Based on a battle fought between myself as the Prussians and a combined British-Hannoverian army. I was outnumbered almost three to one, and had no artillery compared to their 4 12-lbers. I really don't know how I won.
Through the eyes of one of my Colonels.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
January 11, 1760, 1:22, P.M.
Near Braunschweig on the Brandenburg-Hannover border.
"The snow is torrential. Visibility less than a foot. Most of us just stay in tents, or huddle around the nearest campfire. Supplies should be here tomorrow. Need them badly. Rats got into the bread supply. Been living on cheese and milk for the past two weeks. It's beginning to mold."
Colonel Dietrich Maier closed his journal as one of his privates burst into the tent with a letter. It bore the seal of König Friedrich Wilhelm I.This must be urgent, he thought to himself.
"Colonel, sir, our most recent dispatch from Berlin!"
He tore through the seal to find that a major battle near Prague had been won, and supplies needed to be redirected to support the Austrian campaign.
"I'll have none of this! We'll be out of food in days, and we can't wait much more than a week! What are they thinking? We need to send them a dispatch concerning our situation, this can't get overlooked. The König, may he live forever, must not realize the importance of our position. If we don't keep watch on our western border Berlin will fall, for sure! Let the König's advisors know that we will starve if supplies are not sent here immediately. Here," - he folded up his written dispatch and signed it - "give this to the runner."
Just then another private shot in to the tent, panting. There was worry in his eyes.
"Colonel, sir, our scouts report movement! To the west, sir. That's all I have for now."
"That's it?"
"I apologize sir, but that's all the information the scouts gave me."
"All right. Lieutenant!"
Lieutenant Ernst Rumsfeld poked his head out of his tent. "Yessir?"
"Muster the men!"
"Is this a drill?"
"That doesn't matter, do as I say!"
"Of course, sir, my apologies."
"Give me the spyglass," Dietrich barked at the nearest soldier. He hurriedly searched for the spyglass, and five minutes later it was being held to the eye of the colonel.
His worst fears became realized. How could the scouts have missed this?
"MUSTER THE MEN, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!"
He screamed the order it seemed a hundred times as his men scampered out of their tents and lethargically put on their winterized uniforms. The government issued winter uniforms were still were not nearly enough, as the freezing snow and fog swarmed around them, searching for every bit of uncovered skin they could wrap their cool grip around.
As the enemy neared, he saw just how outmatched they were. He saddled up his horse as she reared. He knew this was the last line of defence for Berlin. If she was captured, all would be lost, and the König executed. That meant defeat was not an option. But it seemed to be the only possible outcome. He send a runner to Berlin to relay the following: "Massive enemy force. Cannot hold them. Get the König to safety. Prepare defenses."
They were on their own now. No help was coming. He looked over the 1,200 men he commanded and sighed. He could not bring himself to imagine even onr of those men lying dead on the battlefield, yet he knew before the day was done, at least half of them would be struck down by enemy fire.
The rest of the army formed up their lines and took position. 8,000 Prussians versus 22,000 British and Hanoverians. And they had 120 guns. The tents containing the Prussian guns had exploded only a week ago from a misfire that lit all the ammunition they had in supply. The only guns they had were handguns. If the Prussians meant to defend, they would need to dig in or take a brutal barrage from the British artillery batteries.
3:50 P.M.
The British artillery opened fire in what seemed like an endless torrent. The two armies stood, waiting for the other to advance. Colonel Maier couldn't take it any more. Prussians were dying! They had to do something!
******
General Johann Schitter rubbed his eyes as he watched from the old farmhouse overlooking the small valley below. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His right flank had been ordered to hold position. Why is it advancing? What is going on?
"Who is commanding the right flank?" he barked from his vantage point, pulling the spy glass back up to his eye.
"That would be Colonel Dietrich Maier, sir, of the 144th," came the answer from his Brigadier.
"Apprehend that man and take command of his regiments! What in God's name is he doing, defying direct orders like that!?"
