The entire situation in Germany is reversed…
November 1757 CE
Frederick has managed a long and arduous march reminiscent of the forced marches of Frederick William I, the "Great Elector".
Covering one hundred and seventy miles in thirteen days, Frederick had obtained needed supplies ahead of the army, which had enabled him to abandon his supply wagons to speed his march.
Bringing the enemy to battle has proven difficult, as the allies try to stay out of reach.
Both Frederick and his enemies have moved back and forth for quite some time, trying to maneuver around each other and ending up in a stalemate situation.
The two armies finally meet in battle on the morning of November 5, 1757: it is to be the only battle between the French and the Prussians during the entire war.
The scene of the battle, Rossbach, is a village in the Prussian Saxon Province, fourteen kilometers (nine miles) southwest of Merseburg.
The Prussian camp lies between Rossbach on the left and the village of Bedra on the right, facing the Allies.
The French general, the prince of Soubise, and the Austrian duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, who is General of the Empire forces, had maneuvered in the preceding days without giving Frederick an opportunity to begin fighting.
Their forces are located to the west, with their right near the town of Branderoda and their left at Mücheln.
The advanced posts of the Prussians stand in villages immediately west of their camp, those of the Allies on the Schortau hill and the Galgenberg.
Frederick and his Prussians devastate Soubise's combined French and Austrian forces: the Prussians lose about five hundred and forty-eight men killed while the Franco-German force under Soubise loses about ten thousand killed.
People
Groups
Austria, Archduchy of
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Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchy of
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Saxony, Electorate of
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Holy Roman Empire
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Hesse-Kassel, Landgraviate of
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France, (Bourbon) Kingdom of
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Bohemia, Kingdom of
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Bavaria, Electorate of
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Brunswick-Lüneburg, Electorate of (Electorate of Hanover)
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Spain, Bourbon Kingdom of
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Prussia, Kingdom of
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Britain, Kingdom of Great
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