The Battle of Lobositz
The
First Battle of
the Seven Year's War
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The Battle of LobositzThe
First Battle of |
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1st October 1756 |
| Lobositz
was the first battle of the Seven Years War. The Saxons believed that neutrality
was the best guarantee of survival at the outbreak of war. This delusion
was to cost them dearly as 62,000 Prussians marched into their territory
in what might be described as a pre-emptive strike against Austria.
The manoeuvre caught the Austrians by surprise and the Empress Maria Theresa commanded Field Marshal Browne to rescue the Saxon Army. The 15,000 Saxons had decided to stand (or strand itself - as Christopher Duffy describes it) at the camp at Pirna - Konigstein, on the west bank of the River Elbe near to Dresden. Before the Austrians were really ready, 29,000 of the Prussians, under Frederick the Great, started to move into northern Bohemia and along the Elbe. The two armies clashed at Lobositz, with the Austrian force amounting to some 34,000 men. The picture above is the Lobosch Hill where Browne positioned a force of Croats. The picture does not do full justice to the size and steepness of this volcanic plug; the ground was (and still is) covered by orchards and vinyards which were set in small terraces, with retaining walls - in fact ideal terrain for the Croats to fight in. |
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This view is taken from the approximate position of the Prussian artillery that was on the Homolka Mound and looks towards the Lobosch Hill. The Prussians had three batteries of guns - one on the Holmolka Mound and one battery each side of the Blinka - Lobositz road in the valley. |
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This view is taken from the road in the valley between the Lobosch Hill and the Holmolka Mound. The village in the centre of the photo is Radositz and to the left is Wchinitz. The hill is, of course, the Holmolka Mound. |
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phildm@philmac.demon.co.uk |
Updated
1 December, 2002
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