Refighting Hohenfriedberg (part 10)

AFTERTHOUGHTS

The first thing I did after the battle finished, and before my opponent could congratulate me on my victory, was to apologise for having got the scenario wrong.

Giving the Prussians seven battalions of regular foot and 1.5 battalions of grenadiers, when the Austro-Saxons had 10 battalions of regular foot and one of grenadiers, was too much of a discrepancy.

The feeling grew on me during the battle that I had got the numbers wrong, and if I were to fight Hohenfriedberg again in similar circumstances I would give the Prussians at least one extra battalion.

Having said that, we thoroughly enjoyed the refight, with the outcome in doubt till the very last roll of the dice.

As my opponent rightly pointed out, the Prussian cause might have fared much better if he had rolled better action-points, or if I had not succeeded in rolling such good ones. Despite having a 10-sided die for his centre action-points, while I only had a normal six-side one, he only rolled more action points than me in three of the 11 rounds.

His right wing, which much as in the real battle in 1745 was victorious over the mainly Saxon left wing, was too slow, thanks to inadequate action points, to prove the decisive factor it so easily could have been.

War of the Austrian Succession - campaign standings after seven battles (Mollwitz, Chotusitz, Sahay, Dettingen, Pfaffenhofen, Fontenoy and Hohendfriedberg)
2pts for a win, plus a bonus point if the win reverses a battle's historical outcome
PLAYERS
                    Wins Losses Bonus Points Total Points Score*
Me                   5        2               4                   14             100%
Opponent         2        5               1                   5              35.7%
NATIONS
Austria              5        0               4                  14            140%
France              2        2               1                   5              62.5%
Britain+             0        2               0                   0               0%
Prussia             0        3               0                   0               0%
 *Score is calculated on the basis that two points a battle counts as 100 percent, so it is possible with bonus points to score up to 150 percent.
+This is the Pragmatic Army, which was led and primarily financed by Britain.

Refighting Hohenfriedberg (part nine)

Looking from behind the Austro-Saxon left at the start of turn 11

TURN 11
Frederick again won the initiative, and rolled 2+1 (centre) and 4 (right).
He had to use one of his centre action-points to try, successfully, to rally the Porzellan Dragoons and another to try, unsuccessfully, to rally the Samuel von Schlichting Foot. He used the third one to get the Margrave von Bayreuth Dragoons to charge my Fürst von Batthyány Dragoons, winning the subsequent melee by two hits to one, which eliminated my squadron. On the right he was able to move all four remaining units, but this did not result in any combats.
After 10.5 turns the Prussians have lost 17 of 34 army points and the Austro-Saxons have lost 19 of 40.
I rolled 4 (left), 6 (centre) and 5 (right).
It only took one action point to finish the battle, when my Saxon artillery battery scored a hit on the Johann von Hertzberg Foot, which had already been reduced to 25% effectiveness and so was now eliminated. That meant Frederick had lost 19 action points - more than half his starting total, and therefore meaning he had lost the battle.

Frederick looks a lonely figure in the distance as the fleeing Samuel von Schlichting Foot rush past him

Refighting Hohenfriedberg (part eight)

Overview from behind the Austro-Saxon left st the start of turn nine

TURN NINE
The situation looks grim for Frederick, but yet again he won the initiative, and rolled 9+1 (centre) and 5 (right) - no units of the Prussian left remain.
On his right the Hacke-Leps Grenadiers pivoted round Pilgramshain and fired a volley at the Niesemeuschel Foot, who immediately lost 50% effectiveness, and the unit lost a further 25% and had to flee when its morale failed. In the centre his artillery caused the Deutschmeister Foot to lose a further 25% effectiveness, meaning it is one hit away from complete disintegration, and the Johann von Hertzberg Foot scored a hit on the Prié-Turinetti Foot. Frederick pulled back the Samuel von Schlichting Foot from the Austro-Saxon centre, presumably not liking the odds of their survival. He also swung the Johann von Lehwaldt Foot away from the centre and towards my right, where the Porzellan Dragoons and Margrave von Bayreuth Dragoons had already been heading.

