For Sceptre and Crown Volume II Part 8

The adjutant galloped to the columns close by, and led them at quick march up to the colonel.

He dismounted and placed himself at their head.

"And what shall I do?" asked Count Kielmansegge.

"Ride down by the river," replied de Vaux, "cross where you can, and act according to circ.u.mstances; if possible fall on the right flank of the enemy, and silence that hostile battery."

"At your command, colonel!" cried Kielmansegge. In a few moments the regiments formed and rode at a sharp trot along the river.

From the place where the two battalions of guards had crossed the stream, a heavy fire had commenced. The first battalion under the gallant Landesberg advanced slowly in a straight line upon Langensalza, the second battalion turned to the left towards the mill which formed the central point of the enemy's position, and which was in a diagonal line from Colonel de Vaux.

"Now is the time!" he cried, and commanding his adjutant to give the order to advance, he at the same time ordered the a.s.sault to be sounded.

Before him lay an even plain without any cover for about five hundred yards, part of it being thickly planted with rape. The whole of this plain was exposed to the fire of the enemy's lines, and of the artillery from the hill behind.

The drums beat, the colonel raised his sword, and in as perfect order as on the parade ground the battalions marched across the dangerous plain.

The enemy's fire tore great gaps in the ranks, for the soldiers could not advance quickly on account of the rape, but they were quietly filled up; and in a short time the battalion gained the bank of the river, and in its turn opened a murderous fire upon the enemy, who withdrew his skirmishers, and concentrated his whole force around the mill.

The whole army saw the guards cross the Unstrut and the bold advance of Colonel de Vaux, and a general offensive movement commenced.

No officer would wait for orders. With a loud "Hurrah!" the troops broke from their positions, and advanced to the points where they might most quickly meet the enemy, and where they thought they could take the most active part in the fighting.

The infantry crossed the Unstrut at all points, sometimes even by swimming, and pressed on towards the enemy's positions. The batteries which had already retired, advanced and supported the attack by an incessant fire, and the cavalry crossed the river wherever it was possible, and advanced to the scene of combat.

The enemy were concentrated in force around the mill already mentioned, which formed the key of the central position of the Prussian army. It was surrounded by a deep moat.

Against this mill the guards advanced; two bridges over the river were before them, closed by barricades and strongly defended.

A company advanced without halting from the hill, led by their captain; they took the bridge by storm, and from this side also pressed on towards the mill; single lieutenants led small detachments everywhere, wading or swimming across the river, and advanced on every side to storm the enemy's strong position.

By this time desperate fighting was going on before the mill. Companies of different regiments, sometimes in small detachments, united to storm the buildings.

Three times Lieutenants Koring, Leue, and Schneider with exemplary courage led a storming party, Lieutenant Leue falling riddled with bullets, at the head of his detachment. Their numbers were too small, the moat around the mill was too deep, the fire too overwhelming.

Just then Colonel Dammers appeared to inspect the state of the battle and to report the news to the king. Prince Herman Solms rode beside him, for the young prince, devoured with impatience, had obtained permission to accompany the colonel.

The sadly diminished ranks were just closing, again to attempt the storming of the mill.

A Prussian battery had been brought forward and the sh.e.l.ls suddenly fell amongst the storming party, whilst a fresh and tremendous fire from the needle-guns opened upon them from the mill.

They hesitated under this murderous hail of b.a.l.l.s.

The prince touched his horse with the spur, and bounded between the storming party and the mill.

"They are not so bad as they look!" he cried cheerfully, turning to the soldiers; and reining in his horse, he took off his cap and jokingly saluted a sh.e.l.l which flew over his head and buried itself in the ground.

"Hurrah!" cried the soldiers, and again rushed to the attack, led on by their brave lieutenants.

At this moment two companies advanced from the bridges, and immediately behind them Colonel Flokher's battalion, and at the same time guns opened behind the storming party from the hill of Merxleben, and a heavy fire from a hastily advanced Hanoverian battery fell on the mill, splintering the roof and shattering the walls.

The gallant defenders of the building evidently about to become a heap of ruins, broke through on the other side, and retreated in strong parties along the high road. But they were checked by the second battalion of guards, which had now come up, and which opened a murderous fire upon their flank, whilst two squadrons of hussars who had burst over the bridges galloped down upon them with upraised swords.

