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The '''Battle of Hochkirch''' occurred on 14 October 1758 during the [[Seven Years' War]]. After several weeks of jockeying for position, an Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by [[Lieutenant Field Marshal]] [[Count Leopold Joseph von Daun|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 around the village of [[Hochkirch]], which is {{convert|9|km|0|sp=us}} east of [[Bautzen]], [[Saxony]]. Historians usually consider this battle as among Frederick's greatest blunders, although the failure of the Austrian commander to follow up on his victory nullified the loss.
The '''Battle of Hochkirch''' occurred on 14 October 1758 during the [[Seven Years' War]]. After several weeks of jockeying for position, an Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by [[Lieutenant Field Marshal]] [[Count Leopold Joseph von Daun|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]], which is {{convert|9|km|0|sp=us}} east of [[Bautzen]], [[Saxony]].


Historians usually consider this battle as among Frederick's greatest blunders. He refused to believe that the Austrian commander, Leopold von Daun, would bring his troops into battle. The Austrian force surprised his army in a pre-dawn attack. Over 30 percent of Frederick's army was destroyed; five generals were killed and he lost most of his artillery park and a vast amount of supplies. Although Daun had scored a complete surprise, he failed to follow up on his victory with a vigorous pursuit of the retreating Prussians; furthermore he allowed the entire force escape, unite with another corps in the vicinity, and regain the momentum over the winter. The failure of the Austrian commander to follow up on his victory nullified the Prussian loss.
==Prelude==
==Seven Years' War==
In September and early October 1758, Lieutenant Field Marshal [[Count Leopold Joseph von Daun]] and his 80,000-man army camped near the town of [[Stolpen]]. [[Frederick the Great|Frederick]], King of Prussia, had tried several times to draw the Austrians out of Stolpen into a battle: Daun had refused the bait. Frederick and his army had marched within {{convert|8|km|0|sp=us|abbr=on}} of the Austrians, but Daun had pulled his army away, again, refusing to be drawn into battle. Upon the Austrian withdrawal, Frederick sent troops in pursuit; these were driven off by Daun's rearguard. In frustration, Frederick shadowed Daun by maneuvering his army toward [[Bautzen]]; while there, Frederick learned that Daun had established a camp about {{convert|5|km|0|sp=us|abbr=on}} east of him in the hills directly east of Hochkirch. He dispatched an entire Prussian corps to those hills in late September; by early October, General [[Wolf Frederick von Retzow]]'s corps was within {{convert|2|km|0|sp=us|abbr=on}} of the Austrians. Frederick ordered Retzow to take the hill that commanded the area, called Strohmberg. When Retzow arrived there, he discovered that the Austrians already had laid possession with a strong force. Retzow chose not to attack; Frederick had him removed from command and arrested.<ref name=Zabecki>[[David T. Zabecki]], ''Germany at War''. ''Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History'' (2014 2015), Vol. I−IV, [[ABC-CLIO]], ISBN 978-1-59884-980-6 [https://books.google.com/books?id=rCWMBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA612&dq=battle+of+hochkirch&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjgy6TLlMrRAhUIxYMKHTIUCFMQ6AEIODAF#v=onepage&q=battle%20of%20hochkirch&f=false pp 612–614].</ref>
{{see|Seven Years' War}}
Although the [[Seven Years' War]] was a global conflict, it took a specific form in the European theater based on the recently concluded [[War of the Austrian Succession]] (1649&ndash;1748). At the conclusion of the earlier war with Austria, King [[Frederick&nbsp;II of Prussia]], known as Frederick the Great, seized the prosperous province of [[Silesia]]. Empress [[Maria Theresa of Austria]] had signed the 1748 [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]] in order to gain time to rebuild her military forces and forge new alliances. In 1754, escalating tensions between Britain and France in North America offered the Empress the opportunity to regain her lost territories and to limit Prussia's ever growing power. Similarly, France sought to break the British dominance of Atlantic trade. France and Austria put aside their old [[French–Habsburg relations|rivalry]] to form a coalition of their own. Faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with the [[Kingdom of Prussia]]; this alliance drew in not only the British king's territories held in [[personal union]], including Hanover, but also those of his relatives in the [[Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg]] and the [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel]]. This series of political maneuvers became known as the [[Diplomatic Revolution]].<ref>D.B. Horn, "The Diplomatic Revolution" in J.O. Lindsay, ed., ''The New Cambridge Modern History vol. 7, The Old Regime: 1713–63'' (1957): pp 449–64.</ref><ref>Jeremy Black, ''Essay and Reflection: On the 'Old System' and the Diplomatic Revolution' of the Eighteenth Century,'' <u>International History Review</u> (1990) 12:2 pp. 301–323.</ref>

