ACHIEVEMENTS OP FIELD ARTILLERY. 
459 
extricated, but 8000 killed and wounded and 101 guns lost marked bow 
serious had been the defeat. 
Decker, the historian of artillery achievements during the Seven 
Years' War, dwells with pardonable pride on the deeds his arm performed 
on this occasion on the Prussian side, and enumerates no less than nine 
distinct occasions during the action when, but for the cool courage and 
energy of the gunners, the attacks of the enemy must have been crowned 
with decisive success. He goes on to say that if the Austrian artillery 
was not as fortunate in the attack as that of its opponents was in the 
defence, it did not bear itself less gloriously in the arduous labours 
imposed on it by a victory dearly bought. We may quote his conclud¬ 
ing sentence :— 
“ Quiconque a une idee du desordre gui regne dans line attaque de nuit , 
s’empressera de rendre justice a Vartillerie Prussienne, et de convenir qu ' il 
fallait qu ' elle fut lien disciplines car sans cela ses pertes , en pieces de 
• L position surtout , eussent ete plus considerables P 1 
The last action we shall describe is one which is remarkable, because, 
although artillery had a predominant influence on the progress of the 
battle, its greatness was thrust upon it oddly enough by the incapacity 
rather than the skill of the General under whose direction it found 
itself. Its latent power was developed only by chance, and the arm 
accomplished a great feat in spite of the indifference with which it was 
treated. 
The incident must specially interest us, because it is only a more than 
ordinarily striking illustration of the manner in which artillery was often 
regarded at the period of the Seven Years' War, and of how it overcame 
prejudice and asserted its claim to at least an equal share of considera¬ 
tion with the other arms by what it effected by itself, and by the merit 
of its performances alone. 
Up to the middle of the last century it had been regarded as a rather 
cumbresome appendage to the infantry, it had no independent leader 
of its own, no one therefore to speak for it, and was obliged to conform 
slavishly to the movements of the infantry, save when some General 
with an intelligence in advance of his age, such as Gustavus Adolphus, 
perceived its powers and handled it accordingly. Frederick blamed 
his artillery for letting him be surprised at Hochkirch, just because 
it was safe to make a butt of an arm which had no one to reply for it. 
Yet it helped him to win Rossbach, and saved him from ruin after he 
had found fault with it at Hochkirch. He had felt the weight of its 
blow at Kunersdorf, when he attempted to ignore it, and now it was 
again to make him respect its strength at Torgau. 
On the 2nd of November, 1760, Frederick was at Schilda. His old 
antagonist, Daun, faced him at Torgan in a very strong position, his left 
protected by the great pond (Grosser Teich) and the Rohrgraben, his 
right on the heights near Siptitz, and the reserve behind Grosswig. 
The fault of this position was that there was not room for his force to 
manoeuvre, and the artillery, of which he had an immense force, were 
especially cramped for room. Therefore Daun, and because, too, he still 
cherished old-fashioned notions, left a large reserve of guns in his rear, 
and for once success was developed by ineptitude. 
1 “ Batailles et principaux combats de la guerre de Sept Ans.’ 
