Outbreak of the Seven Years' War: The Battle of Lobositz (Part 1)

The Battle of Lobositz marked the outbreak of the Seven Years' War. It was an epic, and complex battle between Prussia's Frederick the Great and the Habsburg Monarchy's Field Marshal Browne. Eventually, despite Prussia traditionally 'winning' the battle, there were multiple important caveats in its direct aftermath. The Seven Years' war would not be the lightning campaign Frederick the Great hoped it would be.
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
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The content of this video covers events, people or concepts via a lecture-style presentation that is educational and historical in nature. Every video is original content by House of History. The events relating to conflict in this video are portrayed in their historical context without either value judgment or an ideological message attached to it. There is no intent to shock, upset or disgust. The goal of my channel is to make interesting lecture-style videos, no more, no less.
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.
#HouseofHistory #History

[@Friedrich2DerGrosse]

Prussian discipline and really talented marshalls have already save Fred's campaigns a couple of times. Frederick's dad didn't leave him runaway when he was young but at least leave him an incredible capable army to command haha

[@zacharyb2723]

The theme I'm getting is that Frederick was a complete idiot in his first many battles and owes absolutely everything to the disciplined army he didn't build and the experienced officers he didn't want. Dude didn't even WANT to be a soldier...then WAY overcompensated...to like... get back at his dad? wtf

[@Friedrich2DerGrosse]

@@zacharyb2723 He had teenager behaviour lmao

[@franjay5585]

@@zacharyb2723 well its a bit more complex than that. He was a capable military commander but because alot of the historiography paints him as a military genius, when people discover his actual military record they are eager to completely discredit him and go too much the other way. From what I have studied he was a decent commander but to call him a bad commander sort of disregards the difficulty of commanding armies in this period. You have no radio communications to convey commands and if you shout i doubt you will be heard over all that musket and cannon fire. Same with visible signals being hard to see with all the smoke etc. decisions were predominantly made on battalion level. Not sure amongst contemporary armies but certainly in the prussian system

[@gerardjagroo]

Like how Philip the one eyed left his son Alexander a highly trained combined arms army that was revolutionary in design and tactics.

[@ryanjuguilon213]

​@@zacharyb2723but he did built the army. The Prussian army he inherited has the best infantry, but weak artillery and cavalry. It was his reform that madw Prussian cavalry on of thw best, emphasizing light cavalry tsctics.

[@shamsishraq6831]

Austrian advance: Savage hand-to-hand fighting, protracted struggle, stalemate Prussian advance: Enemy boxes break immediately

[@ohauss]

Thanks! It's sometimes mind-boggling how many anglo-american references to the war consider Prussia an "also-ran" and an inconsequential party to the war which they pass off as an issue between England and France...

[@lahire4943]

Unfortunately, Anglo-Americans use to consider the "French and Indian War" as one of the most important conflicts in History, which greatly overshadows the Seven Years' War, as it's because of this conflict that North America became essentially British. They even see this as a conflict that would determine who would be the leading global world power. It's a really simplistic, untrue and anachronistic shortcut... Not only was the conflict in Europe far more important in terms of casualties and actual repercussions, but we considered the conflict in North America as completely secondary, as we had 60,000 settlers there against 2 million British! We lost 200,000 killed during the Seven Years' War, of which no more than 10,000 in North America...

[@davidedbrooke9324]

Well it was such a good result for us I think we can be excused.

[@lordski1981]

​@@lahire4943 All true, but while viewing the War as "Anglo-American Centric" would be anachronistic at the time, it would not be the case if looking at it through the lense of history following that conflict. The immediate ramifications weighed heavily in favor of European importance, but as the war did end up being one of the chief factors that incited the American Revolution, in that light you cannot discount the importance of the American theater and it's consequences.

[@lahire4943]

@@lordski1981 In hindsight you are right. This conflict proved to be crucial instrumental in world History, in hindsight. At the time however, it was not. Not only weren't the French actually able to preserve their territory considering the massive odds against them, but they didn't really care. A few acres of snow wrote Voltaire. The Caribbean islands were incomparably more important. Whether the French had the wrong long term strategy or not is another question.

