Order to the First Army, under his command, dated "Head Quarters, Görlitz." He said,

"Soldiers!-Austria, faithless and regardless of treaties, has for some time, without declaring war, not respected the Prussian frontier in Upper Silesia. I, therefore, likewise, without a declaration of war, might have passed the frontier of Bohemia. I have not done so. To-day I have caused a public declaration to be sent, and to-day we enter the territory of the enemy in order to defend our own country.

"We rely on the God of our fathers, who will be mighty in us, and will bless the arms of Prussia.

"So, forward with our old battle cry, 'With God for King and Fatherland! Long live the King!"""

Next day the First Prussian Army crossed the Bohemian frontier in two columns, one of which marched by way of Görlitz and the other by Zittau. After a few cavalry skirmishes, it reached the Bohemian town of Reichenberg, and on the 26th of June an artillery engagement took place between its advanced lines and an Austrian battery, the result of which was, that the Austrians in front fell back upon Münchengrätz. Here a severe struggle took place on the 28th, and the Austrians, supported by the Saxons, offered an obstinate resistance, but were ultimately driven back in the direction of Gitschin, and were followed by the Prussians, who took up their position on the high ground in front of the town.

In the meantime the Second Prussian Army, under the Crown Prince, had to march through the long and narrow passes of the Sudetian mountains leading from Silesia into Bohemia. In order to deceive the enemy, various movements were made by the Prussians on the south-east frontiers of Silesia, as if their object was to cross into Bohemia from Neisse, by way of Weidenau. But while the Austrians were expecting the invaders to debouch in that direction, the mass of the Second Army turned to the right and suddenly made its appearance on the west at Nachod and Trautenau in Bohemia, having passed without opposition the frontier at Reinerz and Landshut. Before entering the defiles of the mountains which separate Silesia from Moravia, the Crown Prince issued from Neisse, on the 20th of June, a General Order to his troops, in which he said:

"Soldiers of the Second Army,-You have heard the words of our King and Lord of war. His Majesty's endeavours to secure a continuance of the blessings of peace to the country have been in vain. With a heavy heart, but strong in purpose, and relying upon the devotion and gallantry of his troops, the King has determined to fight for the honour and independence of Prussia, as well as the re-organization of Germany and its formation into a powerful whole. Having by the gracious confidence of my Royal father been placed at your head, I am proud, as the King's first servant, to stake my life and my fortune to secure the possession of all that is dearest to our country. Soldiers! for the first time for

fifty years, an enemy who is our match stands arrayed against us. Trust in your strength and the tried excellence of your arms. Remember, our task is to beat an enemy whom our greatest King defeated with but a small force. Forward then, with the old Prussian cry, 'With God for King and Fatherland.""

The defile leading to Nachod was occupied by the Austrians, but was abandoned by them after a short skirmish on the 27th of June. Soon afterwards, however, the advance of the Prussians, whose leading columns were under the command of General Steinmetz, was stopped by a strong Austrian force called the Ramming Brigade, and a division of heavy cavalry; and at first the Prussians were obliged to retreat. But at the critical moment the Crown Prince came up, and a hotly contested battle was fought. The Austrians were beaten, and lost upwards of 4000 men.

On the same day a sanguinary action was fought between the First Corps d'Armée of the Crown Prince and the Austrian FieldMarshal Gablenz, at Trautenau, in which the Austrians were again defeated. Fighting still went on until the 29th, when the victorious Prussians had pushed forward as far as Skalitz and took possession of the town. This had been occupied by the Archduke Leopold, but he was unable to hold it. He is said, however, to have disobeyed the positive orders of his Commander-in-Chief, General Benedek, which were, that he was not, on any account, to attack the Prussians when he confronted them at Skalitz, but to retire slowly before their fire until he reached the support of another corps d'armée, which was drawn up behind him in a formidable line for defence. The object was to draw the enemy from their advantageous position on the rising ground above Skalitz, and to enable the Archduke to occupy the ridge opposite to that which they would have to descend, if they advanced to the attack. But the Archduke did just the contrary. He took the initiative, and attacked the Prussians posted on the heights; the consequence of which was, that he was driven back and followed by the enemy, who then seized a strong position, from which Benedek was unable to dislodge them. On the 1st of July, the Crown Prince issued from Prausnitz a General Order in which he recapitulated the glorious events of the short campaign. He said :

