The Battle of Sahay or Zahájí was fought on 24 May 1742 near village of Zahájí, about northwest of

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

in southern

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

, between the French under the Duc de Broglie and the Austrians under Lobkowitz. The battle was part of the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...

and was conducted in cooperation with the Prussians under

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

who had defeated the Austrians a week previously at the

battle of Chotusitz The Battle of Chotusitz, or Chotusice, sometimes called the Battle of Čáslav, took place on 17 May 1742, in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic; it was part of the 1740 to 1742 First Silesian War, itself a subsidiary of the wider War of the Austri ...

. Broglie won a small, but politically important, victory which combined with Frederick's success at Chotusitz disposed

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

to cede

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

in the

Treaty of Breslau The Treaty of Breslau was a preliminary peace agreement signed on 11 June 1742 following long negotiations at the Silesian capital Wrocław (german: Breslau) by emissaries of Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria and King Frederick II of Prussia ...

on 11 June 1742.

Preliminary Maneuvers

Lobkowitz marched on an advanced French post at

Hluboká nad Vltavou Hluboká nad Vltavou (; until 1885 ''Podhrad'', german: Frauenberg) is a town in České Budějovice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 5,400 inhabitants. The town is known for the Hluboká Castle. Administra ...

and investing it on 18 May began a bombardment with twelve cannon and some mortars. Broglie, joined by Belle-Isle on 19 May, moved to relieve the post.

The battle

The engagement began at about four in the afternoon. The Austrians were drawn up in line of battle with their left on the village of Zahájí which they occupied with 300

Pandur The Pandurs were any of several light infantry military units beginning with Trenck's Pandurs, used by the Kingdom of Hungary from 1741, fighting in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Silesian Wars. Others to follow included Vladimirescu' ...

irregular light infantry. Their left was covered by some swampy ground with woods on a height to their right and rear. The French, with superior numbers, pressed the attack. They attempted to flank the marsh with some cavalry and attacked Sahay with an advanced guard of

grenadiers A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

, driving the Pandours from the village which they set on fire to cover their retreat. The Austrians fell back to the woods in disorder but recovered and counter-attacked. A cavalry charge by three regiments of Austrian

cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adoptin ...

s was launched from some rising ground in front of the woods against the French

Carabiniers A carabinier (also sometimes spelled carabineer or carbineer) is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine. A carbiniere is a carabiniere musket or rifle and were commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is deri ...

who were supported by two

dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat w ...

regiments. The French cavalry flanked the Austrian cavalry and the Austrians were repulsed. The infantry on both sides attacked each other but the French pushed the Austrians back to the woods. The French regiment Navarre making three bayonet charges. The Austrian cavalry rallied behind the infantry and charged again but were again forced back with the Hohenzollern cuirassiers distinguishing themselves but suffering severely. The battle ended around eight in the evening with the Austrians retreating during the night losing some 500 killed and six cannon. The French losses were about 250.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{coord, 49, 5, 35, N, 14, 22, 29, E, display=inline,title

Sahay Sahai (also spelled as Sahay) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Krishna Ballabh Sahay, Chief Minister of Erstwhile Bihar *Shyam Nandan Sahay, Indian landlord, educationist and legislator *Subodh Kant Sahay, Indian politician an ...

1742 in the Habsburg monarchy