THE WAR.

West Coast Times, Issue 309, 19 September 1866, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE WAR.

THE BATTLE OF SADOWA,-. - OR KONIGGIIATZ

PREPARATIONS BY FRANCE FOR AN ARMED MEDIATION.

ADVANCE OF ITALIAN TROOPS INTO VENETIA.

The special correspondent of the " Times '' \^ith the Austrian army (the brilliant historian who described so vividly the Crimean struggles, and the marches of Clyde and Outram in India), and the military correspondent witli the Prussian army, enable us to describe the great battle of the 3rd of 'July, variously called the Battle of Sadowa, or Koniggratz, having^ been fought in the vicinity of these places. v "The army which General Benedek bad to defend his position consisted of at least 225,000 men, but a largo deduction must be made for tl^ baggage guards, the various escorts, the garrisons of Josephsjtadt and Kouiggratz, the sick, and those * tired by marching, and the killed, wounded, and prisoners in recent actions— so that, probably, he bad not more than 190,000 or 195,000 actually in hand. The ground he had to coyer from right to left was about nine miles in length. On his extreme left in his first line, near the rear of Nechanifz, and towards the Prague road, he put the Saxons. Then the 10th Army Corps, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant Gablenz, the 3rd Corps d'Armee, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant Count Thun, the 4th Army Corps, under FieldMarshal Lieutenant Festetics (who was wounded early in the day), and the 2nd Corps, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant Archduke Ernest, were placed •from left to right on the slope of the second range or ridge. His second line and his reserves consisted of the Bth Corps d'Armee, under Field-Marshal Lieutenant the Archduke Leopold, the Ist army Corps, under Cavalry General Count Clam-Gallas, and the 6th Army Corps under Field-Marshal Lieutenant Ramming. He had at his disposal a £rand army of cavalry : it was composed of the Ist Light Cavalry Division, .under Major-General Edelsheim ; the 2nd Light Cavalry Division, under Cbunt Taxis, ; the Ist Heavy Cavalry Division, under the Prince of Holstein ; the 2nd Heavy Cavalry Division, under General Major Faitsock; and the 3rd Heavy Cavalry Division, under General Major Count Coudenhove. His artillery consisted of about 540 gmis. The horse, tinder Feldzeugmeister Benedek's orders, seemed to the correspondent 'the very finest cavalry by many degress that I ever saw, as it certainly was^n point of numbers the largest displayed on cu6 batt-le-field in recent days. I cannot think that the Austrian Coraniander-in -Chief had much less than 20,000 "sabres under his command.' The centre in front of Klum and Lipa was strongly held by the 3rd and 4th Corps somewhat thrown back, with the Ist "Corps in reserve, -find the Gth Corps was in reserve on the right, towards Smiralitz. The Saxons also held a considerable portion of their force in reserve, in addition to the Bth Corps, on the left. " On Monday, the 2nd of July, Prince v Frederick Charles halted with the first army, consisting of 150,000 men, at Kom menitz, and, paving communicated with the Crown Prince, it was ai ranged to fight the Austrian's on the following" day. The main body of the army was at Milowitz, a village on the road from Hqrzitz to Koniggratz; the 7th division, under General Fransky, was atCesekwitz on the left, and the 4th and sth divisions at the villages atBristau and Psnuch on tbv right, while General Von Bitterfeld, with the Bth and part of the 7th>Corps d'Armee, was sent to the town of Neubidshaw, on the extreme light, ten miles from Milowitz." The military correspondent with the Prussian array says :—: —

