The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1870-08-30
Old ScOrcs-France and Prussia

oAa SCOECS-F una
In Napoleon's first war with Austria, Prus
sia, being promised Hanover, selfshly rejoiced
at the discontinue of her old rival. In that
great campaign, which ended in the crushing
blow at Austerltz, Napoleon no doubt aware
that Alexander ard the King of Prussia had
sworn upon the tomb Of the great Frederick
to lberate Germany, violated the neutrality
of Prussia by sending Bernadotte TO march
straight upon General Mack, through the
territories of Anspach and Baireuth. In
short time Mack, coOped up in Ulm, surren-
dered, and his twenty thousand men at once
laid down their arms. Napoleon, knowing
that Prussia was certain soon to fly at him
was careless what steps he took, so he could
cut off Mack from his Austrian and Russian
rcinforcements.
Trafalgar balanced Austerlitz; but the con-
queror still went on, striking down enemy af-
ter enemy. Austria and Russia now senced,
Prussia broke into a flame. In 1906 war was
| declared, and one hundred and fifty thousand
| Prussians took the field. The people were
eager for war, and full of ardor; but their gen.
| eral, the Duke of Brunswick, was old and OBJ
stinate. The French, as usual, were the first
to commence operations. Napoleon began in
Franconia by a Sc ries of partial actions, in
tending to separate the Prussans from their
supplies, and force them to a general and final
battle. The Germans, struggling from Wei
mar TO Mulhausen, had left space of, nine
teen miles between their extreme fianks. The
French advanced in three divisions upon Hof,
Saalburg, and Coburg, Napoleon's object being
10 cross the Saale, and cut off the Duke of
Brunswick from his distant supplies at Naum-
burg. Prince Louis, who was guarding the
Saale, by his rashness in advancing on
Lannes, left the Saale open to the French.
IL this engagement the prince was killed. Ma
| poleon instantly advanced OH Naumburg, and
| engaged Davoust and his division of thirty six
| thousand men. The two armies met in a
| thick mist in the village OF Hasen-IIausen
The Prussian cavalry threw themselves ON the
French squares, but were repeatedly repulse1.
| After three hours of desperate and incessant,
| charges, the duke himself was wouuned in the
| face by a grape-shot. The King OF Prussia re-
| ceiving Intelligence that his right wing was
being beaten to pieces at jena by Napoleon
| himself, ordered general charge to be made
| along the whole line. This also failed. Tine
| French bayonet pierced the Prussan centre
| and wings; retreat became universal. and
the king himself fled across the fields, escorted
Dy nanulul OF cavalry.
| In the meantime Jena had been fought.
| The Prussians commenced by attacking An
| gereau, who held village and forest on the
| right wing. Lannes coming to his support
| with Soult, at length drove back the Prussans
whose discipline kept Them in huge masses,
| that advanced and retired like machinery. On
| this repulse Napoleon pushed forward Ney
| and large reserve of cavalry, at the same
time, launching his centre-the Imperial
Il, s,l. -
| AS the Prussians lOosened and wavered, Mu-
rats dragons and the cavalry of reserve
broke down upon them, and drove upon them,
| and drove them back to Weimar, where they
| lost all shape, and scattered towards Madoe-
| burg. In the meantime, BernadOtte at Apol-
| da had also routed Prussian detachment.
In this fatal battle the Prussians lost twenty
thousand men, three hundred guns, twenty
| generals, and sixty standards.
The next day Moendorf surrendered at
| Erfurt. Soon after, General Kalhreuhs di-
vision was routed in attempting to cross the
/ Hartz Mountains. Prince Eugene OF Wur-
/ tembure's sixteen thousand men were also
| overthrOwn by Bernadotte at Halle. Prince
| Hohenlohe, retreating from Madgeburg with
| fifty thousand men, escaped for the time, but
| soon after laid down his arms on the heights
| of Prenzlow. Blucher alone, with forty thOus-
/ and men, passed the Elbe into Lower SaXonv,
and driven to bay by Soult and Bernadotte,
threw himself into Lubbock. In desperate
battle in the streets of that town he lost four
thousand men, but fought his way out to
| Schwerta, where he had to surrender. City
after city then threw open its gates TO the
French. Spandau, Stettin, Custrin, Hameln,
/ Madoeburg made no resistance. Eleven days
after the battle of jena Napoleon entered
| Berlin. He proved himself a harsh and ty-
rannical conqueror, and loaded the nobility
/ with insults. At Potsdam he seized on the
| sword belt and hat of the Great Frederick /;
| at the capital he removed the trophy, COM
| memorating the victory at Rossbach, to Paris,
and on the 21st Of November, 1SO6, issued his
| celebrated Berlin decree, interdicting the
commerce between Great Britain and the
Continent. He refused the King of Prussia
| even a temporary armistice unless he at once
| surrendered the fortresses of Grandenz, Dant-
zc and Colberg, which still remained to
Prussia.
But in 1918, after the retreat from Moscow,
Prussia seized the opportunity, and took her
| revenge. The Russians and SwedeS joined
her. and Bucher was appointed generalissi-
mo of the Prussian army. Prince Eugene in-
stantly evacuated Berlin, and was blockaded
in Magdeburg. Hamburg and Lubbock de-
clared for the allies. Thorn and Spandan
quickly surrendered. At Lutzen Napoleon
met his new enemies, and slew twenty thou
sand of them. The French loss was great
but they kept the field, while .he allies re-
treated to Bautzen. There, again, the French
victory was dearly earned. The allies lost ten
thousand men, the French considerably more
AT the second battle the allies left scarcely a
single gun or prisoner, and retreated as II on
parade. The war terminated in the great
tragedy at Leipsic. Driven back into the