Battle of Rossbach: 5th November, 1757

Map of Rossbach from-Rossbach and Leuthen: Prussia's Eagle Resurgent

Dear Readers,

When we last left our heroes, the Prussian army was shadowing a larger French and Reichsarmee force. (The Reichsarmee was made up of troops from a motley collection of small German states.) While the French and Reichsarmee had the advantage in terms of number of soldiers, (about 40,000 to 22,000) the Prussians indisputably outmatched the allies in terms of quality.

On the morning of November 5th,  the allies began a wide flanking move in an effort to get around the Prussian army, and potentially destroy it with a flank attack. The supposedly "Great" king, Frederick, failed to notice this movement on the part of the enemy, he was busy having lunch.  The first Prussian to notice the movements of the enemy was Frederick's young Flügeladjutant, Captain Friedrich Wilhelm Ersnt von Gaudi. According to historian Christopher Duffy, Gaudi reported to the king, "who was lunching with Prince Henry (his royal brother) Seydlitz, and a number of officers in the chamber below. If there was anything Frederick disliked more than having his monologues interrupted, it was signs of panic in a junior officer." Frederick told Gaudi that he was wrong about the flanking movement. Later, when the commander of a Frei-Battalion charged with watching the French, (the same Frei-Battalion a certain young Baron von Steuben was serving in...) reported the same, he was met with similar disdain from the great king.

Frederick dismisses Gaudi's (on right) report

However, Frederick is not, as historian Franz Szabo claims, totally at fault. After all, he had created a system in which these younger officers could report to him, and encouraged initiative among his advisers.  While I agree with Szabo that Frederick was in the wrong in this instance, I can not share his opinion on the Prussian military, which encouraged initiative, so that the army would not be destroyed if the king was at fault.

In time, when the movements of the enemy became more clear, subordinate Prussian officers made plans for movement in spite of the king's indifference, a move which undoubtedly saved the Prussian army. Frederick, finally awakening to the danger, moved prepared his infantry to move, and instructed General Seydlitz to take command of the Prussian cavalry.

The map of the Battle of Rossbach, from Christopher Duffy's: Prussia's Glory, pg 67.

Seydlitz immediately sprang into action, and his cavalry attack shattered the allies advanced guard. Young Fahnen-Cadet von Barsewisch, who we heard from in the last post, described the battle from his place with Prussian Regiment von Meyerinck (IR 26), on the map, von Meyerinck is right by the box which reads, "Final Attack."  Barsewisch describes the battle:

"To that end, His Majesty had re-positioned eight Battalions, of which our regiment was one, because of the re-positioning of the enemy.  There we stood, calmly, and went about our lunch, while awaiting further orders.  At roughly 2 O’clock in the afternoon, the enemy suddenly shifted their march left towards Rossbach, in an effort to turn our left flank, and began to march up. The speed with which we broke down the camp, formed battle array, and began to march up was indescribable. About 3 O’clock in the afternoon, a cannonade began, and the army stood in battle order. Our cavalry on the left wing, under the command of General Seydlitz crashed into the enemy cavalry, and on the second shock, the enemy cavalry took flight, and threw many of the infantry behind them wholly into ruin.
 Our infantry battalions from the left wing appeared from under our cannon, and engaged the French Swiss corps in such a way that they were still in columns. These columns were in the form of an ancient Phalanx, and through want of time and space to deploy, they were situated in rows of men a hundred deep. In this manner, they attempt to charge. This unstoppable Swiss Phalanx of left thousands of dead behind, and the whole of the French army was in such confusion, that they attempted to escape and flee, and by nightfall, they had left their cannons behind and were totally defeated by our left wing."

In essence, the Prussian cavalry attacked, defeated the enemy cavalry, and then reformed. The Prussian infantry regiments advanced on the allies, who were still in marching columns. Desperately, these marching columns attempted to charge and break the Prussian infantry through force of shock. The incredible firepower of the Prussian infantry and artillery stopped this attack, which developed into a firefight. This phase of the battle is artistically represented below:

Painting from- Rossbach and Leuthen: Prussia's Eagle Resurgent 

 However, by this point in the battle, General Seydlitz had reformed the Prussian cavalry, and they attacked the flank of the allies, throwing their army into a total rout.  The Prussian's lost 548 men, while the allies lost 5,000 dead and wounded, and 5,000 prisoners. Franz Szabo deliberately misrepresents these casualty figures, stating that the allies only lost 5,000 total men.

 While Frederick may have been slow to recognize the danger, and even slower to accept the advice of his subordinates, his handling of the main infantry line enabled the allies to be caught between the anvil of the Prussian infantry, and the hammer of Seydlitz and Prussian cavalry.

