Siege of Dresden

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Siege of Dresden
Part of the Third Silesian War (Seven Years' War)
Canaletto (I) 013.jpg
The ruins of the Kreuzkirche, destroyed by Prussian bombardment. Bernardo Bellotto, oil on canvas, 1765
Date13–22 July 1760
Location 51°03′00″N13°44′00″E / 51.0500°N 13.7333°E / 51.0500; 13.7333
Result Austro–Saxon victory
Belligerents
Flag of the Kingdom of Prussia (1750-1801).svg  Prussia Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor (after 1400).svg Austria
Flag of Electoral Saxony.svg  Saxony
Commanders and leaders
Frederick the Great Johann Sigismund Maguire
Strength
Unknown 13,900
Siege of Dresden
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200km
125miles
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Dresden
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Prague
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  current battle

The siege of Dresden took place in July 1760 during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War) when a Prussian force led by Frederick the Great unsuccessfully besieged the city of Dresden in Saxony.

Frederick had previously occupied Dresden in 1756 during his Invasion of Saxony, which had triggered the outbreak of war. In 1759 it had been taken back by Austria-led forces. Frederick now targeted it in an attempt to reassert control over Saxony where he had expansionist territorial ambitions.

The Prussian army reached the outskirts of Dresden on 13 July followed closely by a corps of Austrian troops under Count von Lacy. Frederick's forces crossed the River Elbe and overran the suburbs of the city bringing up heavy guns to target inside the city walls. [1] Frederick was accused of deliberately shelling civilian areas of the city. [2]

Deciding to move and confront the threatening army of Daun, Frederick abandoned his attempt to reoccupy the city and withdrew. The large amount of damage done to the city and indiscriminate destruction further damaged Frederick's reputation across much of Europe. In particular, his destruction of the Elector of Saxony's gardens at Pirna in the wake of the siege, drew criticism. [3]

Dresden was the third major siege Frederick had been forced to abandon following Prague (1757) and Olomouc (1758). [4] Frederick's forces crossed into Silesia and fought the Battle of Liegnitz on 15 August.

Related Research Articles

The Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle by Prussia, Austria and Saxony to end the Third Silesian War. Together with the Treaty of Paris, signed five days earlier, it marked the end of the Seven Years' War. The treaty ended the continental conflict with no significant changes in prewar borders. Austria and Saxony renounced all claims to the Silesian territories ceded to Prussia in the 1742 Treaty of Berlin and the 1745 Treaty of Dresden. Prussia clearly stood among the ranks of the European great powers, while the treaty enhanced the rivalry with Austria.

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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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Prague (1757)</span> Part of the Third Silesian War

In the Battle of Prague or Battle of Štěrboholy, fought on 6 May 1757 during the Third Silesian War, Frederick the Great's 64,000 Prussians forced 60,000 Austrians to retreat, but having lost 14,300 men, decided he was not strong enough to attack Prague. The battle is mentioned in the famous German ballad Lenore written in 1773 by Gottfried August Bürger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kolín</span> 1757 battle of the Seven Years War

The Battle of Kolín (Kolin) on 18 June 1757 saw 54,000 Austrians under Count von Daun defeat 34,000 Prussians under Frederick the Great during the Third Silesian War. Prussian attempts to turn the Austrian right flank turned into piecemeal frontal attacks and were defeated in five and a half hours of combat. The Prussians lost 13,733 men, the Austrians 8,100. Frederick gave up the siege of Prague as well as his planned march on Vienna and retreated to Saxony.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Breslau (1757)</span> 1757 battle during the Third Silesian War

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Zorndorf</span> Battle during 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 Hochkirch took place on 14 October 1758, during the Third Silesian War. After several weeks of maneuvering for position, an Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by Lieutenant Field Marshal Leopold Josef Graf Daun surprised the Prussian army of 30,000–36,000 commanded by Frederick the Great. The Austrian army overwhelmed the Prussians and forced a general retreat. The battle took place in and around the village of Hochkirch, 9 kilometers (6 mi) east of Bautzen, Saxony.

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seven Years' War</span> Global war among European powers (1756–1763)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Silesian War</span> 1756–63 conflict between Prussia and Austria; theatre of the Seven Years 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Prague</span>

The siege of Prague was an unsuccessful attempt by a Prussian army led by Frederick the Great to capture the Bohemian city of Prague during the Third Silesian War. It took place in May 1757 immediately after the Battle of Prague. Despite having won that battle, Frederick had lost 14,300 dead, and his severely depleted force was not strong enough to assault Prague. Instead Frederick decided to besiege the city, hoping to force it into submission through lack of supplies. 40,000 Austrian troops were trapped in the city, though they were themselves not strong enough to consider launching a sortie. Frederick attempted to gain intelligence from within Prague by sending the criminal Christian Andreas Käsebier several times into the besieged city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Olomouc</span> Siege during Third Silesian War

The siege of Olomouc took place in 1758 when a Prussian army led by Frederick the Great besieged the Austrian city of Olmütz during the Prussian invasion of Moravia in the Third Silesian War. The attempt stalled as the besiegers faced stronger resistance than Frederick had expected. With a lack of supplies and the approach of an Austrian relief force following the Battle of Domstadtl, Frederick abandoned the siege and withdrew from Moravia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raid on Berlin</span> 1760 battle of the Third Silesian War

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Pirna</span> Siege during the Seven Years War

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The siege of Glatz took place in 1760 during the Third Silesian War when an Austrian force led by General von Laudon laid siege to and successfully stormed the fortress of Glatz from its Prussian garrison.

The Blockade of Stralsund occurred during the Seven Years' War when a Prussian force invested the Swedish garrison of Stralsund, the capital of Swedish Pomerania. Rather than lay formal siege to the port, the Prussians cut it off by land and blockaded it. They were unable to cut it off by sea, owing to a lack of a Prussian fleet, and eventually the blockade was abandoned when the bulk of Prussian forces were withdrawn to fight in other theatres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Breslau (1757)</span> 1757 siege

The siege of Breslau was a siege in the Third Silesian War that began on 7 December 1757 and ended on 19 December 1757. After the defeat at Leuthen, the Austrians withdrew into Breslau. The combined Austro-French garrison of approximately 17,000 men, commanded by Lieutenant General Field Marshal Soloman Sprecher von Bernegg, faced a Prussian army commanded by Frederick the Great.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Schweidnitz (1762)</span> 1762 siege

The siege of Schweidnitz took place between August and October 1762 during the Third Silesian War, part of the wider Seven Years' War. Prussian forces under the overall command of Frederick II laid siege to the city of Schweidnitz, in an attempt to retake it from an Austrian garrison.

References

  1. Szabo p.282
  2. Childs p.168
  3. Dull p.182
  4. Szabo p.283

Bibliography