******
The Prussians were keeping excellent pace. The constant drilling had paid off. With all things considered, running like this is probably more comfortable than standing still in the freezing cold and endless snow.
The line began to take shape as his troops got into position. They had left the line of fire of the British cannons, but suddenly shots rang out around them. Suddenly the colonel realized it was his men firing. POP! POP! POP! POP! went the rythmic sound of his men firing by platoon. They were the finest soldiers in all of Europe, and it was showing. They had begun firing of their own accord and in perfect timing. POP! POP! POP! POP! it continued ringing through the afternoon air.
The colonel couldn't see the enemy, but he knew where they were. Masked by the snow, the Hannoverians could only guess as to where the Prussians were. Because the British general had ordered his men to hold their ground, the Prussians never received any return fire, since the Hannoverians figured it must be Jaegers peppering them from all sides. Because of the howling wind and snow, the invaders couldn't even hear gunshots. All they saw was men, their comrades, falling to the ground all around them. It was more frightening that they didn't know where the shots were coming from than anything, and slowly, one by one, they began to flee. Only a tenth of them had been slain, but they knew if they continued standing there that number would expand.
The colonel ordered his men to cease fire and reform lines. A few Prussians had fallen from misfires due to the heavy snow and the lines needed fixing. Colonel Maier was a micromanager, and required every little detail to be just perfect. "If you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves" was his motto.
After waiting a few minutes the snow began to die down, and he could clearly see the British line waiting for them. But where was the rest of the Prussian force? Had his men been abandoned, while the rest of Prussian the army retreated to safety in the cover of the storm?
Maier pulled his cavalry, which he personally led, into formation on the right flank of his regiment. He heard galloping behind him. It was the Brigadier.Oh boy, he thought to himself.
"By order of High General Johann Schitter, the following person has been charged with insubordination to superiors, and is hereby under arrest: Colonel Dietrich Maier of the 144th Prussian Infantry Division. You are to lay down your arms and come with me, Colonel, if you will."
"I will not, sir, for I have led these men, MY men too far! We make our stand here!"
"You would rather die than face a short trial? Nevertheless, I have been placed under command of your regiment by the High General himself. Follow me now and you might get off easy."
"I don't think you heard me correctly."
"Colonel! This is an order! I will not ask you again. Come with me now!"
By now, Maier's men had come to admire and respect him with more adoration than they had for their own parents. They would not have some impudent upstart of a Brigadier commanding them.
"Just what do you think you are doing, Colonel?" asked the Brigadier as Maier's men pulled him from his horse and bound his arms behind his back.
"Taking control of the situation." And he rode off to join the rest of his troops.
******
4:36 P.M.
British HQ
Sir Guy Carleton, Duke of Shaftesbury, commander of the British Expeditionary Force: Northern Germany sat overlooking his forces. The snow had fallen and he could see clearly the situation.
"Good, we should be in Berlin in five days' time."
"Sir, if I may speak?"
"Speak freely."
"Prussians are not ones to back down. I wouldn't throw the possibility of an ambush or trick out the window."
"Oh, don't give me that rubbish, Blackmoore! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have a position in the army, let alone my campaign advisor."
"I know sir, and I am advising you to be cautious. That's what advisors are for, no?"
"Right. Well this time, I won't take any advice. I know these soldiers well enough to know that they fled to Berlin. Just as well. We'll torch the countryside and make them come to us."
"Right. I'll make preparations, sir."
"Get on with it, then. Let's finish off the rest of these Prussians that were foolish enough to stick around. Whatever happened to those treacherous Hannoverian fools anyway? Snuck off in the storm, have they? Are all Germans this cowardly?"
"No sir, as you can see. About 1,000 of them are standing against 17,000 of our men. And they have no cannon! Ha!"
"That's not bravery, fool. That's idiocy."
******
Nervously, Colonel Maier looked back over his shoulder again. He saw no notion of the general's staff's horses near the HQ. That's not a good sign.What better way to die, than valiantly defending your home soil? he thought.
