The battle at the garden. The Battle of Königgrez is the largest battle in the Czech lands. Preparing for the biggest battle of the 19th century
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Prussia Prussia |
Austrian empire Austrian empire
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Battle of Sadov, also Battle of Königgrätz, it. Schlacht bei Königgrätz (Sadova - Czech Sadová, German Sadowa - a village in Bohemia, near modern Hradec Kralove in Bohemia) - took place on July 3, 1866 and was the largest battle of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which radically influenced the course of the war ...
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The course of the battle
The Austrian Northern Army (215 thousand people with 770 guns) occupied positions on the heights southeast of the village of Sadova, when the Elbe and Silesian Prussian armies (221 thousand people, 900 guns) approached it under the command of King William I. The Austrian general L. Benedek did not organize reconnaissance of the area and was unable to establish the interaction of his corps. The weakness of the multinational Austrian army was that many peoples did not want to fight for the Habsburgs. Hundreds and even thousands of Italians and Romanians deserted right on the battlefield.
By the beginning of the battle, the Austrian army occupied an extremely disadvantageous position between the Bystrica and Elbe rivers. Squeezed between these two rivers, it found itself on the night of July 3rd in front of the half-ring of three Prussian armies: the Elbe in the west (overhanging the Austrian left flank), the 1st Army in the north-west (in front of the center of its forces) and the 2nd (Silesian) army a little further in the north (overhanging the right flank of the Austrians near the Elbe River). If the Prussians had a few hours in reserve, then with further flank coverage of the Elbe and 2nd armies, they would simply surround the Austrians. However, the opponents were already too close to each other. The Prussians, who did not expect to meet the entire 200,000-strong army of Benedek right in front of them, now could fear an immediate ramming strike from all Austrian forces. As a result, the Prussian headquarters decided to be proactive: to bind Benedek's army with an attack along the front, until the Elbe army from the south, and the 2nd army from the north entered the rear of the Austrians.
The battle began on the morning of July 3rd with a clash on the left flank of the Austrians near the village of Problus. The vanguard of the Elbe army clashed with the forces of the Saxon corps (it formed the left Austrian flank), supported by several Austrian brigades. In the infantry skirmish, the Prussians were superior: their needle rifles were significantly faster than the Austrian muzzle-loading fittings. After some time, the entire Prussian division of Kanstein was drawn into the struggle near the village of Problus, and yet the inequality of forces forced Kanstein to abandon attempts to capture Problus before the approach of the Munster division. However, two Prussian divisions were not enough to cover and crush the left flank of the Austrians. In the first hours of the battle, they only managed to push the Austrians to the east a few times.
Meanwhile, in the center, the 1st Prussian army began to move. In the morning, first four Prussian divisions, and then six divisions, launched an attack on the Austrian positions near the Bystritsa River. The Austrian front line was thrown back. The Prussians occupied the village of Sadova, began to cross to the other side of the Bystritsa River. There, in the forest, the Prussian battalions gradually concentrated for a decisive attack on the main positions of the Austrians (on the heights of the village of Lipa). However, the effective fire of 160 Austrian guns fielded by Benedek at the heights of 160 of the Austrian guns delayed the Prussian offensive and inflicted significant losses on the Prussians. The lack of guns with rifled barrels did not allow the Prussians to defeat the enemy in an artillery duel.
By noon, six Prussian divisions stood in front of the front of the Austrian forces (10th, 3rd, 4th and 2nd corps), three more divisions (Elbe army) hung with a heavy weight on the Austrian left flank (against the Saxon corps and the remnants of 8 th Austrian Corps). Between 11 and 12 o'clock the Austrians made an attempt to turn the tide of the battle: to launch a counteroffensive with their right wing and throw the Prussian divisions into the Bystritsa River. The 4th and 2nd Austrian corps launched such an attack and overthrew the 7th Prussian division of General Franzetskiy, who had to literally rip his units out of the encircling loop of the Austrian offensive. However, the Austrians no longer had time for more: the 2nd Prussian Army, with its four corps, was already hanging over the right flank and rear of the Austrian army. The entry of the 2nd Silesian Army into battle was the turning point of the day. By 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when the Prussian headquarters received news of the approach of the 2nd army, the Prussian command was seriously thinking about starting to withdraw its troops from the eastern bank of Bystritsa. Now it became clear that the Austrians were falling into the pincers and the battle was won for the Prussians.
