Battle of Rossbach
Part of the Seven Years' War
Frederick the Great closes the trap.
Date November 5, 1757 Location Roßbach, Saxony Result Decisive Prussian Victory
Combatants
Prussia	France Holy Roman / Austrian Empire
Commanders
Frederick II	Charles, prince de Soubise Joseph Frederick William, duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Strength
22,000 79 guns	42,000 45 guns
Casualties
169 dead, 379 wounded	5,000 dead or wounded 5,000 captured

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. Frederick the Great defeated the allied armies of France and the Holy Roman/Austrian Empire. This battle is considered one of his greatest masterpieces due to his element of complete surprise and destroying an enemy army with negligible casualties. Combatants Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Great Britain Electorate of Hanover Kingdom of Portugal Electorate of Brunswick Electorate of Hesse-Kassel Archduchy of Austria Kingdom of France Empire of Russia Kingdom of Sweden Kingdom of Spain Electorate of Saxony Kingdom of Naples and Sicily Kingdom of Sardinia The Seven Years... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 771 × 599 pixel Image in higher resolution (921 × 716 pixel, file size: 89 KB, MIME type: image/gif) http://www. ... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Anthem Preußenlied, Heil dir im Siegerkranz (both unofficial) The Kingdom of Prussia at its greatest extent, at the time of the formation of the German Empire, 1871 Capital Berlin Government Monarchy King  - 1701 — 1713 Frederick I (first)  - 1888 — 1918 William II (last) Prime minister  - 1848 Adolf Heinrich von Arnim... Image File history File links Flag_of_Royalist_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Habsburg_Monarchy. ... The Habsburg Monarchy, often called Austrian Monarchy or simply Austria, are the territories ruled by the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine, between 1526 and 1867/1918. ... Frederick II (German: ; January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was a King of Prussia (1740–1786) from the Hohenzollern dynasty. ... Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise (1715–July 4, 1787) was a peer and marshal of France, the grandson of the Princesse de Soubise, who is known to history as one of the mistresses of Louis XIV. He accompanied Louis XV in the campaign of 1744-1748 and attained high... Combatants Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Great Britain Electorate of Hanover Kingdom of Portugal Electorate of Brunswick Electorate of Hesse-Kassel Archduchy of Austria Kingdom of France Empire of Russia Kingdom of Sweden Kingdom of Spain Electorate of Saxony Kingdom of Naples and Sicily Kingdom of Sardinia The Seven Years... 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. ... Combatants Prussia Austria Commanders King Frederick the Great Charles of Lorraine Reichsgraf von Browne Strength 65,000 62,000 Casualties 14,300 8,800 The Battle of Prague (in the Czech Republic known as the Battle of Å tÄ›rboholy) was a battle fought on May 6, 1757 during the Seven... Combatants Prussia Austria Commanders Frederick the Great Leopold Josef, Count von Daun Strength 32,000 44,000 Casualties 14,000 dead or wounded 9,000 dead or wounded The Battle of Kolin (Kolín) was a battle fought on June 18, 1757 during the Seven Years War. ... Combatants Electorate of Hanover (controlled by Britain) France Commanders William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland Louis Charles dEstrées Strength 35,000 infantry and cavalry 28 heavy guns and mortars 50,000 infantry 10,000 cavalry 68 heavy guns and mortars Casualties 1,300 2,600 The Battle of Hastenbeck... The Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf was a battle fought on August 30, 1757 during the Seven Years War. ... 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Combatants Kingdom of Prussia Kingdom of Great Britain Electorate of Hanover Kingdom of Portugal Electorate of Brunswick Electorate of Hesse-Kassel Archduchy of Austria Kingdom of France Empire of Russia Kingdom of Sweden Kingdom of Spain Electorate of Saxony Kingdom of Naples and Sicily Kingdom of Sardinia The Seven Years... Motto Suum cuique Latin: To each his own Prussia at its peak, as leading state of the German Empire Capital Königsberg, later Berlin Government Duke1  - 1525–68 Albert I (first)  - 1688–1701 Frederick III (last) King1  - 1701–13 Frederick I (first)  - 1888–1918 William II (last) Prime Minister1,2... Location Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Administration Country NUTS Region DED Capital Dresden Minister-President Georg Milbradt (CDU) Governing parties CDU / SPD Votes in Bundesrat 4 (from 69) Basic statistics Area  18,416 km² (7,110 sq mi) Population 4,252,000 (11/2006)[1]  - Density 231 /km... Frederick II (German: ; January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was a King of Prussia (1740–1786) from the Hohenzollern dynasty. ... The Habsburg Monarchy, often called Austrian Monarchy or simply Austria, are the territories ruled by the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg, and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine, between 1526 and 1867/1918. ...

