Page:Littell's Living Age - Volume 128.djvu/277

Rh record the historical truth, that British soldiers trained closely on Frederick traditions were found at heavy disadvantage, alike in defence and attack, against the rough provincial levies that had learnt under our own flag in the struggle with France for the American continent, the simple secret of suiting their form of infantry battle to the ground on which they fought.

Of the disposition and arrangements of the Dutch forces for the contest, little that is exact is known to the German writers and it is probable enough that, as they believe, the details were never put on record. About twenty thousand men, or rather fewer, were left to the popular cause from the regular contingents maintained by the seven provinces, after deducting the small part that had adhered to the Stadtholder. It was hoped to double this by the addition of twenty thousand militia, chiefly to be raised in Holland. And as a final reserve, the large towns all had their independent city companies, fairly equivalent in value to our own metropolitan volunteers of to-day, and not unlike them in their practice and organization. Of these Amsterdam alone could turn out sixty companies on occasion; and behind works they might make a formidable addition to the defensive power of the nation. In cavalry the Dutch were naturally weak yet they had four small regular regiments of this arm at their command. And their artillery, largely served, according to what had become a national tradition, by Frenchmen, was abundant in number and well-supplied with matériel. On the whole, therefore, there could have seemed to be no reason for ridiculing beforehand their confident expectation that the new enemy would find the task of penetrating into Amsterdam as serious a business as the Spaniard or Frenchman had in days gone by. For plain reasons, already given, their leaders made no attempt to defend the two more advanced lines of the Yssel and the Grebbe. The regulars were therefore dispersed, according to the military ideas of the time, in small bodies along the third line which was to be obstinately held, that which first follows up the Vecht to Utrecht, and crosses the Old Rhine and the Leck successively, to end at Gorkum. The latter place and Utrecht, as the two main points on it, were strongly held. Some ten thousand troops occupied the open lines where not wholly protected by inundations. The rest were thrown into such smaller fortresses as Naarden and Muiden at the Zuyder-Zee extremity. It was thought in Holland that the opening of hostilities would be followed by deliberate sieges of some of the permanent works. A double attack of this nature on Naarden and Utrecht was especially prepared for. And this misconception of his purpose, it is due to Brunswick's reputation to add, had been skilfully led up to by his own orders. One part of the singular conditions of this campaign was that, during the sort of five-weeks' armistice that preceded it, Prussian staff-officers, carrying the Orange colours, had been allowed to carry on their reconnoissances from day to day, almost up to the very works they had presently to turn or take. Brunswick had fully availed himself of this exceptional advantage, and that in a twofold sense; for his assistants had not only examined every road leading to the Vecht line that could possibly be used, but by his special orders had shown themselves conspicuously and frequently at various points along its lower section from Utrecht to Naarden, in order to impress the enemy with the belief that the blow would fall on that side.

While thus dexterously deceiving them, Brunswick prepared to manœuvre so as completely to turn the portion of their lines he thus appeared to threaten. Breeswyk, a hamlet which stands at the angle where the so-called Vaardt, which is no more than the Upper Vecht, branches off from the important Rhine-mouth, known as the Leck, was the particular point at which he resolved to break through. It was known, indeed, to be strongly intrenched. But still there was of course more hope of carrying it at once than of taking without regular siege such a place as Utrecht. And there was the special political advantage in avoiding the latter, that the province it formed the capital of had not officially renounced its allegiance to the Stadtholder, and it was desirable as far as possible to isolate the resistance of Holland by refraining from attacking the neutral states. To carry out the purpose, General Gaudy, whose division formed the centre column, and was made stronger than the others, would march direct on Breeswyk down the Leck. General Knobelsdorff, who, with the left division, was to follow the line of the Waal, was directed to detach troops to his right at the proper time, so as to assist Gaudy's assault by making feints or even real attacks on neighbouring parts of the enemy's line. The right division, Lottum's, which took with it most of the cavalry, was to occupy the attention of the Hollanders as much