In 1757, the course of the war had gone well for Prussia, and poorly for Austria. Prussia had achieve spectacular victories at [[Battle of Rossbach|Rossbach]] and [[Battle of Leuthen|Leuthen]] and reconquered parts of Silesia that had fallen back to Austria. The Prussians then pressed south into Austrian [[Moravia]]. In April 1758, Prussia and Britain concluded the [[Anglo-Prussian Convention]] in which the British committed to pay him an [[Golden Cavalry of St George|annual subsidy]] of £670,000. Britain also dispatched 7&ndash;9,000<ref group=Note>Anderson says 7,000, p. 301. Szabo says 9,000.</ref> troops to reinforce Frederick's brother-in-law, the [[Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]]'s Hanoverian army, the first British troop commitment on the continent in over a decade, and a reversal in the policy of [[William Pitt]]. Ferdinand evicted the French from Hanover and Westphalia and re-captured the port of [[Emden]] in March 1758; he crossed the Rhine with his own forces, causing general alarm in France. Despite Ferdinand's victory over the French at the [[Battle of Krefeld]] and the brief occupation of [[Düsseldorf]], successful maneuvering of larger French forces required him to withdraw across the Rhine.<ref>Szabo, pp. 179–82.</ref><ref> Fred Anderson, ''Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766.'' Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Dec 18, 2007, ISBN 9780307425393, p. 301.</ref>

While Ferdinand kept the French occupied, in [[Saxony]], Prussia had to contend with Sweden, Russia, and Austria. By this point Frederick was increasingly concerned by the Russian advance from the east and marched to counter it. Just east of the [[Oder river]] in Brandenburg-[[Neumark]], at the [[Battle of Zorndorf]] (now Sarbinowo, Poland), a Prussian army of 35,000 men under Frederick on 25 August 1758, fought a Russian army of 43,000 commanded by Count [[William Fermor]].<ref>Asprey, pp. 494–499.</ref> Both sides suffered heavy casualties but the Russians withdrew, and Frederick claimed victory.<ref>Szabo pp. 162–69.</ref> In the [[Battle of Tornow]] on 25 September, a Swedish army repulsed six assaults by a Prussian army, but did not push on Berlin following the [[Battle of Fehrbellin (1758)|Battle of Fehrbellin]].<ref>Asprey, p. 500.</ref> By late summer, fighting had reached a draw, particularly after the Battle of Zorndorf.<ref>Daniel Marsten, ''The Seven Years' War'', London, Osprey, 2001, p. 54.</ref> None of Prussia's enemies seemed willing to take the decisive steps to pursue Frederick into Prussia.<ref>Szabo, pp. 195–202.</ref>
==Prelude to Hochkirch==
In September and early October 1758, Lieutenant Field Marshal [[Count Leopold Joseph von Daun]] and his 80,000-man army camped near the town of [[Stolpen]]. Frederick had left half of his army in Pomernia near Zorndorf, to make sure the Russians stayed on the defensive and rushed south with the remainder to confront Daun.<ref>Anderson, p. 301.</ref> There, in the plains around Bautzen, Dresden and Hochkirch, he and Daun had played a game of cat and mouse: Frederick had tried several times to draw the Austrians out of Stolpen into a battle: Daun had refused the bait. Frederick and his army had marched within {{convert|8|km|0|sp=us|abbr=on}} of the Austrians, but Daun had pulled his army away, again, refusing to be drawn into battle. Upon the Austrian withdrawal, Frederick sent troops in pursuit; these were driven off by Daun's rearguard. In frustration, Frederick shadowed Daun by maneuvering his army toward [[Bautzen]]; while there, Frederick learned that Daun had established a camp about {{convert|5|km|0|sp=us|abbr=on}} east of him in the hills directly east of Hochkirch. He dispatched an entire Prussian corps to those hills in late September; by early October, General [[Wolf Frederick von Retzow]]'s corps was within {{convert|2|km|0|sp=us|abbr=on}} of the Austrians. Frederick ordered Retzow to take the hill that commanded the area, called Strohmberg. When Retzow arrived there, he discovered that the Austrians already had laid possession with a strong force. Retzow chose not to attack; Frederick had him removed from command and arrested.<ref name=Zabecki>[[David T. Zabecki]], ''Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History'' (2014 2015), Vol. I−IV, [[ABC-CLIO]], ISBN 978-1-59884-980-6 [https://books.google.com/books?id=rCWMBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA612&dq=battle+of+hochkirch&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjgy6TLlMrRAhUIxYMKHTIUCFMQ6AEIODAF#v=onepage&q=battle%20of%20hochkirch&f=false pp 612–614].</ref>


==Dispositions==
==Dispositions==
Line 35: Line 43:
To the east of the village, less than {{convert|2|km|0|sp=us|abbr=on}} distant, the Austrians' presence on the hilltop increasingly made the Prussians—except Frederick—anxious of an attack. The Strohmberg, one of the heights abutting Hochkirch, anchored Daun's left flank, and he deployed the remainder of his force southward across the road between Bautzen and [[Lobau]]. This also gave him control of an important junction between [[Görlitz]] in the east and [[Zittau]] in the south. He anchored the far right end of his line in another wooded hill south of the road, called the Kuppritzerberg.<ref name=Zabecki/>
To the east of the village, less than {{convert|2|km|0|sp=us|abbr=on}} distant, the Austrians' presence on the hilltop increasingly made the Prussians—except Frederick—anxious of an attack. The Strohmberg, one of the heights abutting Hochkirch, anchored Daun's left flank, and he deployed the remainder of his force southward across the road between Bautzen and [[Lobau]]. This also gave him control of an important junction between [[Görlitz]] in the east and [[Zittau]] in the south. He anchored the far right end of his line in another wooded hill south of the road, called the Kuppritzerberg.<ref name=Zabecki/>