Background

At this point, the Austrians were not an immediate threat and the Russians were too far away to deal any damage, and thus Frederick the Great needed to deal with the Franco-Imperial army that was facing him, which became an immediate danger after marching into Thuringia. Frederick set out from Dresden on August 31 with 25,000 men and managed a very long and arduous march reminiscent of the Great Elector, covering 170 miles in 13 days by buying supplies ahead of him and abandoning supply wagons. Bringing the enemy to battle proved difficult, as the allies tried to stay out of reach and both Frederick and his enemies moved back and forth for quite some time, trying to maneuver around each other and ending up in a stalemate situation. During this time an Austrian raiding party had actually attacked Berlin and almost captured the royal Prussian family. The Free State of Thuringia (German: Freistaat Thüringen) is located in central Germany and is considered one of the smaller of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 km² and 2. ... Dresden (Sorbian: Drježdźany; etymologically from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the riverside forest, Czech: ) is the capital city of the German Federal Free State of Saxony. ... ...

Initial Dispositions

The Prussian camp on the morning of 5 November 1757 lay between Rossbach (left) and Bedra (right), facing the Allies, who, commanded by the French general, Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise (1715 - 1787), and Joseph Frederick William, duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1702 - 1787), General Feldzeugmeister of the Empire, had maneuvered in the preceding days without giving Frederick an opportunity to bring them to action, and now lay to the westward, with their right near Branderoda and their left at Mücheln. The advanced posts of the Prussians stood in the villages immediately west of their camp, those of the Allies on the Schortau hill and the Galgenberg. November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Charles de Rohan, prince de Soubise (1715–July 4, 1787) was a peer and marshal of France, the grandson of the Princesse de Soubise, who is known to history as one of the mistresses of Louis XIV. He accompanied Louis XV in the campaign of 1744-1748 and attained high...

Opening Moves

The Allies (about 42,000 men) possessed a numerical superiority of two to one in the battle itself, irrespective of detachments, and their advanced post overlooked all parts of Frederick's camp. They had had the best of it in the manoeuvres of the previous days, and the duke of Hildburghausen determined to take the offensive. He had some difficulty, however, in inducing Soubise to risk a battle, and the Allies did not begin to move off their camping-ground until after eleven on the 5th, Soubise probably having the intention to engage as late in the day as possible, with the idea of gaining what advantages he could in a partial action. The plan called for the Allied army to march by Zeuchfeld, around Frederick's left (which no serious natural obstacle covered), and to deploy in battle array, facing north, between Reichardtswerben (right) and Pettstädt (left). The duke's proposed battle and the more limited aim of Soubise appeared equally likely to succeed in taking this position, which threatened to cut off Frederick from the towns on the Saale. But the Allies could only attain this position by marching around the Prussian flank, which would have put them in a tenuous position. The Allies posted a considerable flank guard against the obvious risk of interference on the exposed flank. Not the execution of their original design, but a hasty modification of it to suit unfounded assumptions caused the Allies to meet with disaster. Length 413 km Elevation of the source 728  m Average discharge  ?  m³/s Area watershed  ?  km² Origin  Germany Mouth  Elbe Basin countries Germany Saale is the name of two rivers in Germany: the Saxonian Saale (German: Sächsische Saale) and the Franconian Saale (German: Fränkische Saale). ...

Frederick spent the morning watching them from a house-top in Rossbach. The initial stages of their movement convinced him that the Allies had started retreating southward towards their magazines, and about noon he went to dinner, leaving Captain von Gaudi on the watch. This officer formed a different impression of the Allies' intentions, for the columns which from time to time became visible in the undulations of the ground appeared to turn eastwards from Zeuchfeld. Gaudi's excited report at first served only to confirm Frederick in his error. But when the king saw for himself that hostile cavalry and infantry had already approached near to Pettstädt, he realized the enemy's intentions. The Allies now offered him the battle for which he had manoeuvred in vain, and he took it without hesitation.

The Trap

Leaving a handful of light troops to oppose the French advanced post (or flank guard) on the Schortau hill, the Prussian army broke camp and moved -- half an hour after the king gave the order -- to attack the enemy. The latter were marching in the normal order in two main columns, the first line on the left, the second line on the right; farther to the right marched a column consisting of the reserve of foot, and between the first and second lines was the reserve artillery on the road. The right-wing cavalry was of course at the head, the left-wing cavalry at the tail of the two main columns. At first they retained regulation distances, but when wheeling eastward at Zeuchfeld, much confusion arose, part of the reserve infantry getting in between the two main columns and hampering the movements of the reserve artillery, and the rest, on the outer flank of the wheel, found themselves unable to keep up with the over-rapid movement of the wheeling pivot. A weak flank guard was thrown out towards Rossbach. When it was seen that the Prussians were moving, as far as could be judged, eastward, it was presumed that they were about to retreat in order to avoid being taken in flank and rear; and the Allied generals thereupon hurried the march, sending on the leading (right-wing) cavalry towards Reichardtswerben, and calling up part of the left-wing cavalry from the tail of the column, and even the flank-guard cavalry, to take part in the general chase. This would prove to be a deadly mistake.

