37 THE SILESIAN WARS, 1740-5Leopold, had not been privy to the secrets of Klein-Schnellendorf, and
he had prosecuted the siege with excessive energy. Leopold then
proceeded westwards, and he clamped a blockade on the citadel of
the town of Glatz, which was the capital of the border enclave of the
same name.
The southern borders of Silesia were now secure. If Neisse gave
the Prussians a fortress-depot within easy range of Moravia, then the
County of Glatz offered them a fine passage into the corresponding
westerly province of Bohemia. However, a much greater prize had
been within Frederick's grasp: 'He was never to know again such an
opportunity as he let slip in the autumn of 1741, when he suffered
Neipperg's troops - the only field army left to Austria - to withdraw
perfectly intact, without battle or pursuit. His fate was now sealed'
(Koser, 1921, I, 367).
Engagements to an enemy sat still more lightly on Frederick's con-
science than did his obligations to his friends. The king had left Berlin
on 9 November, and he was looking forward to spending the first
weeks of 1742 at his beloved Rheinsberg. Early in January, however,
came news of the amazing recuperative power of the Austrians, who
were pushing along the Danube against Bavaria, and were threaten-
ing to recover their own province of Bohemia, which was swarming
with the French, Bavarian and Saxon troops of the anti-Habsburg
coalition. Frederick accordingly decided to re-enter the war.
Schwerin had already pushed the zone of the Prussian winter
quarters deep into the almost undefended Austrian province of Mora-
via, and Frederick hoped that by advancing a short way from this base
in the direction of Vienna he could make an effective diversion on
behalf of his associates, without running the risk of drawing the main
Austrian army upon his head. He set out from Berlin on 18 January,
and two days later in Dresden the Saxons agreed to place their
powerful contingent of well-trained troops under his command.
Frederick was thereby able to win a disproportionate amount of
control over the allied forces, and the Saxon prime minister, Count
Briihl, received from Marshal de Saxe the single-line message: 'Now
you have no more army!'
Frederick then travelled east to his forces in central Moravia,
passing through Prague and the County of Glatz, and emerging from a
range of snowy hills into the plain of Olmtitz. The flat and fertile
countryside reminded Frederick's party of the familiar landscapes of
Magdeburg, and the city of Olmiitz proved to be agreeably impress-
ive. The massive stucco walls of the churches and colleges were
interspersed with open spaces, which were embellished by fountains.
One of the smaller squares was dominated from one end by the