Battle of Königgrätz

The Battle of Königgrätz 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 towns of Königgrätz, and Sadowa.

The outnumbered Prussian infantry used their superior training and tactical doctrine and the Dreyse needle gun to win the battle and the entire war at Königgrätz on their own. 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 center of the battlefield, deciding the outcome of the struggle and forcing an Austrian retreat at 15:00, before any Prussian reinforcements could even seriously engage the Austrian flanks.