Battle of Königgrätz

Battle of Königgrätz
	Part of the Austro-Prussian War
	; The Battle of Königgrätz, Georg Bleibtreu
Date	3 July 1866
Location	Königgrätz, Austrian Empire (modern day Czech Republic);
Result	Prussian victory
Belligerents
Prussia	Austria; Saxony
Commanders and leaders
Helmuth von Moltke; Prince Friedrich Karl; Frederick William; Karl Bittenfeld;	Ludwig Benedek; Prince Albert;
Strength
220,984	206,000–215,000 184,000 Austrians; 22,000 Saxons;
Casualties and losses
9,172 killed, wounded, or missing	Austria:; 31,000–43,000 killed, wounded, missing, or captured; Saxony:; 1,501 killed, wounded, or missing; Total: 32,501–44,501

50°16′N 15°45′E / 50.27°N 15.75°E / 50.27; 15.75

The Battle of Königgrätz (or Sadowa) was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové (German: Königgrätz) and village of Sadová, now in the Czech Republic. It was the single largest battle of the war, and the largest battle in the world since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.

Prussian forces totaled around 285,000 troops. Superior training, tactical doctrine and the Dreyse needle gun were instrumental in the victory. Prussian artillery was ineffective and almost all of the fighting on the Prussian side was done by the First Army under Prince Friedrich Karl and one division from the Second Army. The Prussian 7th Infantry Division and 1st Guards Infantry Division attacked and destroyed 38 out of 49 infantry battalions of four Austrian corps at the Swiepwald and Chlum at the centre of the battlefield. The Austrian army was forced to retreat at 15:00, before any Prussian reinforcements could engage the Austrian flanks.