The Trap is Sprung

That Frederick's move meant an attack upon them before they could form up, Soubise and the duke failed to realize. They had taken more than three hours to break camp, and found it difficult to suppose that Frederick's army could move off in one-sixth that time. It seemed obvious, moreover, that the Prussians were not deploying for battle on the plain in front of Rossbach and Nahlendorf.

Frederick had no intention either of forming up parallel to the enemy or of retreating. As his army could move as a unit twice as fast as the enemy's, he intended to make a detour, screened by the Janus Hugel and the Pölzen Hugel, and to fall upon them suddenly from the east. If at the moment of contact the Allies had already formed their line of battle facing north, the attack would strike their right flank; if they were still on the move in column eastwards or north-eastwards, the heads of their columns would be crushed before the rest could deploy in the new direction -- deployment in those days being a lengthy affair. To this end General von Seydlitz, with every available squadron, hurried eastward from Rossbach, behind the Janus Hugel, to the Pölzen Hugel; Colonel von Moller, with eighteen heavy guns, came into action on the Janus Hugel at 315 against the advancing columns of the Allied cavalry; and the infantry followed as fast as possible. Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz Friedrich Wilhelm, Freiherr von Seydlitz (February 3, 1721 - August 27, 1773), Prussian soldier, one of the greatest cavalry generals of history, was born at Kalkar in the duchy of Cleves, where his father, a major of Prussian cavalry, was stationed. ...

When they came under the fire of Moller's guns, the Allied squadrons, which now lay north of Reichardtswerben and well ahead of their own infantry, suffered somewhat heavily; but it was usual to employ heavy guns to protect a retreat, and they contented themselves with bringing some fieldguns into action. They were, however, amazed when von Seydlitz's thirty-eight squadrons, or seven regiments, suddenly rode down upon the head and right flank of their columns from the Polzen Hugel at an incredible speed. Gallantly as the leading German regiments deployed to meet him, the result was scarcely in doubt for a moment. Von Seydlitz threw in his last squadron, and then himself fought like a trooper, receiving a severe wound. The mêlée drifted rapidly southward, past the Allied infantry, and von Seydlitz finally rallied his horsemen in a hollow near Tagewerhen, ready for fresh service. This first episode took only half an hour, and by that time the Prussian infantry, in echelon from the left, was descending the Janus Hugel to meet the already confused and disheartened infantry of the Allies. Most of the allied cavalry in front was smashed to pieces by the initial charge and many of them trampled over their own men trying to flee.

The Allies Vain Attempts

The latter, as their cavalry had done, managed to deploy some regiments on the head of the column, and the French in particular formed one or two columns of attack -- then peculiar to the French army -- and rushed forward with the bayonet. But Moller's guns, which had advanced with the infantry, tore gaps in the close masses, and, when it arrived within effective musketry range the attack died out before the rapid and methodical volleys of the Prussian line.

Meanwhile the Allies tried in vain to form a line of battle. The two main columns had got too close together in the advance from Pettstädt, part of the reserve which had become entangled between the main columns was extricating itself by degrees and endeavouring to catch up with the rest of the reserve column away to the right, and the reserve artillery proved useless in the middle of the infantry. The Prussian infantry was still in echelon from the left, and the leftmost battalions that had repulsed the French columns quickly came within musket-shot of this helpless mass. A few volleys directed against the head and left flank of the column sufficed to create disorder, and then from the Tagewerben hollow von Seydlitz's rallied squadrons charged, wholly unexpectedly, upon its right flank. British and Danish ships in line of battle at the Battle of Copenhagen (1801). ...

The Allied infantry thereupon broke and fled. Soubise and the duke, who had received a wound, succeeded in keeping one or two regiments together, but the rest scattered over the countryside. The battle had lasted less than an hour and a half, and the last episode of the infantry fight no more than fifteen minutes. Seven Prussian battalions only had engaged with the enemy, and these expended five to fifteen rounds per man.

Aftermath

Von Seydlitz and Prince Henry of Prussia, the cavalry and the infantry leaders engaged, each received wounds, but the total losses amongst the Prussian army comprised under 550 men, as compared with about 10,000 casualties on the part of the Allies, including 5,000 prisoners. Frederick was heard to say "I won the battle of Rossbach with most of my infantry having their muskets shouldered." Frederick the Great had accidentally discovered operational maneuvers, and about 3,500 horsemen had defeated an entire Army of two combined European superpowers. This page refers to Prince Henry of Prussia (1726-1802); for Prince Henry of Prussia (1862-1929), see Albert Wilhelm Heinrich of Prussia. ...

References

Much of original text from 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica The German Way of War: From the Thirty Years War to the Third Reich (Robert M. Citino: Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2005) Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ...

External Links

• The French Army 1600-1900