Battle of Mollwitz The Battle of Mollwitz was fought by Prussia and Austria on 10 April 1741 , during the early stages of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the first battle of the new Prussian King Frederick II , in which both sides made numerous military blunders but Frederick the Great still managed to attain victory . This battle cemented his authority over the newly conquered territory of Silesia and gave him valuable military experience . Background . After the accession of Maria Theresa of Austria to the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary , Frederick II saw an opportunity to invade and annex the province of Silesia ( then under the Czech Crown ) . He took Silesia by storm and occupied almost the entire province . His troops settled into winter quarters and were expecting an easy land grab , but Maria Theresa sent an army of about 20 , 000 men led by Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg to take back the province and assert herself as a strong monarch . The march north . Neipperg ' s army caught Frederick II completely off guard as he lingered in the province , and surged northwards past Frederick and his army to relieve the city of Neisse , which was being besieged by a small Prussian force and had not yet fallen . Both Neipperg and Frederick rushed northwards in parallel columns , in a race to reach the city first . In atrocious weather , Neipperg reached Neisse first and set up camp there . Frederick II and his entire army were now caught behind enemy lines with a large Austrian force lying between him and the rest of his kingdom and his supply and communication lines cut off . Both sides knew that battle was now inevitable . Prussian preparations . Captured Austrian soldiers told Frederick the exact position of Neipperg ' s forces at Mollwitz , and the morning fog and snow allowed Frederick ' s army to advance undetected to within 2000 paces of Neipperg ' s camp . Most commanders would then have given the order to charge the camp and rout the Austrian army , but since Frederick had never fought a campaign or a battle before , he instead decided to deploy his army in a battle line . There was very heavy snow on the ground which caused snow - blindness , and Frederick miscalculated the distance to the river on his right . He deployed several of his units behind a bend in the river where they could take no part in the battle , and several more units were deployed perpendicular to his two battle lines on the right flank . It is said that Schwerin commented early on that Frederick miscalculated the distance , but he was ignored . Austrian preparations . Neipperg was in a bad situation when he discovered Frederick ' s entire army on his doorstep by simply looking out of his window . Not only were most of his soldiers still sleeping , but his entire army was facing to the north - west , away from the Prussians . The Austrian army was waking up , desperately rushing from its camp and trying to form into a cohesive fighting force . By around 1 pm , both sides had formed lines of battle and were ready to engage . Battle . The Prussian forces advanced on the Austrian line in two sections , but six regiments of Austrian cavalry , numbering 4 , 500 to 5 , 000 men and horses , crashed into the cavalry on the right wing of the Prussian Army and shattered it . This left the Prussian flank open to attack , and the Austrian cavalry then turned on the unprotected infantry . Schwerin , the Prussian military commander under Frederick , now advised Frederick II to leave the battlefield because it looked as though the Prussian army was about to be defeated , and the king heeded this warning . Abandoning the field , he was nearly caught and almost shot . Many historians believe that Schwerin advised Frederick to leave so that Schwerin could take command of the troops himself : he was a veteran general . The scene was chaotic : the perpendicular infantry units deployed between the two Prussian lines were fleeing or firing on other Prussian troops as the Austrian cavalry drove into their flank , but at some point the Prussian infantry , drilled and trained to perfection under Frederick William I , began spontaneously turning right and firing volley after volley at the Austrian cavalry , causing tremendous losses . The leader of the Austrian cavalry , General Römer , received a fatal shot to his head from a Prussian musket ball . With the leaders of both wings dead , an officer asked Schwerin where they should retreat to . Schwerin famously replied , " We ' ll retreat over the bodies of our enemies " , and soon restored the situation on the Prussian right wing . A second Austrian cavalry attack on the left side was beaten back and Schwerin ordered a general advance of all Prussian forces . The Prussian infantry soon engaged the Austrian battle line . They were some of the most well - drilled infantry of the period , and could fire 4 - 5 shots a minute with their flintlock musket s , seriously outgunning their opponents . Soon the Austrians were routed from the field and Frederick the Great stood victorious . Aftermath . The victory was due to Field Marshal Schwerin . The Prussian king had fled from the battlefield when the Austrians seemed to be winning . Frederick the Great later swore never again to leave his troops behind in battle , and he kept this promise faithfully until his death in the late 18th century . He annexed the province of Silesia from Austria and learned a number of valuable lessons from Mollwitz . He is quoted as saying , " Mollwitz was my school " . Frederick had made several mistakes but his army still won the battle due to their superior training . From now on he was committed to aggression , and geared his entire army towards an aggressive approach . He gave a standing order that his cavalry commanders would never receive a cavalry charge standing still . He greatly increased the use of light cavalry , Hussars , who would act as skirmishers and scouts . Afterwards he is quoted as saying , " The Prussian army always attacks . "