Why is Rossbach important? Why should we "remember remember," THIS 5th of November?

Remember in the last post when I was talking about how the English had been basically knocked out of the war, and the French were going to be able to send more troops to North America? Rossbach changed all that. This Prussian victory gave the British an excuse to get back into the war in Europe, where they were able to prevent French expansion into western Germany. It also tied down French forces in Europe, which allowed the British to conquer Canada, which retains ties with the British to this day. If this battle had not happened, the Seven Years' War would have been much shorter than seven years, with a different victor.

If this 5th of November had not occurred, the whole geopolitics of the Atlantic world could be radically different than it is today. That is why you should remember the 5th of November, 1757.

Thanks for reading,

Alex Burns

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November 1757

The lead-up to the Battle of Rossbach

Dear Readers,

Tomorrow is the 5th of November. The one day a year college students can pretend to be anarchists for a few hours. "Remember, Remember," the saying goes. Well, today, here on Kabinettskriege, I am going to take you to a different 5th of November. Forget the Gunpowder Plot. This 5th of November has much more significance to British history than a few disgruntled Catholics.

At the beginning of November, 1757, England, and the liberties of Englishmen everywhere, were in much greater danger than in 1605. The French had defeated the forces of the English king at the battle of Hastenbeck on the 26th of July, 1757. This led to the surrender of the army which fought for Britain, mostly comprised of Hessian, Hanoverian, and Braunschweiger soldiers. At surrender following the Convention of Kloster-Zeven, Britain had been all but knocked out of the Seven Years' War in Europe. This would allow the French to send more troops to serve in North America, potentially threatening England's overseas colonies.

The English could only hope for their allies on the continent, the Prussians, to somehow pull their European irons out of the fire. And in November 1757, this did not look very likely. The Prussians were reeling from three important defeats. On the 18th of June, 1757, King Frederick II of Prussia's army had been badly defeated at the battle of Kolin. On the 30th of August, a minor Prussian army had been defeated at the battle of Gross-Jägersdorf. And finally, On the 7th of September, the Prussians were worsted in the small battle of Moys.

The defeat at Moys was particularly damaging to Frederick II of Prussia. His most trusted friend, and confidant, Hans Karl von Winterfeldt, had been killed in this skirmish. Winterfeldt was Frederick's chief of staff, and spymaster. But even more importantly, he was Frederick's close personal friend. After being told of Winterfeldt's death, Frederick responded, "Einen Winterfeldt finde ich nie wieder. Er war ein guter Mensch, ein Seelenmensch. Er war mein Freunde." Roughly translated, "I will never find another Winterfeldt. He was a good man, a soulful man. He was my friend." For spiky old Fritz, close personal friendships did not come easy-he would often recall this as one of the greatest blows of the war.

After a year of repeated defeats, the English and the Prussians appeared as if they were about to lose the Seven Years' War.

In early November, Frederick was shadowing a French and Reichsarmee, which significantly outnumbered his own. Most historians agree that the French and Imperials had an army of between 38,000 to 44,000 men, and Christopher Duffy gives the figure of 44,750. Franz Szabo states without proof that the army had a, "total strength... about 30,000." Even if we accept Szabo's figure, we can generally agree that the French and Imperials had a generous margin of error over the Prussians, which historians agree had 22,000 men.

Ernst Friedrich Rudolf von Barsewisch, a twenty-year-old Fahnen-Cadet (Junior Ensign), recalled his experiences directly before the battle:

"On the 1^st of November, near Halle, an Imperial Corps burned 200 Ducats, plundered different locations during the night, and broke a bridge over the river Saale on the 2^nd. On this day, we constructed three bridges over the Saale. The 3^rd (of November) brought us to pass by Merseburg on the Saale, and we moved one mile passed Merseburg to Braunsdorf, and camped there. We marched three miles. Here, we stood close to the combined French and Reichsarmee force, so that our Advanced-Guard attacked and skirmished with their outposts.  During this night, His Majesty the King reconnoitered the enemy camp. They were met with a violent cannonade. On the Morning of the 4^th of November,  the army broke up, and his Majesty the King was minded to attack the enemy with his cavalry and the left wing of the army. But because the enemy army past with their flank in sight, the enemy in four detachments, in such a way that opened the camp, that the cavalry camped behind the infantry in a valley, meanwhile, constantly the Hussars and the Freibattalions  skirmished with the enemy. The headquarters was near Rossbach."

The battle that followed, on the 5th of November, would change the balance of power in Europe, and North America. Tune in tomorrow, to see how the epic battle on this 5th of November occurred, and how it changed western history.

Thanks for reading,




Alex Burns

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Happy Halloween!

A Hessian

Dear Readers-Happy Halloween!

