'I am sorry, my friend. We were told to stop everyone. There's a fugitive in the city and nobody must be allowed to leave.'
'The fellow has been caught,' said Daniel. 'When you Bavarians failed to capture him, some sharp-eyed French carabiniers tracked him down. I saw the man being dragged off to General Salignac. Well?' he challenged. 'Do you want to suffer the same fate as the fugitive?'
'Open the gate,' said the guard and two men rushed to obey. 'I owe you an apology, my friend. Take your despatches to Versailles.'
'I will,' said Daniel. 'I bid you all good night!'
Without waiting to hear their farewells, he kicked his horse and went swiftly out through the half-open gate. The city of Augsburg remained full of noise and intrusion as the search continued but the fugitive was never found. Daniel Rawson was riding hell for leather through the night.
Edward Marston
Soldier of Fortune
Having crossed the Danube, the Confederate army established a camp from which it could range into the whole of Bavaria. British soldiers were now further away from home than they had ever been during the war and one of them in particular found it irksome. Henry Welbeck had been drilling his men under the watchful eye of Charles, Lord Churchill. When it was all over, the sergeant sought information.
'How much farther do we have to go, my lord?' asked Henry Welbeck, his face a study in displeasure. 'We've been marching for months now.'
'We may have to continue for a few months more yet,' replied Churchill. 'This is a long campaign, Sergeant. It will be autumn before we can think of returning to England.'
'Some will never return.'
'That's true, alas. Our losses have been severe and the one prediction we can make is that several other names will be added to the list before we're done.'
'At least, she won't be there to see it happen.'
'Who?'
'Miss Abigail Piper,' said Welbeck. 'The young lady is on her way back home and I, for one, was glad to see her go.'
'I suspect that most of us were,' said Churchill evenly. 'Miss Piper was a charming addition to the camp but an army on the march has no need of such charm and beauty. Most of us would prefer to meet someone like Miss Piper at a ball in London.'
'Not me, my lord.'
'Are you not a dancing man, Sergeant?'
'Only when I have to dodge the enemy's fire,' said Welbeck. 'I can dance like a dervish then. As for female company, I shun it in and outside the army. It always leads to mishap.'
'That's not true at all.'
'I speak as I find, my lord.'
'Then you have clearly never found the right woman to grace your life. I daresay that you have never even looked for one but most of our troops have been fortunate in that regard. Marriage can be a great comfort, even when you are apart from your wife.'
'I get my comfort from staying apart from all women.'
Churchill laughed. 'Then you are a real oddity.'
'I've seen the harm they can bring,' said Welbeck soulfully. 'Take that Miss Piper, my lord. She caused a real stir when she first arrived in camp. There was crude gossip about her among my men and the flash of her skirt will have brought out the jokers in other regiments as well. Worst of all, she distracted Captain Rawson.'
'Yes,' said Churchill sorrowfully. 'That was a bad business.'
'I rode with him when the young lady was held hostage. I felt as if I was taking him to the scaffold. It's not right, my lord.'
'Captain Rawson is a brave man. He saved her life.'
'And lost his own in return,' snapped Welbeck, letting his anger show. 'I'm sorry, my lord,' he continued, speaking more calmly, 'but I held the captain in the highest respect. If there's fighting ahead, he's the sort of officer we need most.'
'I couldn't agree more,' said Churchill, 'but all may not be lost. I refuse to believe that Daniel Rawson is dead until I have clear proof of the fact. He's had amazing escapes before. Who knows? He may yet have survived this latest crisis.'
Lips pursed, Welbeck shook his head. 'He's gone, sir. Not even Captain Rawson will come through this,' he decided. 'He surrendered to a man who'd already tried to kill him twice — and he did so in order to save a silly young woman. That's not bravery, my lord, it's sheer bloody madness.'