General Benedek was forced to interrupt the offensive, to delay and bend his right flank. Meanwhile, the Elbe army with part of its forces bypassed the left flank of the Austrians and finally took with. Problus, while the 1st and 2nd armies continued to put pressure on the center, right flank and rear. Under the threat of encirclement, General Benedek began to withdraw his troops under the cover of 170 cannons located 4 km north-west of Königgrez (now Hradec Králové). Affected by the multinationality of the Austrian army. Hundreds and even thousands of Italians and Romanians deserted right on the battlefield near Sadovaya. The frustrated Austrian army could not withstand the Prussian attacks and retreated. The successful actions of the Austrian cavalry, which covered the retreat of the bulk of the troops, also saved the Northern army of General Benedek from complete destruction.
The Austrian army, together with the allied Saxon troops, lost in killed and wounded about 15 thousand and 22 thousand prisoners and deserters - almost 5 times more than the Prussians, whose losses did not exceed 9 thousand people, as well as 116 (according to other sources 187) guns.
Outcomes
The Battle of Sadov became the main battle of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. After the battle, General L. Benedek withdrew the remnants of his army to Olmutz, thus covering the path to Hungary, but leaving Vienna without adequate protection. Although the Austrian Empire may still have the military potential to resist, less than a month after the battle, a peace treaty was signed that ended the war.
The Battle of Sadov played a significant role in the development of the art of war. It proved the indisputable superiority of breech-loading rifles over muzzle-loading rifles, showed the possibility of effective use of maneuvers and large masses of troops, even in close proximity to the enemy. This experience was conceptualized by the Prussian school of military art, primarily by A. Schlieffen, and then successfully used in the wars of the 20th century.
- Battle of Sadovo in the visual arts
Germany on the road to unification. For many centuries, Germany remained a country divided into kingdoms, duchies, principalities, and imperial lands.
And if in France or England, the unification began in the XII century. and by the XV ended, then Germany remained fragmented until the middle of the XIX century.
In the XVIII century. two states competed for the right to become unifiers: the Austrian Empire, led by the Habsburgs, and the Prussian kingdom, led by the Hohenzollern dynasty. Accordingly, there were two options for creating a unified Germany.
The first of them is the "Great German way": the unification under the rule of the Habsburgs of the German, as well as the Slavic and Hungarian lands that are part of the Austrian Empire. The other, the “little-German way,” assumed that Prussia would become the center of a unified Germany. In the first half of the 19th century. events developed in such a way that trade, economic, and partly political interests rallied many German states just around Prussia.
The role of Bismarck and Moltke. A huge role in this matter was played by the Minister-President of Prussia Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), who managed to unite Germany "with iron and blood" (in his own words), that is, through skillfully prepared, provoked and played out wars. Bismarck was not a military leader, the military side was in the hands of the Chief of the General Staff of the Prussian army Helmut von Moltke (1800-1891). The joint, although not always coordinated, activity of the Bismarck diplomat and the staff officer Moltke yielded important results.
First of all, they wanted to do away with Austria's claims to the role of unifier, for which special attention should be paid to the army.
Armament of the Prussian and Austrian armies. The Prussian army was armed with the latest Dreise needle rifles and steel cannons manufactured at the Krupp factories. Dreise's rifles were loaded from the breech, had a high rate of fire, and could be reloaded in the "prone position." True, after several shots, the bolt lost its tightness and the powder gases burned the shooter. Artillery remained the "God of War". The Prussians had significantly more guns than the Austrians, in addition, Moltke was able to debug the communications system that ensured the rapid movement of the Prussian army. His demand to "march separately, strike together" was successfully embodied in subsequent events.
As for the Austrian army, it was numerous, but insufficiently combat-ready. The money of the military department went mainly to the salaries of the bloated officer corps and the bureaucracy. All the energy in preparation was spent on drill shagistics. Little attention was paid to shooting. The army was still armed with old ramrod guns. But the artillery park was updated after the defeat of Austria in the war with Italy with bronze, rifled, muzzle-loading guns.
