189 THE SEVEN YEARS WAR, 1756-63Cossacks and Tartars. Frederick himself was in safety on the left
bank in the Dammhaus at Reitwein. Here he formally delivered the
command into the hands of Lieutenant-General Finck, instructing
him to obey the overall directions of Prince Henry as Generalissimus
(an appointment dating from 4 December 1758), and to swear in the
army to his nephew and heir (PC 11338). The king wrote to Fincken-
stein, his foreign minister:
My coat is riddled with musket balls, and I have had two horses
killed beneath me. It is my misfortune to be still alive. Our
losses are very great, and I have only 3,000 men left out of an
army of 48,000. At the moment that I am writing everybody is in
flight, and I can exercise no control over my men. At Berlin you
ought to be thinking of your safety.
I shall not survive this cruel turn of fortune. The
consequences will be worse than the defeat itself. I have no
resources left, and, to speak quite frankly, I believe everything
is lost. I shall not outlive the downfall of my country. Farewell
forever! (PC 11335)
Frederick re-crossed to the east bank on 13 August. On that day
his officers succeeded in forming about 18,000 men into regiments and
battalions. In all probability he played little active part in the
process, but one at least of his officers derived comfort from the
apparent composure with which the king took his rest in for the night
a peasant house at Oetscher.The building had been destroyed by the Cossacks and there was
no roof remaining, but he was lying in a deep and peaceful sleep
on a little scattering of straw, as if he was in perfect safety. His
hat was tilted over his eyes, his drawn sword was at his side,
and his adjutants were snoring on the bare floor at his feet.
(Anon., 1787-9, I, 26-7)On the 14th Frederick led his shaken army across the bridges to the
west bank.
More than 6,000 of the Prussians had been killed outright, and
their total casualties amounted to about 19,000 men, or nearly
two-fifths of their army. Three generals were dead or dying, Seydlitz
was speechless with shock, and some of the regiments were left with
only two unwounded officers. These losses, terrible though they
were, bore less heavily on Frederick than the catastrophe which
seemed to hang over the Prussian state. The victorious allies were
massed on the Oder, only fifty miles from Berlin, and the beaten royal
army had no support nearer than the forces of Prince Henry at
Schmottseiffen.