Did you know, one of the most enduring Halloween legends, the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, has its roots in the Kabinettskriege era?

In this tale, a school teacher is chased out of town by the a ghastly apparition of a cavalrymen with no head!
Legend has it, that the headless rider was actually a Hessian soldier! (See my post on Hessians here.) According to myth, this soldier was decapitated by a cannonball, during the American War of Independence, and now roams the countryside of North America!

This legend has been continued by the new TV series, Sleepy Hollow, but that is a tale for another time!

Have a Happy Halloween, and don't let the Hessians get you!

If you liked this post, let me know in the comments below! Feel free to follow the blog. Its free, and lets me know that you enjoy what I'm doing-basically the only reason I write this thing.

What's Next?

Dear Reader,

What do you want to hear about next on Kabinettskriege?

A. General information about Wars in the Eighteenth Century

B. Battle Anniversaries: I do detailed posts about battles, as they happen during the year

C. Unit Histories: Have a Kabinettskriege era unit you want info about? Let me know and I'll research them.

D. You Pick- Tell me what you want to hear about in the comments. 

Let me know your choice in the comments below. 

Thanks for Reading,

Alex Burns 

The Ottomans in the Kabinettskriege Period (الامبراطورية العثمانية التحليل العسكري)

Al-Niẓām Al-Jadīd parade before Selim III

Dear Reader,

In a previous post, I examined the military units of the Ottoman Empire in the Kabinettskriege period. At the beginning of the Kabinettskriege period, the Ottoman empire stretched from Saudi Arabia to the gates of Vienna, and from Morocco to the Persian Gulf. It was the largest empire in Europe, or Africa, during the Kabinettskriege period. At the beginning of the Kabinettskriege era, the Ottoman Empire was the undisputed master of south eastern part of Europe, known as the Balkans. None of the European powers alone could challenge the Ottoman Empire, so in the late part of the 17th century, several of them joined forces- the Austrian Habsburgs, the Poles, and the Russians. This alliance was known as, "the Holy League," though there was little "Holy" in what they set out to do- dismantle the lands of the Ottoman Empire.

Map of the Ottoman Empire in 1683

This conflict became known as "the War of the Holy League." The combined forces of the three Christian nations proved to much for the Ottomans, and they began to lose the war. 1683 was a significant year for the Ottomans- it marked their last attempt at domination in central Europe. The massive battle of Vienna, (German: Schlacht von Kahlenburg) on the 11th and 12th of September, 1683, blunted an Ottoman offensive towards Vienna.

The Germans wrote a song, "Prinz Eugen der elde Ritter," to commemorate this victory. You can listen to a modern rendition of it today, here. Please be aware that the song presents a very biased version of events.

This loss enabled the Holy League to accomplish its goals. Much of the Balkans returned to Habsburg control, the Poles gained significant parts of the Ukraine, and the Russians took the coastal fortress of Azov on the Black Sea. Here, they were led by a young man, known as Peter I of Russia. He would eventually become Peter the Great.

A young Ottoman soldier trains with a Snapchance Musket

The next major war between the Ottomans and the powers of Europe occurred in the 1730s. Austria and Russia joined forces, (as the Poles had gone into a deep decline) and attempted to conquer more of the Ottoman lands.

Here, the Ottomans recovered, and they were able to deal the Austrians several defeats. The battle of Banja Luka, on the 4th of August, 1737, was an Ottoman victory, despite being outnumbered by the Austrian forces. On July 22nd, 1739, the Ottoman army took up ambush positions near Grocka, and decisively defeated the Austrians, decimating the Austrian cavalry with musket fire. When the Austrian infantry came up, the Ottomans fought until nightfall, and the Austrians withdrew. This battle was even more significant, as it prevented the Austrians from lifting the siege of Belgrade, which fell shortly after the battle. This combination of factors forced the Austrians to sign a separate peace.

Despite these successes, the Ottoman Empire was on a downward slide from power for most of the 16th century. Why? There are a variety of factors. Some include inadequate leadership, failure to keep up with European tactical reforms, and a focus on individual bravery, rather than unit cohesion.

Here is another reason:

Ottoman Weapons of the 18th Century

See these muskets? The majority of the infantry long firearms are snapchance muskets. (I explain muskets in this post.) These muskets are not as reliable as the flintlock muskets employed by the Europeans. In addition, none of these muskets seem to have a bayonet lug. Without a way to attach a bayonet, Ottoman infantry would have been more vulnerable to European cavalry attacks, even if the soldiers were proficient in the use of the sword.

With inferior firearms, and inadequate reforms, the Ottoman Empire was unable to maintain its cutting edge, which had enabled conquests for most of the early portion of its existence.

