The next day, as soon as the class time arrived, William hurried to the study, pushed open the door and saw old Hans sitting on a rattan chair and rocking.
Old Hans looked up and saw that it was William. He pointed to the chair next to him and started talking again:
"On April 11, Britain, encouraged by its success, promised to give His Majesty an additional subsidy of £670,000 in October and promised not to negotiate unilaterally.
At that time, Your Majesty was unable to collect more taxes in our territory, so Your Majesty began to collect taxes in Saxony, issue currency, and hire Jewish bankers to exchange foreign currencies. In the spring of 1758, a total of 140,000 troops were re-raised.
In April, His Majesty led 70,000 troops south again, aiming directly at Vienna. However, he ran into a snag at the city of Olmütz in Moravia. His Majesty surrounded the fortress, but the lack of engineers prevented him from storming it.
The 4,000 carts carrying supplies were completely looted by an army rebuilt by Austrian Marshal Daun. After a futile confrontation with the Austrians until July, they heard that a new Russian army commanded by Fermor had joined the Swedes and was sweeping across East Prussia and was only a few days away from Berlin.
His Majesty had to give up his attempt to go south and led 15,000 elite troops to the north for rescue. On the way, he joined two armies, bringing the total army to 34,000, enough for a battle.
On August 25, the Battle of Zorndorf broke out. His Majesty once again used his favorite oblique tactics, but due to the terrain, the actual combat was unfavorable. The tenacity and bravery shown by the Russians in the battle were also something we had never seen before. Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz and his cavalry won us all the honors that could be won in a day of fighting. In the evening, Russia retreated in an orderly manner.
In this battle the Russians suffered 18,000 casualties or prisoners, but we also suffered 12,000 losses.
While your Majesty is fighting in the north, Marshal Daun of Austria is advancing steadily in the south, encircling the army of your Majesty's brother Prince Henry at Dresden in Saxony.
When His Majesty learned about it, he immediately led his troops to return for support. Daun's attack changed its target due to His Majesty's quick return. At the same time, the second Austrian army began to enter Silesia and surrounded Nice.
Your Majesty left Dresden on September 26, eager to lift the siege of Nice, but the Austrian Daun held an impregnable position, blocking our army's way. Your Majesty was unwilling to retreat, so he camped not far from the enemy and waited for supplies from the rear for four days.
At 5 o'clock in the morning of October 14, our army's camp was suddenly attacked by unknown forces. It was soon understood that it was the entire main force of the Austrian army led by Daun that launched the surprise attack in the thick fog. His Majesty the King risked his life and put himself in the fire net, trying to reorganize the front, but the situation between the enemy and us was not optimistic. Our army had 37,000 against 80,000, and there was no chance of winning.
In the end, it was only because of the death of Marshal Keyes and his men who held back the enemy that our army was able to fight its way out. After the war, statistics showed that our army left 9,450 bodies on the battlefield. Fortunately, Austrian Marshal Daun did not pursue us because he was concerned about the scattered formation, so our army was able to escape."
Count Hans fumbled around the small table for a long time with a trembling heart, and found the teacup. He picked it up, took a sip, and then said:
"In that battle, our army fought too hard. Your Majesty also considered suicide. The number, quality and training of our army were declining, while the enemy could quickly replenish any losses. In addition, there was a capable general like Marshal Daun leading the Austrian army. It was obvious that unless a miracle happened, our army could not win. And Your Majesty did not believe in miracles at all.
At that time, the whole army was full of failure theories. From generals to soldiers, we were all pessimistic about our future. On the second day of the Battle of Hochkiel, your Majesty's sister, Countess Wilhelmina, died. Your Majesty's most beloved person died. He wrote an article "Defense of Suicide" that day, saying: Once I choose to do so, I can end this tragedy. The battle of 1758 ended quietly in the thick snow.
With the arrival of spring, new French troops entered the battlefield.
On April 13, 1759, at Bergen near Frankfurt, a French army commanded by Duke II of Broglie inflicted the first defeat on Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick.
But on August 1, at the Battle of Minden, Prince Ferdinand rallied his forces and decisively defeated 60,000 French troops under Marshal Broglie and the Marquis de Contades with a force of 43,000 Germans, English, and Scots, while his own losses were so slight that he was able to spare 12,000 men to support our army and make up for the heavy losses suffered by His Majesty in the eastern campaign.
The role of this reinforcement was enormous. It helped our army's morale, which had hit rock bottom, to recover, and also made Your Majesty a little more optimistic about the prospects of the war.
On July 23, Russian Colonel-General Peter Semyonovich Saltykov, commanding an army of 50,000 Russians and Cossacks, defeated a Chinese army of 26,000 men in the Battle of Parzichi.
This was specially left by His Majesty to defend the route from Poland to Berlin. In this way, there would be no more obstacles on the road to the Russians' attack on the Prussian capital. His Majesty had no other choice but to rely on his brother to defend Dresden against Marshal Daun's Austrian army; while His Majesty himself personally led the army to fight against the Russian army.
After replenishment on the way, our army recovered to 48,000 people, but at this time, 18,000 Austrian cavalry led by Laudon set out from Marshal Daun's camp and joined the Russian army, making Saltykov's Russian-Austrian coalition army as high as 68,000 people.
On August 12, 1759, our army and the Russian-Austrian coalition launched the most brutal battle since the War of the Spanish Succession. For Your Majesty, it was also the most tragic war.
In the first 12 hours of the Battle of Kullersdorf, Your Majesty had a slight advantage, but then the enemy's reserve, 18,000 Austrian cavalry led by Ernst Gideon von Laudon, rushed out and defeated our exhausted army.
His Majesty went mad on the battlefield to stop our army from retreating. He charged three times and his horse was killed three times. A small golden box in his pocket blocked a bullet that could have ended his life. His Majesty was very dissatisfied with his escape from death. He shouted: Why didn't a bullet hit me?
Our soldiers asked His Majesty to retreat to a safe area. Many of them were shot and killed immediately. His Majesty pleaded, "Children, please don't leave your king, your father - me!" However, our army really had no way to move forward. Many of our soldiers fought for 6 hours under the scorching sun without drinking a drop of water. Finally, the soldiers began to retreat, and His Majesty was forcibly taken away by us. After the war, statistics showed that there were more than 20,000 soldiers who did not have time to withdraw and were killed or wounded, while our enemy, the Russian-Austrian coalition, lost only 15,700 soldiers.