The Sun.
London, England, 1866-06-14 00:00:00

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Till PRUSSIAII ARMY.

(From the Times' Military Correspondent.)
JUTENBOGN, June 10.
The prospect of war with Austria is undoubtedly
not regarded with much favour by the Prussian
army. There is little enthusiasm and small desire
for the military glory which is to be gained in a con-
test against fellow-Germans, even among the troops
—while the mind of the people at large dwells much
less upon the advantages of a successful war than
upon the death wounds and devastation which
must always accompany it. Many hearts are very
heavy this Sunday in Prussia, the thoughts of
many of the soldiers in the front are naturally di-
rected homewards on this day, which, of all days in
the week, peculiarly has domestic associations, and
in every Prus;ian town and village, from the hilly
banks of the Rhine to the plains of the Vistula,
sad women are offering up their anxious prayers for
those whom they fear never to see again, and are
hoping almost against hope for tidings that may tell
of peace. The system on which this army is recruited
and organised makes the bond which ties the Prus-
sian soldier to his home stronger than in any other
service. Each corps d'armee is raised from one par-
ticular province, in which it is always quartered
during peace. Every regiment belongs to a certain
town or district, from which it is never moved ex-
cept to take the field for active service. The reserve
troops and the Landwehr, who have to fill up the
corps to the increased numbers necessary in the time
of war, all belong to the same province, and in the
case of the Landwehr are for the most part mem-
bers during peace of the artisan or agricultural
classes. Not that military service is limited to these
alone, for every man, with very few exceptions, in

the year in which he attains the age of 20, is liable

to be draughted into the army, and no substitute
will be accepted in his stead. When a corps is placed
on a war footing the immediate effect is to give a
severe blow to the industry of the province from
which it is levied, and when it marches to take the
field large numbers of the respectable male popula-
tion have to leave their homes. Many of the men
called out are married and have young families en-
tirely dependent upon them for support; they them-
selves have, perhaps, never before made a long
journey from their homes, so that in addition to the
heart-weariness naturally consequent upon leaving
those dear to them dependent upon an, uncertain
destiny, they have to exchange the quiet of their

own country homes for the strange bustle and noise
of the camp of an army about to take the field.
Yet, with every inducement to shirk his military
duty, a Prussian soldier has hardly ever been known
to fail in his performance of it. The idea of
not appearing at headquarters when summoned to
be there does not so much as enter the mind of the
highest or lowest conscript, and is unknown to the
oldest Landwehr man who has a well-grown family
equally with the youngest recruit. It is these Land-
wehr men who are justly considered in Prussia to be
the very best troops in the kingdom, nor is it sur-
prising that they should be so, for although foreigners
often suppose them to be mere country levies called
out hastily in time of war, they are, in reality, after
a few weeks' practice the best drilled men in the

army. All of them have, with very slight exceptions,
served three years in the active army, two years in
the reserve, and have been called out annually fora
regular course of training. All are in the prime of
life, and although they want the well set-up figure
of the British Dragoon or the jaunty air of the
French Voltigeur, there is a real workmanlike lock
about them which seems to augur unflinching courage
and unwearying perseverance. When first called up
for regular service they have much the same look as
our English county yeomen ; their uniforms do not
appear to sit quite easily upon them ; there is a su-
perabundance of black silk stock visible above the
collar of the coat, and the apparent desire to assimi-
late as much as possible their forage caps to Balmoral
bonnets, which seemstopervade all bucolic soldiery.
In common with all the Prussian troops, they have,
however, a power of marching superior to almost
any army in Europe. The natives of the agricultural
districts of this kingdom, accustomed from child-
hood to wear either no shoe, or one with a hard un-
bending sole, have their feet so hardened that, al-
though they are so badly-shod that it would be bar-
barity to give such boots to any other troops, sore
feet are unknown among them in the longest march.
What a drag this infliction is upon the movements
of a marching column those know well who have
seen troops start upon a march when not seasoned
to' it, and by them the value of this Prussian pecu-
lirity will 1)6 duly appreciated.

In consequence of the concentration of the army
in Silesia round Furstenstein, the Prussian army,
watching the Saxon frontier, has intrenched its posi-
tion further towards its left, and the headquarters
of Prince Frederic Charles, who commands it, are
now at a small town near Gorlitz. The plan of the
Austrian 'campaign seems to be as yet shrouded in
the mostlmpenetrable secrecy. The Kaiser is sup-
posed to be to-day at Olmutz, in Moravia, where it
is expected he will be met toy General Benedek. This
position of the Austrian headquarters threatens
equally Silesia and Saxony ; it is assumed here for
certain that the Austrians will strike the first blow,
but whether by an advance into Silesia, a dash upon
Berlin through Saxony, or an attempt against the
Rhine Provinces, no one can pretend_to say. The
Prussians are in low spirits, and speak with no confi-
dence of the issue of the strife ; many of the inha-
bitants of Berlin have already reconciled themselves
to the pos9ibility of seeing their capital in the bands
of the enemy; and.their army driven behind the Oder
—but although prepared for the worst they do not
despond, they arc animated by an indomitable sense
of duty, their stout honest hearts swell with indig-
nation at the idea of seeing the Slavonian and
Croatian battalions of Austria enter Brandenburg, ,
and they are determined that if Benedek attempts
to win Berlin, either success or failure shall cost
him dear.

The King of Prussia is supposed to be about to
leave Berlin for the headquarters of the army on
Tuesday. To-morrow will, it is supposed, be fraught
with great events. Some high Austrian official is
to be sent to convoke the Holstein Estates, and it is
supposed that if the Prussians interfere to prevent
the convocation, or to separate the Estates when
assembled, the Austrian troops in Bohemia and
Moravia will be at once set in motion. Why Austria
should monopolise the Government of Holstein
since the Convention of Gastein, which could alone
give her legal claim to it, has been declared null and
void; it is for politicians to determine. Soldiers can
only see that, if war does break out between the
two` German giants, the struggle will be bitter and
bloody. Whatever success the House of Hapsburg
may gain in such an internecine war will barely
repay it for the great sacrifices it must make, and
the heavy losses it must sustain before it can humble
its northern rival ; for the Prussian soldiery are pre-
pared to struggle stoutly and to die hard for their
King and fatherland. It is an error, but not an un-
common onein England, to suppose that the Prussian
Monarch is unpopular among his people. The popu-
lace of Berlin do, without doubt, much dislike the
present Ministry, and part of the odium his Ministry
has incurred is reflected upon the King himself.
In the country districts, if they may be judged
from the representatives of their feelings they send
to the ranks of the,army, such sentiments have not
penetrated. The army still look on their Monarch
with a kindly affection, and intrusti to him their full
confidence ; they still regard him as their powerful
he
friend, and he still addresses
as children."
Were the war which now seems tn:s.arinfad us
noin
the face to be waged with a countr y b
which
common ties of family or of tongue, the
enthusiasm
of the army would be difficult to restrain ; as
it
is,
the people of Prussia cannot forget that the Kaiser
is a German Emperor, and that many of his subjects
are of common kin with themselves. But when war
has once begun and blood has once been spilt such kin-
dred tieswill be quickly forgotten ; thewhite uniform
of the Empire will, in the popular mind, be asso-
ciated only with the plundering Slavonian and Croa-
tian battalions, and it will soon be forgotten that the
Austrian ranks contain any levies other than these
detested foreigners.

The south-eastern portion of the province of
Silesia is not occupied by Prussian troops ; the con-
figuration of the country prevents troops being col-
ected in that corner without the certainty of their