On the early morning of June 4, 1745, Prince Charles of Lorraine and his 63.000-strong
Habsburg army camped between the cities of Pilgramshain, Gunthersdorf and Thomaswaldau.
He knew the Prussian army, commanded personally by Frederick the Great, was close by.
He was in hostile territory, after all.
Then, amidst the darkness of the night, he heard screams, muskets firing and general
sounds of battle.
Moments later an out-of-breath infantry soldier ran into the Austrian camp.
He shouted: the Prussians are here, they are attacking our Saxon allies nearby Pilgramshain!
Charles began shouting orders at his men, for before he knew it, the battle had already
broken out.
[After the First Silesian War]
In June 1742, Austria and Prussia concluded the Treaty of Breslau.
Subsequently, Frederick remained an outside observer to the fighting for twenty-four months.
He didn't idle during this time.
He continued restocking his depleted treasury and rebuilding his army, making several military
improvements.
Two months after Breslau, the British envoy reported that "the King is augmenting his
army every day."
One of the main improvements was the re-training of Prussian hussars and the heavy cavalry.
During the First Silesian War, it became clear the cavalry performed subpar compared to the
well-disciplined infantry.
So already after the Battle of Mollwitz, Frederick launched a gruelling training regime, which
he continued after Breslau.
From now on, his hussars weren't used as heavy cavalry anymore.
Instead, they performed as light cavalry, scouting and acting as flexible units.
Additionally, the Prussian artillery received training to make them faster on the battlefield.
Frederick's zealous improvement of his army proved necessary, despite formally being peacetime.
By late 1742 the Habsburgs managed to expel the French from Bohemia.
They also occupied Bavaria, beginning a process of incorporating the electorate into the Habsburg
Empire.
The new year didn't bode well either.
The British expanded their financial support to the Habsburgs to military aid.
George II personally commanded his "Pragmatic Army", scoring a victory against the French
at Dettingen.
During these months, the Saxons realised they gained nothing by continuing their alliance
with France and Bavaria.
So instead, in December, they switched sides and joined the Habsburgs.
This 'defection' was not in the least caused by Frederick's unfriendly attitude towards
his allies, which he often badmouthed in public for anyone to hear.
Formally, the Saxon-Austrian alliance was defensive.
But everyone knew it was directed against Prussia.
Moreover, losing Saxony posed another geopolitical problem for Prussia: its elector, doubling
as the King of Poland-Lithuania, could now agree to Russian armies trekking through the
Commonwealth to invade Prussia from the east.
In February 1744, Frederick learned of a secret alliance signed between Austria, Great Britain
and Sardinia in Worms.
Despite him not knowing for sure, he (rightly) guessed it was directed against him.
Similarly to the First Silesian War, he felt cornered and decided not to wait for his enemies
to strike first.
In June, he signed a renewed offensive alliance with France.
His goal was to conquer Bohemia, strengthen the Bavarian Holy Roman Emperor and seize
territories up to Pardubitz for himself while he was at it.
Then, in August, he marched south together with 80.000 soldiers, a fully-stocked war
chest and ample wagons to supply his soldiers.
Most of Austria's troops were fighting the French near the Rhine.
The poorly garrisoned province didn't stand a chance against the high-morale Prussians.
Within a week, they captured the city of Prague.
One week later, they captured Tabor.
But… despite having momentum, things went wrong.
In Frederick's History of My Own Times, he wrote, "No general committed more faults than
[I] did during this campaign."
News of the Prussian invasion reached Charles of Lorraine.
Contrary to Frederick's expectations, he turned his army around and returned to Bohemia with,
as Blanning puts it, "a speed usually thought to be uncharacteristic of the Austrians."
Count Batthyany had been roaming around Bohemia already, augmenting Charles' army with another
18.000 soldiers.
Additionally, approximately 20.000 Saxons joined in late October.
Suddenly, Frederick faced an army of impressive size, nearly matching his own.
Not willing to face the Prussians in open battle, a prolonged campaign of recapturing
minor Bohemian settlements followed.
This continued until December, when Frederick abandoned Prague and prepared for his winter
stay in Silesia.
The minor skirmishes and constant harassment of supply lines resulted in a war of attrition
Frederick's army wasn't prepared for.
Letters from Austrian officers reveal up to 30.000 Prussians deserted by the end of 1744,
including officers.
They hadn't even fought a real major battle yet, and Frederick's army was already crumbling.
A renewed anti-Prussian alliance, the expansion of the Saxon army and the death of Holy Roman
Emperor Charles VII unnerved Frederick even more.
Charles' son and heir Maximilian III Joseph opened negotiations with Maria Theresa.
After a disastrous defeat at Pfaffenhofen, the Peace of Fussen marked the end of hostilities
between Bavaria and Austria.
And things got even worse.
