165 THE SEVEN YEARS WAR, 1756-63untenable. Frederick tried to deal such a blow after the battle (PC
10254), when he was better acquainted with the prowess of the
Russians, but on the morning of the 25th he was already so well on his
way against the Russian rear that he was disinclined to call off his
grand enterprise.
The Prussian columns executed a sharp right turn south of
Batzlow, and they made a shallow inclination as they passed through
and around Wilkersdorf. Frederick could as yet distinguish only part
of the Russian position, and he let the march continue due west until
he halted the columns south of the village of Zorndorf and wheeled
them into line. Fermor was now in the process of completing a drastic
about-turn of his army, in response to the appearance of the Prussians
in his rear, and his powerful flanks and the multiple lines of his
reserves gave his position the aspect of a gigantic square.
Frederick had already made up his mind to advance his left wing
in an attack in the 'Oblique Order' (see p. 310). To the untutored eye
the field appeared 'a large open plain, edged with woods' (Mitchell,
1850, I, 428). In fact the ground was segmented by a number of
interesting features, and Frederick chose as his target the unsup-
ported Russian right or western wing, which had been incautiously
located in front of the rest of the Russian army, and was standing
between the ponds and damp meadows of the deep Zabern-Grund to
the west, and the long and shallow indentation of the Galgen-Grund,
which was one of the curious little valleys which striped the centre of
the field from south-east to north-west.
The Zabern-Grund was to serve as a useful left-hand cover for the
northwards advance of the two infantry divisions which constituted
the striking force. Lieutenant-General Manteuffel took the lead with
the eight battalions of the advance guard, and he was to be closely
supported by the left wing of the main army under Lieutenant-
General Kanitz, who had nine battalions in his first line, and six more
on his flank and rear. Lieutenant-General Marschall von Biberstein
came up in reserve with twenty squadrons, and the thirty-six squad-
rons of Lieutenant-General Seydlitz were ordered to move down the
western side of the Zabern-Grund and keep pace with the main
attack. The rest of the infantry fell under the command of Dohna, and
constituted the 'refused' wing standing on the right.
Colonel Moller was instructed to soften up the Russian right by a
lengthy bombardment. For this purpose he positioned one batteiy of
twenty pieces to the north-west of Zorndorf, and another of forty
directly to the north of the village.
The cannonade began at 9 a.m., but the gunners ceased fire when
they found that the shot was falling short. They advanced the
batteries a further six hundred paces and made a heavy and sustained