after the combat occupied Turnau
with two divisions, while the main body of the army
bivouacked on the plateau, and one division occu-
pied Gablonz, which lies five miles to the north-east.
The plateau that looks down on Liebenau has
been sadly changed in the course of the day. The
corn is trampled down by the feet of horses and the
wheels of artillery ; dead horses are lying dotted
here and there over the plain, while holes in the
ground show where shells have struck and burst.
But these marks are not frequent, for the Austrian
shells often penetrated into the earth without

bursting, and several have been dug out by the sol-
diers this afternoon ; nor was the practice of their
artillery good. The Ziethen Hussars, whose red
uniforms drew their fire, were at one time exposed
to a heavy cannonade, but though above 50 shells
struck the ground around them not one fell among
their ranks, nor at that time htd they a man touched.
The result of to-day's combat is not overvalued
in the Prussian army ; the officers on this side do
not despise their enemy, and they fully recognise
the fact that it was to superior numbers that the
Austrians yielded to-day. They have great confi-

dente in their chief and in the needle gun and their
rifled cannon, but they have no vain assurance.
They know that the Austrian army is a good one,

and they will omit nothing that their skill or
science can suggest to let their troops meet it on the
best of terms.

HEAD-QUARTERS OF FIRST PRUSSIAN ARMY
SCIILOSS OF SICIIROW, June 27.

The railway and high road which lead down the
valley of the Iser from Turnau to Munehengratz run
for a dista,uee of about five miles from the former

down on the north side of the river, but on reaching

the village of Podoll cross to the south bank by two
bridges, which are about 200 yards distant from
each other, that of the railway being on the right,
and that by which the road crosses on the left of a
person looking towards Munchengratz. The rail-
way bridge is constructed of iron ; that which
carries the road across the stream is made of wood,
and lies on a level with the causeway which is raised
on an embankment about ten feet above the flat
meadows lying alongside it. The Iser is at Podoll

near upon 100 yards wide, and runs with a deep bu
fast stream between steep banks, which only rise
about 4ft. above the level of the water.
By the side of the road and on the banks of
the stream grow large willow trees, planted at
equal distances from each other, and about ten
yards apart. Three roads lead from the plateau of
Sichrow to the high road that runs down the valley
of the Iser. That on the east a country road which
leaves the plateau near the Schloss of Sichrow and
joins the highway near the village of Swierzin,
almost at an equal distance between Turnau and
Podoll ; in the centre the chaussee from Liebenau
strikes into the high road halfway between Swierzin
and Turnau, and the road from Gentschowitz on the
west joins it close to this town.
Yesterday evening Prince Frederick Charles threw
a light pontoon bridge over the river a little below
the broken bridge of Turnau, and occupied the
town with a small force without opposition. Horne's
division marched at the same time by the country
road on the east, occupied the village of Swierzin,
and pushed its advanced guard towards Podoll. The
troops directed on this point consisted of two com-
panies of the 4th Jager battalion, the 2d and fusileer
battalions of the 31st Regiment, and one battalion
of the 71st. The Jagers, who were leading, got to
within three-quarters of a mile of Podoll-bridge be-
fore they came into collision with Austrian out-
posts, but here they found the enemy, and a sharp
action ensued, for the Austrians had six battalions
in the village, and meant to hold the place and cover
the passage of the river.
It was about 8 o'clock, and the dusk of the even-
ing was rapidly closing in, when the Jagers first felt
their enemy. On the right hand side of the road,
about half a mile before the bridge, stands the first
house of the village. It is a large square farm-
house, with windows without glass, but with heavy
gratings. The Austrians had occupied it in force,
and their outlying pickets, as they retired before the
advancing Prussians, formed line across the road
beside it. As soon as the Jagers came within sight
the garrison of the farmhouse and the formed-up
pickets opened a bitter fire upon them. From the
grated windows and from the line of soldiers in the
road there came one rapid volley, which told
severely ou the Prussian riflemen, but these Went
quickly to work, and had fired about three times
before the Austrians, armed only with muzzle-load-
ing rifles, were able to reply. Then the noise of
musketry rose high, occasionally swelling into a
heavy roar, but sometimes falling off so that the ear
could distinguish the separate reports. But this
did not last. Major von Hagen, commanding the
2d battalion of the 31st, which was following the
Jagers on the first sound of the firing, had put his
troops into double quick time, and was soon up to
reinforce the riflemen. It was now nearly dark,
and the flashes of the rifles, the reports of the shots,
and the shouts of the combatants were almost the
only indication of the position of the troops.; yet it
could be seen that the rapid fire of the needle-gun
was telling on the Austrian line in the road, and
the advancing troops of the Prussians showed that
they were gaining ground. Then while the ex-
change of shots was still proceeding rapidly be-
tween the window-gratings of the farm-house and
the Prussian firing parties who had extended into a
corn-field on the right of the high-way, there was
sudden pause in the firing on the road, for the
Jagers, supported by the 31st, had made a dash and
0
were bearing the Austrians back beyond the farm-
house to where the cottages of the villageclosedhoadn
each side of the road, and where the defenders
hastily thrown some hewn down willow trees as a
barricade across the way. •
Then the tumult of the fight increased. Dark-