Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1866-07-18
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THE GERMAN WAR.
The Terrible Fighting I'm Bob emfaA Il
PagtfoularsO the BattIes at tNach0d,
at TrRute1au and at Mnnchengratz
The King of Prussia at the Front,

.
The King of Prussia at the Front,
/ tUorrespOndenee of the London Times ] ig..
ION the 9th of June one army corps of
the Crown. Prince-the Fifth, or Posen
Corps, commanded by General Won Stein
metz--fellin 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
Bohemia both by way of Braunau and
Reinerz, with orders to move on to the fort
ress of Josephstadt by the famous, pass OF
Nachod. The losses in this first encounter
were not inconsiderable on either side, and
It seems that both succeeded in taking some
guns. AT the close OF the day the Prus-
SLAMS, as well as the Austrians, maintained
their previous positions, portion only Of
the latter retiring to Josephstadt, being re-'
placed by fresh troops. On the day follow
ing Gen. Steinmetz ordered second at
tack. Fortunately, he had been reinforced
in the night by a division of the First or
East Pr1ssiah Corps, being this time COM
fronted by the Austrian corps Of the full
complement of 10000 men. The battle
lasted several hours, terminating with the
retreat of the Austrlans and the Occupation
by thePrussians OF Skalicz, the next sta
tion on the road to Josephstadt, About
5000 Austrians were taken, prisoners, and
nearly as many lay dead or wounded on the
battlefield. On each sidesome ninety guns
had been at work. The Austrian cavalry
was repeatedly routed by the PTussian
Lancers,, losing all their standards, and
eventually abandoning the field to the VIC
tor. 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 Austrlans, on the other
hand, with the impatient temper of Scla-
vonian races, and wishing to make up for
the inferiOrity OF their gun, had recourse to
bayonet charges. But long before they could
attain The Prtisstdn ranks their Number, Under
the Uollels from The needle gta, tedS so thinned
as to cause the remnant 10 turn about and fall
TO the rear. With true Austrian persever-
aUce they came on again and again. There
suit ,Cds terribly tderticdli each case. In one IN
stance only did they succeed in crossing arms
tCith The inaccessible enemy. One Prussian
regiment agreed to cease firing to give the
Austrians q 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 re-
curing grievance to the loquacious race
inhabitiHg the pleasant and fertile valleys
OF Silesia Felix. eUttering savage yells the
Sclavonians rushed forward. The Germans
presented their bayonets, and in moment,
when the first shock had been encountered,
cast away their muskets, drew their swords,
and fought man to manl in. the good old
fashion. remember having read in Ger.
man histories of the strategical art, that so
long as the sword was the weapon pfinei-
pally used In war no Continental tribe could
match the TeutOns on the battle field. How
ever, when the Germans, unluckily for
themselves, stumbled upon the Invention
of gunpowder, other nations, more adrOit
in handling the musket and executing the
maneuvers its use Involves, were enabled
to dispute the glory of military prestige
with its former monOpolists. Whatever the
atom of truth in this self-complacent as
sertion may be, there are few cases on
record where the Germans have really
warmed to their work on the battlefield
while coufinrd to shooting and stabbing.
Shooting leaves them Indifferent; the bay
onet they positively hate, having an indeh-
mite feeling that II is not legitimate weap-
on of warfare, but a sort of long stiletto,
while if you give them a sword, the heavier
the better, they are ia their own element,
and needno instruction as to how lay it
on pffectually. To indulge their battering
inclination, the Prussian soldieFy formerly
used to reverse their muskcts, aud belab0r
the foe with the butt end, process far too
energetic to employ withTsOdelieate an in
strument us the needle, gun, which lWould
fall to pieces on the seeOud blow, So moth
ing remains but to draw the sw6rd, and al
though it is said to be little too short and
a great deal too light to suit the tastes of the
men, still, as it is the nearest approach to a
club within their reach int this civilized age,
they preferdt incan emergency to Brown
~ sSa,r bsnSsp vaS e,iIy nr"yo5 tS5 ftar y
fau nnon,ants Irgirh ond ioft tbe
Sc,,Hn,,ia :, havonet viaIdad 70 the Garnoan ,a
% 10y 49, E.e " ~,
~ ST ,o f,,Itho,1 ,Sa t,, ,,ae Ine
c.a..s nv O0' V"an Ld Vol "iii'9 ~
Tha u.s. 80 u5eO, tIenn+h,+ +bo dov bo-
tro tba q 'SSths u, fSSS;ss;o,,
G,o ,ds bo SS ysn SnS I 70 %yitbin q shart Sisl
tauoa ~ % Trs,,tanon ~ s;tnatoa ,a,, uoiIeo
nnrtS Of NooboS This cornS a,trnlv nreo
senfabIe bodv of Ak Oo6 men with the re-
HiiiSita artillery Had marched int6 tb4
coI,trv Iby the fandsbnt, PASS tbe SECOND
oS % the fw9 w fSmons ann defiIes from Central SiIe-,
Sia into Central ,Rohemja- described in NV.
iast topographicaT Letter. It's onward
n,a rcb was fIfipeferi bv asomewlIat strong
Or force under Cen. &ablenz, tbe Lie aliv,
If tbe Prnssianso in SchlesviO- HoJstein
Hers Tue foo tbe f,Shf was ssn1pinnarS, n and here
foo. the whole adyantage gained bv the
Prnssians' consisted, i'm their nenetrating a
few miles further on their prescribed route.
The first attack took place two miles north
bf Trautena AMI the last brought them to
P;mlikan- fve,miles southw west of fine for
mer town. Prlssian teIeorams estimate
Ehal Austrian Iiosses AZ from 306Oto 4, 600, 2
Eher Prnssiaaioat /. 600 lloulv. sSirhat several
EhorIsandc cAustrians tvere, taken pTisonerss