Battle of Königgrätz

Battle of Königgrätz
Part of the Austro-Prussian War
The Battle of Königgrätz, 3 July 1866 by Christian Sell. Lithograph, 1866.
Date 3 July 1866 Location between Sadowa (Sadová) and Königgrätz (Hradec Králové), Bohemia, Austrian Empire (nowadays in the Czech Republic) 50°16′N 15°45′E / 50.27°N 15.75°E / 50.27; 15.75Coordinates: 50°16′N 15°45′E / 50.27°N 15.75°E / 50.27; 15.75 Result Decisive Prussian victory
Belligerents
Prussia	Austria Saxony
Commanders and leaders
Helmuth von Moltke Prince Friedrich Karl Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm General Herwarth von Bittenfeld	Ludwig von Benedek
Strength
221,000 Prussians 702 guns	215,000 Austrians 23,000 Saxons 650 guns
Casualties and losses
9,172 1,935 killed 7,237 wounded 940 horses	31,434 5,793 killed 7,836 missing 8,514 wounded 9,291 captured 6,000 horses 116 guns

The Battle of Königgrätz (German: Schlacht bei Königgrätz), also known as the Battle of Sadowa, Sadová, or Hradec Králové, was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War, in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. Taking place near Königgrätz (Hradec Králové) and Sadowa (Sadová) in Bohemia on 3 July 1866, it was an example of battlefield concentration, a convergence of multiple units at the same location to trap and/or destroy an enemy force between them.

At the outset of the war in June, the Prussian armies were gathered along the Prussian border: the Army of the Elbe under Karl Herwarth von Bittenfeld at Torgau, the First Army under Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia between Senftenberg and Görlitz, and the Second Army under Crown Prince Friedrich in Silesia west of Neiße (Nysa). The Austrian army under Ludwig von Benedek was concentrated at Olmütz (Olomouc). The campaign began with Herwath von Bittenfeld's advance to Dresden in the Kingdom of Saxony, where he easily defeated the Saxon army of 23,000 and joined with the First Army.

The reluctant Austrian commander Benedek had moved his troops out of their staging point at Olmütz only on 18 June, moving north in three parallel columns with the I Corps protecting the right flank. The Austrians took up positions at the fortress Josefstadt and the mountain passes from Saxony and Silesia.

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