[1757 A.D.] menaced him from the southwest. The enemy occupied his capital, Berlin, from which the royal family had escaped to Magdeburg.

In this extremity Frederick endeavoured to negotiate with Richelieu : he flattered the duke; upbraided him for counteracting the policy of his great uncle, the celebrated cardinal, by raising up the power of Austria;

and besought him, in covert terms, to oppose La Pompadour in her fatal obsequiousness to the empress. These attempts had the good effect of amusing Richelieu and paralysing his activity. Frederick was not blind to the critical state of his affairs. Twenty thousand men were all that he could muster: with these Frederick resolved to fight the united army of French and Germans commanded by the prince of Soubise and the prince of Hildburghausen: they numbered upwards of fifty thousand men. Despite of this inferiority they dreaded Frederick, and retreated from Leipsic at his approach, crossing the Saale: he passed in after them, and, coming in sight, hesitated. The Germans and French, gathering audacity from the king's inaction, hovered round him, marching along his flank, and menacing an attack. It was the morning of the 5th of November: Frederick spent it in reconnoitring the enemy. It was not till the afternoon that he gave his orders, gathering the greater part of his troops on one point, on his left, and concealing the movement by the inequality of the ground, as well as by his tents, which he left pitched. Ere Soubise or Hildburghausen could make a corresponding movement, the Prussians broke through all before them on the point of attack; and the rest of the confederate army, seeing its flank laid bare, turned and fled. simple was the decisive battle of Rossbach1 that retrieved the fortunes of Prussia.c

A FRENCH OFFICER, MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTEENTH
CENTURY

So

Kitchint calls the battle of Rossbach "a most eccentric and humorous battle, lasting only an hour and a half. The grim and tattered Prussians were not a little amused at the extraordinary rubbish, the theatrical accessories, the mass of luxuries, the disreputable high life which fell into their hands." Gaulot? quotes a song with which France consoled itself on the disaster of the contemptible Soubise; it may be roughly Englished thus: [The field of Rossbach is near those of Jena, of Lützen, and of Leipsic. The banks of the Saale are fully immortalised by carnage.]

(1757-1758 A.D.]

"Soubise exclaimed, lantern in hand: I must hunt round; where is my army? 'Twas here yesterday morning; has somebody captured it or am I astray? Ah, I'm all lost, I am distraught. But no, let us wait till broad daylight, till noon. And yet, heavens! what do I see? How my soul is rejoiced! Beautiful miracle; there it is! there it is! But ah, ventrebleu! what can it be? I was wrong: it's the enemy's army!'" Everything was set to music in the France of the Old Régime.a

On the 5th of the following month, Frederick, who had marched into Silesia, defeated the Austrians at Lissa, and recovered his ancient superiority in despite of his numerous enemies. In the meantime the duke of Richelieu, having broken so far through the terms of capitulation at Closter-Seven as to seek to disarm the Hanoverian troops, which by that agreement were to remain quiet, but not to lose their arms, found those vanquished enemies start up afresh. Their new leader, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, far surpassing the duke of Cumberland in military talent, was now able to hold Richelieu in check. The English ministry, roused by the spirit of the elder Pitt, made every effort to second her gallant ally: a body of English troops. reinforced the Hanoverian army, and the next campaign seemed to promise revenge for the duke of Cumberland's defeat.

In the beginning of the year 1758, Richelieu was superseded in his command by the prince de Clermont, who being at the same time abbot of St. Germain des Près, was called the general of the Benedictines. Under him the French commenced their retreat from Hanover.

Prince Ferdinand precipitated this retrograde movement by anticipating their arrival on the Weser: he attacked and took Minden. In May, the French were already behind the Rhine, shamefully routed without even the honour of fighting, and leaving upwards of ten thousand prisoners in the hands of the enemy. Prince Ferdinand soon passed that river. The French general purposed to continue his retreat towards France, when the indignation and wounded pride of his officers obliged him to await the attack of the prince at Crefeld (or Crevelt) in the duchy of Cleves. There the count of St. Germain offered a gallant resistance to the enemy; it might have been a successful one, when the count de Clermont gave abrupt orders to retreat, and abandoned his lieutenant. The French left seven thousand dead on the field, and with them all hopes of retrieving the disasters of the campaign.