Daun took great precautions. After days of personally scouting the Prussian camp and being urged to attack by his officers, he noted that the Prussians neither increased their security nor deployed their troops in response to the Austrian presence. He also took into account that his men were eager to fight a battle and that they outnumbered the Prussians by more than two-to-one. His men made a great production of hewing the trees in a nearby forest, action which Frederick interpreted as efforts to create fieldworks, not, as it was actually intended, to build a road through the thick wood. Daun also had discovered a secret weakness of Frederick's. His own personal secretary was sending Frederick information on Daun's plans; upon discovering this, Daun promised the man his life in return for his cooperation in continuing to send Frederick misinformation.<ref>G. B. Malleson, ''Loudon: A Sketch Of The Military Life Of Gideon Ernest, Freiherr Von Loudon'', Pickle Partners Publishing, 2016, ISBN, 9781786259639, [https://books.google.com/books?id=fYvEDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT94&dq=Daun+Hochkirch&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7142Qg5DTAhXCbiYKHcpyCic4ChDoAQg3MAU#v=onepage&q=Daun%20Hochkirch&f=false here].</ref> His plan, which he had kept secret, was an early morning sweep through the woods with 30,000 troops, around Frederick's flank, to [[encirclement|enclose]] him. The Prussian army would be asleep, both literally and figuratively, when the Austrian army struck.<ref name=Guide/>
Daun took great precautions. After days of personally scouting the Prussian camp and being urged to attack by his officers, he noted that the Prussians neither increased their security nor deployed their troops in response to the Austrian presence. He also took into account that his men were eager to fight a battle and that they outnumbered the Prussians by more than two-to-one. His men made a great production of hewing the trees in a nearby forest, action which Frederick interpreted as efforts to create field works, not, as it was actually intended, to build a road through the thick wood. Daun also had discovered a secret weakness of Frederick's. His own personal secretary had been sending Frederick information on Daun's plans, secreted in deliveries of eggs; upon discovering this, Daun promised the man his life in return for his cooperation in continuing to send Frederick misinformation.<ref>G. B. Malleson, ''Loudon: A Sketch Of The Military Life Of Gideon Ernest, Freiherr Von Loudon'', Pickle Partners Publishing, 2016, ISBN, 9781786259639, [https://books.google.com/books?id=fYvEDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT94&dq=Daun+Hochkirch&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7142Qg5DTAhXCbiYKHcpyCic4ChDoAQg3MAU#v=onepage&q=Daun%20Hochkirch&f=false here].</ref> Daun's plan, which he had kept secret, was an early morning sweep through the woods with 30,000 specially picked troops, around Frederick's flank, to [[encirclement|enclose]] him. The Prussian army would be asleep, both literally and figuratively, when the Austrian army struck.<ref name=Guide/>

==Battle==
==Battle==
[[Image:Menzelhochkirch.jpg|thumb|Lack of visibility hampered the intense fighting]]
[[Image:Menzelhochkirch.jpg|thumb|The Croats and other irregulars set fire to the village.]]
Daun's battle plan surprised the Prussians. The east side of Frederick's line was the first to be attacked. Using the starless night and fog as cover, and grouped into small shock units for easier control and stealth, the Austrians fell on the Prussian battery when the church bell signaled 5:00, catching the Prussians completely off guard. Many men were still sleeping, or just waking up, when the attack started. After setting fire to the village, the Croats cut tent ropes, collapsing the tents on sleeping soldiers, then bayoneted the men as they struggled to free themselves from canvas and cords.<ref name=Blanning250>[[T. C. W. Blanning|Tim Blanning]], ''Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.'' NY, Random House, 2016, ISBN 978-0-8129-8873-4 pp. 250–251.</ref><ref>[[Dennis Showalter]], ''Frederick the Great, a Military History,'' Frontline, 2012. ISBN 978-1-78303-479-6, pp. 221–225</ref> Men caught in the tents bled to death, in what today is still called ''Blutgasse'', or Blood Alley.<ref>Richard Bassett, ''For God and Kaiser: The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619-1918,'' Yale University Press, 2015, ISBN 9780300178586, p. 144.</ref>
Daun's battle plan surprised the Prussians. The east side of Frederick's line was the first to be attacked. Using the starless night and fog as cover, and grouped into small shock units for easier control and stealth, the Austrians fell on the Prussian battery when the church bell signaled 5:00, catching the Prussians completely off guard. Many men were still sleeping, or just waking up, when the attack started. After setting fire to the village, the Croats cut tent ropes, collapsing the tents on sleeping soldiers, then bayoneted the men as they struggled to free themselves from canvas and cords.<ref name=Blanning250>[[T. C. W. Blanning|Tim Blanning]], ''Frederick the Great, King of Prussia.'' NY, Random House, 2016, ISBN 978-0-8129-8873-4 pp. 250–251.</ref><ref>[[Dennis Showalter]], ''Frederick the Great, a Military History,'' Frontline, 2012. ISBN 978-1-78303-479-6, pp. 221–225</ref> Men caught in the tents bled to death, in what today is still called ''Blutgasse'', or Blood Alley.<ref>Richard Bassett, ''For God and Kaiser: The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619-1918,'' Yale University Press, 2015, ISBN 9780300178586, p. 144.</ref>


