41 THE SILESIAN WARS, 1740-5from Chrudim with the two battalions of the Garde, and reached the
summit of a hill which lay to the west.
It was a spendid day, and you could not imagine a more
agreeable view than the one we had from our hill, extending
over plains and mountains... the columns of our infantry and
cavalry could be seen approaching from every direction, like
lines being drawn from a circumference towards a common
centre. You are aware of the splendour of our troops and
military gear, but I assure you that in your wildest imaginings
you could not have conceived ... a more perfect picture.
(Stille, 1764, 68)
This concentration amounted to thirty-five battalions, two com-
panies of grenadiers and seventy squadrons.
The sunny weather struck no warmth into Frederick's heart. The
Marquis de Valori, a French diplomat, joined him at Chrudim and
found that he was in a state of near-panic. The condition of the king
of Prussia was frightful, and it made his expression quite ferocious.
All his remarks were cutting, and his smile was forced and sardonic'
(Valori, 1820, I, 154).
Even now Frederick did not fully awaken to his danger. The
Austrians were already slipping past his southern flank, but he
assumed that Prince Charles was merely intent on gaining some
marches in the direction of Prague. Frederick put his forces in motion
with no great sense of urgency. He set off with the advance guard on
15 May, leaving the Hereditary Prince Leopold Max of Anhalt-Dessau
to follow on the next day with the remaining two-thirds of the army.
The tableland to the west of Chrudim terminated in a brow
above Podhorschan, where the road described a turn to the left and
descended steeply through woodlands to the plain of Tschaslau.
Standing on a mighty boulder, later called the Friedrichstein, the
king had a clear view to the west to the slender spire of Tschaslau,
seven miles away. The ground was empty, but in the more broken
country further to the south Frederick espied an Austrian camp near
Wilimow. He estimated the enemy at between seven and eight
thousand, and reached the wrong conclusion that they must repre-
sent the corps of Prince Lobkowitz, who was approaching from
southern Bohemia. In fact this force was the army of Prince Charles,
which owned no less than 28,000 combatants. Frederick marched on
to Kuttenberg, and distributed his troops in quarters.
Prince Leopold followed in Frederick's tracks on 16 May. On
reaching the Podhorschan viewpoint he was startled by the sight of
the Austrian camp, which now extended between Schleb and Ronow.
By counting the rows of tents he made an accurate assessment of the