Edward Marston
Soldier of Fortune
Daniel Rawson did not slow down until he was well clear of Augsburg. If the dead soldier was discovered, and if it transpired that someone had left by the main gate in a uniform taken from the corpse, there would definitely be a chase. Daniel was still deep behind enemy lines and he could not afford to relax. At the same time, he could not over-tax his horse by pushing him too hard. Stopping at the first village, he went into a tavern to take directions from the landlord, knowing that he would be leaving a clue for any pursuit but needing to ensure that he was on the right road. Once out of the village, he proceeded due north at a steady canter.
Daniel still had the best part of twenty miles to go through the Bavarian countryside. Rain began to fall and he was soon drenched. His uniform felt tighter than ever, pinching him under his arms and climbing a couple of inches above his wrist. Yet he dared not discard it in case he met an enemy patrol. It was well past midnight when he reached the next village and it was in total darkness. Skirting the houses, he rejoined the road on the other side of the little community. An hour later, when the rain had stopped, he felt able to stop in order to rest his horse and allow the animal to drink from a stream and crop some grass. Slipping off his hat and coat, Daniel scooped up handfuls of water to wipe the dirt from his face.
It was only now that he was free at last that he realised how weary he was. From the moment when he had been taken captive, he had not had a wink of sleep and had been in a state of continuous tension. Daniel had to fight to stay awake. Looking to the future, he hoped that Abigail Piper would have departed from the camp. Though he had rescued her from the clutches of her captors, he did not relish the prospect of being showered with her apologies and overwhelmed by her gratitude. Daniel yearned for a long passage of time before he and Abigail ever met again.
In spite of his efforts to keep his eyes open, he eventually dozed off for a while, waking with a start and scolding himself for falling asleep. He put on his hat and coat again and untied his horse. Resuming his ride, he kept to the road as it meandered through a thick forest before straightening when it met open country. A first finger of light pointed to the approach of dawn. Daniel found the silence comforting and, after a period of captivity in a boisterous city, the sense of being completely alone was a positive tonic.
It did not last long. From somewhere ahead of him came the sound of many hooves clacking on the surface of the road. Daniel turned his own mount off the track and hid behind a stand of trees nearby. Minutes later, a troop of cavalry went past in the direction of Augsburg. He could not see the colour of their uniforms but they were clearly going to reinforce the garrison. Daniel's immediate fear was that, on the way, they might meet riders pursuing the fugitive and join in the chase. It made him urge his horse into a gallop.
The blanket of darkness gradually lifted to reveal a beautiful landscape that Daniel had no time to enjoy. Intent on putting as much distance as possible between himself and any pursuit, he pressed on until he reached a range of hills. The peak of the first hill commanded a view that stretched back for miles. Nobody was following him and he was, in any case, well over halfway to his destination. Daniel allowed himself and his horse a longer rest this time before pressing on. His dash for freedom had succeeded and he could maintain a less frantic pace from now on. He was even able to notice the rural splendour of his surroundings. Arriving at a hamlet, he chose to ride straight through it, wondering what the inhabitants would make of a French trooper in a uniform that was visibly too small for him.
The miles rolled steadily by. When he stopped to speak to a farmer, he was offered food and drink in return for news of what was happening in the war. His horse appreciated a
mouthful of hay and the chance to dip his nose in the water trough. Donauworth was now less than five miles away and he guessed that the camp would be even closer than that by now. Daniel continued on his way until he came to a wooded rise that looked tranquil in the sunshine. It was an illusion. Almost as soon as he entered the trees, a shot was fired and his horse buckled underneath him.
Daniel's reactions were swift. Jerking his feet from the stirrups, he rolled clear of the animal as it hit the ground with a thud and neighed in distress. He then darted for the nearest cover, pulling out his sword as he did so. He could hear muffled voices approaching. Seeing some large bushes behind him, he plunged deeper into the undergrowth and hid behind them, straining his ears for telltale sounds. The snap of bracken warned him that someone was close and the first thing that came into view was a musket. With one swish of the sword, Daniel knocked it to the ground, jumping out to confront the soldier who had been holding it, only to find that he was face to face with a corporal from his own regiment.
'What the devil are you doing, Reynolds?' he demanded.