At first Frederick thought the sounds of the battle were either an outpost [[skirmish]]<ref name=Malleson>Malleson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=fYvEDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT102&dq=battle+of+hochkirch&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiA2srD1czRAhWLrFQKHdxpCeE4FBDoAQhMMAk#v=onepage&q=battle%20of%20hochkirch&f=false Hochkirch].</ref> or the [[Croatia|Croats]], who apparently started their days with regular firing of their weapons.<ref name=Blanning250/> His staff had trouble rousing him from bed, but he was soon alerted when Prussian cannons, captured by the Austrians, started to fire on his own camp.<ref name=Malleson/><ref name=Showalter>Showalter, p. 225.</ref>
Initially, Frederick thought the sounds of the battle were either an outpost [[skirmish]]<ref name=Malleson>Malleson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=fYvEDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT102&dq=battle+of+hochkirch&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiA2srD1czRAhWLrFQKHdxpCeE4FBDoAQhMMAk#v=onepage&q=battle%20of%20hochkirch&f=false Hochkirch].</ref> or the [[Croatia|Croats]], who apparently started their days with regular firing of their weapons.<ref name=Blanning250/> His staff had trouble rousing him from bed, but he was soon alerted when Prussian cannons, captured by the Austrians, started to fire on his own camp.<ref name=Malleson/><ref name=Showalter>Showalter, p. 225.</ref>


While his adjutants were trying to wake Frederick, his generals, most of whom had not slept and had kept their horses saddled and weapons ready, organized the Prussian resistance.<ref name=Blanning250/> Keith, anticipating an Austrian attack, organized a slashing counterattack on the Austrians holding the Prussian battery. [[Prince Moritz of Anhalt-Dessau|Maurice von Anhalt-Dessau]], another of Frederick's able generals, funneled the awakening troops to Keith. Combined, this action briefly retook the Prussian battery south of Hochkirch, but they could not hold it in the face of Austrian muskets. At 6:00, three more Prussian regiments rushed Hochkirch itself, while Prince Maurice continued directing stragglers and reinforcements into the counterattack.<ref>Showalter, pp. 225–226.</ref> The Prussians swept through the village, out the other side, and fell on the battery at bayonet point. By that point, though, most Prussian order and cohesion had been lost. The Austrians, supported by their appropriated Prussian guns, which had not been [[Touch hole|spiked]], wrought havoc on the attackers. Keith was hit mid-body and knocked out of his saddle, dead as he fell.<ref name="Showalter 226">Showalter, p. 226.</ref>
While his adjutants were trying to wake Frederick, his generals, most of whom had not slept and had kept their horses saddled and weapons ready, organized the Prussian resistance.<ref name=Blanning250/> Keith, anticipating an Austrian attack, organized a slashing counterattack on the Austrians holding the Prussian battery. [[Prince Moritz of Anhalt-Dessau|Maurice von Anhalt-Dessau]], another of Frederick's able generals, funneled the awakening troops to Keith. Combined, this action briefly retook the Prussian battery south of Hochkirch, but they could not hold it in the face of Austrian muskets. At 6:00, three more Prussian regiments rushed Hochkirch itself, while Prince Maurice continued directing stragglers and reinforcements into the counterattack.<ref>Showalter, pp. 225–226.</ref> The Prussians swept through the village, out the other side, and fell on the battery at bayonet point. By that point, though, most Prussian order and cohesion had been lost. The Austrians, supported by their appropriated Prussian guns, which had not been [[Touch hole|spiked]], wrought havoc on the attackers. Keith was hit mid-body and knocked out of his saddle, dead as he fell.<ref name="Showalter 226">Showalter, p. 226.</ref>
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==Sources==
==Sources==
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===Citations===
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Revision as of 17:06, 6 April 2017

Battle of Hochkirch
Part of the Seven Years' War

The Fall of the Prussian camp at Hochkirch
Date14 October 1758
Location
Result Austrian victory
Belligerents
Kingdom of Prussia Prussia Holy Roman Empire Austria
Commanders and leaders
Frederick the Great
Hans Joachim von Ziethen
Feldzeugmeister Leopold Josef Graf Daun
Franz Moritz von Lacy
Strength
30,000–36,000 men 80,000 men
Casualties and losses
9,400 men, 101 cannons, nearly all their tents; 28 flags and two standards; 70 munitions wagons 7,300 men, 3 flags

The Battle of Hochkirch occurred on 14 October 1758 during the Seven Years' War. After several weeks of jockeying 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, which is 9 kilometers (6 mi) east of Bautzen, Saxony.