Thanks for reading,

Alex Burns

If you liked this post, let me know in the comments below! Feel free to follow the blog. Its free, and lets me know that you enjoy what I'm doing-basically the only reason I write this thing.

History and Historical Suffering

A Village burned by Napalm in Vietnam

Dear Reader,

The past is serious business. For the majority of human existence, suffering has dominated human experience. People have done awful things to each other throughout history. This has happened, more often then not, during time of war.

There are times when being a historian is all fun and games. This past weekend, I had the chance to go the 18th century market fair at Locust Grove, and meet with professor Daniel Krebs. (I reviewed Dr. Krebs book here.) However, as much as I might try to make it fun, the past remains a dark and dangerous place, full of suffering and death. We make hobbies out of the lives of the dead.

However much we might try to present it as fun, or enjoyable in wargames, or reenactments, it remains a serious business. That is one of the reasons why I respect serious wargamers and reenactors, such as Dean West, and Doug Roush, who are committed to portraying the past accurately to the public, and encourage that the public learn the wider context of the events, not just the micro-history of the unit they study.

On the right, you can see a soldier being forced to "run the gauntlet"-a task which often killed the victim. 

As a historian, especially as military historian, I am faced with human suffering every time I open a book. Baroness von Riedesel, one of the diarists of the American War of Independence, recorded the death of General Fraser after the Battle of Bemis Heights. Her account is as follows:

"Toward three o'clock in the afternoon, instead of my dinner guests arriving as expected, poor General Fraser, who was to have been one of them, was brought to me on a stretcher, mortally wounded. The table, which had already been set for dinner, was removed, and a bed for the General was put in its place. The noise of the firing grew constantly louder. The thought that perhaps my husband would also be brought home wounded was terrifying, and worried me incessantly. The General said to the doctor, "Don't conceal anything from me! Must I die?" The bullet had gone through his abdomen... and through {his intestines.} I often heard him exclaim, between moans, "Oh fatal ambition! Poor General Burgoyne! Poor Mrs. Fraser."

The people of the past lived just as we do. They had hopes, dreams, loves, and friendships. And they died. Often in horrible pain, long before they would have died of natural causes.

There are times when I cannot read source material, because the pain contained in it is too great.

Bodies from the gas attack in Syria, on August 21st

My way of looking at the world was forever changed by the gas attacks this summer in Syria. This attack sent me into a depression. It changed the way I view humanity, God, and the world we live in.

In my mind, there are three ways of dealing with suffering you see around you in the present, but does not directly you:

1. You can choose to feel sympathy, but do nothing, and return to your way of life.

2. You can choose to believe that God is working through the suffering, and will give final justice.

3. You can resolve to take action, and work to address the suffering around you, which you can directly influence. (e.g. I cannot end the war in Syria. I can give the homeless man on my street $5.)

I cannot speak for the my readers, but I plan to take the third course of action. God helps those who help themselves, and help each other.

"We think to much, and feel to little.
More than machinery, we need humanity.
More than cleverness, we need kindness."

"-The Great Dictator"

Some thinking music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBP853AzraU

Let me know what you think in the comments below. 

Alex Burns 

If you liked this post, let me know in the comments below! Feel free to follow the blog. Its free, and lets me know that you enjoy what I'm doing-basically the only reason I write this thing.

Report: 18th Century Market Fair at Locust Grove

Changing of the "Town Guard" at Locust Grove

Dear Reader,

This weekend, in Louisville, Kentucky, the Locust Grove plantation hosted the 7th annual 18th Century Market Fair. Locust Grove is a mansion, the retirement home of Revolutionary War era hero George Rogers Clark. In this event, vendors set up tents in front of the mansion, and military camps are set up in the valleys on each side of the mansion.

It was especially nice, as I got to see the friends I made earlier this year at Koh-Koh-Mah in the Regiment von Riedesel.

Crown forces battle line on Saturday Afternoon

I was lucky enough to be in attendance both days, and surprisingly, the Crown forces won the battle both of the days. Sunday's battle was reminiscent of the Battle of Eutaw Springs: the rebel forces sacked the Crown camp, but the Crown forces returned to win the battle.

During the sack of the camp, an elderly but still hale German nurse was seen beating the rebel soldiers about the head and shoulders with a large wooden spoon. The German regiment sent up several cheers for this display of bravery.

Camp Life at Locust Grove

Finally, here is a link to a video of the battle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx15Oq0zV0k

It was a wonderful time, and I would encourage anyone able to travel to the Louisville area to go next year.


Thanks for reading,

Alexander Burns

(All photos shamelessly stolen from my friend David.)

If you liked this post, let me know in the comments below! Feel free to follow the blog. Its free, and lets me know that you enjoy what I'm doing-basically the only reason I write this thing.