St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1893-07-08

tau met the French under Davoust on tn,
heights of Sonnenberg, west of the river
Dayoust, like Napoleon, was man of ac
4 ton and got his troops On the vantage
/ ground first. The same fog that favored
the French at jena covered the field Blu
cher led cavalry charge against Davoust's
infantry, but his men were caught on the
bayonets of the French squares and on Da
youst's cannon, which swept the heights
| from side to side. Schmettau's IS attack was
followed by that of two army corps-the
| Prussians numbered $4,000 against Da-
youst's 25,00o-but the fog clung around
the heights until the French were all on the
field, giving them an advantage they didn't
yield for an instant.
The Duke of Brunswick, aroused at the
stubborlness of a mere advance guard
formed two divisions in column of attack.
harangued the men, telling them TO clear the
road to Berlin with their bayonets, and that
at all hazards, and led them against Ia.
youst's squares and cannon. A shower IT
shot and ball tore through the INTREPID
ranks. The duke and General Schnlettau
fell, and Marshal Mallendorf and a score of
other officers with them. The soldiers,
however, held their ground. and the king
and Prince William brought up reserves
by turns, but the French were there to STAY
and couldn't be driven foot. The prince
was wounded and the king was twice un-
horsed in the assault.
Dayoust, finding his center firm and its
front strewn with Prussian corpses,
launched forth his right wing to cut the
enemy completely off on the Berlin road.
That done, he ordered charge from the
center. Th Prussian wings attempted 20
fall back in good order, but Dayoust pushed
things all a'ong the line, and in a single
charge captured % guns in battery. The
king, not knowing OF Hohenlohe's disaster,
gave the order to countermarch and reioin
him at Jena.
But another Napoleonic trump turned
up in nick of time to prevent the reunion
of what remained of Hohenlohe's and
Brunswick s runaway fighters Bernado, te
under mysterious and contradictory orders
had been marching and countermarehiag
along the Saale between Jena and Auer-
stadt- His 10000 men lay in biyouac be
tween the two battlefelds on the morning
OF the 18th, and accustomed to march at
the sound of the guns he started, though
not in the direction of the battle music. He
marched ncrth to the Berlin road, between
Jena and Auerstadt. between Hohenlohe |
and Brunswick.
So the fleeing column of the king. on the |
back track, as they supposed, to the cue
coring camps of Hehenlehe, ran upon the
fresh bayonets of Bernadotte's men, and I
not relishing the surprise scattered across +
the country far to the north, never again I'd /
see their comrades of Jena's CORY field I'M
til Napoleon sanctioned the reunion, which /
was after he had carved up the Prussian
kingdom to suit the imperial will. Auer.
stadt cost the French more men than did
jena Napoleon lost 1000 killed at Jena;
Davoust lost 7 600 at Auerstadt. The Prrrs,
sian loss at Auerstadt was 5000 killed and
wounded. Both actions resembled u slaup',4
ter rather than fight, but the genius that
swayed the French arms that day has been
the worlds wonder ever since.
GEORGE L. KILMER