Prussians attack the victorious Austro-Saxon right

Indeed the Porzellan Dragoons were able to charge the fleeing Cordova Curiassiers in the rear. The dragoons, rolling eight dice because they were attacking from behind, scored six hits, only two of which were saved. The cuirassiers were therefore wiped out, but they did inflict a hit on the dragoons.
I rolled 6 (left), 6 (centre) and 3 (right).
On the left I was unable to rally either the Niesemeuschel Foot or the Prinz Xaver Foot, which meant both units left the battlefield. However the Prié-Turinetti Foot scored a hit on the Johann von Hertzberg Foot, evening the score in their long drawn-out musketry duel. In the centre my Karl von Lothringen Foot advanced passed the hamlet of Thomaswaldau and poured a devastating volley into the flank of the Johann von Lehwaldt Foot, causing the Prussians to lose 75% effectiveness, although their morale just about held firm (Frederick rolled a 2, but the presence of the Margrave von Bayreuth Dragoons counted as being a friendly unit to the rear, based on the direction of attack, and so provided a +1 modifier, raising the Johann von Lehwaldt Foot's morale to the 3 needed by regular units). On my right the triumphant Porzellan Dragoons were charged in front and both flanks. In all I was entitled to eight dice, but scored just two hits. However that was enough to win the melee as the Prussians inflicted only one hit. The Prussians had to flee, but my victory was somewhat pyrrhic as the one Prussian hit was determined by rolling dice to have fallen on the much-reduced Eugen von Savoyen Dragoons, who were therefore eliminated.
After nine turns the Prussians have lost 15 of 34 army points and the Austro-Saxons have lost 18 of 40. In other words both sides are just three points away from losing more than half their starting total, and therefore the battle.

Lots of Prussians in the foreground but most Austrians are concentrated between Günthersdorf  and Thomaswaldau

TURN 10

Frederick again won the initiative, and rolled 2 (right) and 8+1 (centre).

It proved a relatively quiet half-turn for the Prussians, although the Johann von Hertzberg Foot scored another hit on the Prié-Turinetti Foot, reducing the unit to 50% effectiveness, and the Karl von Lothringen Foot lost 25% effectiveness to artillery fire.

I again rolled great action-points: 4 (left), 6 (centre) and 6 (right).

On my left the sole remaining Saxon unit, an artillery battery, scored two potential hits on the Johann von Hertzberg Foot. Neither became an actual hit, but then the Prié-Turinetti Foot scored two hits on the Prussian battalion, which nevertheless did not break. In the centre the Samuel von Schlichting Foot lost 25% effectiveness to artillery fire, causing its morale to collapse, which meant the battalion lost a further 25% effectiveness and fled. My Karl von Lothringen Foot then finished off the Johann von Lehwaldt Foot, reducing Frederick to 17 army points - one shy of defeat. There was no substantial action on my right.

After 10 turns the Prussians have lost 17 of 34 army points and the Austro-Saxons have lost 18 of 40.

Overview of the delicately balanced battle at the end of turn 10 - getting the initiative next turn could be decisive

Refighting Hohenfriedberg (part seven)

Overview at the start of turn seven

TURN SEVEN
Frederick won the dice-off for the initiative and decided to go first, rolling 5 (left), 7+1 (centre) and 3 (right).
In the centre the 2nd von Hacke Foot rallied, and the von Leps Foot scored a hit on the Prinz von Sachsen-Hildburghausen Foot, whose morale held firm despite being reduced to 25% effectiveness. There was no significant action on the Prussian right, but on the left Frederick's von Posadowski Dragoons won the second round of their melee against the Eugen von Savoyen Dragoons by one hit to nil, causing my surviving dragoons to flee.