Historians usually consider this battle as among Frederick's greatest blunders. He refused to believe that the Austrian commander, Leopold von Daun, would bring his troops into battle. The Austrian force surprised his army in a pre-dawn attack. Over 30 percent of Frederick's army was destroyed; five generals were killed and he lost most of his artillery park and a vast amount of supplies. Although Daun had scored a complete surprise, he failed to follow up on his victory with a vigorous pursuit of the retreating Prussians; furthermore he allowed the entire force escape, unite with another corps in the vicinity, and regain the momentum over the winter. The failure of the Austrian commander to follow up on his victory nullified the Prussian loss.

Seven Years' War

Although the Seven Years' War was a global conflict, it took a specific form in the European theater based on the recently concluded War of the Austrian Succession (1649–1748). At the conclusion of the earlier war with Austria, King Frederick II of Prussia, known as Frederick the Great, seized the prosperous province of Silesia. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria had signed the 1748 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in order to gain time to rebuild her military forces and forge new alliances. In 1754, escalating tensions between Britain and France in North America offered the Empress the opportunity to regain her lost territories and to limit Prussia's ever growing power. Similarly, France sought to break the British dominance of Atlantic trade. France and Austria put aside their old rivalry to form a coalition of their own. Faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with the Kingdom of Prussia; this alliance drew in not only the British king's territories held in personal union, including Hanover, but also those of his relatives in the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. This series of political maneuvers became known as the Diplomatic Revolution.[1][2]

In 1757, the course of the war had gone well for Prussia, and poorly for Austria. Prussia had achieve spectacular victories at Rossbach and Leuthen and reconquered parts of Silesia that had fallen back to Austria. The Prussians then pressed south into Austrian Moravia. In April 1758, Prussia and Britain concluded the Anglo-Prussian Convention in which the British committed to pay him an annual subsidy of £670,000. Britain also dispatched 7–9,000[Note 1] troops to reinforce Frederick's brother-in-law, the Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel's Hanoverian army, the first British troop commitment on the continent in over a decade, and a reversal in the policy of William Pitt. Ferdinand evicted the French from Hanover and Westphalia and re-captured the port of Emden in March 1758; he crossed the Rhine with his own forces, causing general alarm in France. Despite Ferdinand's victory over the French at the Battle of Krefeld and the brief occupation of Düsseldorf, successful maneuvering of larger French forces required him to withdraw across the Rhine.[3][4]

While Ferdinand kept the French occupied, in Saxony, Prussia had to contend with Sweden, Russia, and Austria. By this point Frederick was increasingly concerned by the Russian advance from the east and marched to counter it. Just east of the Oder river in Brandenburg-Neumark, at the Battle of Zorndorf (now Sarbinowo, Poland), a Prussian army of 35,000 men under Frederick on 25 August 1758, fought a Russian army of 43,000 commanded by Count William Fermor.[5] Both sides suffered heavy casualties but the Russians withdrew, and Frederick claimed victory.[6] In the Battle of Tornow on 25 September, a Swedish army repulsed six assaults by a Prussian army, but did not push on Berlin following the Battle of Fehrbellin.[7] By late summer, fighting had reached a draw, particularly after the Battle of Zorndorf.[8] None of Prussia's enemies seemed willing to take the decisive steps to pursue Frederick into Prussia.[9]

Prelude to Hochkirch

In September and early October 1758, Lieutenant Field Marshal Count Leopold Joseph von Daun and his 80,000-man army camped near the town of Stolpen. Frederick had left half of his army in Pomernia near Zorndorf, to make sure the Russians stayed on the defensive and rushed south with the remainder to confront Daun.[10] There, in the plains around Bautzen, Dresden and Hochkirch, he and Daun had played a game of cat and mouse: Frederick had tried several times to draw the Austrians out of Stolpen into a battle: Daun had refused the bait. Frederick and his army had marched within 8 km (5 mi) of the Austrians, but Daun had pulled his army away, again, refusing to be drawn into battle. Upon the Austrian withdrawal, Frederick sent troops in pursuit; these were driven off by Daun's rearguard. In frustration, Frederick shadowed Daun by maneuvering his army toward Bautzen; while there, Frederick learned that Daun had established a camp about 5 km (3 mi) east of him in the hills directly east of Hochkirch. He dispatched an entire Prussian corps to those hills in late September; by early October, General Wolf Frederick von Retzow's corps was within 2 km (1 mi) of the Austrians. Frederick ordered Retzow to take the hill that commanded the area, called Strohmberg. When Retzow arrived there, he discovered that the Austrians already had laid possession with a strong force. Retzow chose not to attack; Frederick had him removed from command and arrested.[11]

Dispositions

Disposition of forces on 14 October 1758.

