A short war
Moltke and Bismarck seek a decision before the European powers can intervene diplomatically.
Battle
Sadowa
3 July 1866
The Prussian network and needle gun turn a late concentration into victory.
Military history
How did a dispersed Prussian army concentrate its forces before the Austrian army at Sadowa?
Sadowa was a battle of modern coordination before it was a battle of equipment. Prussia did not have a perfect plan at dawn: it survived its initial dispersion through the railway network, mission command, and the arrival of the Second Army.
Three armies on separate routes
The Prussian system depends on progressive concentration. It also creates a risk: one army may be defeated before the others arrive.
Uneven reform
The Dreyse rifle and Prussian command methods provide real advantages, but they replace neither artillery nor coordination.
Military history
Sources
Contemporary sourceHelmuth von Moltke, rapports sur la campagne de Bohême
Ordres et rapports de la bataille de Königgrätz
Concentration of the armies, orders, and chronology.
Modern monographGeoffrey Wawro, The Austro-Prussian War
Chapitres sur la campagne et Königgrätz
Forces, technology, command, and consequences.
Military historyGordon A. Craig, The Battle of Königgrätz
Étude consacrée à la journée du 3 juillet 1866
Mechanism of convergence and political significance.
Institutional historical mapHerder Institute, carte du champ de bataille de Königgrätz
Carte au 1:50 000 publiée à Vienne en 1866
Initial deployments, directions of march, the Bistritz, Swiepwald, and Chlum.
View ↗Institutional military archiveUS Army CGSC, Austro-Saxon forces at Königgrätz
Nafziger Order of Battle Collection, 3 juillet 1866
Austro-Saxon order of battle and organization of the defensive line.
View ↗