Looking from behind the Austro-Saxon right

I rolled a stupendous 6 (left), 6 (centre) and 5 (right).
On my right the Eugen von Savoyen Dragoons rallied, and the Cordova Cuirassiers charged the von Posadowski Dragoons, wiping them out without suffering losses of their own. In the centre, accurate battery fire destroyed the remains of Frederick's von Leps Foot. There was more success on the left when the Prié-Turinetti Foot advanced and finished off the rallied 2nd von Hacke Foot, and the Prinz Xaver Foot did the same to the jäger, who had inadvisably moved too close to them.
After seven turns the Prussians have lost 14 of 34 army points and the Austro-Saxons have lost 10 of 40.

Bird's eye view from above Günthersdorf of the depleted Prussian centre

TURN EIGHT
Frederick won the initiative, went first and rolled 1 (left), 8+1 (centre) and 3 (right).
His artillery at last produced some much-needed worthwhile results. First the battery near Pilgramshain on the Austro-Saxon left scored a hit on the Prinz Xaver Foot, who lost a further 25% effectiveness and had to flee on failing their morale test. Secondly, the battery nearest Thomaswaldau on the Austro-Saxon right scored two hits on the Deutschmeister Foot who, perhaps foolishly as it turned out, had advanced on the previous turn. The battalion's morale proved strong, but it had been reduced to 50% effectiveness. Two full-strength Prussian battalions were able to advance and fire at relatively isolated battalions of mine. The Samuel von Schlichting Foot eliminated the remains of my Prinz von Sachsen-Hildburghausen Foot, but the Johann von Hertzberg somehow failed to inflict any damage on the Prié-Turinetti Foot. One of Frederick's reserve horse squadrons, the Porzellan Dragoons, which he had sent to join the mass cavalry combat on my right, missed a golden opportunity when the move-variation rule prevented it charging the Cordova Cuirassiers in the flank. There was more bad news for Frederick when the surviving members of the Buddenbrock Cuirassiers charged the Fürst von Batthyány Dragoons, only to be wiped out. Their demise marked the complete annihilation of Frederick's left wing.
I rolled 6 (left), 1 (centre) and 3 (right).
On my left the Prinz Xaver Foot failed to rally, and will leave the battlefield if they fail to rally next turn. The Prié-Turinetti Foot returned the compliment to the Johann von Hertzberg Foot by firing at them at full strength but somehow inflicting no casualties. All I could do in the centre was fire a battery, but it missed. On my right the Cordova Cuirassiers swung to their left and counter-charged the Porzellan Dragoons, but soon regretted it when they lost melee by two hits to nil and had to flee.
After eight turns the Prussians have lost 15 of 34 army points and the Austro-Saxons have lost 12 of 40.

Overview from behind the Austro-Saxon left

Refighting Hohenfriedberg (part six)

Overview from behind the Austro-Saxon left at the start of turn five

TURN FIVE
Frederick again chose to go first (this is the last turn the Prussians automatically get the initiative), and rolled 2 (left), 8+1 (centre) and 1 (right).
His artillery failed to score a hit, but on the Prussian right he used his one pip to get the King's Hussars to charge the fleeing Adeliges Kadettenkorps in the back, eliminating them. In the centre his von Leps Foot surged forward and fired a volley that finished off the Los Rios-Deutschmeister Grenadiers.

Looking from behind Günthersdorf in the Austro-Saxon centre

I rolled 2 (left), 3 (centre) and 6 (right).
My central artillery batteries scored three potential hits on the von Leps Foot, but none became an actual hit. However, I successfully rallied the Baden-Baden Foot, narrowly stopping them from leaving the battlefield. On the right I continued sending forward my reserve horse, and on the left I swung the Niesemeuschel Foot to face the threat from the victorious Prussian right.

Looking from above Günthersdorf to the Austro-Saxon left

After five turns the Prussians have lost five of 34 army points and the Austro-Saxons have lost six of 40.

TURN SIX
We diced for the initiative. I rolled a 6 but it was tied when Frederick rolled a 5, which counted as 6 thanks to his +1 modifier for being an exceptional general. Frederick won the re-roll and elected to go first, rolling 1 (left), 5+1 (centre) and 6 (right).

