Battle of Leuthen, 1757

Click here to view animation.

(Ensure you hit F5 or View Show)
Animation not displaying properly?

Frederick the Great versus Charles of Lorraine: An Austrian army under Charles thinks a Prussian army under Frederick has fled after seeing their superior numbers and position. Where has Frederick actually lead his army and how will Charles counter?

Significance

Rossbach will always be more vital to Prussian survival because it took place first but Leuthen is an excellent following act in the early campaigning of the Seven Years War. This pair of battles is more significant in terms of tactics, perhaps the best demonstrations of the oblique advance and eighteenth-century linear fire and movement tactics (Showalter, 1996: 205).

Analysis

.
It can be argued that this battle is not a true masterpiece because Frederick suffered more casualties than his small army was able to take. This argument is based too much on the casualty percentage figures and too little on the events of the battle itself. Frederick achieved complete surprise by feinting an attack on one side of the Austrian line, appearing to retreat and then smashing the other side of the Austrian line. While this maneuver was decisive in its effect, the ferocity of the battle after this point, attests to the odds Frederick had to overcome to defeat Charles’ army.

Notes

.
This was only the third animation I completed and required the most time of any. After animating two relatively simple ancient battles, I aimed to animate something more advanced and Leuthen was it. It was even more difficult because certain effects I now use with ease were still being developed. Looking back at this animation, I am very dissatisfied with the quality and detail of the terrain. Sometimes I also think I animated the wrong Frederick battle because I have received consistent requests to animate Rossbach, the similar but more significant masterpiece.

.
Goodenough, Simon. Tactical Genius in Battle. Oxford: Phodian Press, 1979.

Livesey, Anthony. Great Commanders and Their Battles. New York: Macmillian Publishing, 1987.

Showalter, Dennis E. The Wars of Frederick the Great. London: Longman, 1996.

.
Austrian artillery: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/20483/20483-h/20483-h.htm

Austrian cavalry: http://www.themodelcatalogue.com/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww%2ethemodelcatalogue%2ecom%2facatalog%2fRevell_Military_Figures_1_72%2ehtml&WD=prussian&SHOP=%20&PN=Revell_Military_Figures_1_72%2ehtml%23arev02589#arev02589

Austrian infantry: http://www.hobbies-plus.co.uk/acatalog/Revell___Figures___Combination_Sets.html

Charles of Lorraine: http://www.answers.com/topic/prince-charles-alexander-of-lorraine

Frederick the Great: http://ualr.edu/sbhunziker/Germany1/Lectures/Lecture18.html

Map of Europe: http://maxushistory.weebly.com/seven-years-war.html

Map of the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_map_projections

Prussian artillery: http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Prussian_artillery_Napoleon.htm

Prussian cavalry: http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Heilsberg_battle.htm

Prussian infantry: http://napoleonistyka.atspace.com/Prussian_army.htm

If you enjoyed the Battle of Leuthen 1757 battle animation, you may also enjoy these other battle animations:

Battle of Rossbach 1757, another battle fought by Frederick the Great against an invading army in the Seven Years’ War:

Battle of Leuctra 371, another battle featuring the successful use of the attack in oblique order:

Battle of Ilipa 206 BC, another battle featuring a sudden, decisive redeployment of troops:

Thank you for visiting The Art of Battle: Animated Battle Maps.