The Battle of Domstadtl (Domašov) was a battle between Austrian and Prussian troops at a Moravian village Domašov nad Bystřicí during the Seven Years' War on 30 June 1758, preceded by a minor clash at Guntramovice (Gundersdorf) on 28 June. Austrians under the commandment of Major General Ernst Gideon von Laudon and Major General Joseph von Siskovits attacked and destroyed a convoy transporting supply for the Prussian army besieging Olomouc (Olmütz). The Austrian victory saved the city and the Prussian King Frederick the Great was forced to leave Moravia. For the 1592–1598 war, see Seven-Year War. ... June 18 is the 169th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (170th in leap years), with 196 days remaining. ... 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad... Hans Joachim von Zieten Hans Joachim von Zieten (May 14, 1699 – January 26, 1786). ... Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon (or Loudon) (February 2, 1717 in Tootzen, Livonia, now Tootsi, Estonia – July 14, 1790 in Nový Jičín, now Czech Republic) was Austrian field marshal. ... For the 1592–1598 war, see Seven-Year War. ... The naval Battle of Minorca took place on May 20, 1756, at the opening of the Seven Years War in the European theatre, shortly after the Kingdom of Great Britain had declared war on the House of Bourbon, off the Mediterranean island of Minorca between British and French squadrons. ... The Battle of Lobositz was a battle fought on October 1, 1756 during the Seven Years War. ... The Battle of Reichenberg was a battle of the Seven Years War, fought on April 21, 1757 near the village of Liberec (German Reichenberg) in Bohemia. ... The battle of Prague was a battle fought on May 6, 1757 during the Seven Years War. ... The Battle of Kolin was a battle fought on June 18, 1757 during the Seven Years War. ... The Battle of Hastenbeck took place during the Seven Years War on July 26, 1757, near the village of Hastenbeck (close to Hamelin). ... The Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf was a battle fought on August 30, 1757 during the Seven Years War. ... The battle of Moys was a battle fought on September 7, 1757 during the Seven Years War. ... The Battle of Rossbach (November 5, 1757) took place during the Seven Years War (1756 - 1763) near the village of Rossbach, then in Prussian Saxony. ... The battle of Breslau was a battle fought on November 22, 1757 during the Seven Years War. ... The Battle of Leuthen was a battle fought on December 5, 1757 during the Seven Years War. ... {{Battlebox|campaign=Seven Years War: European |image= |caption= |battle_name=Battle of Krefeld |colour_scheme=background:#cccccc |conflict=Seven Years War |date=June 23, 1758 |place=Krefeld |result=Hessian / Brunswicker / Hanoverian victory |combatant1=[[Hesse-kassel], [Brunswick] and Hanover |combatant2=France |commander1=Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick |commander2=Le Comte de Clermont |strength1=ca... The Battle of Zorndorf was a battle fought on August 25, 1758 during the Seven Years War. ... The Battle of Hochkirch was a battle fought on October 14, 1758 during the Seven Years War. ... Combatants Great Britain, Hesse-kassel, Brunswick and Hanover France Commanders Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick Duc de Broglie Strength ca 32,000 men ca 25,900 men Casualties ca 1,800 men ca 2,400 men {{{notes}}} The battle of Bergen was a battle of the Seven Years War fought near... The Battle of Kay was a battle fought on July 23, 1759 during the Seven Years War. ... The Battle of Minden was a battle fought on August 1, 1759 during the Seven Years War. ... The battle of Kunersdorf was fought on August 23, 1759 during the Seven Years War near Kunersdorf, east of Frankfurt an der Oder. ... The Battle of Maxen was a battle fought on November 21, 1759 during the Seven Years War. ... The battle of Meissen was an engagement fought on December 4, 1759 during the Seven Years War between a Prussian and an Austrian army. ... The Battle of Landesschut or Battle of Landshut was an engagement fought on June 23, 1760 during the Seven Years War. ... The battle of Warburg was a battle fought on August 1, 1760 during the Seven Years War. ... The Battle of Leignitz was fought in the early hours of August 15, 1760. ... The Battle of Torgau (Germany) was a battle fought on November 3, 1760 during the Seven Years War on the Süptitzer Höhen. ... The Battle of Villinghausen was fought in 1761 between a large French army and a German force led by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. ... The Battle of Burkersdorf was a battle fought on July 21, 1762 during the Seven Years War. ... The Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: PrÅ«sa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad... For the 1592–1598 war, see Seven-Year War. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... (Some entries on this page have been duplicated on August 1. ... General (pronounced ) is presently the highest rank of the German Army and the Luftwaffe. ... Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon (or Loudon) (February 2, 1717 in Tootzen, Livonia, now Tootsi, Estonia – July 14, 1790 in Nový Jičín, now Czech Republic) was Austrian field marshal. ... A convoy is a group of vehicles or ships traveling together for mutual support. ... A siege is a prolonged military blockade and assault of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by force or attrition. ... town hall with astronomical clock Olomouc (German Olmütz, Polish OÅ‚omuniec, Latin Eburum or Olomucium) is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. ... Frederick the Great Frederick II of Prussia (Friedrich der Große, Frederick the Great, January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was the Hohenzollern king of Prussia 1740–86. ... Moravia in relation to the current kraje of the Czech Republic Moravia (Czech and Slovak: Morava, German: ( (help· info)), Hungarian: Morvaország, Polish: Morawy) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic. ...