The main method of combat was considered to be a bayonet attack "who-who". This method of fighting was good during the Napoleonic wars, but has long lost its effectiveness. Good commanders could secure victories in individual battles, but not in large campaigns.
Allies of Austria and Prussia. Austria's allies were the kingdoms of southwestern Germany, primarily Bavaria, which is very weak militarily. Prussia relied on the alliance of the North German states with Italy, which hoped to take the territory of the Venetian region from Austria. Thus, Austria was supposed to wage a war on two fronts, but it was obvious that the outcome of the war would depend on the events on the Bohemian (Czech) front, where the main opponents, the Prussians and the Austrians, would clash.
"Austrian Bayard". The commander of the Austrian army on this front was appointed Ludwig von Benedek (1804-1881), an intelligent and respected general in the army, who had the honorary nickname "Austrian Bayard". He accepted this appointment without enthusiasm. First, obviously aware of the complexity of the position of the commander, surrounded by representatives of the highest aristocracy, who could not calmly accept submission to a simple Hungarian nobleman. Secondly, he did not know very well the lands where he was to command.
The first clash of armies at Trautenau ended in a small victory for the Austrians. Moreover, the victors lost three times more soldiers than the defeated. Benedek sent a telegram to Emperor Franz Joseph, proving the need to make peace, but he demanded a battle.
The disposition of armies and the balance of forces. The decisive battle of the "seven-day war" took place on July 3, 1866. In the historical tradition, two names have been assigned to it: the Battle of Sadov (Sadovaya) or the Battle of Koniggrets. (The fact is that the battle took place near the village of Sadova and not far from the Koniggrets castle, and Sadova was in the immediate vicinity, so this name is more accurate.)
Benedek decided to take battle not far from the fortress in which his headquarters was located. The center of his army was located on the slopes facing the enemy, the left flank rested against the Elbe, the right - in a wooded area. The location for the defense was well chosen, and the outcome of the case could be successful for the Austrian army, provided that all of its components were subordinate to a single command.
According to the plan of the "great silent" Moltke, the Prussian army was divided into two wings. Success was possible only if their actions were coordinated. This gave Benedek a chance to smash enemies piece by piece. But he failed to use the "last chance".
By July 1, the Prussian armies were close enough to pinch the Austrians in pincers. The main attack on the left flank of the Austrians was to be inflicted by the Second Prussian Army under the command of Prince Friedrich Karl and the Elbe Army, led by General H. von Bitenfeld. The First Prussian Army of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm was supposed to come to their aid and attack the enemy's right flank. The balance of forces was as follows: the Prussian army had 220 thousand soldiers with 924 guns, the Austrians - 208 thousand with 779 guns.
Battle of Sadov. The army of Prince Friedrich Karl set out on the night of July 2 to 3 at 3 am, the crown prince's army (First) remained in the camp until the morning. Just when at breakfast the Prussian Crown Prince heard the roar of artillery pieces, his units hurriedly moved towards the sounds of cannon fire.
The first clash of opponents took place at about 7 am under the massive artillery cover of the Prussian batteries. The defense of the Austrians would be solid if all parts of the army did not move from their positions. But this prerequisite was violated by the unauthorized actions of the two corps under the command of von Thun and von Festetics, who rushed into the attack without worrying about the safety of their flank. To the sound of Radetzky's march, officers with sabers bald, soldiers with rifles at the ready, under the fire of rapid-fire Prussian rifles, rushed into a bayonet attack. On the outskirts of the forest, where the Prussians had settled, piles of bodies grew, dressed in white uniforms. Their opponents in black uniforms fought to the death. At twelve o'clock, units consisting of Austrians, Hungarians, Italians and Croats broke through the enemy's defenses.
At this very time, Benedek, who saw that the northern part of the defensive positions remained exposed due to the unauthorized actions of the noble counts, received a message about the approach of the guards units of the Prussian crown prince's army. It was necessary to urgently return the battalions that had escaped forward. The soldiers could not understand why, after their just and hard-won success, they should leave the positions, drenched in their blood, littered with the corpses of their comrades. The morale of the army was undermined. The soldiers did not have time to settle in their old positions when the crown prince's units attacked them.
