Siege of Prague

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Siege of Prague (May–June 1757) was a failed attempt by Prussia to capture Prague during the Third Silesian War, part of the Seven Years’ War. After winning the nearby battle, Frederick the Great led about 40,000 Prussian soldiers to besiege the Bohemian city, hoping to starve it into submission since he could not storm the defenses.

Inside Prague, about 40,000 Austrian troops were trapped but unable to launch a strong attack. Frederick even sent a spy into the city to gain information. Then an Austrian army commanded by Count von Daun marched north to threaten Prussian supply lines, forcing Frederick to break off the siege and move to confront them.

Frederick was defeated at the Battle of Kolín, and his army was too weakened to continue the siege, so he withdrew from Bohemia. The campaign marked the high point of Prussia’s position in the war; after this, most fighting took place on Prussia’s own soil. The following year, Prussia tried another invasion of Austria, which failed at Olomouc.