ders,
and filled with implicit confidence in his king and his comrades.
He had been taught to march with extraordinary rapidity, and at the
same time to manoeuvre with the regularity and perfection of a
machine; and could be trusted, in all emergencies, to do everything
that man was capable of.

The French army, 110,000 strong, was the first to move. Another
30,000 men were preparing to march, to join the army that had been
got up by that mixed body, the German Federation. The main force
was to move through Hanover.

To oppose them was a mixed army, maintained by British money,
comprising Hanoverians, Brunswickers, and Hessians, some 50,000
strong, commanded by the Duke of Cumberland. With these were some
5000 Prussians; who had, by Frederick's orders, evacuated the
frontier fortresses and joined what was called the British army of
observation. Frederick prepared, for the present, to deal with the
Austrians; intending, if successful against them, to send off
25,000 men to strengthen Cumberland's army. The proposed Swedish
invasion was altogether disregarded; but thirty thousand men,
principally militia, were posted to check the Russian invasion.

So quiet had been the preparations, that none of their enemies
dreamt that the Prussians would assume the offensive, but
considered that they would confine their efforts to defending the
defiles into Saxony and Silesia. But this was not Frederick's idea.
As spring approached, he had been busy redistributing his troops
from their winter cantonment, and preparing three armies for the
invasion of Bohemia. April had been a busy month for the staff, and
the aides-de-camp had passed their days, and even their nights, on
horseback.

At last all was in readiness for the delivery of the stroke, and on
the 20th the king started from Lockwitch, facing the old Saxon camp
at Pirna; the Duke of Bevern from Lousitz; and Marshal Schwerin
from Schlesien; and without the slightest warning, the three great
columns poured down into Bohemia.

The movement took the Austrians absolutely by surprise. Not
dreaming of such a step on Frederick's part, they had prepared,
near the frontier, vast magazines for the supply of their advancing
army. These had to be abandoned in the greatest haste, and a
sufficient amount of food to supply the entire army, for three
months, fell into the hands of the Prussians. Marshal Browne and
General Konigseck, who commanded the Austrian armies in Bohemia,
fell back