The Progress. (Shreveport, La.) 1892-1900, 1893-03-18


with blow that brought the monarchy Of
Frederick the Great under vassalage to the
new Charlemagne.
At that point the parallel ends. Napo-
leon III didn't win battle Napoleon
won two in q single day, and Prussia was
at his feet. He gave marching orders dur
ing the first week in October, and on the
night of the 18th of that month the Prus-
sian army was a bleeding, fleeing mob
The campaign beginning and ending at
Jena and Auerstadt respectively, at sun
rise and sunset that day, was Napoleonic if
any one of his enterprises deserves TO be
distinguished above others
While the war was still in the dispatch
writing stage between emperor at Paris
and king at Berlin, word reached Napoleon
that the Prussian men alarms of the Noble
guard were whetting their sword blades
upon the stone steps of the French embss
sador's house. The insolent braggarts
shall soon learn that our weapons need no
sharpening" said he, and began concen-
trating army corps on the frontier On re-
ceipt in Paris of King Frederick's ulti-
matum. dated at Berlin, Oct. /, the French
were already encamped on neutral terri
tory along the River Main. And the Prus-
slams were not asleep.
Imagine that vast plain constituting the
old kingdom of Prussia, stretching 200 miles
east and west from Russia to the north sea
and the Rhine. and 200 or 800 miles north
and south from the Franconia mountains
to the Baltic. Berlin, the capital, is about
in the center each way. Two rivers, run
ming from the southern to the northern
border, divide the western half, nearest
France, into three divisions, and the
sources of these rivers are in the noun
tains of Saxony on the southern border,
creating natural fastness for defense in
the south. The river Weser was the first
barrier to ward off invasion across the
plains of Westphalia on the side of the
Rhine. East of the Weser 100 miles the
Elbe formed a second barrier and covered
Berlin.
The Prussian army lay on the borders of
and in the friendly Saxon dominions, fac
ing south, the right resting on a tributary
of the Weser Its strength in the field was
10000. Napoleon, entering Saxony from
the southeast, mustered over 10000. Three
plans of campaign were open to the en-
peror-frst, to enter Westphalia between
the Weser and the Rhine, and tempt the
Prussians to cross the river and attack;
second, to turn the Weser line by penetrat-
ing east of it aJel throw the Prussians back
toward the Elbe and Berlin with an aban-
donment of the richer half of the kingdom:
third, to strike for the Elbe at once, and if
successful cut off the retreat to Berlin and
force capitulation
The last promised the best results, but in
volved enormous risk, for a march toward
the Elbe with the Prussians intact on the
Weser would leave the enemy between the
French army and its base on the River
Main southeast Of Saxony. Napoleon, out
of sheer recklessness, say his enemies, chose
the last and struck for the grand prize,
Berlin. The Prussians struck out also for
the Elbe to head him off. Hence Jena and
Auerstadt, at the passes of the River Saale
western tributary of the Elbe.
o. Napoleon was compelled to separate his
forces into three columns in order to get
through the defiles into Saxony. A Prus
sian corps occupied Saxony, and if the whole,
army had been animated with the spirit =,
young Prince Louis there would be dit ~
ent story to tell. With 10000 men her .,
tackled Napoleon's advance column I'd 10
Marshal Lannes Though outnuu .,