The British began advancing, closing in on the few remaining Prussians. The British cannon had stopped firing and had been packed up in preparation for the march to Berlin.
The right flank of the British line finished wrapping around, and the Prussians formed a massive square formation, ready for a defesive stand. The British soldiers marvelled at the discipline of their foes. They were unmatched in any part of the world. In perfect unison, the Prussian lines formed equally sized squares, bayonets flashing and flags waving. It was an honor to fight such excellent soldiers.
Trumpets and bugles burst with noise. Suddenly the din of combat surrounded them. But there was no fighting. Where was all the yelling coming from? Maier's force realized the trap the general had set. Out from a nearby forest came a screaming Prussian army, bayonets glinting in the sunset. The grenadiers led the charge, firing shots as they ran, and eventually began throwing their explosives. Uhlans raced around the flanks of the British soldiers and charged their lances home. Maier ordered his men to break formation and form a crescent line facing the British, and begin firing in platoons. In just seconds, his 1,200 men executed the order to perfection, and soon British soldiers were dropping to the ground like flies.
It just took 20 minutes of fighting, but the British force had been annihilated. Nearly the entire Prussian force remained. Few British soldiers escaped that day. It was a glorious victory for Prussia, and Berlin had been saved from destruction and oppression at the hands of the merciless British.
******
The expedition was eventually called off due to a lack of troops. Sir Guy Carleton was captured two months later in Hamburg, and in November of that year Hannover was captured by the Prussians. Great Britain formally recognized Prussian sovereignty over Hannover two years later at the Treaty of Amiens in 1762, formally ending the War of the Eastern Rhine in Prussia's favor.
Lieutenant Dietrich Maier was issued an official pardon for his actions at the Battle of Braunschweig. Three years later he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and a year after that he became the Oberbefehlshaber der königlichen preussischen Armee.
******
The following is Colonel Dietrich Maier's dispatch after the Battle of Braunschweig:
"Victory. Held off British. Berlin is safe."
Through the eyes of one of my Colonels.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
January 11, 1760, 1:22, P.M.
Near Braunschweig on the Brandenburg-Hannover border.
"The snow is torrential. Visibility less than a foot. Most of us just stay in tents, or huddle around the nearest campfire. Supplies should be here tomorrow. Need them badly. Rats got into the bread supply. Been living on cheese and milk for the past two weeks. It's beginning to mold."
Colonel Dietrich Maier closed his journal as one of his privates burst into the tent with a letter. It bore the seal of König Friedrich Wilhelm I.
"Colonel, sir, our most recent dispatch from Berlin!"
He tore through the seal to find that a major battle near Prague had been won, and supplies needed to be redirected to support the Austrian campaign.
"I'll have none of this! We'll be out of food in days, and we can't wait much more than a week! What are they thinking? We need to send them a dispatch concerning our situation, this can't get overlooked. The König, may he live forever, must not realize the importance of our position. If we don't keep watch on our western border Berlin will fall, for sure! Let the König's advisors know that we will starve if supplies are not sent here immediately. Here," - he folded up his written dispatch and signed it - "give this to the runner."
Just then another private shot in to the tent, panting. There was worry in his eyes.
"Colonel, sir, our scouts report movement! To the west, sir. That's all I have for now."
"That's it?"
"I apologize sir, but that's all the information the scouts gave me."
"All right. Lieutenant!"
Lieutenant Ernst Rumsfeld poked his head out of his tent. "Yessir?"
"Muster the men!"
"Is this a drill?"
"That doesn't matter, do as I say!"
"Of course, sir, my apologies."
"Give me the spyglass," Dietrich barked at the nearest soldier. He hurriedly searched for the spyglass, and five minutes later it was being held to the eye of the colonel.
His worst fears became realized. How could the scouts have missed this?
"MUSTER THE MEN, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!"
