The Battle of Oderwitz was a major battle of the War of the Austrian Succession that was fought between the armies of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Franco-Prussian in Saxony in 1745. Franz von Rothenstein's Austrian army destroyed a slightly larger Allied army in the final battle of the Second Silesian War.
Background[]
Having driven the French out of Bavaria in 1744 and repelled a Prussian invasion of Bohemia a year later, the Austrian general Heinrich von Sobotka fought his last campaign against both nations in war-torn Saxony. Sobotka won several victories before being killed at the Battle of Liebstadt, where his Austrian corps crushed a combined Franco-Prussian army. Although their main army in the region was lost, France and Prussia sent an even larger army to wage one final battle with the Austrians and drive them out of Saxony for good. Franz von Rothenstein, who had assumed command of the Austrian corps on Sobotka's death, marched to Grosshennersdorf and stocked up on provisions and ammunition before intercepting the new Allied army at Oderwitz.
Battle[]
The Allied army consisted of three Prussian and three French brigades, with the Prussians contributing grenadiers, veteran musketeers, and hussars to the fight and the French bringing German grenadiers, chasseurs, cavalry, Swiss fusiliers, and artillery. The Austrian army was a mixture of German, Hungarian, and grenzer regiments, each of which had been battle-hardened over the past year.
On the Austrian left, the Tamasi Regiment, Pilsner Regiment, Komotauer Regiment, and Kanizsa Regiment faced off against the Prussian Life Guards and Grenadier Guards. In the center, the Veszprem Regiment, Linzer Regiment, Dombovar Regiment, and Erding Regiment faced both Prussian Life Guards and French volontaires grenadiers. On the Austrian right, Grof von Zilah's Regiment, Grenadier-Regiment von Lienz, the Green Loudon Grenadiers, and the Koniggratzer Regiment faced both Freikorps units and a Swiss regiment.
The battle began with the Eferdinger Chevaulegers-Regiment charging on the Austrian right and routing the Swiss fusiliers before the Freikorps grenadiers held off their charge. Nevertheless, the Austrian right's infantry were able to push back the battered Allied left, while - on the Austrian left - their cavalry scored a similar success and repelled Allied cavalry counter-charges. Ferocious Allied cavalry charges were repulsed by Austrian regiments ordered to stand still and present a wall of bayonets to galloping horses. After the Allied cavalry were massacred, the last few Allied regiments were gradually forced from the field with heavy losses, putting an end to the battle.
Aftermath[]
The Austrian victory at Oderwitz helped persuade King Frederick the Great to make peace with Archduchess Maria Theresa and end the bloody Second Silesian War. From 1744 to 1745, Sobotka's army had inflicted 135,081 casualties on the French and Prussians while losing 96,916 men over the course of 26 consecutive victories. The Linzer Regiment not only killed the most men of any Austrian regiment (at 10,354); it also lost 8,104 men throughout the campaign. Von Rothenstein was the most successful of Sobotka's lieutenants, overseeing the killing of 27,943 foes while losing 10,176 men over 26 battles.
Gallery[]
