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, Frenchmen, Poles and Turks. Our party of six obtained such a passport as far as Regensburg. In Prague at that time everyone was trembling and quaking as never before for fear of the Prussians. News of the outcome of the battle of Lobositz had already reached the people, and they looked to see the conqueror already at their gates. There too whole troops of soldiers and citizens gathered around us, expecting us to tell them what the Prussians had in mind to do. Some of us brought comfort to these fearful inquirers after news, but others found it amusing to give them a good fright, and told them that the enemy would appear in four days at the latest and was as fierce as the devil himself. Then many a man flung his hands up in despair and women and children threw themselves down howling in the dirt. ****************************************************************************************************************Extended note: The battle of Lobositz
It is hardly to be expected that a private soldier, lacking in military expertise - and with more important things on his mind, such as getting out of it alive - could give a full and accurate account of a battle. Probably nobody could at the time, the mists of an autumn morning and the black smoke generated by gunpowder made it very difficult to see what was going on. According to Bowman, Bräker's account is accurate as far as can be checked in the Prussian war archives. Moreover, we learn in his diary of 1788 that he wrote some notes of events as they happened on "tablets" that he carried. (It is a wonder that he was never caught doing this, which might well have resulted in his being shot as a spy.)
The map drawn by Duffy (p 219) shows that the main body of the Prussian army faced the Austrians in the valley, but at some distance from the village, which was between the Austrians and the river Elbe. On the Prussians' left was Lobosch Hill, about 1,500 feet high. Bräker's regiment is shown as being behind the heavy artillery on the Prussian right. He would not have been able to see much of the Austrian infantry, most of whom were stationed in an area of woods and marshes to the south of Lobositz. There were in fact two advances made by the Prussian cavalry at the opening of the battle. The first was by a detachment sent to investigate the mist-covered plain. When they returned, having been mauled by the Austrian cavalry, the rest of the Prussian cavalry, over 10,000 men, surged forward without waiting for orders, only to be mauled in their turn.
Only then did the Prussians realise that they were facing the whole Austrian army, most of it in good defensive positions. The only part of it within reach was the troops on Lobosch Hill. Duffy (p 167) and Showalter (p 138) say that these troops were Croats, also known as Borderers (Grenzer), recruited from Christian refugees from the Empire's eastern frontiers with the Moslem Ottoman Empire. They had a reputation for excellence in hill warfare and open-order fighting. It was on Lobosch Hill that the decisive struggle took place, and Bräker's regiment was, as he says, one of those sent to reinforce the three Prussian regiments already there. The rough ground, the cover of bushes and shortage of ammunition all caused problems for the Prussians, but they were rallied by the Duke of Bevern, who urged them (according to his secretary Kistenmacher, quoted by Duffy, p 167) to "Go out and skewer the swine!" The Prussians rushed at the enemy, stabbing and smashing with bayonets and musket-butts. The mass of fighting men gradually moved down the hill, and again on Bevern's instigation, howitzers fired on the village and the Prussians were able to drive the Austrians out. Next morning they were all gone.
The battle of Lobositz had in fact been largely stage-managed by the Austrian commander, Field-Marshal Browne, in order to keep the Prussians occupied while a picked force was sent to
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German-speaking Swiss people sometimes refer to the French-speaking areas of Switzerland as "die Welsche Schweiz", but two editors (Brocher and Bowman) translate this as "Lombards" and "Italians". Böning also has "Italians".
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