The outcome of the battle is a foregone conclusion. The Prussian command post is located at a height near the village of Dub. From there, King Wilhelm, Moltke and Bismarck watched the battle. For the four preceding years, Bismarck did everything to make this battle take place. Now the matter of his whole life was being decided, and he was amazed at the equanimity and calmness of Moltke, who, when the king asked how things were, replied: "The outcome of the campaign is a foregone conclusion in accordance with the wishes of Your Majesty." These were not empty words: the chief of staff saw the approaching units of the crown prince's army, which were supposed to turn the tide of the battle, which had lasted for more than four hours.
The infantry of the army of the Prussian crown prince immediately marched against the right flank of the Austrians, the guardsmen, stretching out in a chain, climbed the steep slope of the hill. Austrian cannons located in the distance began shelling the advancing. Amid the roar of shells, the Prussians reached the ridge of the hill and saw that the enemy's batteries were defenseless, the infantry, which was supposed to cover them, was gone. Naturally, the batteries were quickly seized.
Following this, the Prussians broke into the center of the Austrian defense and occupied the village of Haum. Benedek personally led his Third Corps to attack them. With huge losses (about 1300 people were killed in twenty minutes of the attack), the Austrians managed to penetrate the village, but were soon driven out of it by the soldiers of the Prussian General von Bonin who arrived in time. An attempt to bombard Haum with bombs failed: all the artillery crews were shot by the Prussians from rifles. Now nothing stood in the way of the offensive of the Prussians.
Losses of the parties. At 3 o'clock Benedek learned that the left flank could not withstand the advance of the Elbe army. Benedek tried to organize a retreat by introducing reserve cavalry units into battle. A series of furious cavalry attacks followed, accompanied by the incessant thunder of artillery cannonade. 24 thousand (according to other sources - 18 thousand) Austrian soldiers were killed, 13 thousand (according to other sources - 20 thousand) were captured, but the Austrian army escaped complete encirclement. The Prussians lost about 9 thousand soldiers and officers killed.
"I beat them all!" The war continued for several more days, although the Austrian generals understood the futility of further bloodshed. The Prussian troops were too exhausted to continue the pursuit. This suited Bismarck, he needed to take Austria out of the big game, but keep it as a future ally. The king, who had previously resisted the outbreak of a fratricidal war, on the contrary, demanded the maximum possible increase in territories and a triumphant entry into Vienna. Moltke demanded the same. These days, Bismarck wrote in a private letter: "I am doing a thankless job - pouring water into bubbling wine and convincing that we are not alone in Europe ..." In this struggle between the military's desire to demonstrate victory, triumph and the political calculation of the Prime Minister, unwilling to lose a potential ally for the future, Bismarck found support from the crown prince, who supported his balanced position. Bismarck threw out his feelings, shouting: “I beat them all! Everyone !! One and all !!! "
Peace conditions. The preliminary peace terms were signed on July 26, 1866. The eight-hundred-year-old Habsburg state ceased to play a leading role on the stage of European history. General Benedek, who was dismissed from service, was declared guilty of everything. The supreme ingratitude of the authorities was supplemented by simple human baseness - his servant stole all the awards of the general who fell out of favor. It is said that the Prussian crown prince, upon learning of this, offered Benedek his own in return.
Five years after the "Seven-Day War," at the head of the German Confederation, Prussia will end the Second Empire regime in France. In 1871, the German Empire will be proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors of Versailles. United Germany moved in a straight line by 1914.
Austrian empireSaxony Saxony
| Helmut von Moltke (the Elder) Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Gerwarth von Bittenfeld |
Ludwig von Benedek |
Battle of Sadov, also Battle of Königgrätz, it. Schlacht bei Königgrätz(Sadova - Czech Sadová, German Sadowa - a village in Bohemia, near modern Hradec Kralove in Bohemia) - took place on July 3, 1866 and was the largest battle of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which radically influenced the course of the war.
The course of the battle
The Austrian Northern Army (215 thousand people with 770 guns) occupied positions on the heights southeast of the village of Sadova, when the Elbe and Silesian Prussian armies (221 thousand people, 900 guns) approached it under the command of King William I. The Austrian general L. Benedek did not organize reconnaissance of the area and was unable to establish the interaction of his corps. The weakness of the multinational Austrian army was that many peoples did not want to fight for the Habsburgs. Hundreds and even thousands of Italians and Romanians deserted right on the battlefield.
