Page 80 - All About History - Issue 180-19

Greatest Battles

intercepted the Austrians, they soon became hard- 5dec1757
Prussian left wing cavalry commander Driesen
waved his first line into action.
Driesen’s first line consisted of 10 squadrons of
the vaunted Bayreuth Dragoons. Although they

pressed. Driesen’s second line, consisting of cuirassier How the Prussians defeated the
squadrons, rode to the dragoons’ assistance. The much larger Austrian force
cavalry melee tipped in favour of the Prussians when
Prince von Wurttemberg added his 30 Prussian
hussar squadrons to the fight. 01 Successful feint
To deceive the Austrians into believing that he intended to
At that point, the Austrian horsemen fled the attack their centre, Frederick ordered his light cavalry to form into
field, but not before some of them collided with the a line of battle in the late morning east of the village of Borne.
Austrian infantry, disrupting their formations. In the He then had the main body of the army begin its flank march by
meantime, Frederick had massed his guns on the passing through this sector in full view of the enemy. Some of
these troops stayed behind temporarily before rejoining the main
Butterberg. The massed artillery shelled the Austrian army further south.
infantry on the plain north of Leuthen. When the
Austrian foot began fleeing the field, Prussian
cuirassiers and hussars rode them down. Prussians overrun
The Prussians lost 20 per cent of their army at 02 Austrian flank
Leuthen, but the Austrians lost 33 per cent of their An advance guard of three elite Prussian
army. The Prussians suffered 6,300 casualties. The infantry battalions lead King Frederick’s
costs for the Austrians was significantly higher. They ‘oblique order’ assault at 1.30pm against the
Austrian left flank held by Austrian and Imperial
lost 10,000 men on the battlefield, and 12,000 more troops. The Prussians storm the Kiefenberg
were captured. By the end of December, Lorraine had where the weak Wurttemberg battalions are
withdrawn his army to Bohemia. deployed behind abattis. The Wurttembergers
Frederick’s twin victories at Rossbach and Leuthen fire on the Prussians briefly before fleeing their
positions. Their flight exposes the flank of
prevented Prussia from being defeated early in the other battalions which soon join the flight.
war and also compelled the British to sign a formal
alliance with Prussia in January 1758. The hard
campaigning had taken its toll on the Prussian war 03 Prussian storm of iron
effort, though. Frederick’s war chest was depleted Prussian 12-pounder long-range guns
and his regiments were severely under strength. and howitzers fire round shot and canister at
the enemy from high ground south of Leuthen.
British Prime Minister William Pitt assured Frederick Frederick issues orders for the batteries to keep
that he could expect generous financial aid from the pace with the advancing infantry in order to
British to purchase equipment and provisions. furnish close fire support. The massed artillery
Many of Frederick’s best soldiers had died on the moves as many as four times during the battle.
battlefields of Saxony and Austria. The new recruits
would require extensive training if they were to be
counted on to carry out Frederick’s complex tactics.
Frederick had the audacity to approach Austrian
Empress Maria Theresa after his victory at Leuthen
with a proposal that they discuss peace terms. But
the empress had assurances from the French and
Russians that they remained committed to the war
against Prussia. Her advisors assured her that as long
as the coalition against Prussia remained intact it
would ultimately defeat the enemy.
The empress believed that under the proper
circumstances Austrian arms could once again
vanquish the Prussians on the battlefield. To increase
the likelihood of this happening, she made Daun the
new Austrian supreme commander.
Frederick contemplated an invasion of Moravia in
1758. Yet before Frederick could pursue operations
against the Austrians, he had to confront the
Russians who were advancing against him.
In January 1758 the Russian Imperial Army
captured Konigsberg in East Prussia. The Prussians
and Russians subsequently collided at Zorndorf in
Brandenburg in August 1758. The outcome of the
battle was inconclusive. But a pattern had emerged.
Frederick would have to put out one fire after
another as long as the war lasted.

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