He used his sole left-flank action pip to get his jäger to fire at and finish off my depleted Graf von Brühl Foot. In the centre his 2nd von Hacke Foot scored three hits on the Königin Foot, whose morale failed them, and his over-achieving von Leps Foot inflicted two hits on the Prinz von Sachsen-Hildburghausen Foot, although the latter passed its morale test. On the Prussian left the yellow-coated Prinz von Preussen Cuirassiers charged my Fürst von Batthyány Dragoons. Both squadrons inflicted two hits, with the cuirassiers narrowly failing to cancel one of theirs when a die roll produced a 5 instead of the required 6.

The cavalry melee between Thomaswaldau and Halbendorf

I rolled 5 (left), 6 (centre) and 3 (right).
The slide in Austro-Saxon fortunes was somewhat halted when the Saxon battery was able to fire canister at the 1st von Hacke Foot. A throw of 6 meant three potential hits, two of which became actual hits, wiping out the remains of the Prussian battalion. I had more success on this flank when the Prié-Turinetti stepped forward and, despite a -1 modifier for moving, fired an accurate volley at the 2nd von Hacke Foot, inflicting two hits. The Prussian unit's morale collapsed, causing it lose a further 25% effectiveness and to flee. In the centre the previously all-conquering von Leps Foot suffered a hit from roundshot and from the Prinz von Sachsen-Hildburghausen Foot, but the battlaion's morale was steady. In the big cavalry confrontation between Thomaswaldau and Halbendorf, my Eugen von Savoyen Dragoons charged Frederick's von Posadowski Dragoons.

Two cavalry melees to resolve beside the Striegauer Wasser

My Fürst von Batthyány Dragoons won the second round of their melee against the Prinz von Preussen Cuirassiers, wiping out the latter. The all-dragoon melee was tied with two hits apiece.
After six turns the Prussians have lost eight of 34 army points and the Austro-Saxons have lost 10 of 40.

Overview at the end of turn six

Refighting Hohenfriedberg (part five)

TURN THREE

Overview from behind the Austro-Saxon left at the start of turn three

Frederick again chose to go first, and rolled 2 (left), 9+1 (centre) and 2 (right).
The Prussian artillery failed miserably to inflict casualties, but elsewhere in the centre the von Leps Foot scored a hit on my Baden-Baden Foot, who subsequently failed a morale test, causing the unit to lose a further 25% effectiveness and to flee. On the Prussian left the Buddenbrock Cuirassiers rallied, and the Brandenburg-Schwedt Cuirassiers charged my Liechtenstein Dragoons. Both units were at 50% effectiveness, but there was a shock for the Prussians when they lost the melee by two hits to one, and were unable to negate either hit with a successful saving throw. On the Prussian right the Red Hussars charged the Sibilski Chevauxlegers. Despite the Saxons being medium cavalry, and so entitled to two dice per 25% effectiveness against hussars, the melee was tied with each unit inflicting just one hit.

Looking from behind the Austro-Saxon left as the Sibilski Chevauxlegers battle Prussia's Red Hussars

I rolled 3 (left), 5 (centre) and 1 (right).
On the Austro-Saxon left the Graf von Brühl Foot advanced and fired at the Prussian jäger, reducing the light infantry's effectiveness by 50%, although the unit's morale held firm. The second round of the cavalry melee saw my Sibilski Chevauxlegers commit overkill with six hits, but Frederick's red Hussars scored three hits of their own, meaning both units ceased to exist. In the centre my Baden-Baden Foot failed to rally, but I sent Prince Charles to intercept the unit to try to save them next turn. My two central artillery batteries failed to score a hit, but my Los Rios-Deutschmeister Grenadiers reduced the Brandenburg-Schwedt Foot by a further 25% effectiveness, leaving the Prussians at just 25% effectiveness, but the unit's morale was good. On my right I used the one action point I had to slightly withdraw the Liechtenstein Dragoons, so they were less likely to be charged in the flank.
After three turns the Prussians have lost three of 34 army points and the Austro-Saxons have lost two of 40.

