131 THE SEVEN YEARS WAR, 1756-63Manstein. The historian von Hoen attributes the change of plan
directly to the king himself.
(e) The cavalry, apart from the brigade of Krosigk, was sluggish and
unresponsive. 'When we ordered our cavalry to do anything, we
might as well have been speaking to a wall' (Warnery, 1788,
170).
(f) The Austrian position was very well chosen - a natural killing
ground. Daun was an expert manager of a defensive battle of
this kind, and his gunners, his grenadiers and most of his
regiments of musketeers and cavalry fought with skill and
tenacity.In all of this it is necessary to preserve a certain sense of perspective. If
Frederick was being judged so harshly, it was because his name had
always been associated with victory. There had been many occasions
on 18 June when it appeared that Kolin too was going to be counted
among his triumphs.
On 20 June the siege of Prague was abandoned with great celerity and
no little confusion. The next day Frederick rejoined the army which
had been beaten at Kolin, and he began to gather his wits. For the
immediate future he was content to adopt a waiting strategy. By
holding on to most of the ground he had gained in north Bohemia he
would at once keep the Austrians south of the border hills, consume
the fodder which the enemy might otherwise use to sustain a counter-
offensive, and win the time to orientate himself in the rapidly
changing political and strategic situation in Europe.
Frederick still credited the Austrians with little capacity for
seizing the initiative, even after the campaign of Kolin, and for
logistical reasons he took the very considerable risk of dividing his
forces into two approximately equal parts. On the left, or western,
bank of the Elbe the king assumed personal command of 34,000 men,
who fed off the magazine at Leitmeritz. To the east of the Elbe his
eldest brother, August Wilhelm, was entrusted with the direction of
33,800 troops, who were maintained by a long line of communication
which stretched back through wild country to the magazine at Zittau
in Upper Lusatia.
Frederick reached Leitmeritz on 27 June. He lodged himself in the
spacious episcopal palace, which was set between the town and the
river. The cool, arched corridors gave onto suites of rooms which
offered ample accommodation to Frederick and his staff, and the
main hall was a magnificent affair, with a ceiling fresco of Moses
striking water from the rock, and alcoved windows which gave views
over the Elbe.