At this juncture the very diplomatist who had counselled and concluded the treaty with Maria Theresa the cardinal de Bernis, a creature too of the mistress-thought fit to oppose his conviction to her obstinacy, and speak in opposition to the war. La Pompadour was positive. Bernis was disgraced,1 and Choiseul became secretary of state in his stead. The new minister, though too sage not to perceive the folly of persisting in a war from whence so little was to be gained, paid, nevertheless, the price of his elevation by renewing the treaty with Austria, and making fresh preparations for carrying on the war.c

After his disgrace at Crefeld, Clermont, whom Schlosser' calls "effeminate, incapable, and sickly," was replaced by the count de Contades, who was somewhat less disqualified.a Soubise was reinstated and reinforced, and the duke de Broglie's army placed under his command. Contades no sooner joined the army on the lower Rhine than Soubise commenced his march on the 8th of July, 1758. Contades first watched the movements of the enemy for some [1 Frederick the Great said of the abbé Bernis, "His follies were his fortune; when he grew wise he fell."]

[1758-1759 A.D.] time, then drove him continually but slowly further back: Soubise was opposed by the prince of Isenburg, who, however, with his six to seven thousand men, was by no means equal to the superior French force. Isenburg advanced to meet Broglie, who commanded Soubise's advance, and came to an engagement upon the heights of Sangerhausen. Broglie was victorious.

Contades compelled Prince Ferdinand to recross the Rhine, on which occasion the prince gained great renown by his masterly retreat. The prince was now reinforced by twelve thousand English troops which had been landed at Emden, whilst Contades increased his forces by eight thousand Saxons, who had escaped from their compulsory service in Prussia and were taken into French pay.

Soubise advanced anew. Count Oberg most imprudently and unwisely offered him battle near Landwehrhagen on the Lutterberge (December 30th, 1758). This engagement ended in the complete rout of the allies, who were thrown into confusion, and Oberg's division would have been wholly annihilated if Soubise had followed up his advantage; but he was too well pleased to have gained a victory 1 at all to make any further efforts, and was created a marshal, as well as Contades, but immediately retreated to Cassel and still further. Oberg indeed received his dismissal. Contades, it is true, took up his winter-quarters on the farther side of the Rhine; but Soubise paved a sure way for retreat to the French armies destined against Hanover and Hesse, by the treacherous occupation of Frankfort. The court was in the meantime at length convinced that Soubise was incapable of conducting any great operations, and Contades was appointed commander-in-chief of both the armies on the Rhine.

The campaign of 1758 proved as indecisive in other parts of Germany as on the Rhine and in Westphalia, and as fruitful in misery, devastation, and sorrow to the unfortunate inhabitants of the country.

Whilst the king of Prussia, with unchanged courage and talent, but with most uncertain fortune, was making head against his enemies, the French army was mustered near Frankfort in the spring of 1759. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick began the campaign by attacking it at Bergham, but was repulsed by the marshal de Broglie. The French now drove the prince of Brunswick before them, and reached once more the banks of the Weser. Minden was taken; and the inhabitants of Hanover began to look forward to falling again into the power of the French. Prince Ferdinand rallied his forces, however, and took post near Minden, putting an isolated column in advance to entice and deceive his enemies. Contades marched, on the 1st of August, 1759, to attack this body, placing his cavalry in the centre, and his foot upon the wings. The French attribute to this disposition the loss of the day, their horse being swept away and routed by the batteries 2 which Prince Ferdinand had prepared, whilst the infantry, disordered by its defeat, were unable to act with effect, and were driven from the field. The loss of the French was severe; amongst their colonels slain at the affair of Minden was the marquis de la Fayette, a noble of an ancient family. He left his marchioness, a lady of the house of Lusignan, pregnant. This posthumous child is the La Fayette of the Revolution.c

The obstinacy or cowardice of an English general, who belonged to the

"The success was Chevert's; the recompense fell to Soubise."-GAULOT.9]

There were six English regiments of infantry which won the name of Minden regiments from their heroic firmness in marching against the heavy French cavalry, who charged in vain again and again, and finally fled.]

[1759 A.D.]

same caste from which the generals of the French army were chosen, saved the French army which was beaten from complete destruction. Germaine commanded in this battle the first division of the English cavalry; he received orders three times from the commander-in-chief to fall on the enemy, but as often excused himself. He was even unwilling at first to allow Lord Granby, the leader of the second division, to yield obedience to Ferdinand's command: this, however, was done against his will, but the full effect of the movement was no longer to be attained. The English nation was filled with indignation at this conduct on the part of Germaine; he was dismissed with disgrace, called before a court-martial and found guilty: we shall nevertheless afterwards meet with him in the following period as one of the ministers of George III, conducting the affairs of the American War with the greatest negligence and ignorance, and after having brought disgrace and injury upon himself, his colleagues, and the nation, and finally been driven out of the house of commons and the ministry, appearing under the title of earl of Sackville as a peer of Great Britain.