[@jonathanwilliams1065]

As Napoleon Said of Marengo “I lost the Battle at 5 o’clock but I won it back at 7!” This is what happened here

[@radeksvoboda6252]

Based on the video it seems to me that Prussians lost. They did not achieve their goals and Prussians had to turn back to Dresden.

[@gotbaka3]

Excellent! I really appreciate that you cover lesser known (at least for me!) battles like this, and take an in-depth look at the tactics involved. Always look forward to your videos!

[@YasserMaghribi]

Man... these Prussians were something, how can someone think that they would win this battle despite the prepositionning of the Austrians, being fewer in numbers, not having the full knowledge of the terrain... So excited to watch your videos, they are awesome ! PS: Even if it's not european history, I would love to have an off-series video about the Battle of the Three Kings between Morocco and Portugal

[@nadjiguemarful]

Im so greatful for this series on Frederick! You also have the best presentation of any war-channel. Better than the others who wont be named lol. You seem like a true historian.

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

The Habsburg Army surely changed and learned.

[@markcoroneos7811]

They had that tendancy - what kept them a power for so long; theyd lose a war due to a mixture of outdate tactics and army organisation but then bounce back stronger in the next one until they finally won. Only to them fall into a stagant state until the next major conflict broke out and the cycle repeated haha

[@KHK001]

Another amazing video! Was waiting for this one

[@sandych33ks1]

Thank you, Great detailed work as always..

[@herrrobert5340]

Really enjoyed this episode. Looking forward to see you cover the rest of the 7 Years War!

[@BattleHistories]

Well done again. Really enjoy your content!

[@renierbarnard6833]

This stuff is fantastic! Thank you!

[@paulceglinski3087]

House of History, excellent videos on Fredrick. Made my own playlist on the 7 Years War and am playing that tonight. Thanks. Cheers.

[@simenonhonore]

A complex tactical situation explained with admirable clarity.

[@evrensuer549]

Great series, congrats 👍

[@Jesse_Dawg]

Fantastic episode. Please more in this series

[@maxa.9135]

What an amazing video, please keep up the good work👍👍👍

[@rasulpourjafar]

Well done so educating 👍

[@richardglady3009]

Great video. Thank you.

[@Tiger1AuasfE]

Thank you for the upload nice work, so nice to learn more a bout prussia.

[@richardcharay7788]

Enjoyed, thanks!

[@oliviermosimann6931]

Ah ! I was awaiting your newest video. I'll quickly go grab a nice glass of red wine & enjoy one of my favorite channels ^^

[@dolcinofavi6368]

is this a comment or a moron tutarial

[@frederickiiprussia7699]

Finally got to watch this; great quality as expected! Lobositz was definitely a model example of the superior Prussian infantry for had they not been better trained and disciplined, the Austrian cavalry and artillery would have continued to whittle down the Prussian. I was on my feet when the part of the battle was determined by the Prussian victory in the lowbush, truly some savage combat. Thanks for spectacular video and series on this war, it's just as, if not more, intense as the Napoleonic wars

[@yvesst-aubin5529]

Interesting vidéo. Thank you. When the Seven Years War is addressed, hardly ever, are we presented with the North American aspect of that war! British and French armies fought here, in New Angland (US) and New France (Canada - Quebec)... The strategies were so much different!

[@ohauss]

In German education, the Prussian-Austrian part of the conflict of course figures heavily, especially since it was the conflict that made a major power out of Prussia. It's quite surprising, then, when one looks at the english Wikipedia page on the war and Prussia is barely mentioned...

[@Aranubis]

There is a lot of stuff under the term French and Indian war. American and Canadian Historians and Popculture is focusing on this aspect of the war, while in German content you will be confronted with more European events of the war.

[@anglowarrior7970]

Amazing video again

[@werekorden]

Thanks for this masterpiece of Battlefield animation and great break down of the battles.

[@Aranubis]

Actually it was an Austrian strategic victory. Frederick couldn't advance further after battle and Browne could move to the meeting point with the Saxons as planned.

