ORDER OF BATTLE // November 5, 1757
Battle of Rossbach
Estimated force strength by side, with confidence labels per surviving record.
Forces engaged
2 sides catalogued · combined 63,110 estimated
Prussia
22,000
Medium-confidence figure
France
41,110
Medium-confidence figure
Battle context
The Battle of Rossbach, fought on 5 November 1757 near the village of Rossbach in the Electorate of Saxony, saw Frederick the Great defeat a combined Franco-Imperial force during the Seven Years' War. The Allied army of 41,110 — French forces augmented by a contingent of the Reichsarmee of the Holy Roman Empire — was routed by a Prussian force of only 22,000 in an engagement lasting roughly 90 minutes. French and Imperial casualties reached between 8,000 and 10,000. The outcome demonstrated that Frederick could defeat numerically superior Coalition opponents drawn from two of the principal powers arrayed against Prussia, checking the combined pressure of France and the Holy Roman Empire on the western and central theaters of the war.
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