Battle of Kolín

Infobox Military Conflict


caption=
conflict=Battle of Kolín
colour_scheme=background:#cccccc
partof=the Seven Years' War
date=June 18, 1757
place= Kolín, Bohemia, (now the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic) some 55 kilometres east of Prague
result=Austrian victory
combatant1=flagicon|Prussia|1750 Prussia
combatant2=flagicon|Holy Roman Empire Austria
commander1=Frederick the Great
commander2=Leopold Josef, Count von Daun
strength1=32,000
strength2=44,000-65,000
casualties1=14,000 dead or wounded
casualties2=9,000 dead or wounded

The Battle of Kolín on June 18, 1757 saw 44,000 Austrians under Count von Daun defeat 32,000 Prussians under Frederick the Great during the Seven Years' War. The Prussians lost the battle and nearly 14,000 men, the Austrians lost 9,000 men.

Background

Frederick II had won a battle against Austria and was now besieging Prague.Marshal Daun had been too late to participate in the battle of Prague, but picked up 16,000 men who had escaped from the battle. With this army he slowly moved to relieve Prague and the Prussian forces had to be split.

Frederick took 32,000 of his men to intercept Daun. Knowing that the Prussian forces were too weak to both besiege Prague and keep Daun away from Prague for a longer time (or to fight the Austrian army reinforced by the Prague garrison), the Austrians took defensive positions on hills near Kolín. Frederick was forced to attack the Austrians. Reports of the Austrian strengths are mixed: some report 44,000 men, some reports mention 65,000 men. The battlefield of Kolín consisted of gently rolling hill slopes.

Frederick's plan was to envelop the Austrian right wing with most of his army.Along the Austrian lines (Prussian right wing and center) he kept only enough troops to hide the concentration on the Prussian left wing.The Prussian main force was to turn right toward the Austrians to attack their right flank. The Prussian left wing would locally outnumber the Austrians. After the Austrian right wing had been defeated the battle would be decided.

Battle

Frederick's main force turned toward the Austrians too early and attacked their defensive positions frontally instead of outflanking them. Austrian light infantry (Croats) seem to have played an important role in this; harassing the regular Prussian infantry under Generals von Manstein and Tresckow, they provoked them into a premature attack.

The disunited Prussian columns blundered into a series of uncoordinated attacks, each against superior numbers. By the afternoon, after about five hours of fighting, the Prussians were disoriented and Daun's troops were driving them back.

Prussian cuirassiers under Oberst von Seydlitz (promoted to major-general on that day) finally showed up. There were many charges and countercharges on the Krzeczor Hill. The first Guard battalion under General von Tauentzien saved the Prussian army from a worse fate, covering the Prussian retreat.

Results

The battle was Frederick's first defeat in this war. This disaster forced him to abandon his intended march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Leitmeritz. The Austrians, reinforced by the 48,000 troops in Prague, followed them, 100,000 strong, and, falling on Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, who was retreating eccentrically (for commissariat reasons) at Zittau, inflicted a severe check upon him.The king was compelled to abandon Bohemia.

Frederick blamed his defeat on his generals, such as Prince Moritz von Anhalt-Dessau, but the greatest blame must be laid in Frederick himself. He opted for an assault against a numerically superior opponent and chose a risky strategy. In other battles Fredrick won with the same flanking strategy, but the Austrian army under Daun not only withstood the Prussian assaults but also selected the correct momentum for a careful counter-attack.