Battle of Soor

Overview

The Battle of Soor was a battle between Frederick the Great's Prussian army and an Austro-Saxon army led by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine during the Second Silesian War. The battle occurred in the vicinity of Soor, also known as Hajnice, in the modern day Czech Republic. The battle started with a failed Austrian surprise attack on the outnumbered Prussians. Despite initial setbacks the Prussian army managed to defeat the Austrians, due to an unexpected attack from a reserve regiment that refused to follow Frederick's orders.

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

Significance

The Battle of Soor was fought during the Second Silesian War, a constituent conflict of the wider War of the Austrian Succession, in which Prussia under Frederick the Great contested Austrian control of Silesia. Facing an Austro-Saxon force of 40,200 with only 22,500 troops, the Prussian army absorbed an initial Austrian surprise attack before recovering to inflict a decisive defeat on the larger force. Prussian casualties stood at 3,911 against Austrian losses of 7,444, a disparity that reflected the scale of the reversal suffered by the Austro-Saxon side. The outcome demonstrated the Prussian army's capacity to withstand a coordinated surprise assault while outnumbered and still carry the field, reinforcing Frederick's operational position in the Second Silesian War.

Tactics

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)