It is was a cold and misty early afternoon in December 1745.
Light snow fell down on the Prussian army, slowly approaching the small village
of Kesselsdorf. They had been chasing their adversaries with great reluctance, echoed
by their commander, Frederick the Great's mentor, Prince Leopold I,
also known as 'the Old Dessauer.' Inside the town, Saxon Field Marshal Frederick Augustus,
Count Rutowsky was relatively confident awaiting the impending battle. Kesselsdorf was fortified,
his Saxons outnumbered the Prussians, and he knew an even larger Austrian army
was approaching to reinforce him. Then, the Old Dessauer ordered his army forward in
a ferocious frontal charge against the fortified positions, despite facing superior numbers.
[After Soor]
After the Battle of Soor, Frederick made sure his army remained on the battlefield for a
few days to show the world the Prussians were, in fact, victorious. Considering his army was
outnumbered nearly two-to-one, propaganda could quickly turn it around. All the while, Frederick
received news of his generals scoring victories against irregulars deep in Prussian territory
and optimistic dispatches from his envoy negotiating peace with the English. Things
were looking incredibly good for the Prussians, and the King was certain peace was imminent.
But it was wishful thinking. Maria Theresa was dead-set on the destruction of Prussia
and the King personally. Frederick's personal account in The History of My Own Times reveals:
"The fortitude of the empress degenerated sometimes into obstinacy.
She was as a woman intoxicated at having recovered the Imperial dignity for her descendants.
Occupied solely by the smiling prospects of futurity, she thought her grandeur would be
degraded, should she negotiate with a prince, whom she accused of rebellion, as with an equal."
After Soor, his supplies and army were exhausted to the degree
that he marched his army back towards Silesia by early October.
Frederick travelled towards Berlin while the rest of his army under the Old Dessauer
crossed the border on October 19. Despite his optimism, the war chest was running empty and
Frederick actively pursued a new loan from either France or England. Whoever was willing to help.
On the Austrian side, things were moving as well. The Austrians planned to augment the Saxon army
at Dresden, before launching a winter campaign directed against Brandenburg and perhaps Berlin.
First, they planned to surprise attack the Old Dessauer, winter-quartered in Halle.
Then, they would push this army back all the way to Magdeburg.
Diverting from waging war in Silesia, an attack against the relatively unprotected Brandenburg
and its capital could be a fatal danger for Frederick. If this assault materialised,
it would circumvent Frederick's army stationed in Silesia entirely. It would be a disaster.
But the Prussian King was very well-informed. Upon his arrival in Potsdam, Frederick's sources among
the Saxon court informed him the next Austrian attack was to launch from Saxony, directed
against Brandenburg. Then news reached him from the Russian court, where the Tsarina publicly
announced she would support Saxony if they faced an attack. So he rightly grew more worried.
Uncharacteristic as it was for the Austrians, they once again moved fast with their plans.
General Nadasdy, with 14000 light infantry, reached Friedland, where he set up camp. Prince
Charles was moving on to Reichenberg. Frederick's scouts reported that the Austrian army had already
crossed the Saxon frontier in early November. In response, Frederick dispatched his trusted Hussar
commander von Zieten to hinder the Austrians from linking up with the Saxons at Dresden.
He departed from Potsdam and ordered the Old Dessauer to redeploy his quartered army.
Von Zieten's Hussars were the first to engage in serious combat during the winter campaign. On
November 23, one Saxon infantry regiment and three cavalry regiments defended Katholisch-Hennersdorf.
Noticing the enemy, Zieten's hussars charged against them. After brief savage fighting,
the Saxons retreated, losing over 900 soldiers. Only nine miles away was Prince Charles' army. Its
lack of supplies, poor morale and contradictory orders by generals wasn't a good foreboding.
Instead of coming to the Saxon's aid, Charles learned the Prussians outnumbered
his 18,000-strong army nearly three-to-one. He ordered the retreat back into Bohemia. It appeared
the Austrian offensive was averted, before it even had begun. Charles lost over 5000 soldiers,
whereas Prussia lost no more than 100. Frederick wrote: "I have done everything
that a general can do with the least spilling of blood and with the greatest results."
He wasn't wrong, and this didn't go unnoticed among the Saxons and Austrians either. Soon
after the battle, they received the British envoy carrying Frederick's instructions to offer them
a moderate peace. Despite the initial refusal, the Saxon ministers did open peace negotiations,
and the prospects seemed rather promising. Still, Frederick bombarded his mentor Old
Dessauer with letters ordering him to "fall on the Saxons." So as the negotiations were ongoing,
Dessauer, scored victory after victory, crushing the poorly garrisoned Leipzig and forcing
the Saxon Field Marshal Frederick Augustus, Count Rutowsky, to fall back nearby Dresden.
It has to be said that Dessauer completed these tasks with an unhealthy dose of aversion.
Surviving correspondence between Frederick and him reveals he did not shy away from
giving his opinion on the forced marches and battles during mid-winter. His men were tired,
and he refused to carry out Frederick's orders several times. Some correspondence implies that
if things had gone differently, Dessauer would be a suitable candidate for a court martialing.
Unbeknownst to both commanders, the background peace negotiations were ongoing and looked more
optimistic by the day. Still, following the King's orders, Dessauer advanced onto Dresden.
Finally, on December 15, both armies met near Kesselsdorf, slightly south of the capital.
It was a cold and misty afternoon, with light snow. The Old Dessauer and his army advanced
onto Dresden from the west, when scouts informed him of Field Marshal Rutowsky and the Saxon main
army holding the ground from Kesselsdorf to Ockerwitz. The old Prussian commander, 69
years old at this point, commanded a 32000-strong Prussian army. Field Marshal Rutowsky commanded
a 35000-strong Saxon army. Rutowsky's Saxons were positioned along the Zschoner-Bach river.
