CHAP. XX.] FREDERICK THE GREAT'S CAVALRY. 



321 



y tlie 

 erk'k, 

 and 



3011 



the 

 .^ards 

 lid to 



>po8e, 

 at- 



and 



threw himself witli his horse into the torrent, and with- 

 out suffering any injury, returned to the retinue near 

 the king, whom he saluted, saying, ' Sire, behold my 

 reply."' 



Seidlitz possessed the secret of knowing when to be 

 bold, even rash, and when to be cautious. No man ever 

 combined prudent and careful judgment with such indom- 

 itable energy and impetuosity. In his boyhood he was 

 noted for his bold and adventurous pranks. At seven 

 years of age he rode between the sails of a windmill in 

 jfull action. At twenty-three he was a major, and had 

 already distinguished himself in several battles. At 

 thu'ty-two he was colonel commandant of a cuirassier 

 regiment. At thirty-five he was made a lieutenant- 

 general and commander-in-chief of the cavalry.* His 

 most brilliant action was the battle of Rosbach, in 1 757, 

 where with the horsemen alone he won a most decisive 

 victory. His expedition against Gotha, where with 1,500 

 men he captured a town strongly occupied with infantry 

 and artillery, was another of his bold exploits, his whole 

 dispositions showing the greatest ability. 



Ziethen was one of Frederick's favourite cavalry 

 generals, and united, says his biographer, " wisdom with 

 courage, contempt of danger with perseverance, and dex- 

 terity with presence of mind, and activity with the most 

 perfect command of temper. He conceived his plans 

 with the progressiveness of the rising storm, and exc- 

 (^uted them with the rapidity of the thunderbolt."^ He 

 was colonel for a time of the celebrated Ziethen hussars, 

 called the " death's-head hussars." He served upwards 

 of seventy years, and died at the age of eighty-six. His 

 promptness of decision was remarkable. He once said 

 to the king, " The moment I see the enemy my disposi- 

 tions are already made." This quick coup dceil was the 

 •secret of his great success as a general of horse. 



In tlie account of Frederick's campaigns and battles 

 the name of Ziethen continually appears and always 

 most creditably. In reference to some of these actions 

 we shall have to refer more particularly to his exploits. 

 ' Beamish, 42, 43. ^ Ibid. 44. 



