Sadowa, Battle of

Prussian victory over the Austrian army 13 km/8 mi northwest of Hradec Kralove (German Königgrätz) 3 July 1866, ending the Seven Weeks' War. It confirmed Prussian hegemony over the German states and led to the formation of the North German Confederation 1867. It is named after the nearby village of Sadowa (Czech Sadová) in the Czech Republic.

After the early part of the campaign, the Austrian army had retired behind the River Elbe. The Prussian 1st and Elbe Armies attacked the Austrians at the bridge of Sadowa early in the morning. They were able to drive the Austrians back for a short distance but the Austrian artillery fire prevented any further progress. The arrival of the Prussian 2nd Army in the late morning threatened the Austrian right flank. To meet this threat the Austrians pulled their right wing back so that it faced north, but a bold advance by the Prussians, taking advantage of the cover provided by high corn and the smoke of the Austrian artillery fire, led to their infantry being able to get close to the Austrian lines and then charge home, breaking the line and capturing over 50 guns. The Austrians began to pull back and finally retreated from the field, leaving 40,000 dead and wounded. Prussian losses were about 10,000.