He screamed the order it seemed a hundred times as his men scampered out of their tents and lethargically put on their winterized uniforms. The government issued winter uniforms were still were not nearly enough, as the freezing snow and fog swarmed around them, searching for every bit of uncovered skin they could wrap their cool grip around.
As the enemy neared, he saw just how outmatched they were. He saddled up his horse as she reared. He knew this was the last line of defence for Berlin. If she was captured, all would be lost, and the König executed. That meant defeat was not an option. But it seemed to be the only possible outcome. He send a runner to Berlin to relay the following: "Massive enemy force. Cannot hold them. Get the König to safety. Prepare defenses."
They were on their own now. No help was coming. He looked over the 1,200 men he commanded and sighed. He could not bring himself to imagine even onr of those men lying dead on the battlefield, yet he knew before the day was done, at least half of them would be struck down by enemy fire.
The rest of the army formed up their lines and took position. 8,000 Prussians versus 22,000 British and Hanoverians. And they had 120 guns. The tents containing the Prussian guns had exploded only a week ago from a misfire that lit all the ammunition they had in supply. The only guns they had were handguns. If the Prussians meant to defend, they would need to dig in or take a brutal barrage from the British artillery batteries.
3:50 P.M.
The British artillery opened fire in what seemed like an endless torrent. The two armies stood, waiting for the other to advance. Colonel Maier couldn't take it any more. Prussians were dying! They had to do something!
******
General Johann Schitter rubbed his eyes as he watched from the old farmhouse overlooking the small valley below. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His right flank had been ordered to hold position. Why is it advancing? What is going on?
"Who is commanding the right flank?" he barked from his vantage point, pulling the spy glass back up to his eye.
"That would be Colonel Dietrich Maier, sir, of the 144th," came the answer from his Brigadier.
"Apprehend that man and take command of his regiments! What in God's name is he doing, defying direct orders like that!?"
******
The Prussians were keeping excellent pace. The constant drilling had paid off. With all things considered, running like this is probably more comfortable than standing still in the freezing cold and endless snow.
The line began to take shape as his troops got into position. They had left the line of fire of the British cannons, but suddenly shots rang out around them. Suddenly the colonel realized it was his men firing. POP! POP! POP! POP! went the rythmic sound of his men firing by platoon. They were the finest soldiers in all of Europe, and it was showing. They had begun firing of their own accord and in perfect timing. POP! POP! POP! POP! it continued ringing through the afternoon air.
The colonel couldn't see the enemy, but he knew where they were. Masked by the snow, the Hannoverians could only guess as to where the Prussians were. Because the British general had ordered his men to hold their ground, the Prussians never received any return fire, since the Hannoverians figured it must be Jaegers peppering them from all sides. Because of the howling wind and snow, the invaders couldn't even hear gunshots. All they saw was men, their comrades, falling to the ground all around them. It was more frightening that they didn't know where the shots were coming from than anything, and slowly, one by one, they began to flee. Only a tenth of them had been slain, but they knew if they continued standing there that number would expand.
The colonel ordered his men to cease fire and reform lines. A few Prussians had fallen from misfires due to the heavy snow and the lines needed fixing. Colonel Maier was a micromanager, and required every little detail to be just perfect. "If you take care of the little things, the big things will take care of themselves" was his motto.
After waiting a few minutes the snow began to die down, and he could clearly see the British line waiting for them. But where was the rest of the Prussian force? Had his men been abandoned, while the rest of Prussian the army retreated to safety in the cover of the storm?
Maier pulled his cavalry, which he personally led, into formation on the right flank of his regiment. He heard galloping behind him. It was the Brigadier.
"By order of High General Johann Schitter, the following person has been charged with insubordination to superiors, and is hereby under arrest: Colonel Dietrich Maier of the 144th Prussian Infantry Division. You are to lay down your arms and come with me, Colonel, if you will."
"I will not, sir, for I have led these men, MY men too far! We make our stand here!"
