THE ARMED CAMP, 174S-56 81manoeuvres. The outcome helped Frederick to determine the practi-
cability of various formations, and how long the forces took to cover
the ground, and these experiences could make or break the careers of
some of the generals. At the manoeuvres of the Magdeburg and
Altmark regiments in 1748 Frederick watched from a hill while a
brigade struggled towards him across a zone of swampy meadows.
The confusion was
made still worse by Lieutenant-General Count von Haake,...
who burst into smoke and flames, and tried to put things right
by resorting to shouts, rebukes and blows. The king came
shooting down from his hilltop like a bolt of lightning. He told
the yelling Haake to betake himself to the rear, and within a
few minutes Frederick had restored order among the infantry.
The rest of the manoeuvre was accomplished with the greatest
precision. (Haller, 1796, 13-4)The largest and most important of these gatherings was held
between Spandau and Gatow from 2 to 13 September 1753, and it
concerned no less than forty-nine battalions and sixty-one squad-
rons, making a force of 44,000 men. Frederick commissioned
Lieutenant-Colonel Balbi to draw up an entirely misleading account
of what was taking place, and he allowed the hussars to plunder any
unauthorised spectators.
On occasion, the inherent unreality of the autumn manoeuvres left
Frederick with a totally false impression of the worth of some of his
commanders. He later admitted that he had badly misjudged the
abilities of Zieten, whose talents were not of a kind to shine in
peadfetime.
Field-Marshal Schwerin was more adept at this kind of exercise.
On the second day of the celebrated Spandau manoeuvres, as com-
mander of an enemy force he contrived to lure Frederick out of a
strong position, then launched the left wing of his horse into an
attack which caught the king's cavalry at a disadvantage. 'At once
the troops were brought to a halt. The events of the manoeuvre were
subjected to examination, and His Majesty embraced his former
enemy' (Ernst Friedrich Giannini, quoted in Thadden, 1967, 198).
Schwerin had become the doyen of the Prussian army after the
Old Dessauer died in 1747. However, in spite of the show of warmth at
Spandau, Frederick had long ceased to live on cordial terms with his
old mentor. It seems that the falling-out went back to 4 November
1744, when Schwerin had left the stricken army in Bohemia, pleading
ill-health.