Frederick the Great's First Defeat ⚔️ Battle of Kolin, 1757 (Part 4)

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The 1757 Battle of Prague was an incredibly bloody and costly affair for Austria and Prussia. Suffering enormous casualties, Prussia's King Frederick the Great emerged victoriously. Still, the fleeing Austrians retreated behind the Bohemian capital's walls. Frederick was convinced he could force the city and its garrison to its knees.
On May 29, he began the bombardment of Prague. With ten twenty-five pounder guns and twelve heavy mortars, the Prussians fired over 30.000 shells. But the garrison in Prague evidently enjoyed more provisions and tenacity than Frederick anticipated.
Then, horrifying news reached him. By early June, he learned of Field Marshal Leopold, Count von Daun assembling a new, large army to the east. Initially, Frederick assumed this was no more than 20.000 troops. Daun probably retreated with them after learning of the Austrian defeat at Prague. But General Georg Puttkammer, who chased the fleeing Austrian garrison, relayed to him Daun commanded 55.000 soldiers, including those who fled the Battle of Prague. This was a serious problem - Frederick did not have enough resources to conduct a siege and face a massive army simultaneously.
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:05 After the Battle of Prague
2:08 Sponsorship
3:14 Towards Kolin
5:42 The Battle of Kolin
Watch my documentary series:
►Battles and History of Prussia: • Prussian Battles
►End of Empire - Downfall of the Qing Dynasty playlist: • End of Empire - China'...
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Thank you for taking the time to check out House of History, I hope you will find the films informative, interesting and enjoyable!
If you have any feedback, questions or criticism feel free to leave a comment. Your opinion truly aids me in improving the content of the channel! If you have a question, feel free to leave a comment and I will either write a reply, answer your question in a Q&A video, or make an entire video about it!
Sources:
Asprey, Robert B. Frederick the Great: The magnificent enigma. Ticknor & Fields, 1986.
Blanning, Tim. Frederick the Great: King of Prussia. Penguin UK, 2015.
Clark, Christopher M. Iron kingdom: the rise and downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947. Harvard University Press, 2006.
Duffy, Christopher. Frederick the Great: a military life. Routledge, 2015.
Fraser, David. Frederick the Great: King of Prussia. Penguin Uk, 2000.
Redman, Herbert J. Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, 1756-1763. McFarland, 2014.
Written by House of History
Music courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
Photos, paintings and imagery: Public Domain, Wikicommons
Cinematic footage is from Total War: Empire recorded by House of History.

[@HoH]

The first 1,000 people to use the link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/houseofhistory06224

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nice new studio you've got. That poster in the background is lovely.

[@clarkstartrek]

Frederick seems to have been Outnumbered at least 2 to 1 at every point of his Attack. No Wonder Frederick Lost the Battle.

[@HoH]

@@clarkstartrek Similar circumstances at Roßbach, different outcome!

[@clarkstartrek]

@@HoH Very True.

[@nvelsen1975]

Reading Eeuwen Des Onderscheids? Before I read that, I thought I made long winding sentences.....

[@Friedrich2DerGrosse]

"I didn't lose, i merely failed to win!"

[@davidp7178]

@Johannes 黄皇唱 1945 or 1918 weren't failures, just not victories.

[@davidp7178]

@Johannes 黄皇唱 Did you even bother to read my comment? I said they were not failures and you correct me by repeating what I said. I realize that this is sarcasm on both your part and mine, but, really, correcting a comment by saying the exact same thing is not really clever, even as sarcasm. Not your best work, Johannes, I expect better of you.

[@chasechristophermurraydola9314]

Just saying but I can’t wait to see you fight the battle of Rossbach and Hochkirch and I can’t wait to see these battles because fighting in your army was my fellow Scottish brother James Francis Edward Keith and what I mean by fellow Scottish brother is you see I am part Scottish and even though I am part Scottish I still consider anyone who is full or part Scottish my fellow Scottish brother or sister and Besides serving in your army James Francis Edward Keith also pledged his allegiance to his nation of Scotland and he was a veteran of the 1719 Jacobite rebellion and after the rebellion he pledged his allegiance to Spain and during his allegiance to Spain he fought in the failed 13th siege of Gibraltar however after his allegiance to Spain he pledged his allegiance to Russia and after his allegiance to Russia he pledged his allegiance to you and his last battle was the battle of Hochkirch where he was killed and you see he was given the Black Eagle Award.

[@davidp7178]

@Johannes 黄皇唱 As well you should. (you do realize that I was just f'ing around and not really serious, I hope). Have a wonderful day, son.

