71 THE SILESIAN WARS, 1740-5the crudest sort. 'You are pigs', he used to say, 'and when I come into
your camp it stinks to high heaven. You must spend your whole time
eating and shitting' (Anon., 1788-9, II, 23-4).
The wreckage of the first line filtered through the intervals of the
second and began to rally in the rear, which once more gave Frederick
a force of eleven battalions. The fire of the Austrian guns was now
masked by their own grenadiers, and this time the Prussian attack
was carried all the way up the Graner-Koppe. The mass of inter-
mingled bluecoats and Austrian grenadiers swept over the summit,
leaving the deadly batteiy in Prussian hands.
While the issue was still in doubt on the Graner-Koppe, the
Prussian centre and left, which were supposed to stay back in reserve,
instead pressed forward on a broad front. Possibly they mistook the
lead given by the second battalion of the Kalckstein regiment (25),
which had been sent to clear the village of Burkersdorff. This spon-
taneous attack was in danger of sticking fast in front of a powerful
Austrian battery, south-south-west of the village, until Prince Ferdi-
nand of Brunswick sprang from his horse and led the second battalion
of the Garde (15) in a bayonet attack which broke open the centre.
The cavalry of the Austrian right made no attempt to intervene,
which permitted the Bornstedt and Rochow Cuirassiers (C 9, C 8) to
snatch up 850 of the Austrian infantry as prisoners.
Soon after midday the enemy disappeared into the woody depths
from which they had emerged, and Frederick strove to organise a
pursuit:
My cavalry came to a halt not far short of the enemy rearguard.
I hastened up and shouted: 'Marsch, vorwdrts, drauf!' I was
greeted with 'Vivat Victoria!' and a prolonged chorus of cries.
Again I called out 'Marsch!' - and again nobody wanted to
*move. I lost my temper, I struck out with my stick and fist, and I
swore (and I think I know how to swear when I am angry), but
I could do nothing to bring my cavalrymen one step forward.
They were drunk with joy and did not hear me. (Gr. Gstb., 1895,
III, 84)If the battle of Soor is so much shorter in the telling than
Hohenfriedeberg, it is because the action was so much simpler -
essentially one fulminating counter-attack - and not because it was
any less hard fought, or because less had been at stake. Altogether
7,444 of the allies had been killed, wounded or taken prisoner. The
Prussian losses reached 3,911, of whom 856 had been killed, which fell
short of the butcher's bill at Hohenfriedeberg in absolute terms, but
was much higher in proportion to the numbers engaged.
Frederick was certain that 'out of the four battles in which I have