[@edwemail8508]

Brilliant!

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Excellent Historical coverage also excellent labelling to the Political backgrounds of this war ... especially attitudes of Powerful empires at that times thanks for sharing

[@aarondemiri486]

Frederick about to show us why he has the title great a joy whenever I see videos from you

[@HoH]

Thanks Aaron, happy to read that!

[@renierbarnard6833]

Thanks!

[@hhhhhh9792]

So it's not true that Frederick never again abandoned his troops after Mollwitz

[@AdityaSingh-iz5zs]

it is an amazing video sir. sir here you can note that frederick had became overcinfident like napoleon had became by the 1809. frederick had ignored possibilities of other powers joining against him like sweden. His chanses of victory could have been under the gettysburg plan, by making brendenburg as focal centere and using his interior lines for renforcing the places where they were needed. he sended fore in east prussia which you will cover but it was not something suted to the great commanders like frederick the great.

[@Friedrich2DerGrosse]

I mean, can you blame me? Sometimes we get a little cocky after some victories.

[@AmanKumarPadhy]

Damn fr

[@tentanghukumkita6381]

The Battle of Lobositz, 1756. Outbreak of the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) Very interesting history. Thank you.

[@sastaffa]

Very good video. My only wish would be that your map is oriented around more accepted N on top, S on the bottom. Since I drove through that town in my past and have seen where those two hills are located the miss orientation gave me a headache.

[@Aranubis]

Could you do Piacenza 1746 and/or the battles of the Angloaustrian Campaign 1710 in Spain?

[@brokenbridge6316]

Nice video

[@jonathanwilliams1065]

Fall back is an imperative and so would be “fall zurück” or more accurately as the word for fall means to literally fall down “zeih zurück” or “zurückzeihen”

[@kalterverwalter4516]

Yeay finally a new Video from you. I dont Understand why your Channel as so few viewers and Abos.

[@HoH]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@zuperblue1]

Request the battle of minden would be very interesting

[@zuperblue1]

thank you

[@robertdevito5001]

King Frederick: general, what’s your assessment of the battle? General Keith: it’s not going well, we’re outnumbered, outgunned, we’ve taken heavy casualties, and we’re running low on ammunition, some of the men have taken to scavenging ammunition off their fallen comrades! King Frederick: right! Stand by to take the blame, I have a prior engagement.

[@FieldMarshalYT]

This is where you start to see Frederick begin to lose his grip. He knew from then on that this war would not be easy.

[@ohauss]

And yet he managed to conclude it more powerful than ever, setting the stage for Prussia becoming a long-term match for Austria-Hungary and a consistent major regional power.

[@FieldMarshalYT]

@@ohauss That's true, but the effects of the War affected Prussia up into the Napoleonic Wars. Low amounts of manpower from causalties, an aging general staff resting on the glory of the Silesian Wars, etc.

[@shidqiaf6413]

@@FieldMarshalYTthis couldn’t be more true, their decisive victory at the Silesian Wars and somewhat pyrrhic 7 years war show greatness that many countries hadn’t reach for centuries. The ability to stand on its own against coalition numbering 3-4 times than his, but just like France in WW1 a victory so great could lead to stagnant believes that they were still invincible until of course Napoleon beat them twice and wakeup the militaristic nature of the Prussians to finally reform its army and with Britain they defeated Napoleon at Waterloo

[@markcoroneos7811]

I agree in general but prussia's victory - and thus frederick's legacy was entirely dependant on the sheer luck of the Tsarina dying when she did. Had that not happened for even one more year, prussia loses big time.

[@solonsolon9496]

Previously I had suggested the war between King Charles I and Parliament as something you could try in future. Think you'll do that?

[@HoH]

Perhaps! It certainly is a topic that fascinates me.

[@Vjeimy]

Friedrich leaves the field, everything instantly improves. Yup, Friedrich "the Great" alright...

[@sumazdar]

dziękuję

[@dotista2008]

next episode ? Rossbach !

[@sandrabrowne2350]

What connections had Browne and de Lacy to Ireland?