[@Friedrich2DerGrosse]

@@chasechristophermurraydola9314 Alba Gu Brath! Brother

[@LoLMasterManiac]

The only bad thing about your videos is that one has to wait until you produce, edit and upload the next episode :3 Great content about my favourite Prussian king, thank you!

[@paulceglinski3087]

LoL. Good answer.

[@KHK001]

Amazing! more 7years war loving this series!

[@jimdawes4551]

Someone asked about "Kerls". "Kerl" in German just means in UKish English 'bloke/lad' or USAish 'guy'. So in the epoch's military context it would have meant "our lads / guys"...probably meaning rough conscripts, but relying on them being "good stout fellows". In the plural German it would have been Kerle, not Kerls. However in Shakespearean English "lads" were referred to as "carls" which is most probably a regional low German cognate of 'Kerle".

[@nvelsen1975]

Same word in Dutch: kerel Plural is 'kerels' though.

[@joshuawyatt7241]

Thats very interesting, though I wonder is it possible the English "Carl" was from the saxon "Huscarl" or old Norse "Húskarl"?

[@jmvm31]

The best series on the seven years war on KZbin.

[@Eric-ng2ed]

I love this channel. great commentary, sources, in such an overlooked time period. look forward to more

[@HoH]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@howhistorycouldhavehappene437]

I very much second that statement, Eric! Great content!

[@vitoscaletta7644]

For the record: The attack of the dragoons from the de Ligne regiment, nicknamed "the baby-faced" for their youthfulness, inspired other Austrian units as well and caused a decisive turning point during the Battle of Kolin.

[@Splodge542]

This was Frederick getting all his well trained soldiers killed. Could you explain what was the quality of the remaining Prussian Army and how fast was Fred running out of his best men?

[@christopherthrawn1333]

Excellent work 👏 👍 👌

[@HoH]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@steadyimprovement156]

I accidentally stumbled on your channel, and I must say I am pretty impressed! Content is very good and I like Prussian history :p Thank you

[@HoH]

Thanks! It's Steady Improvement, as the quality of my videos only improves over time. 😉

[@AdityaSingh-iz5zs]

Excellent video. Eagerly waiting for more.

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

A wonderful Historical coverage. when a defensive sides freezing offensive sides from successful maneuverability ..around its enemy ..its considered a remarkable Victory of Austrians ...thanks for sharing

[@zurgesmiecal]

same in Gettysburg. Yankees omly sitting there and preventing their enemies to move forward

[@JoeyC777]

I love the enthusiastic way you pronounce "thousand"! Great video, as usual.

[@paulceglinski3087]

Love all of your videos. It was worth it getting together quickly this A.M. to catch it live. I'm now a subscriber for life.

[@HoH]

Welcome aboard! Thanks for the kind words.

[@amtmannb.4627]

You make more numerous videos about Frederick's campaigns then others. I would find first the campaigns of Maurice, the Maréchal de Saxe interesting too with Fontenoy as one of the most iconic battles of the whole 18th century (we should not ignore that Rocoux in 1746 was at this point the largest battle of the century as far as I know). Secondly videos about the Alte Dessauer prince Leopold and his rising to one of the top generals of his period would be something remarkable - let us look at his contribution to the Prussian footprint in the WSS (Höchstätt 1 & Turin)! I would be very excited to read about your opinion about these topics. Cheers!

[@FieldMarshalYT]

I do have a video featuring Dessau at Turin, however it hasnt aged as well as my newer videos. May be worth a watch if you're looking for some WSS action though

[@amtmannb.4627]

@@FieldMarshalYT It sounds excellent. I didn't found your channel yet.

[@perchitaxrozoldo7537]

Oh I can see the suffering that Frederik will feel during the rest of the war

[@jurgschupbach3059]

Härdöpfu hets gnue

[@Leaffordes]

Thank you so much. This series is truly awesome.

[@reagend1841]

Great video! Thank you!

[@evrensuer549]

Untouched topic, congrats really admirable👌

[@jeetjewatspannend]

I am really enjoying youre video's they keep getting more proffesional! perhaps you could cover some of the overlooked battles of the napoleonic wars? like dresden or eylau

[@Ian_KH]

Great video. Beautifully done and very informative. Thank you.

[@richardglady3009]

Very nice video. Thank you.

[@edelbecc1]

I would love more info on the Austrian army in general

[@Jesse_Dawg]

Love these videos. Please more

[@nadjiguemarful]

Quickly becoming my favorite channel

[@robbabcock_]

Great video!

