237 THE SEVEN YEARS WAR, 1756-63The Prussians and Austrians had confronted one another on this
same ground on many occasions in the past, and Frederick was
acquainted with every detail of the terrain. Even now he shrank from
attacking the main emplacement of the Austrian army, which was
drawn up behind the deep valley of Dittmannsdorf and Reussendorf,
facing north-west. Frederick therefore arranged a programme of
entertainment to hold Daun's attention in this sector. The Russians
promised to maintain an impressive display on the near side of the
valley. The Prussians kept their unoccupied tents standing, and the
Lossow Hussars and the red-coated Bosniaks leant a touch of anima-
tion to the scene. Ahead of the Russians, on the far western flank, the
brigade of Ramin extended itself in a two-rank line of battle with
wide intervals. The intention was for it to endow itself with a
formidable appearance as it emerged from the valley of Seitendorf,
where the Austrians knew that Frederick had his headquarters.
Likewise on the right centre of the Prussian army the jaegers of the
brigade of Manteuffel were to skirmish forward from Hoch-Giersdorf,
while the howitzers on the plateau there began to lob shells over the
woods and take the Austrian right wing in the rear.
Only about a dozen battalions were devoted to these diversions
in the Dittmannsdorf-Seitendorf sector. Conversely Frederick con-
centrated more than thirty in the plain for the principal blow, which
was to come from the north-east against the isolated right wing of
some 5,000 troops, standing under the command of Lieutenant-
General William O'Kelly. The Irishman had two battalions in posi-
tion on his far eastern flank on the Leutmannsdorfer-Berg, whose
slopes were devoid of cover and slippery with recent rain. O'Kelly's
remaining ten battalions, or about 4,000 men, were disposed to cover
the ground above Burkersdorf. Here the bosky valley of the Weistriz
offered a scene of idyllic beauty, for the little stream rushed loudly
towards the light green Silesian plain, which was framed like an
opera set by wooded headlands reaching forward on either side. In
military terms, however, the Weistritz valley presented a potentially
dangerous re-entrant, and the Austrians took the precaution of
closing it off by four redoubts - one at the entrance from the plain, one
each on either side of the stream further up the valley, and a powerful
work, surrounded by a deep abatis, sited in a commanding position
towards the head.
The diversions of the previous weeks had been more effective
than Frederick knew. The Austrians had 16,000 troops in Upper
Silesia, 9,500 at the Eulen-Gebirge passes, 21,000 guarding the com-
munications on the Bohemian side of the hills, and Brentano returned
from his operations around Braunau only after the Prussian assault
had already begun. Altogether Daun's force in the Burkersdorf camp