[@ethanpf449]

Maximillian Ulysses is a really awesome name

[@HoH]

I thought so as well

[@dominikkaczkowski2521]

Maybe something about war of spanish succession?

[@oliviermosimann6931]

Addendum : Since you ask for suggestions, how about a series on Prussian colonial policy and expansion throughout the 19th century and of course, cherry on the Keiser's cake, the franco-prussien war of 1870 ? Anecdote : Having been to Benin, I met a friend coming back from Togo and who, in a village in the middle of nowhere, had been served local Sauerkraut mit Schnitzel ^^

[@ohauss]

There's an impressive series on the Franco-Prussian war, week by week, by Real Time History: kzbin.info/aero/PLv_PcL5Ij4iCViFgH-WssNSmVuoCSYFwZ

[@oliviermosimann6931]

@@ohauss Kool. Thanks :)

[@ryanjuguilon213]

​@@ohaussLacks the tactical presentation like this one. They are just reading an encyclopedia. Even sprputing the old anglo-centric reasons for war. The only intereting thing is the anecdotes from soldiers. Id rather watch Tik and H&H. Hell even K&G is much better

[@captainsensiblejr.]

Distance scales would be useful on the maps, instead of the viewers having to rely on distances mentioned by chance during the narration.

[@pauloakwood9208]

What were the consequences for the Prussian cavalry officers who chose to charge despite a direct order not to?

[@animeyahallo3887]

14:15 Another famous general would say the same ~57 years after that battle.

[@zeezee8431]

It was battle next to Bohemian town Lovosice

[@dolcinofavi6368]

Please try to upload more frequently, maybe try some collaborations

[@HoH]

I try! Every Friday at 14:00 since 2020. But these videos take 40+ hours to create so more than one per week will be challenging.

[@amtmannb.4627]

Very good video. It's a wargaming classic.

[@HoH]

Indeed it is!

[@scfan7231]

I learned a lot about German history from these seven or so videos about Prussia's wars. And they are really well made and quite entertaining. Particularly, I only through these videos realized that it was pretty much a lucky coincidence that later Prussia would be forming the second German empire in 1871. History could have gone in very different ways, and Maria-Theresa, as it appears, took all the right decisions (although in vain) to sustain the hegemony of Habsburg over Germany and the title of emperor.

[@jorgejustin461]

The British strike again.

[@fuxihutterer8088]

brother against brother

[@brokenbridge6316]

Is that you in the pic House of History?

[@HoH]

Yep! On a very early misty Sunday morning!

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@HoH---How nice. Thanks for telling me.

[@paranoidandroid6095]

3:30 10:00

[@coochykilla]

5:00 -13:28

[@starwarsfamilyguy0]

4:28 HE RUINED MY HOLIDAY!, 15:14 bought perfection at his own expense,

[@sergueiothonucci1638]

👍👍👍

[@Paul-wv8ld]

Why the austrian did not engage their troops on the other bank of the river ?

[@captainsensiblejr.]

The echo effects was not necessary.

[@jamesstramer5186]

Commenting for the algo!

[@thebabylonian109]

Friedrich says "Irregulars? That is cheating!" Also he just loves attacking Saxons, they are along the way and have his porcelain workshops. :P

[@Friedrich2DerGrosse]

I can't help myself but to pay the Saxons a "visit" can i?

[@thebabylonian109]

@@Friedrich2DerGrosse 😄😁

[@beepboop204]

👍

[@ericjames8233]

Frederick is such an interesting character. Does he really deserve that epithet 'The Great'? His battle record isn't stellar (roughly equal victories vs defeats iIrc) and the quality of his army owed most to his father. Yet he did oversee Prussia's rise towards 'great power' status. I shall be interested to watch the rest of the videos in this series and see what conclusions, if any, you draw.

[@David-bh7hs]

He is great because he managed to keep Prussia from becoming a historical footnote. He wasn't an alexander, but he still preserved Prussia to its premier status among the Germans.

