CHAPTER FIVE
The Seven Years War,
1756-63
The Prussian army crossed the Saxon border on a wide frontage on 29
August 1756. On the right flank the regiments of Prince Ferdinand of
Brunswick poured through Leipzig under the eyes of the astonished
citizenry. The main force made direct for Dresden, but the Prussians
were not quick enough to catch the Saxon army of 19,000 troops, who
at once recoiled out of Frederick's reach to the Camp of Pirna.
Frederick entered the undefended city of Dresden on 9 Septem-
ber, and the next day he rode south-east in search of the Saxons. He
found them entrenched on the left bank of the Elbe in one of the most
tactically strong positions in Central Europe. The western salient of
the Camp of Pirna rested on the old walls and modern casemated
bastions of the castle of Sonnenstein, overlooking the main square of
the little town of Pirna. The corresponding eastern bulwark was
formed by the great fortress of Konigstein, which had been hewn out
of the living rock by generations of Saxons to serve as the ultimate
refuge of the electorate. The winding gorge of the Elbe rendered the
long side of the encampment absolutely inaccessible. On the south-
ern, 6r landward, side, the Saxons had cut abatis through the tangled
country from Konigstein to the neighbourhood of Neuendorf. The
continuation to Sonnenstein bordered the near side of the wide
Gottleuba valley, and it was along this more open sector that the
Saxons concentrated their forces and their earthworks.
Frederick lodged himself in the baroque mansion of Gross-
Sedlitz, from which he had a clear view of the southern front of the
Saxon position beyond the Gottleuba. The sheer-sided plateau of
Konigstein was visible to the right, and beside it rose the bulky lump
of Lilienstein, which was actually on the far side of the Elbe.
Frederick carried out further reconnaissances on 11 and 16 September,
but he found ample time to tour the lines of the Prussian camp: 'He is
as relaxed and happy as if he was living in a time of profound peace.
He is never morose, in spite of his great and manifold occupations. He
has a word for everybody he encounters... and he mixes with his
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