The victory gained by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick at Minden is reckoned among the most splendid deeds of the century, and Contades was placed in circumstances of great danger in his retreat. The hereditary prince of Brunswick, Ferdinand's nephew, drove the French beyond the Rhine, and gained some considerable advantages over the duke de Brissac at Crefeld. The French themselves admit that it would have been possible completely to have cut off the retreat of their conquered army to the Rhine and the Maine: their retreat resembled a quick and ruinous flight.'

Ruin of the French Navy; Losses in India and America

This year proved most unfortunate to the French. Hitherto the English fleets had more insulted than harmed them. They had made frequent descents, at Rochefort, at St. Malo, and at Cherbourg, causing damage, indeed, and bearing away trophies, but reaping no advantage, whilst it deepened the generous rivalry of the hostile nations into bitter and inveterate hatred. Pitt brought vigour and largeness of purpose to the British war councils; and France now saw her fleets destroyed, and her colonies fall one by one. Admiral Boscawen fought La Clue near the Straits of Gibraltar, took two men-of-war, and burned several others, August 17th.c

In spite of this serious check the cabinet of Versailles did not entirely abandon its projects; it gave up the grand army of Soubise but not the duke d'Aiguillon's expedition, which was to make its way to Scotland, whilst a small squadron setting out from Dunkirk was to go by the north of Scotland to effect a diversion in Ireland. The plan might have succeeded if the soldiers and their transports had been assembled with the fleet in the roadstead at Brest; but the selfish vanity of the duke d'Aiguillon had retained them at Morbihan, where he commanded in chief whilst at Brest he would have been subordinate to Marshal de Conflans. The fleet had therefore to go to meet this convoy.

On the 20th of November Admiral Hawke came up with Conflans off BelleÎle. Conflans had twenty-one vessels against twenty-three. He had nothing to do but to receive the shock bravely. He tried to avoid it by passing along the rocks called Les Cardinaux, and entangling his fleet in the bay, bristling with islets and reefs, which forms the mouth of the Vilaine. Admiral Hawke, who had the wind in his favour, followed the French undauntedly at the risk of losing himself with them in what were a kind of maritime defiles.

[1759-1760 A.D.] The commander of the French rearguard, Saint-André du Verger, repeated the devotion of the brave Sabran. He invited his own ruin in order to arrest the enemy and made himself illustrious by a glorious death. His crew was almost annihilated when the flag was taken. The French ships, tossed about in a stormy sea in the midst of the rocks, knocked up against one another, whilst it was impossible to manipulate them. Two were sunk; two went to pieces on the reefs. Night suspended the disaster. At break of day, Conflans' flagship and another vessel were wrecked and burned in

A COLONEL OF FRENCH INFANTRY, EIGHTEENTH

CENTURY

Its

the bay of Le Croisic. Two English vessels were lost on the sandbanks while endeavouring to follow Conflans. The French van, seven vessels strong, had hardly been engaged at all and might have avenged Saint-André and atoned for the disgrace of Conflans. leader, Beaufremont, thought only of regaining the open and went to take refuge at Rochefort. Another division of seven vessels, favoured by the tide, entered the Vilaine where it might have been thought impossible for frigates to penetrate; it thus saved itself but could not come out again. Before the Vilaine and the Charente, the English resumed the blockade they had previously kept up before Brest.

This deplorable catastrophe 1 completed the humiliation of France; the fleet, which had hitherto preserved its honour intact, fell to the level of the land army. The corruption, effeminacy, and selfishness of the court had spread from the military to the maritime nobility.

The Dunkirk squadron had set out a month before the disaster of the Vilaine under the orders of an ex-pirate named Thurot, and much dreaded by English merchants. After various adventures this intrepid sailor effected a descent on Ireland in the month of February, 1760, and took the town of Carrickfergus. It was simply an effort of despair and could only mean the sacrifice of brave men. Thurot was slain and his squadron captured. The cabinet of Versailles, overcome by these decisive reverses, renounced all further maritime enterprises. The most melancholy tidings, one blow following another, had arrived from America.r

The fate of Canada was decided by that action where Wolfe fell in the achievement of victory, bequeathing Quebec, and the wide provinces of which

[The French as usual found solace in epigram, and thereafter called this flight (which the English call the battle of Quiberon Bay) "the day of Monsieur Conflans." The term has since been used for a disaster in which the defeated has lost without even engaging. Kitchin' calls the year 1759"the most disastrous perhaps ever seen by France; the Annus Mirabilis,' if ever there was one, of the English people."]