covered by quagmires and the Zaborn stream. Hearing, late at night
on the evening of the 24th, that Frederick was likely to be upon
them the next morning, the Russian general drew out into the open
ground north of Zorndorf, which stands on a bare rise surrounded by
woods and quagmires, and formed his army into a great square, two
miles long by one broad, with his baggage in the middle--a
formation which had been found excellent by the Russians in their
Turkish wars, but which was by no means well adapted to meet
Frederick's methods of impetuous attack. Being ignorant as to the
side upon which Frederick was likely to attack, and having decided
to stand on the defensive, he adopted the methods most familiar to
him.

Frederick had cut all the bridges across the rivers Warta and Oder,
and believed that he should, after defeating the Russians, drive
them into the angle formed by the junction of these two streams,
and cause them to surrender at discretion. Unfortunately, he had
not heard that the great Russian train had been sent to
Kleinkalmin. Had he done so he could have seized it, and so have
possessed himself of the Russian stores and all their munitions of
war, and have forced them to surrender without a blow; for the
Cossacks had wasted the country far and wide, and deprived it of
all resources. But he and his army were so burning with
indignation, and the desire to avenge the Cossack cruelties, that
they made no pause, and marched in all haste right round the
Russian position, so as to drive them back towards the junction of
the two rivers.

[Map: Battle of Zorndorf]

Fermor's Cossacks brought him in news of Frederick's movements,
which were hidden from him by the forests; and seeing that he was
to be attacked on the Zorndorf side, instead of from that on which
he had expected it to come, he changed his front, and swung round
the line containing his best troops to meet it.

On arriving at Zorndorf, Frederick found that the Cossacks had
already set the village on fire. This was no disadvantage to him,
for the smoke of the burning houses rolled down towards the
Russians, and so prevented them from making observation of the
Prussian movements. The king rode up to the edge of the Zaborn
hollow and, finding it too deep and boggy to be crossed, determined
to attack at the southwest with his left and centre, placing his
cavalry in rear, and throwing back his right wing.

The first division marched forward to th