[@paulceglinski3087]

I think someone commented live that H of H vids got the like button before watching, I second that.

[@Marmocet]

Wow, what a poor performance by Frederick. Frontal assaults are best used only to fix an enemy in place long enough for the main attacking force to work its way around the enemy's flanks and rear, not to deliver the main effort. When a frontal assault is the main effort, the best an attacker usually gets for his efforts is a costly victory like the one Napoleon had at Borodino, and far more often, a bloody defeat such as this one. Still, Frederick showed an admirable capacity for self-criticism and that surely is one of the reasons he was "the Great" and not merely "the Above Average".

[@patrickjeffers7864]

I was waiting on this...and kunersdorf

[@FieldMarshalYT]

Looking forward to Rossbach!

[@nirfz]

A topic person or battle i want to know more about? Maybe the siege of Belgrade in 1717. I think one of the mortars that played a decisive role is on display at the military museum in vienna. (but i could misremember that) Or your take on the Land battle at Narvik in WW2, or the battles on the Italian front in WW1. Or maybe a short one on the battle/siege of the Schloßberg in Graz during the Napoleonic wars (~900 soldiers in a tiny fortress on a small hill in a city vs 3k soldiers of the Grand arme. Not sure though if it makes for an interesting video, as i only know the endresults)

[@byonce3254]

Its his overconfidence that led to here always frontal charge and your enemy wont shoot ? Common man.

[@vasantharajan526]

Hi. It was a really nice video. You depicted and talked about the battle very nicely. What video will you be covering next on this series?

[@HoH]

A battle which became a historical footnote but will be covered for completion's sake. The 1757 Battle of Landeshut (I don't think it even has a Wiki page).

[@yosman-609]

@@HoH but aren't there several battles before that one? Like Rossbach and Leuthen

[@HoH]

@@yosman-609 you're thinking of the 1760 battle of Landeshut.

[@yosman-609]

@@HoH my apologies then, I hope you didn't take my previous comment as rude.

[@HoH]

@@yosman-609 no need to apologise, I understand the confusion!

[@josefharapes6541]

thanks for this part, Every year is hystorical event in Krezrczhorz moument of that battle .. BT My family is from "Brezan" (btw fist remark on chronicle is from 1088 a.d.) , now we call Břežany I.(Brezan first) we are here overe 700 years , cca from 1305 a.d

[@Freddie1980]

The guy is responsible for getting 10,000 of his own men killed or wounded and all he can say is "I must do better?" What a callous and cold individual.

[@markcoroneos7811]

Indeed, he shared that with napoleon - "Soldiers are born to be killed".

[@tantanodvina7399]

Can you make a video of 80 years war thank you.

[@alisaneskandary3427]

Can you make a documentary about austro prussian war in 1866?

[@makinapacal]

Frederick had been defeated before. Look up General Traun. This was Frederick's first battlefield defeat, not his first defeat.

[@moshehim1000]

Hi, You take requests? Great! I just listened to a short interview with a nurse who volunteered with the Igbo people during the Nigerian-Biafran war. And had no idea what it was all about. A war I never knew happened, in a short-lived state I never even heard of... Well, that was that, I thought. But since you're taking requests and suggestions, how about this: Loads upon loads of wars in post-Colonial Africa, you ought to do a series about them, and Biafra is a good place to begin with, I guess.

[@heinekelland9223]

9:32 every battle fought by the prussian soldier

[@aarondemiri486]

nnnnnnnooo Frederick! The seven years war was a bad couple of years for our favourite flute busting Prussian.

[@nomooon]

Frederick's tactical mind seems to be levels below the first tier commanders. He tried to maneuver but wind up going into a frontal assault across the line against numerically superior enemy defending higher ground. Supposedly he was known for oblique order but in the battles so far I don't see how he used it decisively anywhere, most breakthroughs were achieved with cavalry.

[@elmascapo6588]

Hohenfriedberger is a great example as well as soor

[@jorgejustin461]

Napoleon also did the same thing but I don't see people saying his tactical acumen was poor. Sometimes you just cannot pull off the maneuvers you want.

[@duxveritatis2569]

@@jorgejustin461 Napoleon only did that later in his reign when he seemed too tired of the wars (and usually after his marshals failed to execute his original plan). Frederick on the other hand...

[@austinford1530]

He's obviously a good general but i wouldn't have him top 25 all time imo.

