Kleiner Feldzug: The Second Battle of Prague

A Day of Rain and Clouds

The Second Battle of Prague somewhat resembled the Battle of the Clouds in the American Revolution. The battle began around noon. Both armies maneuvered for several hours. Then the battle ceased, as an unseasonable fog covered the field. Or so the commanders decided to record.

In fact, the Austrians moved forward to engage the Prussian army, only to find the Prussians imitating a hedgehog. With one flank on a town (which they had filled with their infantry) and their other flank poised on a nearly impenetrable swamp, the Prussians formed a solid front of heavy artillery backed by serried ranks of musketeers and grenadiers, with a small but potent cavalry reserve behind them. FM von Browne, unable to find a way to force the Prussian hedgehog to uncurl without sacrificing a sizable portion of his army, decided to withdraw.

Von Browne, in fact, decided to withdraw inside the defenses of Prague. His reasoning was that his army was large enough to make it impractical for the Prussians to take the fortress by storm. In this he proved correct; the Prussians were not able to concentrate sufficient troops for a storm at any point in the siege lines where a breach could be created. 

However, his army was also so large that the defenders were unable to sustain the siege, as provisions quickly ran out, disease began sapping his ranks, and a major magazine was destroyed by a fortunate Prussian barrage. As a result, the field marshal found himself forced to surrender to the besiegers he had been unable to defeat in the field, and he, his officers, and a major Austrian army were marched off to captivity in Saxony.

The map following the conclusion of July II.

Next Steps

The Austrian cause now firmly rests in the hands of FM Daun. Equipped with a brand-new army straight from the heart of Austria, Daun is facing a daunting task. He must bring the Prussian army under Frederick to battle and defeat it in at least one major engagement, and he must drive the Prussian field army away from Prague in the process. The Prussians are so far victorious in the campaign, but only by the narrowest of margins. Should they suffer a major defeat, and should they be forced to cede control of the area around Prague (whether they maintain a garrison in the citadel or not), the Austrians can still claim a marginal victory. But should Daun, too, be defeated in battle, the Prussians will certainly retain their edge. And should they also continue to hold Prague through the end of April and also manage to seize one or the other of the Austrian supply bases (Pilsen and Bruenn), then Frederick will have earned a decisive victory.