Battle of Prague (1757)

Background

After forcing the surrender of Saxony in 1756, Frederick spent the winter planning a new blow against Austria; it was not in his nature simply to wait and defend. In the early spring of 1757 the Prussian army crossed the mountain passes into Bohemia in four columns, intending to unite at Prague. The plan was risky, because it exposed each column to defeat in detail, but it worked. Frederick's corps joined Prince Moritz's, and Bevern joined Schwerin.

The Austrians were not idle. Field Marshal Browne, though surprised by the Prussian advance, retreated skilfully and gathered his forces at Prague, where he established a fortified position east of the town. Prince Charles of Lorraine arrived with a second army, bringing the Austrian numbers to about 60,000, and took command. The ground was strong: the Žižka and Tábor hills, the town on the left flank, a steep gorge to the north and, to the west, a marshy slope with a brook at its foot.

The two Austrian leaders disagreed. Browne wanted to attack. Charles preferred to wait for Königseck, beaten at Reichenberg but retreating on Prague, and possibly for Daun. Frederick reached Prague on 2 May; Schwerin and Bevern crossed the Elbe at Brandeis on 4 May, and on 5 May Frederick crossed the Moldau at Selz, a few miles downstream of the city, and joined Schwerin. The Austrians had moved to the east of the city.

The armies

The Prussians had about 65,000 men and 214 guns, about 17,000 of them cavalry, in an army that tried at Prague the new doctrine of advancing without firing, and abandoned it afterwards. Schwerin and Winterfeldt led the main attack, Prince Henry commanded on the left, and Zieten led the hussars. Field Marshal Keith, with 30,000 to 32,000 men, was across the Moldau to the west and took no part in the battle proper. Frederick, Schwerin and Winterfeldt had to decide in the morning how, and whether, to attack the Austrian right.

The Austrians had about 62,000 men and 177 guns, with some 12,600 cavalry, and were led by Charles of Lorraine with the able Field Marshal Browne. The army was a mix of regulars, grenadiers and Croat light troops, and Austrian guns on the Homole hill (Homole Berg) were among the dangerous things the Prussians met. The Austrian line faced north and east, and Browne's order to shift six regiments south-east late in the morning was the main Austrian reaction to the Prussian flank march.

The battle

CDB90 records a single engagement, number 65 (PRAGUE), from 11:00 to 15:00. That covers the main infantry action; the Prussian march began about six hours earlier. Times below are those in the English Wikipedia and britishbattles.com accounts and are approximate.

The approach (from 05:00-07:00). The Prussian army assembled north of the city on the Prosek heights. Frederick sent Keith west of the town to cut off the Austrian retreat. He wanted to attack at once, but Schwerin persuaded him to reconnoitre the Austrian right. The report suggested green meadows sloping gently up to the Austrian rear. The army began to march about 07:00 and stayed largely out of sight until about 10:00, when the Austrian generals saw what was happening and Browne moved six infantry regiments south-east. Schwerin's vanguard curved east of the Austrian line and passed through Poczernitz, where the artillery stuck in the narrow streets and the infantry had to go round the village.

The fishponds and the first attack (about 10:00-11:00). Schwerin and Winterfeldt launched the attack, led by Winterfeldt's infantry. They found not meadows but the remains of fishponds, drained but full of deep mud. About 40 grenadier companies and 15 cavalry regiments of Austrian reinforcements massed at Sterbohol, where a long, inconclusive cavalry fight followed. The Prussian infantry wheeled right and attacked between Hostavitz and Sterbohol without firing. Heavy fire from Austrian guns and grenadiers broke several regiments. Winterfeldt was shot in the neck. Schwerin seized his regiment's colour, led a renewed attack, and was killed by canister.

The Austrian counter-attack and the gap (about 11:00-14:00). By about 11:00 the Austrians were pushing the Prussian infantry back down the slope. Browne was mortally wounded by infantry fire and carried into Prague. Around Kyje a gap opened between Austrian regiments. Hautcharmoy and Bevern, and other regimental commanders largely on their own initiative, filtered troops into it and turned south against the Austrian flank. On the Prussian left, Prince Henry led the Itzenplitz Regiment across the Rokytka brook, and Zieten's hussars struck the Austrian cavalry's right. The Austrian force between Sterbohol and Hostawitz collapsed and fled towards Prague.

The last stand (about 15:00). Kheul rallied infantry in the Malešice valley. The Prussians stormed the position at heavy cost to Winterfeldt's regiment, and Charles withdrew into the town, with his cavalry covering the retreat, once Zieten's cavalry had passed his flank. Frederick had ordered Keith to cross the Moldau upstream to cut off the retreat to the south, but his bridging teams stuck on the roads and he could not cross in time.

Aftermath

Frederick lost over 14,000 men and two of his best generals, Schwerin dead and Winterfeldt badly wounded. Charles lost about 8,900 killed or wounded and 4,500 prisoners, and Browne was mortally wounded. Most of the Austrian army was shut in Prague, though some regiments escaped south.

Frederick judged his losses too heavy for a direct assault on the walls and decided to besiege the city instead. He reckoned that 40,000 soldiers and 75,000 inhabitants would soon eat the city's stores. He did not allow for the relief army that Austria raised: Daun advanced from eastern Bohemia, Frederick sent Bevern to block him, and on 18 June the Prussians were beaten at Kolín and had to abandon the siege.

The credit for the victory is argued over. One eyewitness account, by Count von Kalckreuth, has Frederick in a pitiable state after Schwerin's death, barely able to speak, and Wikipedia's article concludes that Schwerin's leadership and the initiative of regimental commanders after he fell deserve most of the credit. The few recorded sightings of the king put him on the southern part of the field, and by his own account he had stomach pains. The battle is mentioned in Gottfried August Burger's ballad Lenore (1773).

Wargaming it

Prague is a large, balanced battle, about 65,000 against 62,000, and works best at regiment or brigade level, roughly 100 to 120 units. Both sides have plenty of cavalry, so it suits a grand-tactical game with an army-wide plan rather than a skirmish.

The interest lies in the flank march and what follows. The Prussians must get a column round the Austrian right while Browne reacts, and the ponds and the village of Poczernitz should slow the march and bog down guns. Winterfeldt's and Schwerin's attack goes in without firing, so a game can test whether the Prussian player pays for the doctrine. Command matters: Schwerin's fall is the turning point, and a Prussian player whose senior commander can be shot loses the chance of a coherent plan, while the Austrian line risks a dangerous gap if Browne goes down. Keith's wing, which could not cross in time, is a lever for a scenario variant.

What ifs: Charles listens to Browne and attacks first; the Prussians find meadows rather than ponds; or Keith's bridges arrive and Charles's army is cut off from Prague, which would have turned a hard-won win into a decisive one.

Maps and pictures