Hochkirch stands on slight rise in terrain, surrounded by mildly undulating plains; the village can be seen from the distance, except from the south, where several heights abut the village and block visibility. The church stands near the highest point, granting visibility east, west and north.[12]

On 10 October, Frederick marched on Hochkirch and established his own camp, extending from the town north, 5 km (3 mi) to the edge of the forest at the base of the Kuppritzerberg.[11] Frederick did not plan to stay in the small village for an extended period, only until their provisions—mostly bread—arrived from Bautzen, and then they would move eastward. Frederick ignored the warnings of his officers, especially his trusted Field Marshal James Keith, who thought staying in the village was suicide. "If the Austrians leave us unmolested in this camp," Keith told the king, "they deserve to be hanged." Frederick reportedly replied, "it is to be hoped they are more afraid of us than of the gallows."[13]

Instead of worrying about a possible Austrian threat, Frederick scattered his men facing eastward, the last known location of Daun's army. The troops created an S-shaped line, north to south, adjacent to Hochkirch. The weak (west) side was guarded by an outpost of nine battalions with artillery support; the principal purpose of the infantry was to maintain contact with a deployed scout unit. Eleven battalions and 28 squadrons guarded the east side. Frederick had his best soldiers garrison the village of Hochkirch. He did not believe any attack would occur; Daun's army had been dormant in recent months, refusing to be drawn into battles.[11][13]

To the east of the village, less than 2 km (1 mi) distant, the Austrians' presence on the hilltop increasingly made the Prussians—except Frederick—anxious of an attack. The Strohmberg, one of the heights abutting Hochkirch, anchored Daun's left flank, and he deployed the remainder of his force southward across the road between Bautzen and Lobau. This also gave him control of an important junction between Görlitz in the east and Zittau in the south. He anchored the far right end of his line in another wooded hill south of the road, called the Kuppritzerberg.[11]

Daun took great precautions. After days of personally scouting the Prussian camp and being urged to attack by his officers, he noted that the Prussians neither increased their security nor deployed their troops in response to the Austrian presence. He also took into account that his men were eager to fight a battle and that they outnumbered the Prussians by more than two-to-one. His men made a great production of hewing the trees in a nearby forest, action which Frederick interpreted as efforts to create field works, not, as it was actually intended, to build a road through the thick wood. Daun also had discovered a secret weakness of Frederick's. His own personal secretary had been sending Frederick information on Daun's plans, secreted in deliveries of eggs; upon discovering this, Daun promised the man his life in return for his cooperation in continuing to send Frederick misinformation.[14] Daun's plan, which he had kept secret, was an early morning sweep through the woods with 30,000 specially picked troops, around Frederick's flank, to enclose him. The Prussian army would be asleep, both literally and figuratively, when the Austrian army struck.[12]

Battle

The Croats and other irregulars set fire to the village.

Daun's battle plan surprised the Prussians. The east side of Frederick's line was the first to be attacked. Using the starless night and fog as cover, and grouped into small shock units for easier control and stealth, the Austrians fell on the Prussian battery when the church bell signaled 5:00, catching the Prussians completely off guard. Many men were still sleeping, or just waking up, when the attack started. After setting fire to the village, the Croats cut tent ropes, collapsing the tents on sleeping soldiers, then bayoneted the men as they struggled to free themselves from canvas and cords.[15][16] Men caught in the tents bled to death, in what today is still called Blutgasse, or Blood Alley.[17]

Initially, Frederick thought the sounds of the battle were either an outpost skirmish[18] or the Croats, who apparently started their days with regular firing of their weapons.[15] His staff had trouble rousing him from bed, but he was soon alerted when Prussian cannons, captured by the Austrians, started to fire on his own camp.[18][19]

While his adjutants were trying to wake Frederick, his generals, most of whom had not slept and had kept their horses saddled and weapons ready, organized the Prussian resistance.[15] Keith, anticipating an Austrian attack, organized a slashing counterattack on the Austrians holding the Prussian battery. Maurice von Anhalt-Dessau, another of Frederick's able generals, funneled the awakening troops to Keith. Combined, this action briefly retook the Prussian battery south of Hochkirch, but they could not hold it in the face of Austrian muskets. At 6:00, three more Prussian regiments rushed Hochkirch itself, while Prince Maurice continued directing stragglers and reinforcements into the counterattack.[20] The Prussians swept through the village, out the other side, and fell on the battery at bayonet point. By that point, though, most Prussian order and cohesion had been lost. The Austrians, supported by their appropriated Prussian guns, which had not been spiked, wrought havoc on the attackers. Keith was hit mid-body and knocked out of his saddle, dead as he fell.[21]

When the early morning fog had lifted, the soldiers could make out friend from foe. Prussian cavalry, which had remained saddled and ready throughout the night, launched a series of regimental counterattacks. A battalion of the 23rd Infantry charged, but withdrew as it was surrounded flank and rear. The church yard, a walled stronghold, diverted the Austrians; Major Siegmund Moritz William von Langen's musketeers of the 19th regiment held it with sheer determination and provided safety for retreating Prussians. Most importantly, Langen bought time.[19]

