The siege of Schweidnitz took place between August and October 1762 during the Third Silesian War, part of the wider

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. Prussian forces under the overall command of Frederick II laid siege to the city of Schweidnitz, in an attempt to retake it from an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

garrison.

Background

Schweidnitz was the anchor of Prussia's position in Silesia during the war, due to its central location and major supply depots. It had been stormed the previous year by Austrian forces under

Ernst Gideon von Laudon Ernst Gideon von Laudon, since 1759 Freiherr von Laudon (originally Laudohn or Loudon; 13 February 171714 July 1790), was a Baltic German-born Austrian generalisimo and one of the most successful opponents of the Prussian king Frederick the Great ...

. The Austrians hoped to hold onto the city as a bargaining chip in any potential peace talks. Frederick was equally determined to recover the city, particularly as the departure of

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and

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from the war allowed him to take the offensive once more.

Siege and relief attempts

Having isolated Schweidnitz from the main Austrian field army under

Leopold Joseph von Daun Count Leopold Joseph von Daun (german: Leopold Joseph Maria, Reichsgraf von und zu Daun; 24 September 17055 February 1766), later Prince of Thiano, was an Austrian field marshal of the Imperial Army in the War of the Austrian Succession and Se ...

, siege works were begun and a major bombardment commenced on 9 August. He deployed a force under

Duke of Bevern Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranked ...

to a covering position at

Reichenbach Reichenbach may refer to: Places Austria * Reichenbach (Litschau), a part of Litschau * Reichenbach (Rappottenstein), a part of Rappottenstein Germany * Reichenbach (Oberlausitz), in Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis district, Saxony * Rei ...

where he was able to frustrate Daun's attempts to march to the city's aid in action which produced 1,000 casualties. Six days after the defeat of this relief attempt, the commander of Schweidnitz offered to surrender the city. However, Frederick rejected his demand that his men be allowed to march away with the honours of war. Frederick demanded instead that the entire garrison surrender as

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

, and the siege continued. In September he threatened to put the garrison to the sword if they did not surrender immediately. The Prussians were able to thwart another major effort by Daun to relieve the garrison. On 8 October a Prussian

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

, dug under the city, exploded the garrison's gunpowder magazine. The following day, Schweidnitz finally capitulated. Both sides had suffered around 3,000 casualties during the two month siege. In recognition of the city's resistance, the Austrian Empress

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). ...

promoted the senior offices and rewarded the entire garrison following their release from captivity.Sazbo p.413

Aftermath

Along with the Prussian victory at Battle of Freiberg, it was one of the final acts of the war. A peace agreement was signed between the warring sides in early 1763. The Treaty of Hubertusburg acknowledged the return of all Silesian territory to Prussia.

References

Bibliography

* * Szabo, Franz A.J. ''The Seven Years War in Europe, 1756-1763''. Pearson, 2008. * {{cite book, last=Clodfelter, first=M., title=Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492-2015, publisher=McFarland, location=Jefferson, North Carolina, year=2017, edition=4th, isbn=978-0-7864-7470-7 Schweidnitz Siege of Schweidnitz Battles involving Prussia Battles involving Austria Schweidnitz 1762 in the Habsburg Monarchy Battles of Frederick the Great 1762 in the Holy Roman Empire Battles of the Silesian Wars Świdnica