Some of the fugitives fled over the fields, and were fortunate enough to gain the reserve Prussian division; the hindmost returned to the ruined building, and a white handkerchief soon waved from one of the windows.

The firing ceased immediately. Colonel Flokher rode up to the battered door, which was quickly opened, and the last of the brave defenders, about a hundred men, laid down their arms.

The courtyard was full of dead and wounded, and just outside lay the Hanoverian soldiers who had fallen. The ruin looked ghastly with its shattered windows and broken walls in the bright sunshine, a picture of destruction, horror, and death.

The adjutant-general rode up to Prince Herman.

"I compliment you, prince," he said: "you received your baptism of fire gloriously, but you exposed yourself uselessly. What should I have said to the king if any misfortune had befallen you?"

"What could I do?" said the prince, laughing, and plucking at the down on his upper lip; "the king has ordered me to head-quarters: ought I to let them say I am afraid of fire?"

"They would not have said that," said the colonel, looking kindly at the almost boyish face.

"It is better that they cannot say it!" cried the prince, and galloped off with the adjutant-general.

A retreat on the part of the enemy was decided upon from this moment.

Slowly and in perfect order, under a continuous fire, the Prussian troops formed in squares, and retired in the direction of Gotha covered by their batteries, which kept up a constant fire upon the advancing Hanoverians.

At last General Arentschildt had ordered a general attack, but this command only affected a few of the troops, and was indeed superfluous, for the attack had commenced, and no order would have prevented it.

Whilst the centre of the Prussian position was pierced, Count Kielmansegge with his dragoons had ridden along the side of the Unstrut, endeavouring to find a ford. But he could not discover one, the banks of the river in this part being very steep and overgrown with bushes. They were obliged to ride down stream to the village of Nagelstedt, where at last they found a bridge, over which they crossed into an open field on the other side.

The dragoons hurried at a sharp trot closer and closer to the sound of the guns; already the enemy was driven back, and the battle had surged to the south of Langensalza.

A gentle eminence rose before the dragoons, the regiment rode up it, and found itself opposite the enemy's exposed flank. Two Prussian squares were slowly retreating, still keeping up a constant fire, and on a hill near the dragoons was a Prussian battery, which sent its sh.e.l.l into the centre of the advancing Hanoverians. The dragoons were alone; between them and the Hanoverian army were the Prussian battalions.

"The time has come at last!" said Wendenstein, who was with the troop of which Stolzenberg was first lieutenant. "Thank G.o.d! we have something to do. At such a moment it is better to be in love," he added, as he tried whether his sword was firm in his hand; "you see I know what to think of, and--"

"There, again it spoke," said Stolzenberg, shuddering slightly; "farewell, old fellow, if we do not meet again."

"Madness!" cried von Wendenstein, "but look out, we are to charge."

The command was given that the fourth squadron should take the enemy's battery, and that the second and third should attack the Prussian squares.

The two squadrons slowly advanced towards the distant squares, who stood still to receive them, whilst Rittmeister von Einem at the head of his dragoons galloped up the hill on which stood the battery.

The guns were turned upon the attacking dragoons, a storm of sh.e.l.l received the squadron. The hors.e.m.e.n fell in numbers, down went both the trumpeters, but unchecked, the squadron galloped onwards, the Rittmeister far before them waving high his sword.

Quicker and quicker grew the pace, the battery was almost reached, when once again the guns opened fire, and sent their case-shot into the very midst of the gallant riders.

The Rittmeister escaped as by a miracle. He was the first to spring between the hostile cannon, and he smote down a gunner with a mighty cut from his sword; the dragoons followed him through the heavy fire of the infantry support to the battery.

A bullet hit the Rittmeister's horse, which fell, rolling over upon him. He quickly disengaged himself from the quivering animal, and his sword flow round swift as lightning to defend himself from the threatening bayonets of the infantry. The dragoons were now engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand fight.

"Forwards! forwards!" cried the Rittmeister, as with his sword he parried a bayonet thrust against his breast; but a shot fired close to him struck him, his arm sank down, and whilst with his left hand he seized the wheel of the cannon he had taken, to support himself, several of the enemy's bayonets were plunged deep into his breast.