The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-07-20

1 O4N 1I1E hA1LPOAOs
+ While this combat was proceeding
slowly along the street, another fight
was carried on upon the railway al
! most with an equal progress, and with
an almost similar result. A party of
the Austrians fell back from the
point where shots were first ex-
changed, and where the railway
crosses the road along the line. They
were pushed by some Prussian de-
tachments, but neither side was here
in strong force, and the principal
fighting was done upon the road but
here, too, the needle gun showed its
advantage over the old-fashioned wea-
pons of the Austrians, for the latter
fell in the proportion of six to one
Prussian. The railway bridge was
not broken, but the rails were torn
up by the retiring troops, and the line
is not now passable by trains.
LAST STAND OF THE AUsTRIANs.
The Prussians pushed over both
bridges after the retreating Austrians;
the latter threw strong detachment
into large unfinished house which
stands by the chaussee, about a quar-
ter of mile beyond the bridge, and
again made a stand, but not of long
duration. They had lost many killed,
wounded and prisoners; many of their
officers were dead or taken; but they
stood till they could gather in all the
stragglers who had escaped from the
houses of the village, and harrassed
by the pursuing Prussians, drew off
sullenly by the main road to Nun
chengratZ.
Thus terminated a contest which,
fought upon both sides with the
greatest yigor and determination, yet
resulted in a clear victory for the
Prussians.
| 81 THE BATTLE OF MACLEOD.
Correspondence of the London Times.
On the 9th of June one army corps
of the Crown Prince-the 9Th, or Pc
sen Corps, commanded by Gen. Won
Steinmetz--fell in with the Austrians
at Nachod, on the Silesian frontier,
| twenty-five miles west of Glatz. Like
some others which followed In its
wake, this corps had entered Bohem-
la both by way of Brannau and Rein
err, with orders to move on to the
fortress of Josephstadt by the famous
pass of Nachod. The losses in this
first encounter were not inconsider-
able on either side, and it seems that
both succeeded in taking some guns,
AT the close of the day the Prussians,
as we'll as the Austrians, maintained
their previous positions, a portion
only of the latter retiring to Joseph
stadt, being replaced by fresh troops.
On the day following, Gen. Steinmetz
ordered second attack Fortunately
he had been REINFORCED in the night
by division of the 1st or East Prus-
sian Corps, being this time confronted
by the Austrians corps Of the full
complement of $4,000 men. 'i' q. Z
The battle lasted several hours, ter
minating with the retreat of the Aus
TRANS and the occupation by the
Prussians of Skalicz, the next station
on the road to Josephstadt. About
5000 Austrians were taken prisoners,
and nearly as many lay dead or
wounded on the battle field. On each
side some ninety guns had been at
work. The Austrian cavalry was re-
peatedly routed by the Prussian Lam
GERS, losing all their standards, and
eventually abandoning the geld to the
victor As to the Prussian infantry,
it relied as usual upon the rapidity of
its fire, the three ranks discharging at
once, the first kneeling down; the
Austrians, on the other hand, with
the impatient temper of Sclavonian
races, and wishing to make up for the
of their guns, had recourse
to bayonet charges. But long before
they could attain the Prussian ranks
their number, under the volleys from
the needle gum, was so thinned as to
cause the remnant to turn about and
fall to the rear. With true Austrian
perseverance they came on again and
again. The result was terribly iden-
teal in each case In one instance |
only did they succeed In crossing arms |
with the inaccessible enemy.
: One Prussian regiment agreed to !
cease firing to give the Austrians a
chance of measuring their strength in
cold steel. 1t was one of those cool
and habitually taciturn regiments
from the Far north, who during the
last few weeks had been a wonder and
an ever recurring grievance to the To-
quacious race inhabiting the pleasant |
and fertile valleys of Silesia Felix.
Uttering savage yells the Sclavonians
rushed forward. The Germans pre-
sented their bayenets, and in mo-
ment, when the first shock had been
encountered, cast away their mus
kets, drew their swords, and fought
man to man in the good old fashion.
l remember having read in German |
histories of the strategical art, that |
so long as the sword was the weapon |
principally used in war no Continent
al tribe could match the Teutons on |
the battlefield However, when the
Germans, unluckily for themselves, |
stumbled upon the invention of gun.