Prussian Invasion to Moravia

Frederick the Great invaded Moravia in the beginning of May 1758 and besieged the fortified city of Olomouc. He hoped that the Austrian army would come to help the fortress and the Prussians would defeat them in a big battle on the place of their choice. If not, he would conquer the fortress in a short time and use it as a base for defending Silesia and increasing pressure on Wien. 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Table of Fortification, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... Prussian Silesia, 1871, outlined in yellow; Silesia at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763, outlined in cyan (areas now in the Czech Republic were Austrian-ruled at that time) Silesia (Polish: , German: ( ), Czech: ) is a historical region in central Europe. ... Wien can refer to: The German name for the city of Vienna, the capital of Austria. ...

Austrian Field Marshal Leopold Joseph von Daun knew the strength of the Prussian army and kept avoiding the final clash. Instead the Austrians preferred blocking the ways for transporting supplies for the Prussians and causing them damage in minor clashes. Defenders of the Olomouc fortress also struggled bravely and its besieging appeared to be much longer than Frederick had expected. Although in June it was on the edge of conquering with the walls destroyed by cannons on two places, the Prussians desperately needed new supplies to be able to continue the fight. Note: This article is about the military usage of the word marshal. For other usages, see the end of this article. ... Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Fürst von Thiano (Count Leopold Joseph von Daun or Dhaun) (September 24, 1705 – February 5, 1766), Prince of Thiano, Austrian field marshal, was born at Vienna. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Separation barrier. ... A small Civil War-era cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ...

The convoy

Frederick was afraid that a lot of small convoys protected by small forces could be easily captured by the Austrians and therefore decided that one huge convoy guarded by strong troops should be sent. The supplies for the convoy were collected in Silesia and at the end of June it arrived on the territory of Moravia.

The convoy was so big that there was no chance it could be kept in secret. It contained about 4,000 wagons loaded with military material and accompanied with about 2,500 head of cattle. After it set out on the way, it stretched 45 km long. A wagon (in old British English waggon) is a wheeled vehicle, ordinarily with four wheels, usually pulled by an animal such as a horse, mule or ox, which was used for transport of heavy goods in the past. ...

The convoy was protected by 10,870 soldiers, commanded by Colonel Wilhelm von Mosel. The strongest part was probably cavalry consisting of 1,341 men, but the rest were eight infantry battalions created from new recruits or cured veterans. A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment (such as a uniform and weapon) to defend that country or its interests. ... ... Cavalry is also a common misspelling of the Biblical hill Calvary. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers or marines who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO code In military terminology, a battalion consists of two to six companies typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. ...

As soon as Field Marshal Daun learnt about the convoy, he decided it had to be stopped and destroyed. The task was given to Ernst Gideon von Laudon and Joseph von Siskovits.

The fights

Guntramovice

Ernst Gideon von Laudon. The battle of Guntramovice and Domašov was his first big success. Soon after that he was promoted Field Marshal.

Laudon waited the enemy at Guntramovice, a small village in northern Moravia. Siskovits, who lost the way in woods, was supposed to come in two days. This fact was quite a problem for Laudon, because his four infantry battalions, a regiment of cavalry, an artillery battery and a troop of frontier guards consisted of only about 6,000 men. Despite that he decided to attack the Prussians because Olomouc was near and there was no time for waiting. He also knew that five battalions of 20,000 Prussian soldiers commanded by General Hans Joachim von Zieten were rushing towards the convoy to help Mosel. Image File history File links Laudon. ... Image File history File links Laudon. ... A regiment is a military unit, larger than a company and smaller than a division. ... In military science, a battery is a group of artillery guns or rockets, so grouped in order to facilitate battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion. ... General (pronounced ) is presently the highest rank of the German Army and the Luftwaffe. ... Hans Joachim von Zieten Hans Joachim von Zieten (May 14, 1699 – January 26, 1786). ...

