43 THE SILESIAN WARS, 1740-5which gave its name to the battle, was a straggling affair of lightly
built and indefensible houses. The left wing of the cavalry, comman-
ded by Lieutenant-General Waldow, was approximately equal in size
to Buddenbrock's force, but it was awkwardly positioned beyond the
rather steeply banked little Brslenka-Bach, and consequently experi-
enced some difficulties in crossing this obstacle to reach the Chotu-
sitz plateau.
Both Leopold and Frederick sent orders to Buddenbrock to attack
without more ado. From his position in the hollow Frederick probably
saw nothing of the ensuing action except the clouds of dust, but he
afterwards heard how the Prussian first line of twenty squadrons of
cuirassiers hit the left wing of the Austrian cavalry with commend-
able speed, overthrowing the leading ranks 'like a house of cards'
(Stille, 1764, 77).
Buddenbrock then lost the advantage of his impetus by halting to
rally his squadrons, as the regulations actually demanded. He en-
joyed no support in these critical moments from his ten squadrons of
dragoons, which made up his second line, for this force veered too far
to the left in all the dust, and it was badly mauled by the left wing of
the advancing Austrian infantry. Buddenbrock now found himself
assailed by a counter-attack of two regiments of cuirassiers and one of
dragoons, and the Prussian troopers finally gave way in confusion
when Austrian hussars fell on their fear. By about 9.30 a.m. the
cavalry of the Prussian right had ceased to take any further part in the
battle.
Meanwhile on the centre and east of the field the Austrians
moved steadily over the plateau. In order to stay their progress
Waldow most courageously threw the three regiments of the cuiras-
siers of the first line of the left against the advancing lines of white.
Historians argue as to whether the initial clash between the rival
forces of cavalry was staged on the east or west side of the Brslenka,
but it appears that the three Prussian regiments carved a way clear
through the Austrian horse and foot to the open country beyond, and
executed a circuit behind the back of the Austrian army as far as the
scene of Buddenbrock's dying cavalry action to the west. They
discovered that there was little to be done on this part of the field, and
the Prinz August Wilhelm Cuirassiers (C 2; see Map 2, p. 342) made
back in the direction of Chotusitz, once more braving the fire of the
Austrian infantry. One of the squadron commanders, Major Georg
Wilhelm von Driesen, was taken prisoner by the enemy cavalry, but
in a moment of general confusion he broke free and cut his way to
safety.
The battle was now reduced to a struggle around the village of
Chotusitz, where Prince Leopold had now assembled a tangled mass