By the beginning of the battle, the Austrian army occupied an extremely disadvantageous position between the Bystritsa and Elbe rivers. Squeezed between these two rivers, it found itself on the night of July 3rd in front of the half-ring of three Prussian armies: the Elbe in the west (overhanging the Austrian left flank), the 1st Army in the north-west (in front of the center of its forces) and the 2nd (Silesian) army a little further in the north (overhanging the right flank of the Austrians near the Elbe River). If the Prussians had a few hours in reserve, then with further flank coverage of the Elbe and 2nd armies, they would simply surround the Austrians. However, the opponents were already too close to each other. The Prussians, who did not expect to meet the entire 200,000-strong army of Benedek right in front of them, now could fear an immediate ramming strike from all Austrian forces. As a result, the Prussian headquarters decided to be proactive: to bind Benedek's army with an attack along the front, until the Elbe army from the south, and the 2nd army from the north entered the rear of the Austrians.
The battle began on the morning of July 3 with a clash on the left flank of the Austrians near the village of Problus. The vanguard of the Elbe army clashed with the forces of the Saxon corps (it formed the left Austrian flank), supported by several Austrian brigades. In the infantry skirmish, the Prussians were superior: their needle rifles were significantly faster than the Austrian muzzle-loading fittings. After some time, the entire Prussian division of Kanstein was drawn into the struggle near the village of Problus, and yet the inequality of forces forced Kanstein to abandon attempts to capture Problus before the approach of the Munster division. However, even two Prussian divisions were not enough to cover and crush the left flank of the Austrians. In the first hours of the battle, they only managed to push the Austrians to the east a few times.
Meanwhile, in the center, the 1st Prussian army began to move. In the morning, first four Prussian divisions, and then six divisions, launched an attack on the Austrian positions near the Bystritsa River. The Austrian front line was thrown back. The Prussians occupied the village of Sadova, began to cross to the other side of the Bystritsa River. There, in the forest, the Prussian battalions gradually concentrated for a decisive attack on the main positions of the Austrians (on the heights of the village of Lipa). However, the effective fire of 160 Austrian guns fielded by Benedek at the heights of 160 of the Austrian guns delayed the Prussian offensive and inflicted significant losses on the Prussians. The lack of guns with rifled barrels did not allow the Prussians to defeat the enemy in an artillery duel.
By noon, six Prussian divisions stood in front of the front of the Austrian forces (10th, 3rd, 4th and 2nd corps), three more divisions (Elbe army) hung with a heavy weight on the Austrian left flank (against the Saxon corps and the remnants of 8 th Austrian Corps). Between 11 and 12 o'clock the Austrians made an attempt to turn the tide of the battle: to launch a counteroffensive with their right wing and sweep the Prussian divisions into the Bystritsa River. The 4th and 2nd Austrian corps launched such an attack and overthrew the 7th Prussian division of General Franzetskiy, who had to literally rip his units out of the encircling loop of the Austrian offensive. However, the Austrians no longer had time for more: the 2nd Prussian Army, with its four corps, was already hanging over the right flank and rear of the Austrian army. The entry of the 2nd Silesian Army into battle was the turning point of the day. By 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when the Prussian headquarters received news of the approach of the 2nd army, the Prussian command was seriously thinking about starting to withdraw its troops from the eastern bank of Bystritsa. Now it became clear that the Austrians were falling into the pincers and the battle was won for the Prussians.
General Benedek was forced to interrupt the offensive, to delay and bend his right flank. Meanwhile, the Elbe army with part of its forces bypassed the left flank of the Austrians and finally took with. Problus, while the 1st and 2nd armies continued to put pressure on the center, right flank and rear. Under the threat of encirclement, General Benedek began to withdraw his troops under the cover of 170 cannons located 4 km north-west of Königgrez (now Hradec Králové). However, a poorly organized retreat in the confined area of the interfluve soon turned into a disorderly flight. The Prussian troops did not organize the pursuit in a timely manner. The successful actions of the Austrian cavalry, which covered the retreat of the bulk of the troops, also saved the Northern army of General Benedek from complete destruction.
