Battle of Zuckmantel

Battle of Zuckmantel
Part of the War of the Bavarian Succession
Modern view of Zlaté Hory
Date 14 January 1779 Location Zuckmantel, Austrian Silesia [1] (today Zlaté Hory, Czech Republic) Result Austrian victory
Belligerents
Habsburg monarchy	Prussia
Commanders and leaders
Franz Levenehr	Johann Jakob von Wunsch
Strength
3,200 [1]	10,000 [1]
Casualties and losses
20 [1]	800 [1]

The Battle of Zuckmantel (historian G. Bodart referred to it as the Gefecht bei Zuckmantel, 'Combat of Zuckmantel') was a clash during the War of the Bavarian Succession on 14 January 1779 between Habsburg (under the command of Colonel Franz Levenehr) and Prussian (under Major General Johann Jakob von Wunsch) forces, in which the former emerged victorious and inflicted much higher casualties, despite their significant numerical inferiority; however, this clash did not develop into the intensity of a pitched battle, while representing only but limited enemy contact. It was one of the few battles of this Austro-Prussian war of 1778–1779. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

In the following raid and encounter, which took place four days later, 18 January, at Habelschwerdt (today Bystrzyca Kłodzka), 11,000 Austrians under the later infamous Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, suffering 300 dead or wounded, overwhelmed another Prussian force of 3,000 under Landgrave of Hesse-Philippsthal-Barchfeld, inflicting 400 dead or wounded and 1,100 captured. ^[1] Thus, the military reforms of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, caused by the Silesian Wars defeats, bore fruit, thanks to which Austria retained its position as a "great power" on the European continent. ^[4]

References

1. Bodart 1908, p. 256.
2. Almanach 1790
3. Pt. 1, Book 1, Ch. 2. Carl von Clausewitz, On War. Publishing house of MfNV, Berlin, 1957. pp. 45–46.
4. Clark 2006, p. 216.

Sources

• Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618–1905) (in German). C. W. Stern. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
• ADB:Wurmser, Dagobert Sigmund Graf von  (in German). Vol. 44. 1898. pp. 338–340 – via Wikisource.
• Almanach de la Cour Imperiale et Royale: pour l'année Österreich. Trattner. 1790. p. 105.
• Clark, Christopher (2006). Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press. ISBN   978-0-674-02385-7.