Frederick the Great's victory at Liegnitz prevented a coordinated Austrian encirclement and sustained Prussian control of Silesia during the Seven Years' War.
Key Facts
- Date
- 15 August 1760
- Theater
- Lower Silesia, Third Silesian War
- Prussian commander
- Frederick the Great
- Austrian commander
- Ernst Gideon von Laudon
- Notable tactic
- Infantry (Anhalt-Bernburg) charged cavalry with bayonets
- Austrian reserve commander
- General Leopold von Daun declined to engage
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Austria sought to retake Silesia during the Seven Years' War and coordinated multiple armies under Laudon and Daun to encircle and destroy Frederick the Great's Prussian force near Liegnitz in Lower Silesia, threatening to overwhelm Prussia's outnumbered troops.
On 15 August 1760, Laudon's Austrian forces attacked the Prussian position before dawn, opening with a cavalry charge repelled by General Zieten's Hussars. An artillery exchange turned in Prussia's favor when a shell detonated an Austrian powder wagon, and a subsequent Austrian infantry assault was broken by concentrated Prussian artillery and a decisive infantry counter-attack by the Regiment Anhalt-Bernburg.
The Austrian assault collapsed by shortly after dawn, and General Daun, arriving with fresh troops, chose not to renew the attack upon learning of Laudon's defeat. Prussia retained its position in Silesia, and Austria's attempt at a coordinated encirclement failed, prolonging the broader Seven Years' War stalemate.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Frederick the Great, General Zieten.
Side B
1 belligerent
Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Leopold von Daun.