61 THE SILESIAN WARS, 1740-5study it is scarcely possible to do more than describe the character of
the succeeding events.
The first confusions derived from the fact that the allies had
extended themselves much further to the east on the far side of the
Striegauer-Wasser than Frederick had suspected. Only the main body
of the Austrians had lit camp fires during the night, and, unknown to
Frederick, the Saxons and bodies of Austrian cavalry and grenadiers
were roaming around in the darkness directly to his front. The leading
Prussian elements, instead of enjoying a clear run towards Pilgram-
shain, therefore found themselves engaged in a private battle which
ultimately absorbed all of the cavalry of Frederick's right wing.
Lieutenant-General Du Moulin led the way across the
Striegauer-Wasser with an advance guard of six battalions of grena-
diers and twenty-eight squadrons of hussars. Du Moulin set out well
ahead of the main body, and he was under orders to seize the isolated
hills beyond Striegau. These features were already occupied by a
mixed detachment of four companies of Saxon and Austrian grena-
diers. Just after 2 a.m. 'a Prussian hussar came up to this force and
enquired: "Are you Austrians or Prussians?" On hearing that they
were Austrians he removed his cap, and duly announced "and 1 am a
Prussian hussar!" and he rode down from the hill' (Carl Egidius
Grosse, in Hoffmann, 1903, 32-3).
Du Moulin's report of the enemy presence reached Frederick at
about 4 a.m., when the columns of the main army had been on the
march for half an hour and the sun was about to break over the
horizon. Frederick sent a battery of six 24-pounders in support of the
advance guard, and he hastened the march of his leading cavalry and
infantry across the Striegauer-Wasser. There was no question of
forming in a proper order of battle, and the second line actually found
itself taking the lead.
Between four and five the Duke of Weissenfels succeeded in
deploying the Saxon horse and the cavalry of the Austrian left wing to
the south-east of Pilgramshain, and the battle proper opened against
Du Moulin's hussars and the cavalry of the Prussian right. In his
address to the generals Frederick had mentioned that the cavalry was
to give no quarter in the heat of the action, and a murderous
excitement spread among the troopers.
The Prussian cavalry enjoyed the advantage of numbers, the
slope of the ground, and the support of the two batteries of artillery,
but Count von Rothenburg, who commanded the twenty-six cuiras-
sier squadrons making up the first line, was soon in need of support
from the dragoons and hussars to his rear. The Prussians broke ranks
in their eagerness to get at the enemy, and within a few minutes
dragoons, hussars, cuirassiers and enemy mounted grenadiers were