I think you were
right, Conway, not to go."
"Have you heard any news of what has taken place to-day?"
"Yes. I was standing by the colonel when Picton came up to him and
said:
"'There's been sharp fighting on the frontier. Zieten gave the French
a deal of trouble, and only fell back about six miles. The other
corps, except Bulow's, will all join them to-night.
"'It is a thousand pities that Zieten did not send off a mounted
messenger to us directly he became engaged. If he had done so we might
have started at one o'clock to-day, and should have been in line with
the Prussians to-morrow. I suppose he thought Blucher would send, and
Blucher thought he had sent; and so between them nothing was done, and
we only got the news at seven o'clock this evening. Nine precious
hours thrown away. It is just a blunder of this sort that makes all
the difference between failure and success in war. Had the message
been sent, we and the Dutch divisions and the troops from Braine
le-Comte might all have been up by the morning. As it is, Blucher,
with only three out of his four army corps, has the whole of the
French army facing him, and must either fall back without fighting or
fight against superior numbers--that is, if Napoleon throws his whole
force upon him, as I suppose he will. It is enough to provoke a
saint.
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