Book Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XVIII NAPOLEON'S QUEST OF BERNADOTTE AND BLUCHER ON the 1st October, Ney, fearing that Biilow might pass at Wartenburg and cut him from Dresden, ordered Bertrand to the former, It was, however, Bliicher who was now at Wartenburg. He had marched to Jessen, setting free Biilow and Tauenzein to return to Bernadotte. Sacken, having performed his function as flank guard, had now rejoined Bliicher. Bertrand was in Wartenburg on the 2nd October, in front of the Prussian bridge head, which was at the salient of the bend of the Elbe in the neck of which Wartenburg lies.1 The Prussians had selected this place as quite theoretically suitable for forcing a passage, but they had omitted to reconnoitre the area within the bend, and were ignorant of the fact that it was exceedingly unfavourable for deployment after they had crossed under the protection of their artillery sweeping the peninsula. It was marshy and cut up by backwaters which, when the Elbe was in flood, were quite impassable, and were so in great part at all times. The village of Wartenburg stood behind one of these, and also had in front of it an embankment to protect it from floods. It was right in the centre of the neck, and was practically safe against a mere frontal attack. It could only be reached by troops passing along a narrow strip of land between it and the Elbe, in the part above the bridges. Whilst the Prussians underestimated the defensibility of the Wartenburg position, Bertrand erred in the opposite direction; for he had only recently seen it at a time 1 Map IV. (.). when the Elbe was in very high flood. He believed it to be almost impregnable. At 7 A.M. on the 3rd October, Prince Charles of Mecklenburg passed the Prussian bridges with three battalions of Yorck's...