29 THE SILESIAN WARS, 1740-5frontage which reached from Troppau to Schweidnitz, and extended
as far back as the Oder between Ratibor and Ohlau. Frederick was in
the hills at Jagerndorf when the first tidings of the offensive were
brought to him by seven Austrian deserters, and at once an outburst
of firing from the pickets served to underline the urgency of their
message. In fact his position was even worse than he believed, for the
Austrians had already slipped past his right, or western flank, and
they were well on their way to Neisse.
Why had Frederick been caught so badly off his guard? In part the
answer lies in the lack of responsiveness of the over-drilled Prussian
army. More important still, Frederick was inexperienced in war and
he distrusted his own correct instincts, which had been to pull back
his detachments and magazines from the hills, in accordance with
such reports as had reached him concerning the Austrians who were
gathering in Moravia. Schwerin, on the other hand, was anxious
above all to secure fodder for the cavalry, and he wished to keep the
screen well forward so as to conserve the fertile neighbourhood
between the Oder and the hills. Frederick had met Schwerin on 29
March to debate the point, but he allowed himself to be overborne by
the veteran. The consequences taught him never to defer so lightly to
another's strategic judgment again.
The Prussian troops were now summoned from the companion-
able fug of their billets, and they joined their king as he hastened
north across the snowy landscape to regain the time he had lost. The
Austrians were well ahead of him. They relieved the fortress-town of
Neisse on 5 April, and gained the far bank of the river of the same
name. Frederick was for a long time unaware of the location of the
enemy, but he knew that a battle could not long be postponed. He
wrote to one of his old companions:
My dear Jordan... you know the uncertainties of combat, and
how chance has no more respect for the life of kings than it does
for that of private individuals. I do not know what will become
of me, but if my fate is sealed I wish you to remember me as a
friend who loves you still. (Oeuvres, XVII, 98)The ninth of April brought snows so heavy that at times it was
impossible to make out objects at twenty paces. From what could be
discerned of the Austrians it was evident that they were reaching out
to their isolated garrison at Brieg. As long as Neipperg was in com-
munication with the force there, he was firmly emplaced across the
routes to Lower Silesia and Breslau (only the battle of Liegnitz in 1760
found the Prussians in equal peril, and there too the enemy were
across Frederick's communications).
Frederick, like the rest of the army, resigned the management of