by Greg Johnson, 29 April 2026
October 10, 1740, Charles VI Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire dies without any male heirs. Since 1718, Charles had been campaigning around Europe for his daughter Maria Theresa to be accepted as his heir to the throne.
Upon Charles’ death, Frederick II of Prussia decides to invade the province of Silesia which is rich in mineral and industrial wealth. By January of 1741, the Prussian armies drive have driven across Silesia in a whirlwind and taken the province except for a few fortresses that the Austrians still hold.
In response, Maria Therea sent an army of about 20,000 under Field Marshall Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg to take back the province. Neipperg’s initial objective was to relieve the besieged city of Neisse. On the April 9th, Neipperg had the Austrian forces camped around the town of Mollwitz.
Early morning on April 10th, fog and snow hindered the visibility of the two armies. The Prussians began their march toward the Austrian positions coming at them from behind as the Austrians camped faced in the opposite direction. The Prussians had the element of surprise. However, the inexperienced Frederick formed the Prussian infantry into lines early and took great effort in keeping the infantry organized in precision formation which caused the Prussians to advance slowly, losing the advantage of surprise.
Frederick’s insistence on precise order of the infantry in lines of advance gave the Austrians time to turn their forces around to face the Prussian threat.
click images to enlarge
Around 1 p.m., the Prussian 12lb batteries unlimbered in a position in front of the infantry and began firing at the cavalry on the Austrian left wing. Lieutenant-General Carl Romer commanded the six regiments of dragoons and cuirassiers on the left flank. The 12lb batteries began to target the Austrian cavalry. Without orders, Romer charged the Prussian cavalry on the Prussian right wing. The Prussian cavalry proved to be lacking in training and experience.
“They fought (the Prussians) at a stand, and so they got the worst of every clash. The extraordinary size of their horses did them no good at all – our cavalrymen always directed their first sword cut at the head of the enemy horse; the horse fell, throwing its rider to the ground, and he would then be attacked from behind. The Prussian troopers have iron crosses set inside their hats. They were splintered by our swords, which made the cuts more deadly still.”
Frederick was stationed with the cavalry and caught up in the rout.
With the Prussian cavalry defeated, Romer turned the Austrian cavalry toward the right flank of the Prussian infantry. At this point in the battle, Frederick’s second in command, Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, recommended that Frederick leave the field as it looked like the battle was lost. Frederick took his advice leaving the battlefield and was almost caught by Austrian Hussars.
The Austrian cuirassiers and dragoons charged the Prussian infantry several times. During one of the charges, Austrian General Romer was killed. The Prussian infantry held their line with continued musket volleys that decimated the Austrian cavalry causing them to break off the attack.
General Scherwin, reorganized the infantry and ordered them to advance to the attack. The Prussian right flank began to advance forward, the left flank a few minutes later resulting in an oblique order attack. The Prussian training showed its effectiveness during the attack. Austrian General Neipperg commented after the battle.
“The Prussian infantry kept up a really hellish fire.”
He has never seen anything like it before. The Prussian infantry were firing off five rounds for every one to two rounds the Austrian infantry fired. The Prussian had started using iron ramrods where the Austrian were still using beechwood ramrods. As the Prussian infantry pushed the attack the Austrian infantry could not withstand the onslaught and routed from the field.
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Mollwitz 1741: Frederick the Great’s First Battle
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Bloody Fields of Mollwitz
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The Battles of Mollwitz 1741 and Chotusitz 1742
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References
- Asprey, Robert, Frederick the Great: The Magnificent Enigma, Ticknor & Fields, 1986
- Duffy, Christopher, The Army of Frederick the Great, The Emperor’s Press, 1996
- Duffy, Christopher, The Army of Maria Theresa, Terrence Wise, 1990
- “Battle of Mollwitz” at Wikipedia
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BAR Mollwitz is a fun, single map game. Plus the bonus that Chotusitz comes in the same box!