866 



GERMAN-ITALIAN WAR. 



corps (Steininetz), reenforced by a part of the 

 6th, advanced, and, after successful skirmishes 

 at Schweinscbiidel, Samey, and near Jaromierz, 

 compelled the Austrians to fall back upon the 

 latter town and Josephstadt, where, on the 30th 

 of June, the 2d, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th army 

 corps were concentrated. The Prussians were 

 now enabled -to establish a connection with the 

 army of Prince Frederick Charles, and thus all 

 their armies were united, presenting, on the 1st 

 of July, a front extending from Smidar to 

 Yaromierz, a distance of not more than six 

 German miles. King William, on the 30th of 

 June, had arrived at Eeichenberg, to assume 

 the chief command of the combined armies. 

 As it was supposed in the Prussian head- 

 quarters that. Benedek intended to act on the 

 defensive, the king desired to give to the troops 

 several days of rest. The movements of Gen- 

 eral Benedek, however, who, on the 2d of July, 

 threw the bulk of his army across the Elbe, 

 taking the Bistritz Eiver as his front, showed 

 the Prussians that they must expect an imme- 

 diate attack, and Prince Frederick Charles de- 

 termined to anticipate Benedek by being the 

 first to assume the aggressive. His plan was 

 approved at the headquarters of the king, and 

 the crown prince ordered to advance with the 

 Second army the next morning at 5 o'clock. 

 The battle was begun by the First army at 

 about 8 o'clock in the morning at and near the 

 village of Sadowa, which lies on the road from 

 Horitz to Koniggriitz, where it crosses the Bis- 

 tritz. At 10 o'clock the Army of the Elbe under 

 Herwarth advanced against the Austrians from 

 Nechanitz. Together, these two armies were 

 much inferior in numbers to the Austrians, and 

 no decisive advantages could be expected until 

 the arrival of the army of the crown prince. 

 The vanguard of the latter appeared upon the 

 battle-field about 1 o'clock in the afternoon, 

 and, although the Austrians fought invariably 

 with the greatest bravery, soon decided the 

 battle, in favor of the Prussian arms. At 4 

 o'clock the whole of the Austrian army was 

 retreating, hotly pursued by the Prussians. The 

 losses of the Austrians were very great. Eleven 

 flags, 174 pieces of ordnance, and 18,000 un- 

 wounded prisoners, fell into the hands of the 

 Prussians. The total loss of the Austrians was 

 estimated at 40,000 men ; that of the Prussians 

 at 10,000. Many of the Austrian generals were 

 wounded. Among them were the Archdukes 

 Joseph and William, and the corps commanders, 

 Count Thun and Count Festetics. On the side 

 of the Prussians, Prince Anthony of Hohenzol- 

 lern-Sigmaringen was mortally wounded. The 

 King of Prussia was during the whole day 

 present in the thickest of the battle, and his 

 presence largely added to the enthusiasm of the 

 Prussian troops. The Austrian troops fell back 

 upon Koniggratz. Feldzeugmeister Benedek 

 was at once relieved from the chief command, 

 which he was only to retain until the arrival 

 of Archduke Albrecht, who was appointed Iris 

 successor. General Clam-Gallas, Baron von 



Henikstein, the chief of the general staff, and 

 General Krismanich, the quartermaster-general, 

 were arrested and sent to Vienna, there to be 

 brought before a court-martial. 



The War in Northwestern, Germany Occupa- 

 tion of Nassau and Frankfort Advance of the 

 Prussians into Bavaria and Baden. After the 

 surrender of the Hanoverians, on June 29th, all 

 the Prussian troops which were to be employed 

 for the occupation of Hanover and Hesse-Cassel 

 were united into the "Army of the Main," under 

 command of General Vogel von Falkenstein. 

 The only Federal troops which joined this army 

 were two battalions of Coburg-Gotha, and one 

 battalion of Lippe-Detmold ; together, 2,500 

 men. The whole army numbered, in three di- 

 visions (Goben, Beyer, and Manteuffel), about 

 47,000 men, with 90 pieces of ordnance. Of cav- 

 alry there were five regiments, or about 3,000 

 men. The Army of the Main was to conduct the 

 operations against the Bavarians, constitut- 

 ing the 7th Federal army corps, under the 

 chief command of Prince Charles of Bavaria, 

 the grand-uncle of the king, and against the 

 eighth army corps, which, under the command 

 of Prince Alexander of Hesse, formerly a gen- 

 eral in the Austrian army, contained the con- 

 tingents of Wurtemberg, Baden, Hesse-Darm- 

 stadt, Hesse-Cassel, and Nassau. The Bavarians 

 had about 44,000 men and 144 pieces of ord- 

 nance, while the 8th Federal army corps, which 

 had been reenforced by one division of Austrian 

 troops, was estimated at 47,000 men and 144 

 pieces of ordnance. The original plan of the 

 Prince of Bavaria was to form a junction with 

 the 8th Federal army corps, and by moving 

 northward toward Fulda, to assume the offen- 

 sive against Prussia. When he was informed 

 of the movements of the Hanoverians, he made 

 an effort to hasten to their aid, and on the 30th 

 occupied Hildburghausen and Memingen. In 

 the latter town, where he established his head- 

 quarters, he learned that on the day before the 

 Hanoverian army had capitulated. He now 

 resumed his original plan, and resolved to move 

 westward upon Fulda. While advancing in this 

 direction he encountered the Prussians on July 

 4th, at Dermbach and Eossdorf. After a severe 

 fight, which lasted from eight o'clock in the 

 morning to four in the evening, and in which 

 20,000 Bavarians and 12,000 Prussians were 

 engaged, the Bavarians had to retreat. Their 

 total loss was about 480 in killed and wounded, 

 and 370 missing; the Prussians had 400 men 

 killed and wounded. General Yogel von Fal- 

 kenstein, regarding the Bavarians as a moro 

 dangerous enemy than the 8th Federal corps, 

 resolved to march with the main part of his 

 army against them. The Bavarians, on July 

 10th, offered some resistance at Kissingen (the 

 well-known watering-place), and disputed the 

 passage of the (Franconian) Saale ; but they 

 were again defeated with a loss of 1,261 (77 

 killed, 392 wounded, and 792 missing). The 

 Prussians crossed the Saale, and General Fal- 

 kenstein was, on the evening of the 10th, in 