" The first shot was fired about half-past 7 o'clock. The Prussian horse artillery close down the liver, replied to the Austrian guns, but neither side fired heavily, and for half an hour the cannonade consisted of little more than single shots. At a quarter before 8 o'clock the King of Prussia arrived on the field, and very soon after tbe horse artillery was reinforced "by other field batteries, and the - Prussian gunners began firing their shells quickly into the Austrian position. But as soon as the Prussian fire actively commenced Austrian guns seemed to appear, as if by magic, in every point of tbe position ; from every road, from every village, from tbe orchard' of Mokrowens, on the Prussian right, to the orchard of Benatek, on their left, came flashes of fire and whizzing rifle shells, which, bursting, with a sharp crack, sent their splinters, rattling among the guns, gunners, carriages, and horses, often killing a man or hor&e, sometimes dismounting a. gun, but always ploughing up the earth and scattering the mud in the men's faces. But the Austrians did not confine themselves to firing on* the artillery alone, for they threw their shells up the slope opposite to them towards ~ Diib, and one shell came slap into into a squadron of Uhlans, who was close beside the King ; burying itself with a heavy thud •in the ground, it'blew up columns of miid some twenty feet in the air, and bursting a moment after, reduced the squadron by four files. As soon as tbe cannonade in

- front became seriou-s, the guns of the 7th .division began to bombard the village of Benatek, on the Austrian right. The Austrians returned shot for shot, and neither side either gained or, lost ground. In the centre, too, the battle was very even : the Prussians pushed battery after battery into the action, and kept up a tremendous fire on the Austrian guns, but these returned it, and sometimes with interest, for the Austrian artillery officers knew their ground, and every shell fell true ; many officers and men fell,and many horses were killed or wounded. More Kranken-tagers were sent, down to the batteries, and always returned carrying on stretchers men whose wounds had been hastily bound up under fire, but who seemed to be too much stunned to suffer much from paiu. Gradually the Prussian cannonade appeared to get stronger, and . tba Austrian batteries between Dohelnitz and Dohalicha retired higher up the hill, but the Mokrowens still stood fast, and the Prussians had nof vpt cro? se<l the Bis- " triz ; but many gunr- .i. iov,' t -n-ned on Mokrowens, aud at leu j ci»ck the battery there was also required to retire a little.

