Battle of Hochkirch : Seven Years War 1758

In the campaigning season of 1758 Fredrick had gone on the offensive in Moravia with a view to advancing towards Vienna itself. He attempted to take the fortress of Olmutz but was unsuccessful having pulled back from the Austrians Fredrick moved north to fight the Russians at Zorndorf, with a strategic draw he again moved south to confront the Austrians in Saxony. Perhaps overconfident he didn’t believe his Generals who had warned him of a potential Austrian attack. Uncharacteristically Field Marshall Daun chose to attack perhaps encouraged by the significant numerical odds in his favour. The Austrians would be attacking the 30,000 Prussians with about 80,000 troops we’ll over 2 to 1.

Using Fredrick's own playbook the Austrians out flanked the Prussians who had camped/deployed in a gentle S shape between the villages of Hochkirch and Rodewitz. They had strengthened their position with two earthworks/entrenchments facing south from Hochkirch and East from Rodewitz.

Historically the battle was almost a complete disaster for Fredrick, the Austrians completely caught the Prussians napping (literally) killing many in their tents. Hochkirch which formed the right wing of the Prussian line saw the heaviest and bloodiest fighting. When this was eventually taken the remaining Prussian army was only saved by rearguard defensive actions. 

As always lots of maps on the internet if you look for them. They all vary somewhat, I have again used the OB from Frank Chadwick’s “Battles of the Seven Years War” highly recommended from me. The battlefield is broken by woods and a stream. The Prussian line of retreat if needed is to the North where other Prussian forces are camped.

The details above translate into the setup above. Pink cards represent additional Austrian Division which will come on randomly. Now to play such a one sided battle Prussians have 7 divisions the Austrians 10, does require a little fiddling to balance things out. Firstly the Prussians are already awake and in their positions. 6 of the Austrian Divisions are able to enter the battle immediately, the remaining 4 must dice to arrive. Key though to balance is the victory conditions, the Austrians must gain 7 VP’s gained either by breaking Prussian divisions or capturing the four villages to the west of the stream. Whilst we didn’t set a specific timescale our battle would be limited by tea time. Tipping my hat to historical events the Austrians if they capture Prussian cannons can turn them on the Prussians which they did successfully back in 1758.

and so to the action, obviously a fairly large battle so not a blow by blow account.

Prussians dug in south of Hochkirch

and the entrenchments close to Rodewitz

The Austrians assault all along the Prussian line but mare given a surprisingly bloody nose by the grenadiers holding the entrenchments, the Austrians stagger back

But there are more Austrians arriving through the village of Kohlwesa

The main assault towards Hochkirch, Gen Loudon advances but the main army halters with a failed activation roll

Austrians have the numbers but they must push to the entrenchments in the face of determined resistance

Prussian reserve cavalry holding the ground north of Rodewitz

The assault in front of Hochkirch hits home

But the Prussian grenadiers are a tough nut to crack

Gen Loudon’s Division has been beaten back, the failed activation early on mean the Austrian assault went in peacemeal, but the rest of the main army is now advancing

Eventually the entrenchments are over run and outflanked by cavalry, the remaining Prussians hold the village for one more turn but are then forced to pull back

General Buccow’s Cavalry Division arrives threatening to cut the Prussian lines of communication

The Austrians are piling on the pressure with a second Division now joining the assault at Rodewitz 

The view towards Hochkirch with the Austrians pressing all along a concentric line

Hochkirch almost taken and the Austrian main army is pushing past it to the east

To the north cavalry clash to protect the Prussian communication line open

Another assault towards Rodewitz but still the defenders hold

Hochkirch has finally fallen and Zieten’s Cavalry division held in reserve are now ordered forward to block the gaps

The Prussian reserve under General Wuerttemburg form up a defensive line in front of Pommritz

The Prussians are being forced back and pivoting to a right angle

Their reserve cavalry is still protecting the extreme northern flank

In the centre the Prussians are still fighting and any Austrians pushing too close are forced back

Finally the grenadiers holding the remaining entrenchments are ordered north partly to escape but also to clear the Austrian cavalry away

Cavalry clash outside Hochkirch but it is only a delaying action

More Austrian cavalry is starting to threaten from the west here they are chasing off Prussian Hussars who had been holding the gap by the wood

At this point we called the battle to a close

As to be expected the Austrians are holding the battlefield, they had already gained 4 victory points with another one very close. But this would only give them a minor tactical advantage and the remaining three points would cost them too much for a full victory, there are still enough Prussians left fighting and as the ground narrows they have a fairly strong defensive position.

Another very enjoyable SYW battle and a scenario and battle doing justice to the historical events. The Austrians failed a couple of key activations early on which meant their initial attacks went in piecemeal and were beaten back. Numbers counted in the end but Fredrick will still have an army and will be able to regroup.

Thanks for taking the time to pop by 👍