Battle of Prague (1757)

Battle of Prague
Part of the Seven Years' War
Date 6 May 1757 Location Prague, Bohemia, present-day Czech Republic 50°05′N 14°33′E / 50.083°N 14.550°E / 50.083; 14.550Coordinates: 50°05′N 14°33′E / 50.083°N 14.550°E / 50.083; 14.550 Result Prussian tactical victory, Austrian strategic victory
Belligerents
Prussia	Austria
Commanders and leaders
King Frederick the Great	Charles of Lorraine Maximilian Ulysses Count Browne
Strength
66 infantry battalions 113 cavalry squadrons 82 guns – total 67,000	60 infantry battalions 20 cavalry squadrons 59 guns – total 60,000
Casualties and losses
14,300 killed and wounded	12,000 killed and wounded plus 4,500 captured

In the Battle of Prague or Battle of Štěrboholy on 6 May 1757 Frederick the Great's 67,000 Prussians forced 60,000 Austrians to retreat, but having lost 14,300 men, decided he was not strong enough to attack Prague. The battle is mentioned in the famous German ballad Lenore written in 1773 by Gottfried August Burger.

After Frederick had forced the surrender of Saxony in the 1756 campaign, he spent the winter devising new plans for a defence of his small kingdom. It was not in his nature, nor in his military strategy, simply to sit back and defend. He began drawing up plans for another bold stroke against Austria.

In early spring the Prussian army marched in four columns over the mountain passes separating Saxony and Silesia from Bohemia. The four corps would unite at the Bohemian capital of Prague. Though risky, because it exposed the Prussian army to a defeat in detail, the plan succeeded. After Frederick's corps united with a corps under Prince Moritz, and General Bevern joined up with Schwerin, both armies converged near Prague.

Meanwhile, the Austrians had not been idle. Though initially surprised by the early Prussian attack, the able Austrian Field Marshal Maximilian Ulysses Count Browne had been retreating skillfully and concentrating his armed forces towards Prague. Here he established a fortified position to the east of the town, and an additional army under Prince Charles of Lorraine arrived swelling the Austrian numbers to 60,000. The prince now took command.

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