By this time fully awake, Frederick hoped that the battle could be retrieved and returned to the village to take command. At 7:00, finding his infantry milling about in the village, Frederick ordered them to advance, sending reinforcements commanded by Prince Francis of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, his brother-in-law, with them.[22] As Francis approached the village, Austrian cannon-fire sheered his head off his shoulders; his troops faltered, demoralized by the sight of the prince's headless body atop his spooked horse.[23] Frederick himself helped to rally Francis' shaken troops.[21]

By 7:30, the Austrians had retaken the burning village, but their hold on it was tenuous. Keith and Prince Francis were dead. General Karl von Geist lay among the injured.[23] Maurice von Anhalt-Dessau had been injured and captured. By 9:00, the Prussian left wing began to collapse under the weight of the Austrian assault; the last Prussian battery was overrun and turned against them.[22] Led by the King, they advanced against five Austrian companies of hussars commanded by Franz Moritz von Lacy. Within a dozen yards of the Austrian line of infantry, Frederick's horse was killed. His own hussars rescued him from capture.[24]

As he withdrew, Frederick established a fighting line north of the village, and it eventually served as a rallying point for stragglers and survivors. By mid-morning, around 10:00, the Prussians retreated to the north-west.[25] Any pursuing troops were met with a wall of musket fire.[24] Frederick and his surviving army were out of range of the Austrian army by the time they had reorganized. Ziethen and Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, who had remained alert all night, organized a rear guard action that prevented the Austrians from falling upon the retreating Prussians.[18] This discouraged even the most determined Austrians; the Croats and irregulars contented themselves with pillaging the village and the Prussian bodies.[24]

Aftermath

Frederick the Great and his soldiers retreat after the Battle of Hochkirch in 1758, by Carl Röchling.

In five hours, Frederick lost 9,400 men, more than 30 percent of his army, including five generals,[26] 101 guns, and nearly all the tents. Frederick required his generals to set an example of courage and leadership: they led from the front. The same rate of attrition applied throughout the officer corps, which lost half of its strength in the first three campaigns of the war.[27] In addition to human losses, they lost valuable horses and draft animals, 70 munitions wagons, and, a blow to morale, 28 flags, and two standards.[22] On the positive side, though, Retzow's corps, which had not arrived in time to participate in the fighting, remained intact; Frederick had pulled his troops together for an orderly retreat; and the King retained the confidence of his soldiers.[18]

The Austrians suffered casualties and losses at about three percent. According to the military historian Gaston Bodart, there were fewer troops participating than most modern sources suggest: he places Austrian participants at 60,000, losses in casualties at 5,400, approximately 8.3 percent, but other losses (to injuries, desertions and capture) at about 2,300, or 3.6 percent.[28] Daun and his army celebrated their victory, and he received a blessed sword and hat from Pope Clement XIII, a reward usually granted for defeating "infidels". Notification of the battle arrived in Vienna during the celebration of the Empress's name day, to the delight of Maria Theresa and her court, gathered at Schönbrunn Palace; she eventually created an endowment of 250,000 gulden for Daun and his heirs.[29] For Daun and Lacy, it was not an unmixed event; upon the discovery of Keith's body in the village church, they both broke down in tears of grief: Keith had been the best friend of Lacy's father.[24]

Although Frederick demonstrated good leadership by rallying his troops against the surprise attack, Hochkirch is marked as one of his worst losses, and it badly shook his equanimity. There was no one to blame but himself. Andrew Mitchell, the British envoy who was with them, attributed Frederick's loss to the contempt he had for his enemy and his unwillingness to give credit to intelligence that did not agree with his imagination.[27] The grief he felt at the loss of his greatest friend, and possibly one of his only friends, James Keith, was intense. His grief was added to when he learned a couple of days later that his beloved elder sister, Wilhelmine, who had shared their father's wrath in 1730 during the Katte affair, had died on the same day. He sulked in his tent for a week. At one point, he showed his librarian a small box of opium capsules, 18 in total, that he could use to "journey to a dark place from which there was no return." Despite having rescued his army from catastrophe, he remained depressed and suicidal.[30]

It could have been worse for Frederick. The fabled discipline of his army held up: once the Prussians were out of the burning village, unit cohesion and discipline returned.[27] Their discipline neutralized any strategic advantage the Austrians could have gained, and Daun's caution nullified the rest. Instead of following Frederick, or cutting off Retzow's division, which had not participated in the battle, Daun withdrew to the heights and positions he had occupied before the battle, so that his men might have a good rest under blankets after the fatigue of the day.[29] After staying there for six days, they marched out in stealth to take up a new position between Belgern and Jesewitz, while Frederick remained at Doberschütz.[18] Ultimately, the costly Austrian victory decided nothing.[29]

Memorials

A granite monument, inlaid with a bronze plaque, was erected by the inhabitants of Hochkirch in memory of "Generalfeldmarschall Jacob von Keith" and his achievement. The inscription reads "Suffering, Misery, Death."[31]

Panorama of Landscape at Hochkirch. The village today is larger than in 1758, but the church, still central, and the crowded center of the village is still visible.

