Zweybruecken in Command

The Reichsarmee – the ‘Army of the Empire' made up of contingents from the minor German states – reached the nadir of its fortunes in 1757 with defeat at Rossbach. For the following year's campaigning, which included the defense of Bamburg, the action at Basberg, the siege of Sonnenstein, and the combat at Eilenburg, it came under the command of Friedrich-Michael, Prince von Pfalz-Zweybrücken, whose initial task was to protect the western borders of the Empire from invasion from Saxony where Prince Henry of Prussia commanded a sizeable army. Later, as Prussian fortunes began to wane, the liberation of Saxony became a prime objective.

The core of this volume is the ‘Journal of the Army', translated from the original French and annotated by historian Neil Cogswell.