[@gerardjagroo]

I'm just going to come out and say it, but if he was commanding any other army he'd have lost a half dozen times before this. Even the best army in the world cannot make up for deficiencies in generalship. To be fair I think he got much better towards the end

[@Elgard2]

I would love some consistency in local town names. While Prague is using English name, other cities are germanized (coming from the contemporary sources I guess). Modern viewer has no clue to what cities are that now most likely. Czech names to them as well so they can be googled better?

[@HoH]

Yep, the Germanized names are from contemporary sources, whereas Prague, Berlin etc. are so well-known everyone knows what they stand for. I share the struggle of finding the proper Czech counterparts of many Germanized towns, but I don't see a reason to clutter the map with two names for the same village.

[@jeffreywong33]

I just can't understand the philosophy of going to combat before forming up your army

[@AdityaSingh-iz5zs]

Sir one question. At 8:30 king frederick orderd general hulsen to March beside krzeczhorzin in the woodland to radowiznitz. According to video king was thinking that austrian lines were between blinka, chozenitz and krzeczhorzin. He orderd hulsen to advance to deliver same circumventing attack. Didn't he took his consideration of austrian line between two villages or he thought that austrian lines would be weak there in the woodland, that he would brake austrian lines in two and then destroy them separately? Sir kindly clear this confusion.

[@HoH]

He was hoping a frontal attack at that point would break through. Instead, it opened up the flank of Hulsen's infantry (thanks to the Austrians extending their lines beyond what Frederick thought).

[@AdityaSingh-iz5zs]

@@HoH thank you sir.

[@beepboop204]

👍

[@herrtimburkhardt]

Hoch Habsburg! Es lebe Leopold von Daun!

[@peterpim6260]

To begin with , the Prussians did not fire shells . Such didn´t exist when cannon were loaded with Blachpowder !

[@ofmanyone]

Can't make out who's what. Contrast is out of wack.

[@BasileiaRomaionHistory]

thought he lost his first battle in Silesia

[@ReaperCH90]

Kinda crazy how Prussia almost won this

[@sayonara1894]

This needs to be illustrated with imperial destroyer mod instead of shitty vanilla

[@fehervari98]

Could you perhaps do a video about what exactly the French were doing during this war, especially in Europe? Seemingly they contributed nothing worthwhile to the war effort...

[@josephwalukonis9934]

France mobilized 300,000 men for the war but could not use all of them offensively. A significant number were posted on the sea coast to watch for British raids. The remainder campaigned in western areas of modern Germany fighting against the combined armies of Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Brunswick, and Buckeberg. The British provided a small contingent which was expanded later on.

[@markcoroneos7811]

As the previous commentor said; they were tied down in a number of theaters and couldnt fully concentrate on prussia like they had hoped. The one army they did send through got smashed at rossbach.

[@hassaanalisiddiqui3827]

What if the ottomans had joined the Prussians

[@xjuliussx]

why Frederick felt compel to attack the austrians in their fortify stance, when it was Austrians who was invading and need to get Frederick army ? Always austrians were only defending! Something which i don't get it. This is most bad planned battle i've saw.

[@TheAustrianAnimations87]

"Always austrians were only defending!" And what about the battle of Hochkirch?

[@zetectic7968]

Still not sure why Frederick is called the Great. He seems careless with his soldiers lives and favours frontal assaults relying on the discipline of the troops rather than good tactics. Here he had a distinct lack of knowledge of the enemies disposition and didn't appear to use his artillery effectively.

[@hjorturerlend]

Probably because of the coming battles of Rossbach and Leuthen. He was definitely fallible tho, yes.

[@Leaffordes]

Excuse me? Frederick was very tactical - just wait until Leuthen and Rossbach. What you're describing sounds more like the Caroleans, who just melee-engaged their enemies in frontal assaults no matter the odds (and thus most battles were won because of the superiority of the Swedish soldier and not necessarily the generals).

[@rayzas4885]

He turned Prussia into a great power and crushed austrias and Frances attempts to curtail that. He had defeats sure, but his victories were far more impressive

[@gerardjagroo]

Didn't he do even the most cursory of reconnaissance? If he wasn't leading the OG hard ass Prussian army he'd have lost half a dozen times before this.

[@lewyyys6340]

because I've often seen in your vids that you use the worded Kerls for the English lads ......in German plural of Kerl is Kerle not Kerls 👍😘

[@HoH]

Thanks! But is Kerls singular then? In sources, they often mention Frederick refers to his men as "Kerls" when launching a charge.

[@lewyyys6340]

@@HoH no the singular is Kerl....i checked the Kerls...it's an old German word so Frederick probably said it.....so you are correct👍👍👍 It's just a bit weird for a German because it's an uncommon word😯😉 Btw i like your vids very much