The Austrian army, together with the allied Saxon troops, lost in killed and wounded about 15 thousand and 22 thousand prisoners and deserters - almost 5 times more than the Prussians, whose losses did not exceed 9 thousand people, as well as 116 (according to other sources 187) guns.
Outcomes
The Battle of Sadov became the main battle of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. After the battle, General L. Benedek withdrew the remnants of his army to Olmutz, thereby covering the path to Hungary, but leaving the capital of the empire, Vienna, without adequate protection. Although the Austrian Empire may still have the military potential to resist, less than a month after the battle, a peace treaty was signed that ended the war.
The Battle of Sadov played a significant role in the development of the art of war. It proved the indisputable superiority of breech-loading rifles over muzzle-loading rifles, showed the possibility of effective use of maneuvers and large masses of troops, even in close proximity to the enemy. This experience was conceptualized by the Prussian school of military art, primarily by A. Schlieffen, and then successfully used in the wars of the 20th century.
- Battle of Sadovo in the visual arts
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Literature
- A. G. Mernikov, A. A. Spektor World history of wars. - Minsk, 2005.
- Schlieffen A. Cannes. - M., 1938.
Links
Excerpt from the Battle of Sadov
It seemed to him that he was not thinking about anything; but far and deep somewhere something important and comforting his soul thought. This was the subtlest spiritual extract from his yesterday's conversation with Karataev.Yesterday, at a halt at night, chilled by the extinguished fire, Pierre got up and went over to the nearest, better burning fire. By the fire, to which he approached, Plato sat, covered like a robe, with his head overcoat, and told the soldiers in his controversial, pleasant, but weak, painful voice a story that Pierre knew. It was past midnight. This was the time at which Karataev usually revived from a febrile seizure and was especially animated. Approaching the fire and hearing the weak, painful voice of Plato and seeing his pitiful face brightly lit by fire, something unpleasantly stabbed Pierre in his heart. He was frightened of his pity for this man and wanted to leave, but there was no other fire, and Pierre, trying not to look at Plato, sat down at the fire.
- What, how is your health? - he asked.
- What health? To cry on illness - God will not give death, - said Karataev and immediately returned to the story he had begun.
- ... And now, my brother, - continued Plato with a smile on his thin, pale face and with a special, joyful gleam in his eyes, - here, my brother ...
Pierre had known this story for a long time, Karataev told him this story alone six times, and always with a special, joyful feeling. But no matter how well Pierre knew this story, he now listened to it as to something new, and that quiet delight, which, when telling, apparently, felt Karataev, communicated to Pierre. This story was about an old merchant who lived with his family in a noble and godly manner and once went with a friend, a wealthy merchant, to Makar.
Stopping at an inn, both merchants fell asleep, and the next day the merchant's comrade was found stabbed to death and robbed. The bloody knife was found under the pillow of the old merchant. The merchant was tried, punished with a whip and, pulling out his nostrils, - properly in order, said Karataev - was exiled to hard labor.
- And now, my brother (at this place Pierre found Karataev's story), this case has been going on for ten years or more. The old man lives in hard labor. As it follows, it obeys, does not do anything bad. He only asks for death from the god. - Good. And get them together, by night business, convicts, just like you and me, and the old man with them. And the conversation turned on who is suffering for what, what is God to blame. They began to say that he ruined his soul, that two, that set on fire, that fugitive, so for nothing. They began to ask the old man: what, they say, grandfather, are you suffering for? I, my dear brothers, says, I suffer for my own sins and for human sins. And I did not ruin a soul, I did not take someone else's, acre that I gave the poor brethren. I, my dear brothers, are a merchant; and had great wealth. So and so, he says. And he told them, then, how the whole thing was, in order. I, he says, do not worry about myself. It means that God has found me. One thing, he says, I feel sorry for my old woman and children. And so the old man began to cry. If the same person happened in their company, it means that the merchant was killed. Where did grandfather say it was? When, what month? I asked everything. His heart ached. Suitable in such a manner to the old man - bang on the legs. For me, he says, the old man, you disappear. The truth is true; innocently in vain, he says, lads, this man is suffering. I, he says, did the very thing and put a knife under your sleepy head. Forgive me, he says, grandfather, you are me for Christ's sake.
Karataev fell silent, smiling happily, looking at the fire, and straightened the logs.