"You would rather die than face a short trial? Nevertheless, I have been placed under command of your regiment by the High General himself. Follow me now and you might get off easy."
"I don't think you heard me correctly."
"Colonel! This is an order! I will not ask you again. Come with me now!"
By now, Maier's men had come to admire and respect him with more adoration than they had for their own parents. They would not have some impudent upstart of a Brigadier commanding them.
"Just what do you think you are doing, Colonel?" asked the Brigadier as Maier's men pulled him from his horse and bound his arms behind his back.
"Taking control of the situation." And he rode off to join the rest of his troops.
******
4:36 P.M.
British HQ
Sir Guy Carleton, Duke of Shaftesbury, commander of the British Expeditionary Force: Northern Germany sat overlooking his forces. The snow had fallen and he could see clearly the situation.
"Good, we should be in Berlin in five days' time."
"Sir, if I may speak?"
"Speak freely."
"Prussians are not ones to back down. I wouldn't throw the possibility of an ambush or trick out the window."
"Oh, don't give me that rubbish, Blackmoore! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have a position in the army, let alone my campaign advisor."
"I know sir, and I am advising you to be cautious. That's what advisors are for, no?"
"Right. Well this time, I won't take any advice. I know these soldiers well enough to know that they fled to Berlin. Just as well. We'll torch the countryside and make them come to us."
"Right. I'll make preparations, sir."
"Get on with it, then. Let's finish off the rest of these Prussians that were foolish enough to stick around. Whatever happened to those treacherous Hannoverian fools anyway? Snuck off in the storm, have they? Are all Germans this cowardly?"
"No sir, as you can see. About 1,000 of them are standing against 17,000 of our men. And they have no cannon! Ha!"
"That's not bravery, fool. That's idiocy."
******
Nervously, Colonel Maier looked back over his shoulder again. He saw no notion of the general's staff's horses near the HQ. That's not a good sign.
The British began advancing, closing in on the few remaining Prussians. The British cannon had stopped firing and had been packed up in preparation for the march to Berlin.
The right flank of the British line finished wrapping around, and the Prussians formed a massive square formation, ready for a defesive stand. The British soldiers marvelled at the discipline of their foes. They were unmatched in any part of the world. In perfect unison, the Prussian lines formed equally sized squares, bayonets flashing and flags waving. It was an honor to fight such excellent soldiers.
Trumpets and bugles burst with noise. Suddenly the din of combat surrounded them. But there was no fighting. Where was all the yelling coming from? Maier's force realized the trap the general had set. Out from a nearby forest came a screaming Prussian army, bayonets glinting in the sunset. The grenadiers led the charge, firing shots as they ran, and eventually began throwing their explosives. Uhlans raced around the flanks of the British soldiers and charged their lances home. Maier ordered his men to break formation and form a crescent line facing the British, and begin firing in platoons. In just seconds, his 1,200 men executed the order to perfection, and soon British soldiers were dropping to the ground like flies.
It just took 20 minutes of fighting, but the British force had been annihilated. Nearly the entire Prussian force remained. Few British soldiers escaped that day. It was a glorious victory for Prussia, and Berlin had been saved from destruction and oppression at the hands of the merciless British.
******
The expedition was eventually called off due to a lack of troops. Sir Guy Carleton was captured two months later in Hamburg, and in November of that year Hannover was captured by the Prussians. Great Britain formally recognized Prussian sovereignty over Hannover two years later at the Treaty of Amiens in 1762, formally ending the War of the Eastern Rhine in Prussia's favor.
Lieutenant Dietrich Maier was issued an official pardon for his actions at the Battle of Braunschweig. Three years later he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and a year after that he became the Oberbefehlshaber der königlichen preussischen Armee.
******
The following is Colonel Dietrich Maier's dispatch after the Battle of Braunschweig:
"Victory. Held off British. Berlin is safe."
[This message has been edited by tkwarrior17 (edited 01-28-2010 @ 01:42 AM).]