The corporal blinked. 'Is that you, Captain Rawson?'
'Of course, it is, man!'
'We took you for a French soldier, sir.'
'Then you should have tried to capture me. All you've done is to lose us a valuable cavalry horse.' Sheathing his word, Daniel picked up the musket. 'Listen to the poor animal. Let's put him out of his misery — and call off the others.'
'Hold your fire!' yelled the corporal. 'It's Captain Rawson!'
Daniel went back to the road where the horse was still convulsed in pain. The musket ball had shattered a hind leg and it was unable to stand. Its head was flailing about and its eyes rolling fearfully. Daniel put the musket to its head and fired the ball into its brain. After quivering violently for a few moments, it lay dead. The other members of the foraging party came out of the trees to stare in wonder at their captain. The corporal spoke for all of them.
'Why are you dressed like that, sir?' he asked.
Edward Marston
Soldier of Fortune
Daylight exposed the ugly truth in Augsburg. The discovery of the dead trooper was linked with the news of a courier who left the city at night by the main gate. It fell to Charles Catto to pass on the tidings and they brought a fresh explosion from General Salignac.
'He's escaped?' he bellowed.
'So it would appear, General.'
'How on earth could he escape from a whole army? Is every soldier in the city a complete imbecile?'
'The guards on duty at the main gate are being punished,' said Catto. 'It was they who foolishly let him out.'
'Has pursuit been organised?'
'There's no point in it, General Salignac. He has been gone over eight hours. They could never catch up with Captain Rawson.'
'Someone must do so.'
'I know,' agreed Catto, teeth clenched, 'and the task must be mine. He belongs to me. I'll set off at once.'
'Make no mistakes this time,' said Salignac, jabbing a finger at him. 'Captain Rawson must be killed. Don't come back unless you bring unequivocal proof of his death.'
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Unable to tempt the Elector out of the safety of Augsburg, the Duke of Marlborough adopted a policy of wholesale destruction. Farms, hamlets and villagers were razed to the ground in various parts of Bavaria and thousands of refugees fled in terror to the cities. There was no respite. As one raiding party returned, another took its place. Their orders were to leave a scene of devastation behind them. It was over sixty years since Bavaria had last seen warfare within its borders and it was appalled by the atrocities committed. The Margrave of Baden had protested strongly against the policy and there were those in the British army who objected to what was happening.
'It's a disgrace,' said Daniel Rawson. 'I yield to none in my admiration of our captain-general but I do believe he's conducting a mistaken campaign.'
'Have you told him that, Dan?'
'He's not interested in my opinions.'
'They're shared by a lot of people,' said Henry Welbeck. 'None of my men would take any pleasure in setting fire to thatched cottages and seeing whole families put to flight with children in their arms. I'm grateful that we're not involved in such work.'
'But we can see the hideous results of it. When I escaped from Augsburg,' Daniel recalled, 'I was given food and drink at a little farmhouse. I had to watch as it went up in smoke. This is no way to fight a war, Henry. Our job is to kill enemy soldiers, not to put the fear of death into innocent civilians.'
'Yet the policy might work.'
'It's not done so yet.'
'Give it time, Dan.'
'We've already had too much of it,' complained Daniel, 'without any real effect. Because we lack a proper siege train, it took us the best part of a week to bring Rain to its knees and, even then, the garrison did not capitulate. They were accorded the friendliest of terms of surrender and marched off to join the Elector. What kind of a war is this,' he wondered, 'when we harass ordinary people and let the enemy soldiers go free?'
'Everyone suffers in a war,' said Welbeck lugubriously. 'It's not like a game with set of rules that we all obey.'
'It should be, Henry.'
'Can you imagine the French abiding by rules of warfare?'
'As a matter of fact, I can,' said Daniel. 'There was a time when King Louis tried to constrain his armies from pillage and the taking of hostages. He wanted a levy exacted from a defeated town or province, and the amount was to be no greater than the figure paid in tax by the inhabitants to their overlord. Do you see what he was trying to do?' he said. 'He was trying to instil civilised values into French soldiers.'