Prince Charles about to try to rally the fleeing Baden-Baden Foot

TURN FOUR
Frederick again chose to go first, and rolled 1 (left), 4+1 (centre) and 6 (right)
The Prussian artillery was slightly more effective this turn, scoring a hit on the Graf von Brühl Foot, whose morale held firm.  Also in the Prussian centre, the von Leps Foot, no doubt bouyed by driving off the Baden-Baden Foot, swung to their right and scored two hits on the Los Rios-Deutschmeister Grenadiers, who nevertheless passed their morale test. On the Prussian right the Hacke-Leps Grenadiers advanced and poured a devastating volley into the Nagy Károly Hussars, who immediately lost 75% effectiveness and, perhaps not surprisingly, broke up altogether on failing their morale test.

The surviving Austrian grenadiers in the centre look exposed

I rolled 3 (left), 6 (centre) and 5 (right).
The Saxon battery followed up its success of turn two by scoring another hit on the 1st von Hacke Foot, but the Prussian morale held up. Also on my left flank I ordered the Adeliges Kadettenkorps to charge the King's Hussars, but the cadets, despite throwing eight dice to the hussars' four, lost the melee by three hits to one and had to flee. In the centre I failed to rally the Baden-Baden Foot, despite Prince Charles' +1 modifier, but one of my batteries scored a hit on the von Leps Foot, and my grenadiers, despite losing 50% effectiveness earlier this turn, finished off the Brandenburg-Schwedt Foot. On my right flank I withdrew my two squadrons that had been reduced to 50%, and started to send forward the reserve horse.

The Austro-Saxon extreme left has collapsed

After four turns the Prussians have lost five of 34 army points and the Austro-Saxons have lost three of 40.

Overview from behind the Austro-Saxon left at the end of turn four

Refighting Hohenfriedberg (part four)

MY opponent is my guest and thus has the choice of commanding the Prussians or the Austro-Saxons.

As I have explained before, he is a huge Francophile, and so he has chosen to command the Prussians, who were allied with the French for much of the War of the Austrian Succession.

Accordingly he has sunk his identity into the persona of King Frederick, soon to be Frederick the Great (apparently it was after the Battle of Hohenfriedberg that people began applying that sobriquet), and I will refer to him as such in my write-up.

As usual I will be describing the battle as it happens.

Overview at the start of our refight, looking from behind the Austro-Saxon left

TURN ONE

Frederick chose to go first and for action points rolled 2 (left), 8+1 (centre, with Frederick's bonus) and 6 (right).

His artillery batteries opened fire - all three were in range, although two barely - but to no effect. Otherwise he ordered a general advance, but holding back somewhat on the left where he only had two action points.

The Prussian right advancing on the Austro-Saxon left-wing horse beside Pilgramshain

I rolled 4 (left), 6 (centre) and 3 (right).

My artillery batteries were just as ineffective as the Prussians'. On the right I advanced the front line of my cavalry, making a melee almost inevitable next turn. I also advanced two infantry battalions in the centre, and one to the right of Pilgramshain in the hope it can take on the Prussian jäger next turn.

Looking from behind Thomaswaldau on the Austro-Saxon right

TURN TWO

Frederick again chose to go first, and rolled a feeble 2 (left), 1+1 (centre) and 1 (right).

But in the centre his artillery battery nearest Pilgramshain found its range on my Graf von Brühl Foot, who had advanced on his jäger, scoring two hits. The Saxon infantry's morale held firm, but they had been reduced to 50% effectiveness. On his left the Brandenburg-Schwedt Cuirassiers charged my Sachsen-Gotha Dragoons, and the Württemberg Dragoons charged my Liechtenstein Dragoons. We fought the cuirassier-dragoon melee first, and it proved a bloody affair with the cuirassiers inflicting four hits while suffering two. The cuirassiers' saving-rolls for wearing a cuirass did them no good, but nevertheless they had wiped out the Sachsen-Gotha Dragoons. But the Prussian joy was short-lived as the result of the other melee was the exact reverse, meaning the Württemberg Dragoons were destroyed.

