cialist by the Marquis de l’Hôpital. The ambassador counted on
him to relieve the tsarina of her scruples, after having relieved her
of her ulcers. One doctor is as good as another; why not provide
Her Majesty with a second Lestocq?
However, as much as she trusted in Dr. Poissonier’s curative
science, Elizabeth resisted allowing him to guide her in her politi-
cal decisions. The French were now proposing to land a Russian
expeditionary force in Scotland in order to attack the English on
< 221 >
their home territory, while the French fleet would meet the enemy
in a naval action; Elizabeth considered the plan too hazardous and
preferred to restrict her troops to land-based actions against Prus-
sia.
Unfortunately, General Fermor had even less fight in him
than the late Field Marshal Apraxin. Instead of leading the
charge, he was marching in place, waiting at the borders of Bohe-
mia for the arrival of hypothetical Austrian reinforcements. An-
noyed by these delays, the Empress relieved Fermor and replaced
him with Peter Saltykov, an old general who had spent his entire
career in the Ukrainian militia. Known for his timidity, his weak
appearance and his white militiaman’s uniform (of which he was
very proud), Peter Saltykov made a poor impression on the troops,
who called him
from the very first engagement, the “pullet” turned out to be more
combative than a cock. Taking advantage of a tactical error by
Frederick II, Saltykov boldly moved toward Frankfurt. He had
given notice to the Austrian regiment under General Gédéon de
Laudon to meet him at the Oder. As soon as they met up, the road
to Berlin would be open.
Frederick II, alerted to this threat against his capital, hastily
returned from the depths of Saxony. Learning from his spies that
his adversary’s commanders, the Russian Saltykov and the Aus-
trian Laudon, had fallen into dispute, he decided to take advan-
tage of this dissension to launch a final attack. During the night of
August 10, he crossed the Oder and advanced on the Russians,
who were cut off in Kunersdorf. However, the Prussians’ slow
maneuvering deprived them of any benefit of surprise, and Laudon
and Saltykov had time to reorganize their troops. Nonetheless,
the battle was so violent and confused that Saltykov, in a flourish
of theatricality, threw himself to his knees before his soldiers and
beseeched “the god of Armies” to give them victory.
< 222 >
In fact, the decision was dictated by the Russian artillery,
which had remained intact despite repeated attacks. On August
13, the Prussian infantry and then the cavalry were crushed by
cannon shot. The survivors were overcome by panic. Of the
48,000 men originally commanded by Frederick II, only 3000 re-
mained. This horde, exhausted and demoralized, was barely able
to keep together a rearguard during its retreat. Overwhelmed by
this defeat, Frederick II wrote to his brother: “The downstream
effects of the matter are worse than the matter itself. I have no
more resources. All is lost. I will not survive the loss of the fa-
therland!”
In giving his account of this victory to the tsarina, Saltykov
showed himself more circumspect: “Your Imperial Majesty
should not be surprised by our losses,” he wrote, “for she is not
unaware that the king of Prussia sells his defeats dearly. Another
victory like this one, Majesty, and I will see myself constrained to
walk to St. Petersburg, staff in hand, to bring you the news my-
self — for I will have no one else left to serve as courier.”3 Thor-
oughly reassured as to the outcome of the war, Elizabeth ordered
“a
Marquis de l’Hôpital: “Every good Russian must be a good
Frenchman, and every good Frenchman must be a good Russian.”4
As a reward for this great feat of arms, old Saltykov, “the Pul-
let,” received the title of Field Marshal. Did this honor go to his
head? Instead of pursuing the enemy in his retreat, he fell asleep
on his laurels. All of Russia seemed to fall into a happy torpor at
the idea of having demolished a leader as prestigious as Frederick
II.
After a brief moment of despair, the Grand Duke Peter went
back to believing in the German miracle. As for Elizabeth, dazed
by the hymns, the artillery salvos, the ringing bells and the diplo-
matic congratulations, finally was delighted to be able to pause
< 223 >
and reflect. Her bellicose temper was followed by a gradual re-
turn to reason: what harm would it do to allow Frederick II, hav-
ing been taught a good lesson, to stay on his throne for a while?
The main objective, surely, was to conclude an arrangement that
was acceptable to all parties. But alas! it seems that France, at
one time disposed to listen to the tsarina’s concerns, returned to
its old protectionist ways and recoiled at the thought of leaving
her with a free hand in Eastern Prussia and Poland. One would
