The Battle of Prague 1757

The weekend before the club made the trip to the Salute show in London, I had to drive Mrs.Goose out to a retail outlet on the east of Prague. Now a lot of this area is grim, with one or two industrial estates and a very large incinerator (which for navigation purposes can more or less be easily seen from most points in the city).

There are though some untouched open areas on the site of the main Prussian attack during the battle of Prague, which are situated in the Sterboholy district (this would be Sterbohol in any of the old Austrian maps of the battle).

Battle of Prague, 6 May 1757 - Attempted envelopment. 

Source : The Department of History, United States Military Academy

Sterboholy is at the southern end of a low rise/hill that runs south for a couple of kilometres from Malesice (Maleschitz) . It was on the line of this that Browne relocated the right wing of his army to face the Prussian flanking manoeuvre by the General von Schwerin.

Here is a view from the Austrian positions on higher ground overlooking the plain on which the Prussians approached.

The old story goes that von Schwerin mistook the green landscape in this district for meadows, when in fact the area was a patchwork of drained fish ponds, water meadows and streams. As the Prussians ploughed through the fields they quickly became bogged down in the mud, whilst the Austrians surveying the scene from drier heights opened up a murderous artillery barrage upon them. 

Here are the water meadows passed over by the Prussians when attacking the Austrian position

 The Prussians would have attacked from right to left in these pictures

As you can see the fields are still drained by numerous stream beds, and often flood after heavy rain.

It was during this point that von Schwerin was hit by a cannonball and killed outright.

 

Memorial to General von Schwerin on the battlefield at Steboholy

If the Austrians had held their ground here they would have won the day. They held the commanding grounds, with well-placed artillery and secure flanks. Unfortunately for them, around the same time as von Schwerin’s death, General von Brown (this blogs patron) was mortally wounded and carried back into to Prague (to die from his wounds days later)

The memorial to von Browne on the battlefield

With effective command passed to junior officers, the Austrians decided to attack the weakened Prussians, but in doing so opened up both their flanks. The Prussian brigades under General Bevern saw the opportunity and poured infantry through the gap on their left flank to the north, while the Prussian cavalry under von Ziethen did the same to their south. Their flanks turned and with the Prussians pushing at them again form the centre, the Austrians crumbled and fell back within the walls of Prague.

 The Prussians attacked up the rising ground here towards the Austrians (roughly in the direction of the chimney in this photo)

Above you can see the ground the Prussians marched over coming from Dolni Pocernice (Unter Pocernitz)

Though the Prussians won the day (just), they did not have enough troops left to storm the city, and their now depleted numbers would be completely routed the following month at the Battle of Kolin by General Daun (a post I promise in the coming months once I get a chance to drive back out to Kolin to take some pictures). This more or less put paid to Frederick the Great's attempt to snatch Bohemia away from the Austrians, as he had done with Silesia. For the rest of the Seven Year's war the Prussians were on the defensive, and it was only the inability of the Austrians and Russians to effectively cooperate in the east which saved Prussia.

Today there is a small memorial to the fallen of the battle on the site of the main Prussian attack, the fields around full of horse paddocks.

You can get here easily by bus from the last metro station on the green line, though a car is obviously better.

Introduction

This is a blog that is dedicated to my interest in Military history, and in particular, walks, impressions and photos of various battlefields and museums both near (to Bohemia) and afar. Given my base in Bohemia (that's Czech Republic to the uninitiated) I’m quite spoilt for choice when it comes to some major armed altercations between various Emperor’s, Winter Kings and other downright chancers (the battles of Austerlitz, White Mountain, Jankau, Prague, Kolin and Konigratz to name but a few), while various museums and country Chateaus in and around Prague are stuffed to the gills with Military memorabilia, flags, banners and weapons from the Hussite wars right through to WW2. Very much the crossroads of Europe with all its attendant wars.

The title of this blog and the picture above are of course related. Maximillian Ulysses, Reichsgraf Von Browne, a member of the "Wild Geese" those Irish professional soldiers, exiled from their homeland, and in the service of the Sovereigns of Continental Europe. I have alot of time for this particular historical figure, and like the Empress he served, was notable for his integrity and humanity, in contrast to his opponent Frederick of Prussia. This particular Goose was probably one of the more famous and accomplished; ending his days as the commander of the Austrian Army of Empress Maria Theresa, battling and outmanoeuvring Frederick the Great at the Battle of Lobositz (today Lovosice in the Czech republic), and finally dying of his wounds after the battle of Prague in 1757. He is still buried in the Loreto Chapel in Prague. Anyway, he is appropriate motif for the blog. There will be more about this extraordinary gentleman in future posts.

Originally I had toyed with the idea of dedicating this blog to a particular period, but as my interest spans a diverse number of wars and conflicts, I thought it better to keep the focus a bit broader (though it is fair to say that to a large degree it will involve the horse and musket period, and one or two defenestrations).

Apart from the history bug, I was also infected at an early age with the wargaming bug, so will also be posting titbits from various games, rules we have tried (mostly General De Brigade and its variants), figures I like and pictures of those that I have painted. That is to say, a lot of Napoleonic’s, more Seven year’s War, some Thirty Year’s War, and new forays into the worlds of American War of Independence, Napoleonic Skirmish, First Carlist War and 28mm English Civil War. I hope to be able to post something each week and photos of games or figures every other week.

Given that I should have started this blog a least a year ago, I have a backlog of items that I will start posting quite soon. So please read on….