The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-06 00:00:00

THE PRUSSIAN ARMY.

(From the Times' Military Correspondent)

SOBOTKA, June 30, 1 a.m.

The Crown Prince, with the 2d Army, or Army
of Silesia, on Wednesday, defeated in an action, near
Trautenau, the two Austrian corps d'armee of Ga-
blenz and Ramming, and was pushing his advanced
troops upon the Upper Elbe in the direction of the
towns of Arnau and Konigshof. Last evening, in
order to open communications with the Crown
Prince, and to facilitate the concentration of the
two armies, Prince Frederick*Charles made a move-
ment towards his left in the direction of the town of
Gitschin, or Jicin, as it is written on many maps.
In order to prevent confusion, I have not, while
the Ist and 2d armies have been acting on different
lines, sent any details of the operations of the
Crown Prince, nor shall I touch upon them on the
present occasion more than is necessary for the com-
prehension of the movements of the Ist Army, but
shall send in a future letter a full account of the
advance Isom Silesia.
Late last evening the commander of the Ist Army
moved his headquarters from Munchengratz to
,Sobotka, but not with the intention of remaining
tassg here, for he leaves this town at 4 this morning.
The army moved from the Iser towards Gitschin
by three roads—the left from Turnau by Rewensko,
the centre from Podill by Sobotka, the right from
Muncheugratz by Ober Bautzen on Sobotka. Four
roads lead from the town of Gitschin, almost to-
wards the four points of the compass ; that of the
north to Taruau, of the west to Sobotka, of the
south to Kosteltz, and of the east, but bending
southwards, to Horitz. From the Kosteltz road
to the Turnau road runs, about three miles dis-
tance from Gitschin, a semi-circular range of steep
broken hills ; on their slopes and summits spruce
and silver firs grow in thick woods which occa-
sionally reach down into the cultivated ground.
Here and there upon these hills are patches of
corn or clover land, while at various intervals
there are little villages, which generally consist of
10 or 12 large wooden cottages, separated from each
other and standing in orchards. Near the foot of
the range of hills the ground is much broken up by
shallow ravines and gullies.
Where the road from Sobotka pasees through the
hills they dip down so as to form a narTow pass, and
the fir forests on each side run down close to the
road. On the Sobotka side of the woods there is a
ravine about 100 feet deep, but with banks not so
st•.'ep but that the road can descend and ascend
them in a direct line. A quarter of a mile from this
ravine, and nearer Gitschin, the road drops again
into a similar hollow, but here the forest has retired
from the side of the chausse e , and the ground is
covered with standing crops, among which fruit
trees are thickly studded. At about the same dis-
tance further on towards the town a third break in
the ground causes another sharp undulation of the
roadway. On the Gitschin side of this hollow
ground, partly on the bank, but more on the brow
of the slope, and on the more level country beyond,
stands the little village of Lochow, forming a clump
of houses with low walls, but having high thatched
roofs, which just rise above the tops of the orchard
trees that cluster closely among and around the
cottages. A quarter of a mile beyond the village
lies the last break in the ground, for beyond this a
flat plain stretches to the little river which, passing
the town of Gitschin on its Lochow side, falls into
the Iser near Turnau. The last ravine is rather
deeper and wider than the others ; at the bottom
there is a rivulet, which the road, after descending
the Lochow bank, crosses by a low stone bridge,
and then runs straight up the opposite side of the
nullah, as it might be termed in Indian phrase, to
gain the level plain.
The corps of General von Schmitt marched yes-
terday from the neighbourhood of Podoll to
Sobotka, and there striking the road from Munch-
engratz to Gitschin, General von Schmitt changed
the direction of his march to the left, and ad-
vanced towards Gitschiu. He moved with his
two divisions at some distance apart ; that of
General von Werder, or the 3d Division, as it is
gamed in the muster roll of the army, led the way.
Von We'rder's advanced guard consisted of the 2d
battalion of Jagers and the 3d battalion of the 42d
Regiment. In rear of these followed the three bat-
talions of the regiment of the late King of Prussia,
the two remaining battalions of the 42d, and one
battalion of the 14th Regiment, with one six-
poande.r and two four-pounder field batteries.
A strong Austrian force held the wood behind the
first ravine, with its sharpshooters hidden behind
the trunks of the fir trees, with the view of compen-
sating for the inferiority of their rifle to the Prus-
sian needle-gun. Behind each marksman two sol-
diers wereplaced,whose only duty was to load their
rifles and hand them to the picked men to whom the
firing was intrusted. The Austrian artillery was
placed behind the wood, so that it could bring a
cross fire on the opening in the front through which
the chaussee passes, and strike heavily on the Sobotka
bank of the ravine and the open country beyond.
As the Prussian advanced guard approached the
ravine, the Austrian batteries opened fire upon
them, and the marksman from behind the trees also
soon commenced a biting fire. The Jagers and the
men of the 42d quickly spread out as skirmishers,
and, regardless of the withering fire to which they
themselves were exposed, showered bullets from
their quickly-loaded arms against the defenders of
the wood, while some of their artillery quickly
brought into action tried to silence the Austrian
guns. But the fight was unequal, the sharpshooters
behind the trees couldrarely be seen, and the fire of
the Prussians did not tellmuch upon their concealed
enemies ; nor were their guns in sufficient force to
engage successfully the more numerous AuStrian
forces. The Jagers from among the trees were aim-
ing well ; the men of the 42d were falling fast, it
seemed that the defenders would be able to hold the
wood. But the rest of the Prussian division was
coming up ; more artillery was already in action ;
and the Austrian gunners began to fire with less effect.
The regiment of the King of Prussia soon arrived.
The Prussian soldiers, unable to make much im-
pression with their fire on the riflemen in the trees,
were already anxious to come to close quarters, and
then Gen. von Weeder sent his men forward to take
the woods with the bayonet. They were carried,
but not without loss, for the Austrians retired from
tree to tree, and only when pressed beyond the last
skirt of the wood retired under cover of their guns
and reserves to take up a position on the further
brow of the next ravine. The musketry fire recom-
menced. The opponents stood on either bank of the
hollow, and poured volley after volley into each
other's ranks, while the artillery, from positions on
the flanks of both lines, sent their shells truly among
their adversaries' infantry. But here the needle gun
had more success, for the Austrians stood up clear
against the sky, and soon the white uniforms began
to go down quickly. No troops so ill-armed could
have stood before the murderous fire which the
Prussians directed against the opposite line. The
Austrians did all that men could do, but after losing
fearfully were obliged to fall back id take up their
third position in the village of Lochow.
It was now about 7 o'clock in the evening ; the
combat had already lasted almost two hours, but
here it was renewed morey fiercely than ever. The
Prussians, encouraged t
sol-
diers and bravely led eagerly their success—brave
came to the attack.
With hearts as big and with officers as devoted, the
Austrians stood with a desperate calmness to receive
them. On both sides the fighting was hard, but at
against
the ain
any distance the Austrian rifle had no chance
the needle gun, and at close quarters the boyisharosodl-
diers of the Kaiser could not cope with the broad_
shouldered men of Pomerania, who form the corpsa
-
d'arinee, one division of which was here engaged.
Yet for three quarters of an hour the
.little village
of Loebow was held, and the continuous rattle
of the rifles and the heavy cannonade of the
guni remaining almost stationary told the de-
termination of the assault and the stoutness of
the defence. But the Austrians were slowly
forced from house to house and from orchard
to orchard, and had to retreat to their last vantage
ground on the top of the Gitschin bank of the
fourth ravine.
And here both sides re-engaged in the fight with
the utmost fury. The defenders felt that this was
their last standing point, and on its maintenance