Battle of Königgrätz

1866 CE.

Shown on the map at 50.210°, 15.830°.

The Battle of Königgrätz (or Battle of Sadová; Czech: Bitva u Hradce Králové) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrätz) and village of Sadová, now in the Czech Republic. It was the single largest battle of the war, and the largest battle in the world since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. Prussian forces totalled around 285,000 troops, whilst Austria had 240,000 men on the Bohemian front. Austrian commander-in-chief Ludwig von Benedek had accepted the post with reluctance because he was unfamiliar with both troops and local terrain. Superior training, Moltke's tactical doctrine, and the Dreyse needle gun were instrumental in the Prussian victory; moreover, as a Prussian innovation in European warfare, full advantages of railroad transport in action were taken. The Prussians relied heavily on the bayonet charge.

Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Königgrätz, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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