96
THE THEATRE OF WARWheat, rye and barley were heavily cultivated in the immediate
neighbourhood of the capital, and Lower Silesia as a whole was fertile
and greatly admired by the contemporary standards of beauty. Ex-
cept for the level and open ground in locations like Hohenfriedeberg,
Leuthen and Reichenbach, the province presented the aspect of an
undulating and verdant countryside, agreeably interspersed with
lush mixed woodlands of spruce, beech, ash, birch and the omni-
present oak. This fat land was recognisably part of northern Europe,
and it contrasted most strikingly with the ambience of Bohemia and
Moravia, where the bare landscapes, the harsh light, and the air of
poverty and servitude already hinted at the Orient.
The western flank of the Silesian system was traversed by a
number of little rivers which flowed north from the Sudeten hills.
These streams could normally be crossed with little ceremony, but
they offered obstructions of some moment when they were swollen by
heavy rains or melting snows, or when the enemy were waiting on the
far side to contest the passage. The Bober ran from the Riesen-Gebirge
above Hirschberg by way of Sagan to the Oder at Crossen. The
companion stream, the Katzbach, flowed a dozen miles further to the
east, and was of such strategic weight that Frederick composed a
memorandum in its honour after the Seven Years War: 'In the last
war it was evident that the stratagem in which the Austrians had the
most confidence was to establish themselves behind the Katzbach.
They hoped they could cut off the Prussians from the Silesian fortres-
ses, and besiege these places at their leisure.' He explained that Daun
had sought to make use of the Katzbach in this way against Bevern in
1757, and against the royal army in the campaign of Liegnitz in 1760
(Taysen, 1882, 129).
The corresponding eastern flank of the Silesian system was
formed by the borders of Upper Silesia with Hungary and Moravia.
The Hungarian frontier was always something of a nuisance for the
Prussians, for they could never seal it effectively against light forces
irrupting through the Jablunka Pass. However, the avenue to Mora-
via exercised a strong fascination for Frederick throughout his mili-
tary career.
Using the fortress town of Neisse as his base, Frederick could seize
Troppau without difficulty to serve as an advance depot, and then
strike across a low plateau into the heart of Moravia, which lay much
closer to Vienna than did Bohemia:
I know that kingdom [Bohemia] too well not to be aware of the
difficulties we have in establishing ourselves there. The way to
take it is by diversion, and Moravia alone offers a suitable
theatre. The great families have their estates in Moravia, and