"But a few days have elapsed since our entering Bohemia, and already brilliant victories have been won, giving us command over the Elbe and enabling us to effect a junction with the First Army. With this our primary task is fulfilled. The brave Fifth Corps d'Armée, under the command of its heroic leader, with distinguished gallantry, on three successive days defeated three different corps of the enemy. The Guards gave battle twice, each time. discomfiting the enemy with signal triumph. The First Corps d'Armée, under the most trying circumstances, displayed extraordinary hardihood. Five colours, two standards, twenty guns, and 8000 prisoners have been captured by us; many thousand dead and wounded proving the total loss of the foe to be greater

than can be now calculated. We, too, regret the loss of many a brave comrade, removed by death or wounds from our ranks. The consciousness of dying for King and country, and as victors, will have given them comfort in death, and tend to alleviate the anguish of the sufferers. I pray God to grant future victories to our arms. I thank the generals and officers as well as soldiers of the Second Army for their gallantry in battle and their steadiness in overcoming the most adverse circumstances; and I am proud to lead such troops."

In the meantime, a third Prussian army, called the Army of the Elbe, under General Herwarth, had crossed the frontier of Saxony and Bohemia on the right flank of Prince Frederick Charles, and came into collision with the enemy on the 27th of June, at a place called Hunerwasser, west of Turnau. He drove back the weak force opposed to him, and next day effected a junction with the First Army, under Prince Frederick Charles.

We have mentioned that, after the action at Münchengrätz, Prince Frederick Charles had pushed back the Austrian and Saxon troops towards Gitschin where they took up a strong position in front of the town. Next day General Benedek ordered Count Clam Gallas, with the First Austrian Corps d'Armée, to hold Gitschin while he himself took up a position at Dubenitz, in order to meet the army of the Crown Prince as it debouched from the passage of the Elbe. Count Clam Gallas attacked the Prussians, it is said, contrary to orders; and the result was that he was driven out of his position, and the victorious Prussians pursued the Austrians through the town of Gitschin. They were followed the next day by the Prussian cavalry as far as the line of the little river Bistriz. The loss of Gitschin exposed the left flank of General Benedek at Dubenec, and he therefore ordered his army to fall back in the direction of Königgrätz. To quote the words of the correspondent of the "Times"-" Benedek, who had taken up a strong position with his centre near Dubenec, his left towards Miletin, and his right covered by the river and by Josephstadt, found himself in the twinkling of an eye placed in a position of the greatest danger. His left was 'in the air.' The Prussians were not only on his left, but in his rear; and at the same time another great army was marching to effect its junction with them where he was altogether exposed. He instantly wheeled back his left and centre, and then retiring his right, took up a line at Königgrätz at right angles to the line he had occupied to the west of Josephstadt."

General Benedek seems to have fully realized the danger to which he was thus exposed in his new position, and also to have distrusted the morale of his troops; for he telegraphed to the Emperor at Vienna, before the battle that ensued, the ominous words, "Sire, you must make peace!"

The King of Prussia arrived at Gitschin on the 2nd of July, and received a deputation from the authorities of the town, when he thus addressed them:

--

"I carry on no war against your nation, but only against the armies opposed to me. If, however, the inhabitants will commit acts of hostility against my troops without any cause, I shall be forced to make reprisals. My troops are not savage hordes, and require simply the supplies necessary for subsistence. It must be your care to give them no cause for just complaint. Tell the inhabitants that I have not come to make war upon peaceable citizens, but to defend the honour of Prussia against insult."

On the 2nd of July the disposition of the Prussian army, or rather armies, was the following.

The First Army, under Prince Frederick Charles, formed the centre; the Elbe Army, under General Herwarth, the right; and the Second Army, under the Crown Prince, the left wing. In front of the First Army marched the 7th Division through Goritz, Czerkwitz, and Sadowa, to effect a junction with the right wing of the Crown Prince. The 8th Division marched upon Milowitz, being destined to advance upon Königgrätz. The Second Army Corps was to operate against Donalitz, south of Sadowa. The Third Army Corps formed the reserve of the centre. The Elbe Army pushed forward from Smidar towards Nechanitz. army of the Crown Prince was directed to march from Königinhof, in a straight line, upon Königgrätz.

