March of fifty hours
Unfortunately for von Daun, at that moment Prince Henry was already making plans to leave the area. Throughout the evening of Saturday September 22 the Prussian forces quit their tents and marched away silently, leaving only watch fires and a token force to make plenty of noise. They made first for Rothenburg (Upper Lusatia) and rested there for three hours as twenty miles to the south, the Austrians sprang forward and overran their empty positions.
Von Daun's scouting horse reported that the Prussian baggage was now heading northeast towards Glogau. He suspected a trap and retired to Bautzen but in fact, when Prince Henry left Rothenburg it was to head due west, eighteen miles, to the Saxon village of Klitten. A further three hours rest was then followed by a forced march of twenty miles to the area of Hoyerswerda where lay an unsuspecting Imperial force of 3000 men under General Wehla.
General Wehla had distinguished himself at the Siege of Dresden. His subsequent deployment at Hoyerswerda was as part of a line designed to prevent the Prussian forces in Saxony and Silesia combining together. Recent events suggested that such an occurrence was unlikely however, since Frederick the Great was tied up in a minuet with the Russians whilst Prince Henry of Prussia now appeared on his way to join his brother in the east. Indeed, von Daun had written to Wehla just a few days previously, informing him that there was no danger on his eastern flank.
Ernst Gideon von Laudon, since 1759 Freiherr von Laudon, was a Baltic German-born Austrian military officer and one of the most successful opponents of the Prussian king Frederick the Great.
The Silesian Wars were three wars fought in the mid-18th century between Prussia and Habsburg Austria for control of the Central European region of Silesia. The First (1740–1742) and Second (1744–1745) Silesian Wars formed parts of the wider War of the Austrian Succession, in which Prussia was a member of a coalition seeking territorial gain at Austria's expense. The Third Silesian War (1756–1763) was a theatre of the global Seven Years' War, in which Austria in turn led a coalition of powers aiming to seize Prussian territory.
The Battle of Breslau was fought on 22 November 1757 in Breslau during the Third Silesian War. A Prussian army of 28,000 men fought an Austrian army of 60,000 men. The Prussians held off the Austrian attack, losing 6,000 men to the Austrians' 5,000 men. But one day later the Prussians beat a retreat. Breslau's garrison surrendered on 25 November 1757.
The Battle of Leuthen was fought on 5 December 1757 between Frederick the Great's Prussian Army and an Austrian army commanded by Prince Charles of Lorraine and Count Leopold Joseph von Daun. Frederick used maneuver warfare and knowledge of the terrain to rout the larger Austrian force completely. The victory ensured Prussian control of Silesia during the Third Silesian War, which was part of the Seven Years' War.
The Battle of Zorndorf, during the Seven Years' War, was fought on 25 August 1758 between Russian troops commanded by Count William Fermor and a Prussian army commanded by King Frederick the Great. The battle was tactically inconclusive, with both armies holding their ground and claiming victory. The site of the battle was the Prussian village of Zorndorf. During the battle, Frederick famously took a regimental standard and led an attack himself, rallying his troops.
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The Battle of Kay, also referred to as the Battle of Sulechów, Battle of Züllichau, or Battle of Paltzig, was an engagement fought on 23 July 1759 during the Seven Years' War. It occurred near Kay (Kije) in the Neumark, now part of Poland.
The Battle of Kunersdorf occurred on 12 August 1759 near Kunersdorf immediately east of Frankfurt an der Oder. Part of the Third Silesian War and the wider Seven Years' War, the battle involved over 100,000 men. An Allied army commanded by Pyotr Saltykov and Ernst Gideon von Laudon that included 41,000 Russians and 18,500 Austrians defeated Frederick the Great's army of 50,900 Prussians.
The Battle of Maxen was a battle at Maxen, in the Electorate of Saxony during the Third Silesian War. It resulted in surrender of a Prussian corps.
In the Battle of Torgau on 3 November 1760, King Frederick the Great's Prussian army fought an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Leopold Josef Graf Daun. The Prussians won a costly victory in one of the bloodiest battles of the Third Silesian War.
The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741, during the First Silesian War. It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II, in which both sides made numerous military blunders and King Frederick II of Prussia fled the battlefield, but the Prussian Army still managed to attain victory. This battle cemented Frederick's authority over the newly conquered territory of Silesia and gave him valuable military experience.
The Second Silesian War was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1744 to 1745 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia. The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Bohemia, and Upper Saxony and formed one theatre of the wider War of the Austrian Succession. It was the second of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia.
The Austrian Empire and its predecessor, the Archduchy of Austria, was one of the most prevalent states in Europe throughout its history. The following is Austria's military history from the 18th century.
The Miracle of the House of Brandenburg is the name given by Frederick II of Prussia to the failure of Russia and Austria to follow up their victory over him at the Battle of Kunersdorf on 12 August 1759 during the Seven Years' War. The name is sometimes also applied to Russia's switching sides in the war in 1762, saving Prussia from likely defeat.
The First Silesian War was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia from Austria. The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia and formed one theatre of the wider War of the Austrian Succession. It was the first of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia.
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict involving most of the European great powers, fought primarily in Europe and the Americas. One of the opposing alliances was led by Great Britain and Prussia. The other alliance was led by France, backed by Spain, Saxony, Sweden, and Russia. Related conflicts include the 1754 to 1763 French and Indian War, and 1762 to 1763 Anglo-Spanish War.
The Third Silesian War was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1756 to 1763 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia. The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Bohemia and Upper Saxony and formed one theatre of the Seven Years' War. It was the last of three Silesian Wars fought between Frederick the Great's Prussia and Maria Theresa's Austria in the mid-18th century, all three of which ended in Prussian control of Silesia.
The Raid on Berlin took place in October 1760 during the Third Silesian War when Austrian and Russian forces occupied the Prussian capital of Berlin for several days. After raising money from the city, and with the approach of further Prussian reinforcements, the occupiers withdrew. There were later allegations that the Russian commander Count Tottleben had received a personal bribe from the Prussians to spare the city, and he was subsequently tried and found guilty of being a spy.
Johann Jakob von Wunsch (1717–1788) was soldier of fortune and Prussian general of infantry, and a particularly adept commander of light infantry. The son of a Württemberg furrier, he served in several armies in the course of his lengthy career.
Dubislav Friedrich von Platen was a Prussian officer in Frederick the Great's army. A cavalry general, he was also Governor of Königsberg, a Knight of the Order of Saint John, and a recipient of the Order of the Black Eagle. An active cavalry officer in all of the wars fought by Frederick—the War of Austrian Succession, the Second Silesian War, the Seven Years' War and, finally, the War of Bavarian Succession — he was commemorated on Equestrian statue of Frederick the Great in 1851 erected by Frederick's great-great nephew, Frederick William IV.
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