I rolled 1 (left), 6 (centre) and 2 (right), prompting my opponent to take a mock-serious close-up look at my centre die.

My Saxon battery scored a hit on the 1st von Hacke Foot, but their morale held. In the centre the Los Rios-Deutschmeister Grenadiers, despite a -1 modifier for moving, scored two hits on the Brandenburg-Schwedt Foot, although again morale proved satisfactory. On the right the Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers charged the von Buddenbrock Cuirassiers, winning the subsequent melee by three hits to two (no saving throws were successful). The Prussians narrowly missed losing a further 25% effectiveness to poor morale, but had to retreat for losing the melee. Unfortunately my Liechtenstein Dragoons missed a golden opportunity when the move-variation rule prevented them charging the Brandenburg-Schwedt Cuirassiers in the flank.

In the foreground are the Cordova Cuirassiers (nearer Thomaswaldau) and the Eugen von Savoyen Dragoons, while in the far distance the von Buddenbrock Cuirassiers can be seen fleeing the Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers

After two turns the Prussians have lost one of 34 army points and the Austrians have lost one of 40.

Overview at the end of turn two

Refighting Hohenfriedberg (part three)

Command & Control

This is straightforward for the Prussians.

In the centre, getting a 10-sided die for action points, are seven battalions of foot, three guns, two squadrons of horse and Frederick.

The Prussian centre in front of Gräbner Fuchs-Berg ... front row with the guns are (left to right) battalions of  1st and 2nd Johann von Hacke, Margrave von Brandenburg-Schwedt and Otto von Leps, with behind them battalions of Johann von Hertzberg, Samuel von Schlichting and Johann von Lehwaldt. Frederick is on a grey charger with the Margrave von Bayreuth Dragoons, and beside them are the Porzellan Dragoons

On the Prussian right, getting a six-sided die for action points, are three cavalry squadrons, 1.5 battalions of foot and a unit of light infantry.

Prussian right ... front row are (left to right) the Red Hussars, King's Hussars, Hacke-Leps Grenadiers and Jäger von Noble light foot, supported by the Garde du Corps and a half-battalion of von Lehwaldt Grenadiers

On the Prussian left, getting a six-sided die for action points, are five cavalry squadrons.

Prussian left ... front row are (left to right) von Buddenbrock Cuirassiers, Württemberg Dragoons and Margrave von Brandenburg-Schwedt Cuirassiers, supported by von Platen Dragoons and Prinz von Preussen Cuirassiers

Command & control is somewhat different for the Austro-Saxons.

Although Charles of Lorraine was in overall command, the left wing, which comprised all the Saxons with support from some Imperialists, was commanded by the Saxon Duke of Weissenfels.

It consists of five infantry battalions, three cavalry squadrons and a gun, and will have a six-sided die for action points.

Austro-Saxon left ... leading the cavalry are the Saxon Sibilski Chevauxlegers followed by the Austrian Nagy Károly Hussars and the Saxon Adeliges Kadettenkorps. In the front row to the right of Pilgramshain are the Saxon Graf von Brühl and Königin Foot, with behind them the Prinz Xaver and Niesemeuschel Foot. The sole 'Austrian' battalion on the left  is the Prié-Turinetti beside Günthersdorf

The centre, stretching from Günthersdorf to Thomaswaldau, has six infantry battalions, two guns, a squadron of horse, a light infantry unit and Charles. It too will get a six-sided die for action points, as will the Austro-Saxon right, which has seven cavalry squadrons.