Despite the alliance with France still standing, by spring 1745 the Kingdom had withdrawn close
to all their soldiers to wage war in the Low Countries.
Unbeknownst to Frederick, behind his back, the Great Powers were already discussing the
partition of Prussia.
They wanted to eradicate the minor player, which they deemed already destroyed.
All required was a finishing blow to tip it over the edge.
But regardless of his desperate position, Frederick clung on.
He left Potsdam for Silesia in March, determined to rebuild his army through recruitment and
amnesty for deserters.
In the Austrian camp, spirits were high.
They decided to march into Silesia and strike the inevitable final blow against the faltering
Prussia.
By May, Charles reached villages a bit to the southwest of Breslau.
Augmented by 19.000 Saxon soldiers, he continued his march north.
The initial invasion through the mountain passes was straightforward without any notable
resistance.
However, the Austrians were unaware this was Frederick's plan.
A Prussian spy in the Austrian camp informed Charles Frederick retreated Breslau for the
last stand.
On the contrary, Frederick aimed to lure the Austrians into the Silesian plains for open
battle.
As soon as they entered Silesia, things changed.
Charles referred to Silesia as the "most difficult" country he had ever dealt with.
Frederick quartered his army at a small village on a two-hour march away from Hohenfriedberg,
providing significant oversight of the Silesian plains.
Austrian correspondence reveals Charles expected to meet 40.000 battered Prussians at best.
Instead, nearly 60.000 awaited him.
On June 3, Frederick received intelligence of the Austrian army marching in the plains
south of his position.
He ordered his men to leave their campfires burning, and tents pitched, deceiving Austrian
scouts.
Then, they embarked on a night's march towards the Austrians.
That evening, the Austrian army camped in a long line spanning from the town of Pilgramshaim
to the Striechau lake.
In contrast, the Prussians could not form battle lines in the cluttered terrain south
of Striegau.
So, first, they used the few bridges around Striegau to cross the river.
Crossing the bridges for an army this size took quite some time.
The first to cross was Lieutenant-general Du Moulin, tasked with seizing the elevations
in front of Striegau.
His force numbered some six battalions of infantry and 28 hussar squadrons.
Frederick commanded the Prussian army himself.
Sources conflict on whether Frederick ordered not to take prisoners preceding the battle.
Prince Charles of Lorraine commanded the Habsburg army, with Johann Adolf II, Duke of Saxe-Weissenfals,
commanding the Saxons.
Prussia fielded approximately 42.000 infantry, 14.500 heavy cavalry, 2300 light cavalry and
192 artillery guns.
Light infantry and the characteristic mitre-wearing grenadiers manned the infantry lines, whereas
the cavalry consisted of cuirassiers, dragoons and hussars.
The Austrians numbered some 40.000 and the Saxons up to 19.000 with 122 artillery pieces.
The Austrian cavalry consisted of heavy cuirassiers and light Hungarian hussars.
Its infantry consisted of the traditional light infantry and grenadiers.
Among them walked regional regiments levied from other areas of the empire, such as Croatian
Pandurs.
The Battle of Hohenfriedberg enjoyed a somewhat confusing start.
Unbeknownst to Frederick, only the centre of the Austrian army had lit their campfires.
The Saxon and Austrian cavalry were roaming in the dark.
Du Moulin soon discovered that some Saxons had already occupied the elevations.
Skirmishes broke out.
When news reached Frederick, he ordered six 24-pounder guns to move onto the hill to support
Du Moulin.
The noise of battle alerted the Saxon and Austrian lines of the Prussian advance.
They began deploying their army.
Du Moulin decided to bypass the hills and charge straight at the Saxon camp.
However, because of the scattered nature of the Austrians, most of his cavalry found themselves
engaged in skirmishes.
In addition, the Saxon cavalry was deployed further to the west and in front of Pilgrimshain
than the Prussians expected.
The Prussians would be stuck in a pincer movement if things went wrong.
Fortunately for Frederick, the Prussians maintained the upper hand against the unprepared Saxons.
Before too long, Du Moulin managed to launch a charge against the main Saxon encampment.
Weissenfels managed to deploy part of his cavalry and launched a counterattack against
the Prussians.
To no avail.
As the battle continued, parts of the Saxon infantry managed to deploy and face the Prussians,
but they were outnumbered, and their position wasn't strong enough.
Scattered ferocious fighting continued as the Prussians captured many Saxons, including
generals.
Meanwhile, the Prussian infantry under Prince Leopold Max of Anhalt-Dessau was finally wrapping
up their deployment in the centre of the improvised battle line.
They began their advance against the main Saxon and Austrian line.
They did not mind the bombardment of Austrian artillery.
The Prussian right, facing whatever Saxons could deploy, met combat first.
They soon littered the battlefield with blood and corpses as they fired their volleys.