The

The Austrian army was drawn up on a range of low hills between Smiritz and Nechanitz, and extended over a length of about nine miles, the centre occupying a hill on which was the village of Chlum or Klum, distinguished by a clump of trees, and which was the key of the position.

The following description of the scene is taken from the account of an eye-witness, the special correspondent of the "Times" newspaper, with the Austrian army, who surveyed the battle from the top of a tower in the fortress of Königgrätz:

66

Lying nearly due north of Königgrätz is Josephstadt, but there was nothing going on in that direction at 8 o'clock. From the neighbourhood of Josephstadt, a continuous line of low, undulating hills, with plateau-like tops or of rolling fields, extends from the right till it slopes away on the left into the meadows watered by the Elbe. Beyond this line again, and running nearly parallel with the first, about half-way where it recedes towards the west and north, is a similar ridge, appearing to be of greater elevation. Further back still is the picturesque broken country formed by the projecting spires and lower ranges of the Riesengebirge. This must be taken as a general description of the appearance of the landscape from the spot where I stood. There are many cross valleys permeating both ridges towards the Elbe, and on both there are hills or hillocks, some almost like tumuli, on which villages and their little churches nestle in the woods. In the valley between the first and second ridge runs the Bistritz rivulet, on which Sadowa and Nechanitz are situated. It is traversed nearly at right angles by the main road from Jicin to Königgrätz. Q

In the valley between the first ridge and the rolling ground which lies towards the Elbe runs a road from Smiritz, or Smiric, to Königgrätz, coming out on the Jicin road; and more to the west is another road, branching from the Jicin road, and running by Nechanitz to the main road between Prague and Königgrätz. There are numerous other small roads connecting the nests of villages which are to be seen in all directions. Immediately below the city of Königgrätz the land is level and marshy, but towards Smiritz, which is nearly half-way to Josephstadt, there is a projecting spur, approaching the river, which is one outshoot of the first line of hills, and thence, in front of us from left to right, a gradual elevation from the river takes place, in a series of irregular terraces. On the top of this first ridge there is a village named Smiralitz. This is near the right of the scene of the battle. Then the ridge runs south-westward (to the left) without any more remarkable object on the sky line than a very large tree, which stands quite alone. There are several villages on the inner side of the slope between Königgrätz and the river. From the big tree the line continues to the left hand till about the centre, where its undulating contour is broken by a wooded knoll or hill, rising rather steeply, on which is placed the church and village of Klum, or Chlum, embowered in thick trees and gardens. Thence to the left the line of the ridge is depressed and carried towards the village of Nechanitz, and gets lost in broken hills, among which are villages unknown to our geographers, now heaps of cinders and ashes, surrounded by dead and dying-the very centres of the tremendous battle. The army which General Benedek had to defend his position consisted of at least 225,000 men, but a large deduction must be made for the baggage guards, the various escorts, the garrisons of Josephstadt and Königgrätz, the sick, and those tired by marching, and the killed, wounded, and prisoners in recent actions ;-so that, probably, he had not more than 190,000 or 195,000 actually in hand. The ground he had to cover from right to left was about nine miles in length. On his extreme left in his first line, near the rear of Nechanitz, and towards the Prague road, he put the Saxons. Then the 10th Army Corps, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant Gablenz; the 3rd Corps d'Armée, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant Count Thun, the 4th Army Corps, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant Count Festetics (who was wounded early in the day), and the 2nd Army Corps, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant Archduke Ernest, were placed from left to right on the slope of the second range or ridge. His second line and his reserves consisted of the 8th Corps d'Armée, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant the Archduke Leopold, the 1st Army Corps was under Cavalry-General Count Clam Gallas, and the 6th Army Corps, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant Ramming. He had at his disposal a grand army of cavalry; it was composed of the 1st Light Cavalry Division, under General-Major Edelsheim; the 2nd Light Cavalry Division, under Count Taxis; the