- The old man says: God, they say, will forgive you, but we all, he says, are sinful to God, I suffer for my sins. He himself cried bitter tears. What do you think, falcon? ” ... I, he says, have ruined six souls (I was a great villain), but I am more sorry for this old man. Let him not cry at me. He showed up: they wrote off, sent the paper, as follows. The place is far away, while the court and the case, while all the papers were written off as they should, according to the authorities, then. The king got it. So far, the tsar's decree has come: to release the merchant, to give him awards, as many were awarded there. The paper came, they began to look for the old man. Where did such an old man innocently suffer in vain? The paper came out from the king. They began to search. - The lower jaw of Karataev trembled. - And God forgave him - he died. So that, falcon, - finished Karataev and for a long time, silently smiling, looked in front of him.
Not this story itself, but its mysterious meaning, that ecstatic joy that shone in the face of Karataev at this story, the mysterious meaning of this joy, it now vaguely and joyfully filled Pierre's soul.
- A vos places! [To places!] - a voice suddenly shouted.
Between the prisoners and the escorts there was a joyful confusion and the expectation of something happy and solemn. On all sides shouts of command were heard, and from the left side, trotting round the prisoners, cavalrymen appeared, well dressed, on good horses. On all faces there was an expression of the tension that people have with the proximity of higher authorities. The prisoners huddled together, they were pushed off the road; the escorts lined up.
- L "Empereur! L" Empereur! Le marechal! Le duc! [Emperor! Emperor! Marshal! Duke!] - and the well-fed escorts had just passed when the carriage thundered in a train, on gray horses. Pierre caught a glimpse of the calm, handsome, fat and white face of a man in a triangular hat. It was one of the marshals. The marshal's gaze turned to the large, noticeable figure of Pierre, and in the expression with which this marshal frowned and turned his face away, Pierre seemed compassionate and a desire to hide it.
The general who was driving the depot, with a red frightened face, chasing his thin horse, galloped behind the carriage. Several officers came together, the soldiers surrounded them. They all had anxiously tense faces.
- Qu "est ce qu" il a dit? Qu "est ce qu" il a dit? .. [What did he say? What? What? ..] - Pierre heard.
During the passage of the marshal, the prisoners huddled in a heap, and Pierre saw Karataev, whom he had not seen yet this morning. Karataev was sitting in his greatcoat, leaning against a birch tree. In his face, in addition to the expression of yesterday's joyful emotion at the story of the merchant's innocent suffering, there was also an expression of quiet solemnity.
Karataev looked at Pierre with his kind, round eyes, now covered with tears, and, apparently, called him to him, wanted to say something. But Pierre was too scared for himself. He acted as if he had not seen his gaze and hurried away.
When the prisoners started again, Pierre looked back. Karataev was sitting at the edge of the road, by the birch; and two Frenchmen said something over him. Pierre did not look back anymore. He limped up the hill.
Behind, from the place where Karataev was sitting, a shot was heard. Pierre clearly heard this shot, but at the same instant as he heard it, Pierre remembered that he had not yet finished the calculation, begun before the passage of the marshal, about how many passages remained to Smolensk. And he began to count. Two French soldiers, one of whom held in his hand a removed, smoking gun, ran past Pierre. They were both pale, and in the expression on their faces - one of them looked timidly at Pierre - there was something similar to what he saw in a young soldier at the execution. Pierre looked at the soldier and remembered how this soldier of the third day burned, drying it on the fire, his shirt and how they laughed at him.
The dog howled from behind, from the place where Karataev was sitting. "What a fool, what is she howling about?" Thought Pierre.
The comrades soldiers who were walking next to Pierre did not look back, just like him, at the place from which they heard the shot and then the howl of the dog; but a stern expression lay on all faces.
The depot, and the prisoners, and the marshal's wagon train stopped in the village of Shamsheve. Everything huddled together around the fires. Pierre went up to the fire, ate roasted horse meat, lay down with his back to the fire, and immediately fell asleep. He slept again the same dream as he slept in Mozhaisk after Borodin.
Again the events of reality were combined with dreams, and again someone, whether he or someone else, told him thoughts, and even the same thoughts that were told to him in Mozhaisk.
