200 THE SEVEN YEARS WAR, 1756-63
particularly from what happened at Prague in 1757' (Retzow, 1802, II,
223).
As happened in 1759, the unfathomable combinations of geography
and strategies produced a great convergence of rival forces in Silesia
in the high summer of the year. So it was that in July and August 1760
Frederick was drawn eastwards once more by the threatened collapse
of his affairs in that part of the world. Saltykov and his Russians were
moving slowly forward from Posen. Worse still, the all too familiar
sound of Austrian victoiy salutes announced another triumph for
Loudon, who on 29 July took the fortress of Glatz by a brilliant coup
de main. The Austrian forces on the eastern flank now had a clear run
through the passes of Silberberg and Wartha to the Silesian plain.
Frederick wrote: 'We have striven to charm away the storm but all
our efforts have proved vain and useless... There is nothing left but
to tiy our luck in combat, but even this comes down to a question of
dying four weeks sooner or later' (PC 12291).
Frederick decided that he must leave a corps under Hiilsen in the
old Meissen camp to guard the Elbe, and take the rest in person to
Silesia. Once again it will probably be convenient to enumerate the
armies and corps which were coming together:
(a) Frederick was making eastwards from Saxony to Silesia with
30,000 men.
(b) Prince Heniy had about 38,000 troops under his command. He
left his blocking position beyond the Oder at Landsberg, and on 5
August he relieved Breslau, which had been under attack by
Loudon.
(c) Now that the way to the Oder was clear Saltykov was moving
south from Posen with 60,000 troops; of these, 25,000 were
detached under Lieutenant-General Chernyshev to reach out to
the Austrians in Silesia.
(d) Daun and Lacy (altogether about 90,000 troops) were also on
the march, and they hoped to be able to reach Silesia before
Frederick did.
Frederick disengaged from his positions near Dresden on the wet
and stormy night of 29 July. He passed the Elbe at Zehren on 1 August,
and a first bound of continuous marching carried him the ninety
miles to Bunzlau by the 7th. The pace was literally lethal. Many
troops died from heatstroke on the way to Arnsdorf on the 5th, and
hundreds more deserted in the woods around Rothwasser the next
day.
The army rested at Bunzlau on 8 August 'after those almost
incredible marches' (Mitchell, 1850, II, 191). Frederick intended to