Austro-Saxon centre ... front row with the guns are battalions of (left to right) Prinz von Sachsen-Hildburghausen Foot, Los Rios-Deutschmeister Grenadiers and Baden-Baden Foot, with behind them the Los Rios Foot, Deutschmeister Foot, Karl von Lothringen Foot with Charles of Lorraine and Modena Cuirassiers, and grenzer light infantry

Austro-Saxon right ... in the front line of horse are (left to right) Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers, Liechtenstein Dragoons and Sachsen-Gotha Dragoons, with behind them Kaspar von Cordova Cuirassiers, Eugen von Savoyen Dragoons and Fürst von Batthyány Dragoons. Lagging back to the right are Nádasdy Hussars

The poorer command & control for the Austro-Saxons reflects their relative disorganisation and split command.

In addition, because Frederick is an exceptional general, he will get a +1 modifier for the action-points die in whichever sector he is in. He will also have a +1 modifier for deciding the initiative each turn, when attempting to rally a unit and when attached to a unit that has to take a morale test.

Refighting Hohenfriedberg

THE Battle of Hohenfriedberg was fought 275 years ago this month between a Prussian army under Frederick the Great and an Austro-Saxon army under Maria Theresa's brother-in-law Charles of Lorraine.
Three years earlier Prussia had withdrawn from what became known as the War of the Austrian Succession after Austria agreed to cede most of Silesia.
But Frederick, worried about successful Habsburg diplomacy in Italy and seeing most Imperial troops committed to Flanders, invaded Bohemia in July 1744.
He easily captured Prague, but a combination of guerrilla tactics by Hungarian irregulars and Saxony's unexpected entry into the war on the Austrian side obliged the Prussians to retreat.
In January 1745 the Austrians, emboldened by the death of the Bavarian Elector Charles VII, who, much to their fury, had been elected Holy Roman Emperor, went further on the offensive.
They invaded Bavaria, knocking the electorate out of the war after defeating a French army in April at the Battle of Pfaffenhofen (http://timspanton.blogspot.com/2020/05/refighting-battle-of-pfaffenhofen.html).
Defeat the following month at Fontenoy (http://timspanton.blogspot.com/2020/05/refighting-fontenoy.html), although disappointing, was largely a British affair and did not dampen Maria Theresa's enthusiasm for revenge on Frederick.
Indeed plans were already well-advanced for her brother-in-law, Prince Charles, to invade Silesia from Bohemia by crossing the Giant Mountains (Riesengebirge in German), which now form part of the Czech-Polish border.
Some of Frederick's generals wanted to garrison the passes, but the king preferred to let Charles and his army, comprising about 40,000 Imperialists and almost 20,000 Saxons, to debouch into Silesia, where he hoped to crush them in a single blow.
Charles placed his headquarters, at least temporarily, in the small village of Hohenfriedberg (even today the village, which is now in Poland and is called Dobromierz, has a population well under 1,000).
His army was bivouacked on a line of four even smaller hamlets, each of which had its own copse of trees, mainly for the purposes of winter firewood.

The battlefield before the armies arrive - the hamlets left to right are Pilgramshain, Günthersdorf, Thomaswaldau and, beyond the Striegauer Wasser, Halbendorf (hamlet spellings taken from those of the distinguished map-maker John Fawkes)

Frederick had a slightly smaller army - as usual, exact numbers vary in the sources - but the Prussian infantry were still the cream of Europe, and he had spent the two years of peace improving his cavalry so it would no longer, as at Mollwitz, be outclassed by the Austrians.
He also ensured his army had its fair share of light troops, especially hussars, who successfully scouted the Austro-Saxons, although 'successfully' in this case is a relative term.
The king decided on a a dawn attack, led by hussars and grenadiers, on Charles's left wing, which was mainly composed of Saxons.
The idea was to attack the Saxons in the flank, but a slight adjustment of the Saxon position, combined with problems of manoeuvring at night and shortfalls in the scouting, meant the attack hit them head-on.
Nevertheless the attack had surprise on its side, and a furious fight ensued, alerting the rest of the Habsburg forces.

The situation with the battle-proper about to get underway, which is where our refight will start