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Battle of Hochkirk)
The Battle of Hochkirch was a battle fought on October 14, 1758 during the Seven Years' War between a Prussian army of 31,000 commanded by Frederick the Great and a Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by Marshal Leopold Josef Graf Daun. The battle took place around Hochkirch, which is 9 km east of Bautzen, Saxony.
Frederick's army was deployed facing east, with its right flank in front of the village of Hochkirch. The king was lax in vigilance, despite warnings from one of his commanders. By use of a secret overnight march (camisado), Daun fell upon Frederick's right, and in heavy fighting drove the Prussians off Hochkirch hill, forcing them to retreat.
Although the Prussians lost over 9,000 men and the Austrians 8,300, Hochkirch was one of Frederick the Great's three worst defeats in battle, along with Kunersdorf and Kolin. Ironically, the defeat was brought about by the Daun's use of a variation on Frederick's own oblique order of attack.
Commanding the rearguard of Frederick's forces was Field Marshall James Keith, a Scot from Peterhead, who managed to hold back the entire Austrian Army enabling Frederick to retire in order, before being killed. 250 years later a granite monument, inlaid with a bronze plaque, was erected by the inhabitants of Hochkirch in memory of "Generalfeldmarschall Jacob von Keith" and his achievement. The inscription reads Suffering, Misery, Death.
[edit] External links
- Battle of Hochkirch - Chapter 14 of Thomas Carlyle's History of Friedrich II. (accessed 13 June 2005)
Prussia
Austria