While this cannqnade had beemgoiug onL some of the infantry had been move| down towards the river, whe re they took shelter from tho fire, under a convenient undulation of ground. The Bth division now came down on the left hand side, of the causeway, and, under cover of the rising in the ground, formed its columns for the attack on the village ot'Sadowii; while the 3rd and 4th divisions on/tho. right hand side of the road prepared to, storm Dohelnitz and Mokrowens. , But a ' little before their prepariious were' complete the village of Benatek, on the Austrians' right, caught fire, and the 7th division >made a dash to* secure it, but the Austrians were not driven out by the flames, and here for the first time in battle was there hand-to-hand fighting.- The 27th Regiment led the attack, and rushed into the orchards of the village ; the burning houses separated the combatants ; they poured volley after volley at each other through the flames ; but the Prussians found means to get round the burning houses, and, talcing the defenders in reverse, forced them to retire, with the loss of many prisoners. '' It Was ten o'clock when Prince Frederick Charles sent General Stuhnapl to order the attack on Sadowa, Dohelnitz, and Mokroivens. The columns advanced covered by skirmishers, and reached the river bank without much loss, but from there they had to fight every inch of their way. ; The Austrian infantry held the bridges and villages in force, and fired fast upon them as they approached. The Prussians could advance but slowly along the narrow ways and against the defences of the houses, and the volleys sweeping through the ranks seemed to tear the soldiers down. The Prussians fired much more quickly than their opponents, but they could not see to take their aim ;" the houses, trees, and smoke, from the Austrian discharges shrouded the villages. Sheltered by this, the Austrian Jagers fi;ed blindly where they could tell by hearing that tbe attacking columns were, and the -shots told tremendously on. the Prussians in their close formations; but the latter improved their positions, although -slowly aWI by dint of sheer courage and perseverance, for they lost men at ovoiy yard of their advance, and in some places, almost paved, the, way with wounded. Then, to help the infantry, the Prussian artillery turned its fire, regardless of the enemy's batteries, on the villages, and made tremendous havoc among the houses. Mokrow ens and Dohelnitz both caught fire, aud the shells fell quickly and with fearful effect among the defenders of the flaming hamlets ; the Austrian guns also played upon the attacking infantry, but at this time these were sheltered from their fire ' by the bouses and trees between. In and around the villages the fighting continued for nearly an hour ; then the* Austrian infantry, who had been there, driven out by a rush of the Prussians, retired, but only a little way up the slope into-a iine with their batteries. The wood above Sadowa was strongly" field, and that betwevn Sadowa and Banatek, teeming with riflemen, stood to bar the way of the 7th diWsfou. But General Fransky, who commands thi3 division, was not to be easily stopped, and he sent his infantry at •the wood, aud turned his artillery on the Austrian batteries. The 7th division began tiring into the trees, but found they could not make any impression, for the defenders were concealed, and musketry fire was useless against them. Then Fransky let them f:o, and dashed in with the bayonet. The Austrians would not retire, but waited for the struggle, and iv" the wood above Beriatt k was fought out one of the fiercest combats which the war has seen. The 27th Prussian Regiment went in nearly 3000 strong, with 90 officers, and came out on the further side. with only two officers and between 300 and 400 men standing ; all the rest v ere killed or wounded. The other . regiments of the division also suffered much, hut not in the same proportion ; but the w od was carried. The Austrian line was no-.v driven in on both flanks, but its commander formed a new line of battle a little higher up the bill, round Lipa, still holding the wood which lies above Sadowa. " Then the Prussian artillery' was sent across the Bistritz, and began to fire upon the new-Austrian position. A.t the same time 1 lie smoke of General Ilemvarth's advance was' gradually seen moving to wards the Austrian left; for he had at Nechanitz, a village about seven miles lower down the Bi*trilz than Sadowa, *found a brigade of Saxon troops, with some Austrian cavalry, and was' dri'ying .them towards tbe position at Lipa, himself following in such a direction that it appeared he would turn the Austrian left flank. But tbe Austrian commander seemed determined to hold his position, and heavy masses of infantry and cavalry could be seen on the upper part of the slope. The Prussian infantry, wrTieh had taken the village of Sadowa and Dohelnitz, was now sent against the wood, which, above these places, runs along the side of the Sadowa and Lipa road. They advanced agith.st it, but did not at first make much'impression, for the Austrians being here again concealed, the fire of the needle-gun did not tell, and a whole battery placed at "the far end of the wood fired through the trees," and told on the Prussian ranks with awful effect. But the assailants fought on, at last broke down the obstacles at the entrance, and then dashed in. The fighting continued from tree to tree, and the Austrians made many a rush to recover the lost position of the wood, but in this close fighting their boyish tro*ops went down like' nine-pins before the strong men of the Bth division ; but when tbe defenders drew back a little, and their artillery played into the trees, the Prussians suffered fearfully, and'about half-Way up in the wood the fight became stationary. ■ a At this time the Austrian artillery were making splendid practice, and about 1 o'clock the whole batrle line of the Prussians could gain no more i> round, and was obliged to fight hard to retain the position it had won. At one time it seemed as if it would be lost, for guns had been dismounted by the Austrian fire, and in the wooded ground the needle-gun had no fair field, and the jnfautry fight was very equal. Then Prince Frederick Charles sent the sth and 6th divisions forward. They laid down their helmets and knapsacks on the ground, and advanced to the river. The King was now near to Bistritz, and the troops cheered him loudly as they marched into the battle. They went ove.- the Sadpwa bridge, disappeared into the wood, and soon the increased noise of musketry toid they ha,d begun to fight ; but the Austrian gunners sent 3alvo after salvo among them, and they did not push the battle forward more than a few hundred yards, for they fell back themselves, and they could not reach the enemy, Not