The convoy arrived on 28 June early in the morning. The Austrians started shooting at the front wagons. One Prussian battalion forged ahead in order to find out the strength of the enemy, but they were routed by the Austrian artillery. Prussians also formed artillery batteries on their side of the road and started shooting. The Prussians tried to attack the Austrian positions in the hilly terrain several times, but they were always forced back. The fight took about five hours but finally they started to dominate the battleground and Laudon ordered his men to retreat towards Moravský Beroun, which they did without any problems, because Mosel did not have enough cavalry to chase them.

Although Laudon was defeated and did not manage to destroy the convoy, his losses were smaller than the Prussian ones. However, the most precious thing that he gained was time. Nowadays some historians point out that the Prussians had a chance to succeed if they had sacrificed some of the dispersed wagons and immediately rushed to Olomouc. However, neither Mosel nor Zieten, who reached the convoy several hours after the clash, knew about the nearing forces of Siskovits, and therefore they decided to devote some time to rearranging the convoy and repairing some damages. They continued on 30 June early in the morning. A historian is a person who studies history. ...

Domašov

Meanwhile the Austrians prepared for a new attack. They chose an open place between Domašov nad Bystřicí and Nová Véska, which is surrounded by hills and woods, ideal for an ambush. An ambush is a long established military tactic in which an ambushing force uses concealment to attack an enemy that passes its position. ...

Siskovits’ troops came on the scene first and waited for the enemy in the woods on the left side of the road. Laudon was supposed to come from Moravský Beroun later, in the middle of the fight, and attack from the opposite side, thus increasing the chaos among the Prussian soldiers.

First the vanguard consisting of 4,850 soldiers and 250 wagons arrived, but Siskovits let them go. Austrian artillery started the fight when the main body of the convoy was passing by, which made an enormous chaos among the wagons. Siskovits’ infantry was fighting succesfully with Prussian soldiers despite the fact that they were outnumebered 3 to 1. And when the Laudon’s troops appeared from the other side the result of the battle was determined. After 7 hours of fight the Prussian convoy was routed.

Casualties

Although the total number of fighting Austrian soldiers was approximately 12,000, they lost (at Guntramovice and Domašov together) only about 600 of them. The Prussian casualties were much higher, although different sources give different numbers. Austrains claimed about 2,000 killed, injured or missing soldiers and 1,450 captured (including General Puttkamer and 40 other officers), while Prussians reported only 2,701 killed, injured, missing and captured soldiers altogether, but at the same time they admitted that they found difficult to count them precisely due to the complete dispersion of their troops after the battle. A casualty is an euphemism given to a victim of an accident, injury or trauma. ...

The winners seized also 2,200 horses, a lot of cattle and a big part of the transported material. Because many of the wagons were damaged during the battle, they burned everything they were not able to take away with them. Some of the wagons with ammunition were blown up as a part of the victory celebrations. An important part of the spoils was 2 million Prussian thalers (according to some sources 1 million), but the Austrian commanders let their soldiers to keep half of it and only the rest reached the state coffers. The Thaler (sometimes Reichsthaler) was the currency of Prussia until 1857. ...

Only 250 wagons from the vanguard escaped, but some of them were captured by Croatian soldiers near Svatý Kopeček, only several kilometers away from Olomouc, and therefore just about 100-200 of them reached the destination.

Consequences

The importance of this battle is sometimes underestimated. The human casualties on any side were not as high as in other notable battles of that time, but the most important effect was the loss of the supplies for the Prussian army, which significantly influenced Frederick’s opinion on besieging Olomouc. The defeat shocked the Prussian camp and since Daun finally decided to come to help Olomouc, they were forced to finish the siege of the city (the lack of ammunition made its capture impossible anyway) and retreated to Bohemia. The Battle of Guntramovice and Domašov was the turning point in the fight for Moravia. Bohemia. ...

References

books in Czech language: Czech (čeština []) is one of the West Slavic languages, along with Slovak, Polish, Pomeranian (Kashubian), and Lusatian Sorbian. ...

• Romaňák, Andrej et al. (1998).Olomouc - Domašov 1758. Praha: Paseka
• Kuch-Breburda, Miloslav & Kupka, Vladimír (2003). Pevnost Olomouc. Dvůr Králové nad Labem: FORTprint
• Válka, Zbyněk (2001). 1758 - Olomouc a Prusové: hrdá pevnost Marie Terezie. Olomouc: Votobia

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External links

• Domašov nad Bystřicí on a map
• Carlyle, Thomas (2001). History of Friedrich II of Prussia V 18, chapter XII. Seattle: World Wide School