Comrades: I have gathered you around me here in order to take joy
with you in the glorious victory which our comrades have in several
days of hot battle won with their swords. Troops out of every nook
and cranny of the empire helped one another in invincible bravery
and unshakable loyalty to win great results. There stood together
under the leadership of the son of the Bavarian King and fought,
with equal blades, troops of all ages, active, reservists, and
landwehr.

For our victory we are thankful, in the first place, to our God,
(unserem alten Gott.) He will not desert us, since we stand for a
holy cause. Many of our comrades have already fallen in battle.
They died as heroes for the Fatherland. We will think of them with
honor here, and shout to the honor of those still in the field.
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

We still have many a bloody battle before us. Let us hope for
further successes like this. We shall not relent, and we shall get
to the enemy's hide. We shall not lose our faith and trust in our
good old God up there, (unserem guten alten Gott dort oben.) We are
determined to win, and we must win.


* * * * *




FIRST SUCCESSFUL BATTLE.