Battle of Leuthen

Overview

The Battle of Leuthen was fought on 5 December 1757 between Frederick the Great's Prussian Army and an Austrian army commanded by Prince Charles of Lorraine and Count Leopold Joseph von Daun. Frederick used maneuver warfare and knowledge of the terrain to rout the larger Austrian force completely. The victory ensured Prussian control of Silesia during the Third Silesian War, which was part of the Seven Years' War.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Leuthen, fought on 5 December 1757, secured Prussian control of Silesia during the Third Silesian War, the Silesian theatre of the broader Seven Years' War. Frederick II's army of 36,000 routed an Austrian force of 65,000 under Prince Charles of Lorraine and Count Joseph von Daun, inflicting roughly 3,000 casualties against Prussian losses of 1,141. The scale of the disparity — both in force sizes and in casualties — underscored the completeness of the Prussian victory. By defeating the principal Austrian army in the field, Frederick denied Austria the opportunity to reclaim Silesia, a province whose control had been the central contested issue of the Silesian Wars since 1740. The outcome reinforced Prussian tenure over the region at a moment when the wider Seven Years' War placed Prussia under simultaneous pressure from multiple major powers.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (3)