The Sun.
London, England, 1866-07-20 00:00:00

u•INLY•lira.l
The King of Prussia on the Battle of
Koniggratz.

BERLIN, July 18.
The following letter from the King of Prussia to
the Queen has been communicated to a private
circle. It contains an interesting account of the
great battle of the 3d :

" Horzitz, July 4th, 1866.
" Fritz (the Crown Prince) left me at two, and Karl
(Prince Frederick Charles) at three in the afternoon, after
a council of war, at which it was resolved to grant the
troops, exhausted by marches and engagements, one or
two days' rest. At half-past ten p.m., however, General
Voigts-Rhetz came to me again, to report the result of the
day's reconnoitring, which was to the effect that large
masses of the enemy had been moving from Josepbstadt
to Koniggratz on this side of the Elbe from eight in the
morning until three. Prisoners stated that the army was
concentrated round Koniggratz, between the Elbe and the
Bistritz. It was, therefore, proposed to me to take advan-
tage of the favourable circumstances that the enemy
seemed inclined to fight upon this side of the Elbe, and
to offer him battle. For this purpose the first army was
to take up its position with the second, third, and fourth
corps in the centre, having Sadowa in its front. General
Herwarth with his one and a-half corps to take the enemy
in the left flank from Nechanitz, and Fritz with the second
army, the Guards, the first, fifth, and sixth corps, advanc-
ing from Soniginlof—with his left wing to the left of the
Elbe--to attack the hostile right.
"It was not till midnight that I had arranged everything
with Goneral Moltke, and appointed my start to take place
at five a.m.; the army having to commence its march at two.
1 had nearly four (German) miles to drive, and could not
yet feel sure of the correctness of the surmise that the
enemy was on this side of the Elbe. But its truth was as-
certained only too soon. When I mounted my horse at the
little village of Dub it was raining, and the rain lasted, with
short interruptions, throughout the day. Even at that time,
when driving past the troops, I was continually cheered.
"The battle began just at eight o'clock with the artillery
fire of the Second Corps as I arrived at Sadowa, and took
up my position upon a hill; this corps was on my right.
The Harn Dision (the Bth) crossed the Bistritz at
Sadowa,, and attacked the wooded heights in front, but
gained little ground, owing to the obstinacy of the defence.
The 7th Division (Franserky) extended itself upon the left
with a similar undecided result. Herwarth, advancing
from Nechanitz, came after an hour and a half into the
fight, which was constantly maintained by us for 5 hours,
and consisted mainly in an artillery contest, intermixed
with infantry attacks upon the wooded mountains. We
awaited the arrival of the second army with longing, for in
this long artillery duel our batteries sQveral times ex-
pended their reserve ammunition. The infantry contest
vacillated backwards and forwards. At last we discovered
the first signs of the approach of the Guards, but were
unable to see the attack which took place on the other
side of the hill, and we could only guess at it from the
enemy's flank position. Notwithstanding this, however
and in spite of Herwarth's gradual but very slow advance,
the enemy still stood firm in the centre. The 9th brigade
(Schimmelmann), the body-guard, and the 48th Regiment
were now pushed forward to support the attack upon the
. centre. I rode through the regiments, which received me
with loud cheers, while the bands played 'Heil Dir' (the
Prussian national hymn), in marching a thrilling mo-
ment ! Suddenly the artillery fire in the centre slackened,
and cavalry was asked for—a proof that the enemy began
to waver. I now quitted my post, as victory began to
declare ittself through the flank attack of the second army,
and rode forward with the cavalry. Here I first came upon
the second Guards division and the Fusilier Guards in full
advance, tambour battant, with 12 just captured guns in the
midst. The enthusiasm that burst forth when these troops
saw me is indescribable. The officers rushed up to kiss my
hands, which I was this time obliged to allow, and so it went
on, under fire certainly, but ever forwards, and from one
troop to another, everywhere greeted by never ending
hurrahs. These are moments one must have lived through
to understand, to comprehend. In this way I met the
troops of the first, sxth, and fifth Army Corps, also my
infantry regiment ; only the Bth Jager battalion of the
eighth corps, and the 17th Regiment of the sevenrh ; the
others were too far advanced in pursuit of the enemy. Our
cavalry now burst forward, and a murderous cavalry en-
gagement took place right before my eyes. The enemy
was completely overthrown, and the scene which I
rode over directly afterwards presented a horrid spec-
tacle, strewn with cut down .Austrians, dead and alive.
Thus the infantry again advanced to the valley bordering
the Elbe, when from the other bank ensued very
heavy grenade fire, under which I came, but was
withdrawn by Bismarck's serious remonstrances. I still
continued riding about to greet troops I had not yet sean,
when I met Mutius, Wurtemberg, and Bonin. All these
meetings were indescribable. Stainmetz and Herwarth I
did not see. What a sight the battlefield presented. We
touted 35 guns, but 50 seem to have been taken, also seve-
ral flags. In all directions lay heaps of muskets, knap-
sacks, and cartridge-boxes. Up to the present we have
10,000 prisoners ; 50 captured officers are here. But now
for the reverse of the medal. Our loss is not yet ascer-
tained, but iris large. You will have heard that Gen. Hiller
of the Guard has fallen--a great loss. Anton Hohenzol-
lern has four bullets in his leg; I have not heard how he
is going on ; he is said to have shown immense bravery.
Erekert is badly wounded ; also Colonel Obernitz, in the
head. The Ist Guards have suffered so heavily that two
battalions have been formed into one. You may fancy how
great was my excitement, and of the most various kind -
joy and sorrow. At eight o'clock lat last met Fritz with
his staff. What a moment after all we had gone through,
and on the evening of such a day. I gave him the order
Pour le Merite with my own hands. The tears poured
down his cheeks, for he had not received my telegram
granting the distinction—therefore a complete surprise.
More verbally when we met. I did not reach here until
ten, without any preparations, so had to camp upon's,
sofa."