Sources

  1. ^ Anderson says 7,000, p. 301. Szabo says 9,000.

Citations

  1. ^ D.B. Horn, "The Diplomatic Revolution" in J.O. Lindsay, ed., The New Cambridge Modern History vol. 7, The Old Regime: 1713–63 (1957): pp 449–64.
  2. ^ Jeremy Black, Essay and Reflection: On the 'Old System' and the Diplomatic Revolution' of the Eighteenth Century, International History Review (1990) 12:2 pp. 301–323.
  3. ^ Szabo, pp. 179–82.
  4. ^ Fred Anderson, Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Dec 18, 2007, ISBN 9780307425393, p. 301.
  5. ^ Asprey, pp. 494–499.
  6. ^ Szabo pp. 162–69.
  7. ^ Asprey, p. 500.
  8. ^ Daniel Marsten, The Seven Years' War, London, Osprey, 2001, p. 54.
  9. ^ Szabo, pp. 195–202.
  10. ^ Anderson, p. 301.
  11. ^ a b c d David T. Zabecki, Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History (2014 2015), Vol. I−IV, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-1-59884-980-6 pp 612–614.
  12. ^ a b Augustus Ralli, Guide to Carlisle, G. Allen & Unwin Limited, 1922, pp. 289–290.
  13. ^ a b Frederick William Longman, Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, Longmans, Green, and Company, 1881, pp. 145–147.
  14. ^ G. B. Malleson, Loudon: A Sketch Of The Military Life Of Gideon Ernest, Freiherr Von Loudon, Pickle Partners Publishing, 2016, ISBN, 9781786259639, here.
  15. ^ a b c Tim Blanning, Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. NY, Random House, 2016, ISBN 978-0-8129-8873-4 pp. 250–251.
  16. ^ Dennis Showalter, Frederick the Great, a Military History, Frontline, 2012. ISBN 978-1-78303-479-6, pp. 221–225
  17. ^ Richard Bassett, For God and Kaiser: The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619-1918, Yale University Press, 2015, ISBN 9780300178586, p. 144.
  18. ^ a b c d e Malleson, Hochkirch.
  19. ^ a b Showalter, p. 225.
  20. ^ Showalter, pp. 225–226.
  21. ^ a b Showalter, p. 226.
  22. ^ a b c Norbert Robitschek, Hochkirch: Eine Studie. Verlag von teufens, Wien 1905. p. 85.
  23. ^ a b Herbert J. Redman, Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, 1756–1763. McFarland, 2014, ISBN 978-0-7864-7669-5 pp. 242–249.
  24. ^ a b c d Basset, p. 145.
  25. ^ Showalter, here.
  26. ^ In addition to Keith and Frederick's brother-in-law, who were killed outright. General Karl Ferdinand von Hagen died from his injuries three months later; Hans Caspar von Krockow died from his injuries on 25 February 1759; Maurice of Anhalt Saxony, captured, was badly injured, and never led an army again. See Blanning, pp. 251–253. Wolf Frederick von Retzow, who had been relieved prior to the battle, was suffering from dysentery and died 5 November 1758 at Schweidnitz. See Bernhard von Poten, Retzow, Wolf Friedrich von, ADB, vol. 28, pp 277–278.
  27. ^ a b c Blanning, p. 251.
  28. ^ Gaston Bodart, Losses of Life in Modern Wars, Austria-Hungary. Clarendon Press, 1916, p. 36.
  29. ^ a b c Blanning, p. 253.
  30. ^ Blanning, p. 252.
  31. ^ Gemeinde Hochkirch, Sehenswertes um und in Hochkirch, Hochkirch Accessed 20 Jan 2017.

Bibliography

  • Blanning, Tim, Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. NY, Random House, 2016, ISBN 978-0-8129-8873-4
  • Bodart, Gaston. Losses of Life in Modern Wars, Austria-Hungary. Clarendon Press, 1916,
  • Duffy, Christopher. Frederick the Great: A Military Life. New York: Routledge, Chapman & Hall, 1985. Print.
  • Longman, Frederick William, Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, Longmans, Green, and Company, 1881
  • Malleson, Col. G. B. Loudon: A Sketch Of The Military Life Of Gideon Ernest. Pickle Partners Publishing, 2016 (1872) ISBN 978-1-78625-963-9
  • Redman, Herbert J. Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, 1756–1763. McFarland, 2014, ISBN 978-0-7864-7669-5
  • Showalter, Dennis, Frederick the Great, a Military History, Frontline, 2012. ISBN 978-1-78303-479-6,
  • Ralli, Augustus, Guide to Carlisle, G. Allen & Unwin Limited, 1922
  • Robitschek, Norbert Hochkirch: Eine Studie. Verlag von teufens, Wien 1905.
  • Zabecki, David, Germany at War. Germany at War: 400 Years of Military History (2014 2015), Vol. I−IV, ABC-CLIO, ISBN 978-1-59884-980-6

Further readings

51°08′55″N 14°34′12″E / 51.1486°N 14.5700°E / 51.1486; 14.5700