astily brought up to oppose them, captured the
battery, and poured into the gap; thereby cutting the Austrian army
in two, and taking both halves in flank.

This was the deciding point of the battle. The Austrian right,
already holding its own with difficulty, was crumpled up and forced
to fall back hastily. The other half of the army, isolated by the
irruption, threw itself back and endeavoured to make a fresh stand
at spots defended by batteries and stockades.

But all was in vain. The Prussians pressed forward exultingly, the
fresh troops leading the way. In spite of the confusion occasioned
by the loss of their commanders, and of the surprise caused by the
sudden breakup of their line by the inrush of Mannstein and the
princes, the Austrians fought stoutly. Four times they made a
stand, but the Prussians were not to be denied. The Austrian guns
that had been captured were turned against them and, at last giving
way they fled for Prague, where some 40,000 of them rushed for
shelter, while 15,000 fled up the valley of the Moldau.

Had it not been that an accident upset Frederick's calculations,
the greater portion of the Austrians would have been obliged to lay
down their arms. Prince Maurice of Dessau had been ordered to move
with the right wing of Keith's army, 15,000 strong, to take up a
position in the Austrian rear. This position he should have reached
hours before, but in his passage down a narrow lane, some of the
pontoons for bridging the river were injured. When the bridge was
put together, it proved too short to reach the opposite bank.

The cavalry in vain endeavoured to swim the river. The stream was
too strong, and Frederick's masterly combination broke down; and
the bulk of the Austrians, instead of being forced to surrender,
were simply shut up in Prague with its garrison.

The battle of Prague was one of the fiercest ever fought. The
Austrian army had improved wonderfully, since the Silesian war.
Their artillery were specially good, their infantry had adopted
many of the Prussian improvements and, had Browne been in sole
command, and had he escaped unwounded, the issue of the day might
have been changed. The Prussians lost 12,500 men, killed and
wounded; the Austrians, including prisoners, 13,300. Frederick
himself put the losses higher, estimating that of the Austrians at
24,000, of whom 5000 were prisoners, that of the Prussians at
18,000, "without counting Marshal Schwerin, who alone was worth