Hochkirch stands on slight rise in terrain,…
October 1758 CE
The church stands near the highest point, granting visibility east, west and north.
Frederick marches on Hochkirch on October 10 and establishes his own camp, extending from the town north, five kilometers (three miles) to the edge of the forest at the base of the Kuppritzerberg.
Frederick does not plan to stay in the small village for an extended period, only until their provisions—mostly bread—arrive from Bautzen, then they will move eastward.
Frederick ignores the warnings of his officers, especially his trusted Field Marshal James Keith, who thinks staying in the village is suicide. (Keith had taken a prominent part in the Moravian campaign, after which he withdrew from the army to restore his broken health, returning in time for the autumn campaign in the Lausiztz region.
Instead of worrying about a possible Austrian threat, Frederick scatters his men facing eastward, the last known location of Daun's army.
The troops create an S-shaped line, north to south, adjacent to Hochkirch.
The weak (west) side is guarded by an outpost of nine battalions with artillery support; the principle purpose of the infantry is to maintain contact with a deployed scout unit.
Eleven battalions and twenty-eight squadrons guard the east side.
Frederick has his best soldiers garrison the village of Hochkirch.
He does not believe any attack will occur, as Daun's army has been dormant in recent months, refusing to be drawn into battles.
To the east of the village, less than two kilometers (one mile) distant, the Austrians' presence on the hilltop increasingly makes the Prussians—except Frederick—anxious of an attack.
The Strohmberg, one of the heights abutting Hochkirch, anchors Daun's left flank, and he deploys the remainder of his force southward across the road between Bautzen and Lobau.
This also gives him control of an important junction between Görlitz in the east and Zittau in the south.
He anchors the far right end of his line in another wooded hill south of the road, called the Kuppritzerberg.
After days of personally scouting the Prussian camp and being urged to attack by his officers, he notes that the Prussians neither increase their security nor deploy their troops in response to the Austrian presence.
He also takes into account that his men are eager to fight a battle and that they outnumber the Prussians by more than two-to-one.
His plan, which he has kept secret, is an early morning sweep through the woods with thirty thousand hand-picked troops, around Frederick's flank, to enclose him.
The Prussian army will be asleep, both literally and figuratively, when the Austrian army strikes.
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