56 THE SILESIAN WARS, 1740-5narrow roads that were already obstructed by broken-down waggons
and the bodies of cart horses. On 27 November the Croats and hussars
caught up with the struggling Prussians. The rearguard came under
heavy attack at Pless, while the rearward elements of the main army
were overtaken on the way to Trautenau, and about two hundred
men were lost.
For the royal army the campaign came to an end on 8 December,
when the border abatis at Braunau was completed, and the last of the
troops withdrew into Silesia. The ordeal of the garrison of Prague was
continuing. Einsiedel and his men had withdrawn from the city on
26 November, and they were now retreating on Upper Lusatia by way
of the difficult paths through Gabel and Friedland.
The total Prussian losses in 1744 can be guessed only from a few
details. The Austrians reckoned that nearly 17,000 men had come
over to them as deserters. Other sources estimate that 36,000 troops
returned to Silesia, and that about half of these died from dysentery
(Mamlock, 1907, 12). When we make every allowance for exaggera-
tions, the damage to the Prussian army was still very great. The
survivors roamed about Silesia in disorder, the officers were demoral-
ised, and the generals' trust in Frederick's leadership was temporarily
broken. As for the king, 'he had lost something of his over-confidence.
He was willing to listen, and his replies were gentler and less biting.
These changes were obvious to everyone. He had just experienced his
first misfortunes' (Valori, 1820, I, 204).
There is something impressive about the frankness with which
Frederick owned that the campaign had been as much won by the
Austrians as lost by his own mistakes. He paid handsome tribute to
Traun in his Histoire de mon Temps, and many years later, when he
met Austrian officers on social terms at Neisse and again at Mahrisch-
Neustadt, he eagerly sought out veterans who had served with that
elderly gentleman in 1744. 'Did you know who taught me the little I
know?' he asked the Prince de Ligne. 'It was your old marshal Traun.
Now there's a man for you!' (Ligne, 1923, 158).
Frederick pondered deeply about the chastening but instructive
experiences of 1744. In future he took full account of the peculiarly
frustrating conditions of warfare in Bohemia. He had also learnt
something about the concentration of forces, and discovered that it
was more advisable to defend river lines from the front than from
behind. He knew that the Prussian army must never again be exposed
to conditions which eroded its formal discipline - once this constrain-
ing force was relaxed, there were scarcely any limits to the disintegra-
tion.
Frederick's search for the tactical decision proceeded unabated,
despite the failure at Marschowitz, for his military reputation still