only did the fragments of the shells fly aboilt them, scattering death and awful gashes among their ranks, but the poitions of the trees, torn by the attillery fire, flew thickly about — huge ragged splinters, that caused even more frightful wounds. Herrwarth, too, seemed checked tipon the right. The smoke of his musketry and artillery, which had hitherto been pushing forward steadily, stood still for a time. Fransky's men, cut to pieces, could not be sent forward to att.ack the Sadowa wood, for they would have exposed themselves to be taken in rear by the artplery on the right of the Austrian line formed in front of Lipa. All the artillery was engaged except eight baf teries,' and these had to be retained in case of a reverse, for at one time the firing in tho Sadowa wood and of tbe Prussian artillery on the slope seemed almost as if drawing back towards Bistritz. The first army was certainly checked in its advance, if^not actually being pushed back. Then the Prussian commanders began to look anxiously to the left for the coming of the Crown Prince. Some Austrian guns near Lipa were seen to be firing towards the Prussian left, and it was hoped they might be directed a»ainst the ad- I vanced guard of the second nrmy, but at 3 o'clock there were no signs of Prussian columns advancing against Lipa. The Generals became manifestly uneasy, and thqy drew the infantry out of the battle ; [ cavalry wero also formed up, so that it would be available either for the pursuit -of the Austrians, or for retarding their pursuit, and General Von Rhetz himself went off to look for the second army. But he soon returned, and brought the intelligence that the Crown Prince was forming his attack upon Lipa, and that the guns on the Austrian right had been firing against his troops. Then the first army took heart again. The Sodowa wood was carried, and the battery beyond it was stormed by the Jagers. .At half -past 3 the Crown Prince's columns were seen moving across the slope against Lipa, for his artillery had silenced the Austrian "•uns, and Herrwarth was again pressing forward against the Austrian left. In a quarter of un hour, the Crown Prince's infantry was engaged at Lipa, and their quick- volleys of musketry, rapidly advancing, told that the Austrians were in full retreat. The first army pushed forward at once, the artillery limbered up and galloped up the slope, coming into action on" every opportunity to send its shells against the retreating battalions ; the infantry, emerging from the woods, formed and pressed at the double. Prince Frederick Charles put himself at the head of his regiment, and dashed over the Sadowa badge and up the road, followed by all his light infantry.

"' On gaining the top of tho Lipa slopes the retreating battalions of the Au^trians were seen running across a hollow in the ground which lies between Lipa and the village of Streselitz, which lies about two miles further south. The Prussian artillery haul ted* on the summit of the Lipn hill, and fired shells rapidly, which burst with terrible precision over the h >ads of the fugitives. The cavalry flew forward in pursuit, but the Prince,' after leading a short way, had to go to superintend the general movement, for the Austrian batteries had taken post in the Streselitz ridge, and woe firing heavily against tbe pursuing Prussian-*. Then "the civalry ■ got out of hand, and by small detachments rushed on the Austrian batallions ; but these, though retreating fast, were not routed, and in many instances beat off the cavalry, who also suffered much from the Austrian artillery, for the shells burst repeatedly among the squadrons, and killed many men and horses. But the Austrian ■runs were driven off their ridge, by the heavier fire of the more numerous Prussian batteries, and then tbe pursuit was renewed. Some of the retreating Austrians made for the fortress of Koniggratz, others for Parduhitz, and troops were sent in. pursuit along both roads. The wounded who were lying ou the ground shrieked With /ear when they saw the cavalry galloping down towards them, but Prince Frederick Charlis took care that they should be avoided, and at one time checked the pursuit, in order to move his squadrons round, and not go through a patch of standing corn, where several hundred wounded Austrians had taken refuge. These, when they saw the lancers coming, thought they were going to he massacred, aud cried piteously, waving white handkerchiefs as a sign -of truce ; .but they had no cnuse to fear. Large numbers of prisoaers were taken, for the pursuit was continued to the Elbe, and it was not till 9 o'clock that all firing had ceased ; but the main body of the army haulted about 7. The wounded, lay in immense numbers on the field ; the dead, 100, lay thick. Every cottage in the neighborhood that has not been burned is full of wounded. Austrians and' Prussians lay side by side, but the Kvakcntrager are still out, and all will not be collected till late to-morrow (July 4) morning.

'• The battle of Sadowa lias been a great victory for the Prussian army"; the troops fought with the most determined courage ; they stood for hours under a terrible fire, for there are supposed to have been nearly 1500 guns in actidn, of which 750 were Prussian. The immediate caus.e of the victory was the Crown Prince's attack on the Austrian left flank, which turned the position, .but the attack in front had agreat effect on the issue, a*, unless it had been steadily maintained, the Austrians might have- repulsed the attack in flank. It is the opinion of tbe Prussian generals that the Austrian retreat was most skilful, and that their artillery was excellently handled. The number of troops engaged on the Prussian side was about 250,003. The Austrians are supposed to have had almost an equal number." •