An Austrian contingent under General Grunne was positioned on the outskirts of Ockerwitz
towards the Elbe river. Rutkowski ordered his infantry in Kesselsdorf to fortify the town
with solid defences and artillery. In the early afternoon, the Old Dessauer's
army approached Kesselsdorf. His army spanned from the south-west all the way to the north,
opposite of the Saxon right flank. As the entire army approached, Dessauer ordered his infantry
in the south to launch a frontal charge against the heavily fortified Kesselsdorf.
Among the vanguard charging towards the city were his Anhalt grenadiers.
Thanks to the strategic positioning of artillery and general fortifications, the
infantry charge against Kesselsdorf experienced fierce resistance. The Prussian soldiers marched
on despite continuous artillery shots fired against them. They suffered enormous casualties.
As the infantry continued their charge, the Prussian infantry to their north,
and cavalry on the left flank, began their assault as well. However, the banks of the Zschoner-bach
were muddy, and the terrain was difficult to cross in general. Consequently, Saxon artillery fired
against the Prussian infantry and cavalry crossing the stream. Certain locations saw skirmishes
erupt. However, large scale battles did not ensue, for both parties were too hindered by the terrain.
Meanwhile, to the south of Kesselsdorf, the first infantry wave eventually had to retreat
despite their discipline. The charge simply wasn't sustainable. They suffered hefty losses.
Things were not looking good for the Prussians, and the Saxons also knew it. With sky-high morale
and confident they would deal the Prussians a decisive blow, the Saxon defenders of Kesselsdorf
leapt over their defensive positions to give chase against the Prussians.
It is uncertain if this was a direct order or if it was a spur of the moment decision by the
Saxon infantry. What is for sure is that once they left their defensive positions, the Saxons were
exposed to whatever Prussian soldiers remained outside Kesselsdorf. Consequently, a second
grenadier regiment launched a counterattack. The Prussians clashed heavily with the Saxons.
Brief, heavy combat broke out, but the Prussian iron discipline proved superior.
Understanding their mistake by leaving their fortified positions, the Saxons descended in an
uncoordinated rout. The Saxon left flank suffered the brunt of the damage, leading to them being
pushed north towards the centre lines. Despite only minor skirmishes happening through the entire
centre line, the Prussians had a minor advantage there too. When the Saxon defenders in the centre
line learned of their retreating comrades to the south, the centre also began showing cracks.
Because of the lack of aid from Austrian general Grunne,
we can safely assume the lines of communication between the Saxons and Austrians were subpar.
Shortly before dark, the entire centre line descended into a rout. Rutowsky had lost central
command for a while already, and could do nothing but leave his position. As for the Austrians,
their only contribution was joining the Saxons in flight once they noticed their positions breaking.
The Saxons and Austrians fled all the way to Prince Charles's Army.
Dessauer decided not to pursue them but instead sent word to the King of his victory.
In total, the Prussians lost 3500 men of whom 1000 died.
The Saxons suffered 3000 fatalities. Five thousand more were captured. Relatively speaking,
it was an expensive victory for the already thinned-out Prussian army. But international
developments would soon mitigate these losses and turn the modest victory into a great one.
This was an incredible victory for Prussia, despite the casualties.
Still, in a letter, Frederick made the sober remark that it was "better
to suffer the dead at Dresden than at Berlin." Fate had it that the victory was unnecessary.
As Dessauer and Rutowsky were fighting the battle, unbeknownst to them,
Frederick received word from the British envoy. King Augustus, doubling as Saxony's elector,
agreed to the proposed peace terms. The Austrian envoy too supposedly agreed to these terms.
If anything, the victory at Dresden strengthened Prussia's position.
Frederick was delighted, and when both armies linked up near Dresden two days later, "Frederick
dismounted and embraced his old mentor." The following day, after the surrender of the small
Saxon garrison defending Dresden, the Prussians victoriously rode into the Saxon capital.
Maria Theresa could do nothing but concede a military solution wasn't viable.
On Christmas Day in 1745, both parties signed the Peace of Dresden. It ended the Second Silesian
War. Maria Theresa confirmed the contents of the Treaty of Breslau, acknowledging Prussia's
sovereignty over Silesia and the Duchy of Gratz. In return, Frederick guaranteed the
Habsburg lands and agreed to vote for Francis, Maria Theresa's husband, as Holy Roman Emperor.
Saxony had to pay Prussia one million thalers as war indemnity. And for those who wonder,
Frederick's dog stolen at the Battle of Soor was returned to him preceding this final battle.
In his History of My Own Times, Frederick himself wrote that the war had cost him 8
million thalers. By the time he signed the peace, he was left with just 15000 in his treasury.
Despite this, upon his return to Berlin, he was given a hero's welcome and hailed as "Frederick
the Great for the first time." The young King likely played a vital role in the propaganda
campaign resulting in this flattering sobriquet. The War of the Austrian Succession ended up
lasting three more years. Frederick's ally, France, was largely left to fight it on its own.
As became more or less customary, the French did not find out about Frederick's peace
until he actually signed it. Just like before in November 1741 and the Treaty of Breslau in 1742,
they were livid. For now, they were stuck in a war of which the outcome was still uncertain. But
whether they would emerge victoriously or not, they wouldn't forget Frederick's betrayals.
After this video I will create another video delving into the so-called Diplomatic Revolution.
This period following the War of the Austrian Succession led to a significant
shift in alliances within Europe. And eleven years after the peace,
the Seven Years' War broke out, which I plan to cover in its entirety.
Thank you for watching this video.