188 THE SEVEN YEARS WAR, 1756-63All the time the Russian guns rained down canister impartially on the
struggling mass.
The heat, the exertion and the enemy gunfire had by now
reduced the Prussian infantry to defenceless mobs. Morale and disci-
pline finally collapsed at the sight of the survivors of the cavaliy
streaming back from Kunersdorf. 'They were gripped by the ridicu-
lous fear of being transported to Siberia, and there was no means of
stopping them* (PC 11345). Frederick experienced as much when he
seized a colour of Prinz Heinrich (35) and called out: 'Ifyou are brave
soldiers, follow me!' Nobody responded.
Six hundred paces further to the rear, probably on the Miihl-
Berge, Frederick sought to make another stand with six hundred men
of the regiment of Lestwitz (31), but the Russian Shuvalov howitzers
made the position untenable with their blasts of canister cutting
horizontally to the ground. When the battle was already well past
saving the Diericke Fusiliers (49) arrived at Frederick's command
from the rear, where they had been guarding the artillery park. These
men had only just been converted from pioneers, but they stood their
ground in square like veteran infantry until they were overwhelmed.
During this final catastrophe Frederick and a few members of his
suite were standing just behind the heroes of Diericke.A horse had already been shot under him. His second horse
received a ball in the chest, and it was already in the process of
collapsing when Flugeladjutant von Gotz and an NCO helped
Frederick from the saddle before the animal reached the ground.
Gotz gave him his own horse. The king had scarcely mounted
before a musket ball penetrated between his coat and his hip,
and it was stopped only by a gold snuffbox which he carried in
his pocket. (Retzow, 1802, II, 113)
Prussia nearly lost its king again when the royal party was overtaken
by the crack Chuguevskii Cossacks, and Frederick had to be rescued
by his small escort of Zieten Hussars under the command of Captain
Prittwitz.
The army swarmed over the Hiihner-Fliess amid scenes of total
confusion. As he left the field Frederick was able to gather only 3,000
men under his direct command, and he was forced to send word to
Major-General Flemming to bar the passage to the west bank of the
Oder to all except the senior officers and the wounded. All of the rest
of the army was left milling about in terror on the 'Russian' side.
The ensuing night was a hideous one. Lightning sprang from
cloud to cloud in a rainless thunderstorm, illuminating the battle-
field, and between the peals of thunder the Prussians could hear the
screams of wounded comrades who were being done to death by the