[@ericjames8233]

@@David-bh7hs One would have to concede that he was very lucky to achieve this. Although Napoleon Bonaparte and Dwight Eisenhower both have quotes attributed to them regarding luck. I'm on the fence as I can see arguments for and against Frederick deserving the epithet 'Great'. I would add that 'Great' seems to he added at random. There is a strong argument for English King Henry VIII deserving that epithet but we know he won't be granted it. Just an example there. I'm sure we could come up with monarchs who achieved more than Frederick but never got that accolade. 🙂

[@ohauss]

@@ericjames8233 It is facile to suggest he owed the quality of the army to his father. That might have been the case through the early Silesian wars, but there comes a time when a lot of the soldiers trained under his father are dead, disabled or retired. Unlike other monarchs of the time, he also led his troops from the front, directly at the battlefield, exposing himself to danger. His father wasn't the one who put Prussia on the map as a major regional power. It was Frederick who did that. Frederick preserved Prussia against three major powers - France, Austria and Russia, and two more middling ones, Saxony and Sweden. And after the war, he still passed substantial reforms which influenced the future of Prussia.

[@ericjames8233]

@@ohauss I'm not sure I would describe it as 'facile'. Without his father's work there would have been no highly drilled Prussian Army for Frederick to wield, no disciplined commanders to rescue him from his errors, and thus no successful campaigns in the Silesian Wars. Yes Frederick built upon the strong foundation he was gifted but does that, or personal bravery, make someone 'great'? I have my doubts. Yes he preserved Prussia but only after Russian troops had occupied Berlin in 1761. Had Peter III not come to the throne in 1762 and reversed his country's position vis-a-vis Prussia Frederick would now be regarded as a mere footnote in European history - a monarch who made a series of fatal diplomatic misjudgements and committed his state to a hopelessly unwinnable war. 'Lucky' yes, and all leading commanders need to have plenty of that, but 'great'? Again I have my doubts. His legacy is an interesting one. I don't see him as an Alexander, a Cyrus, or a Peter. I used to regard him as a military genius who triumphed against near impossible odds but as I've read more my opinion has become more nuanced. Unfortunately 'Frederick the Occasionally Brilliant But Also Very Lucky' doesn't have the same ring to it as 'Frederick the Great' does it. 🙂

[@guardiadecivil6777]

@@ericjames8233 its a shame that the title of "the great" only means military prestige for most people. regardless of what you think, he deserved the title "the great" for indeed overseeing Prussia in being viewed as a major power instead of a backwater state. alot of people with the titles "the great" can owe parts of it to luck as well, Alexander the Great would have been just a footnote in history for example if it weren't for a certain "disciplined commander" (that was appointed by Alexander's father by the way) that rescued him from his "errors" (that error being charging in the front with his men, which nearly caused his life when 2 men tried striking him but luckily however he was saved by Cleitus, that mentioned commander) and thus "no successful campaigns" in the invasion of the Achaemenid Empire.

[@captainsensiblejr.]

"adversaries' is not pronounced "AD-vers-AH-rees" but as "ADVER-seh-rees"

[@sandrabrowne2350]

It's mind boggling to pure military historians there are social and economic consequences to individual interpation of history take note colleges in America and ",England " real historology moves beyond the battles! Leave comments no censorship

[@steveclapper5424]

I'm not convinced Fred was all that great.

[@nadjiguemarful]

Bro you said Frederick invading Saxony was a result of his "conspiracy theories", but Theodore Dodge writes that the Saxon Nobility was actually more Zealous than the austrians in their Plans against Prussia. I could be wrong and he may have been alluding to the environment prior to the 10 years of truce. But your videos in general seem a little less charitable to Frederick than Dodge is, he seems to believe Frederick had a "pure spirit" and was a benevolent leader and so on, you seem to regard him more as a cynical Power broker.

[@alanribeiro1989]

BACANA

[@BillHimmel]

How „brilliant“ of the Austrians to position their army behind a river with only two bridges!

[@andrewtannenbaum1]

I hate the music background. No music.

[@Fjodor.Tabularasa]

Ontstellend beroerd Engels en bloedirritant hoe je alles met een klemtoon uitspreekt.