Meanwhile, disaster struck the Prussian rear.
Most of the army h ad crossed the bridges, but before a significant portion of the cavalry
crossed, the bridge collapsed.
As such, it was up to General von Ziethen to find a crossing somewhere along the Striegau.
This wasn't communicated to the cavalry vanguard, however.
By 7 AM, Prussia largely defeated the Saxons.
Those who survived fled the battlefield.
The Austrians were deployed and ready for battle, albeit far too late to help their
allies.
The Austrian infantry was positioned between Gunthersdorf and Thomaswaldau, while the cavalry
was positioned between Thomaswaldau and the Striechauer-river.
The vanguard cavalry contingent was the first to face an Austrian charge.
They weren't aware of the bridge collapse and the lack of cavalry reinforcements.
A ferocious, savage cavalry battle ensued.
The Prussians were put on the backfoot by the numerically superior Austrians.
Things did not look good until Ziethen managed to find a ford and crossed the river.
The sudden arrival of more Prussian cavalry shocked the Austrians.
Fierce combat ensued while another cavalry contingent crossed the same ford in the background.
These arrived just in time to charge against Austrian cavalry reinforcements advancing
onto the Prussian vanguard.
During this cavalry fight, the first Prussian infantry contingents advanced between Thomaswaldau
and Gunthersdorf.
A report from Prussia's general staff details: "It is flags flying and drums beating; it
is Austrian canister shot and musket fire; it is an awesome, inexorable body of marching
Prussians who refuse to disintegrate.
Then it is assault by bayonet.
The enemy falls back; the villages are seized—the King lowers his spyglass.
"The battle is won," he states.
But they didn't win the battle just yet.
As the infantry captured Thomaswaldau, they began firing at the Austrian cavalry from
the west.
Succumbing to the overwhelming numbers and chaos, a disorderly rout followed.
Charles's army remained.
Approximately 20.000 Austrian infantry, holding the fields behind Gunthersdorf and Thomaswaldau.
The Prussian infantry moved against them "like a moving wall."
The Austrians bitterly contested the ground, "giving rise to a terrible fire, not lasting
as long as Mollwitz, but being much noisier."
They appeared unstoppable.
The elite Bayreuth Dragoon regiment filled two gaps as reserves among the infantry.
It is unclear how the charge materialised, but not having seen action, the Dragoons were
looking for combat.
Around 8:15, they received the order to charge against the Austrians.
The dragons rushed between the Prussian gaps straight into the Austrian frontline.
They inflicted significant damage against the already battered Austrian lines.
Within 20 minutes, they captured 2500 prisoners, 67 colours and five artillery pieces.
When the smoke lifted, the troopers 'were seen to be hewing into a mass of fleeing Austrians.'
This charge was the final nail in the Austrian coffin.
By 9 AM, the battle ended as Charles ordered the general retreat.
Frederick did not commit to pursuing the Austrians despite the incredible success, allowing them
to withdraw to Bohemia without harassment.
All that remained was a field of ghastly carnage, thousands of dead and dying men and horses.
Days later, it became clear the total number of casualties on the Austrian side was close
to 13800, of whom 5000 prisoners and 3120 dead.
As for Austrian generals, four were killed, four captured and six mortally wounded.
The Prussians suffered 4751 casualties at best.
It was an incredible victory for Prussia and Frederick personally.
[Aftermath]
In the aftermath of the battle, Frederick sent letters to all European courts he could
think of.
He was happy to share his victory with King Louis XV and his mentor, the 'Old Dessauer.
He boasted of his victory, stating it was 'one of the most complete of all times, the
like of which has not seen since Blenheim', referring to the major battle fought during
the War of the Spanish Succession.
He exclaimed his Bayreuth Dragoons were excellent and "If this were Rome, they would have statues
in their honour."
In contrast, Charles was livid.
A letter to Grand Duke Francis details his thoughts in the aftermath of the battle: "The
misfortune is all the more painful to me in that our troops behaved like idiots.
Forgive this expression, but I am furious."
Frederick likely did not pursue the Austrians, convinced Maria Theresa would sue for peace
after such a devastating defeat.
This did not happen, however.
The next few months, Charles received plenty of reinforcements from Italy and Bohemia.
It appeared the war was far from over.
Maria Theresa wrote letters to George II to assure him she was, in fact, not losing the
war.
But George got cold feet.
On August 26, he concluded the Convention of Hanover with Frederick.
Both parties guaranteed each other their territory.
And, as was all too common during this war, both parties overlooked to inform their main
allies - France and Vienna, of their peace.
Again, Frederick's allies were less than charmed with his conduct.
But for now, Frederick enjoyed a brief respite.
Finally, he could take a step back, somewhat relax, and count his chickens.
However, he began counting before they hatched.
And in an ongoing war, that is never a good idea.
Thank you for watching this video.