“Life is everything. Life is God. Everything moves and moves, and this movement is God. And as long as there is life, there is the enjoyment of the self-consciousness of the deity. Love life, love God. The hardest and most blessed of all is to love this life in your sufferings, in the innocence of suffering. "
770 guns
924 guns
1,900 killed, 275 missing, 6,800 wounded
5,735 killed, 7,925 missing, 8,440 wounded, 22,000 captured and 116 guns
Battle of Sadovaya(or at Königgrätz, it. Schlacht bei Königgrätz) took place on July 3 of the year and was the largest battle of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which radically influenced the course of the war.
The course of the battle
The Austrian Northern Army (215 thousand people with 770 guns) occupied positions at the heights southeast of the village of Sadova (now in the Czech Republic), when the Elbe and Silesian Prussian armies (221 thousand people, 900 guns) approached it under the command of King William I ... On July 3, the Elbe army with part of its forces bypassed the left flank of the Austrians, and the Silesian army struck on the right flank and rear. Under the threat of encirclement, General L. Benedek began to withdraw his troops under the cover of 170 cannons located 4 km northwest of Königgrez (now Hradec Králové). However, a poorly organized retreat in the confined area of the interfluve soon turned into a disorderly flight. The Prussian troops did not organize the pursuit in a timely manner, and only this saved the Northern Army from complete destruction.
On July 3, a decisive battle took place in the Königgrez area (see. Sadovaya), which was attended by 221,000 Prussians and 215,000 Austrians. General Benedek did not organize reconnaissance of the area and could not establish the interaction of his corps. An important role was played by the superiority of the Prussians in artillery. In the multinational Austrian army, many peoples did not want to fight for the Habsburgs. Hundreds and even thousands of Italians and Romanians deserted right on the battlefield near Sadovaya. The frustrated Austrian army could not withstand the Prussian attacks and retreated in disarray, having lost, along with the allied Saxon troops, killed and wounded about 15,000 and 22,000 prisoners and deserters, as well as 116 (according to other data, 187) guns - almost 5 times more, than the Prussians, whose losses did not exceed 9,000 people.
Abstract on the topic:
Battle of Sadovaya
Commanders at the Battle of Sadovaya
Top to bottom and left to right:# Bismarck # General Vogel von Falkenstein # General von Steinmetz # von Roon # General von Fliess # General Herwarth von Bittenfeld.
Battle of Sadovaya, also Battle of Königgrätz, it. Schlacht bei Königgrätz, modern Hradec Kralove in the Czech Republic) took place on July 3, 1866 and was the largest battle of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, which radically influenced the course of the war.
The course of the battle
The Austrian Northern Army (215 thousand people with 770 guns) occupied positions at the heights southeast of the village of Sadova (now in the Czech Republic), when the Elbe and Silesian Prussian armies (221 thousand people, 900 guns) approached it under the command of King William I The Austrian general L. Benedek did not organize reconnaissance of the area and was unable to establish the interaction of his corps. An important role was played by the superiority of the Prussians in artillery. In the multinational Austrian army, many peoples did not want to fight for the Habsburgs. Hundreds and even thousands of Italians and Romanians deserted right on the battlefield.
On July 3, the Elbe army with part of its forces bypassed the left flank of the Austrians, and the Silesian army struck on the right flank and rear. Under the threat of encirclement, General Benedek began to withdraw his troops under the cover of 170 cannons located 4 km north-west of Königgrez (now Hradec Králové). However, a poorly organized retreat in the confined area of the interfluve soon turned into a disorderly flight. The Prussian troops did not organize the pursuit in a timely manner, and only this saved the Northern Army from complete destruction.
The Austrian army, together with the allied Saxon troops, lost in killed and wounded about 15 thousand and 22 thousand prisoners and deserters - almost 5 times more than the Prussians, whose losses did not exceed 9 thousand people, as well as 116 (according to other data 187) guns.
Literature
- A. G. Mernikov, A. A. Spektor World history of wars. - Minsk, 2005.
This abstract is based on an article from the Russian Wikipedia. Synchronization completed 07/10/11 09:32:02
Related abstracts: Gmina Sadowe, Battle of Aur, Battle of the Moat, Battle of Dak-To, Battle of Diu, Battle of Rome, Battle of Caen,
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