'Then he failed.'
'Not entirely.'
'You should talk to some of the veterans from the Dutch army,' said Welbeck. 'They remember the brutal way the French behaved during the Dutch Wars. And it's less than twenty years since these Frenchies wiped cities like Mannheim, Worms and Speyer off the map. There was no sign of any civilised values then.'
'I still believe that we need rules of engagement.'
'What we need is peace, Dan — years and years of it.'
'We'll get none till we've defeated France for good,' said Daniel levelly, 'and putting the torch to Bavaria is not the best way to do it.'
'It might flush the Elector out of his hiding place.'
'He's too secure in Augsburg. I've seen the fortifications there.'
'What about his estates?'
'He'll have sent men out to defend those against attack.'
'Then he'll have weakened his army,' said Welbeck, 'so the Duke's plan will have achieved something useful. We'll have fewer of those flat-faced Bavarians to fight.'
They were in Daniel's tent. Though they might disagree with some of the orders they were given, they obeyed them to the letter. Unless invited to give his opinion, Daniel would never openly criticise decisions taken by superior officers. Welbeck never stopped criticising them but only when he was alone with his friend. It was weeks since Daniel's escape from Augsburg and he was enjoying the unalloyed pleasure of a blunt interchange of views with the sergeant. Daniel had been hurt and saddened by the policy of ravaging Bavaria and it had deepened Welbeck's melancholy.
'Is it true that the Duke is ill?' asked Welbeck.
'He suffers from severe headaches,' replied Daniel, 'and hasn't left his quarters for three days.'
'I've had a severe headache since the day I joined the army.'
'Nonsense — you're one of the healthiest men I know.'
'My brain feels like a red hot cannon ball.'
'That's because you drink too much, Henry.'
'Nobody would allow me to retire to my quarters.'
'We need you ready for action,' said Daniel. 'Now that Marshal Tallard has reached Augsburg with the reinforcements, there'll be another battle before long. '
'There was a time when commanders had the sense to avoid battles,' said Welbeck, striking a
wistful note. 'Skirmishes and sieges were the order of the day then. That kept the losses down. More of our troops stayed alive. It's not easy to replace dead soldiers and damaged equipment, Dan. I vote for a siege every time.'
'Then you should have ridden off with the Margrave of Baden,' said Daniel. 'He's going to invest Ingolstadt. We must have a second crossing over the Danube in case the one at Donauworth comes under threat. Ingolstadt will be battered until resistance crumbles.'
'If there's going to be a battle, we need the Austrians with us.'
'We'll have Prince Eugene of Savoy instead.'
'Baden's men fought like tigers at the Schellenberg.'
'Yes,' said Daniel, 'and he's been claiming credit for the victory ever since. That's an insult to the British and Dutch soldiers who gave their lives that day. Baden, alas, has not yet grasped the concept of a shared triumph. He wants all the glory. No,' he concluded, 'I'll wager that Prince Eugene will prove a better ally in combat.'
Edward Marston
Soldier of Fortune
Prince Eugene of Savoy was delighted to have been reunited with the main army. While the majority of troops had now crossed the river with Marlborough, the Italians remained on the north bank to observe enemy movements and to guard Donauworth from possible attack. The pontoon bridges allowed easy access between the two sections of the Confederate army. With some urgency, Prince Eugene used one of them to join Marlborough for a council of war. Charles, Lord Churchill and Adam Cardonnel were also present.
'The French are on the move,' Eugene reported. 'They have crossed to the north bank of the Danube at Lauingen and seem intent on bringing their whole army there. The plain of Dillingen is crowded with troops.'
'I did not expect so decisive a move,' admitted Marlborough.
'I had a good position from which to observe them, Your Grace, but I dared not stay the night there. With only eighteen battalions, I was hopelessly outnumbered.'
'Where are your troops now, Prince Eugene?'
'At our camp near Donauworth,' said the other. 'We fell back there. May I please impress upon you the importance of not being trapped between the mountains and the Danube?'
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