Battle of Lobositz The Battle of Lobositz or Lovosice also Lowositz on 1 October 1756 was the opening land battle of the Seven Years ' War . Frederick the Great ' s 29 , 000 Prussia ns prevented Field Marshal Maximilian Ulysses Count Browne 34 , 500 Austrians from relieving their besieged Saxon allies during the Siege of Pirna , who surrendered two weeks later . Prelude . Being a believer in the pre - emptive strike , on 29 August 1756 Frederick invaded Saxony with the bulk of the Prussian army , against the advice of his British allies . Neither the Saxon nor the Austrian army was ready for war . The Saxon army took up a strong defensive position near Pirna , and Frederick had no option but to isolate and starve them . An Austrian army raced to the aid of Saxony , but was intercepted by Frederick ' s forces near the town of Lobositz ( Czech " Lovosice " ) , along the Elbe river , in present - day Czech Republic . Von Browne , the Austrian general , had ordered a small force on the opposite bank of the Elbe to move to the beleaguered Saxon army at Pirna , but recalled it when he heard the news of Frederick ' s advance . Battle . The Austrian army took up a defensive stance on a hill , the Lobosch ( Lovoš ) , along the Elbe River ( opposite another mountain , the Homolka ) , straddling a small brook , the Morellenbach ( Modla ) . Although this was not deep , and could be forded by infantry , crossing it would break up formations . In heavy fog , Frederick ' s Prussians approached . A detachment of Croats opened fire on them and Frederick , believing he was up against a small rearguard of the Austrian army , ordered a few infantry battalions to advance . The infantry cleared the lower slopes of the Homolka , while the Prussian artillery was brought forward into position . From a terrace they had a good field of fire over the valley and the Austrian cavalry . As the mist slowly lifted , infantry in the Prussian centre were targeted by the Austrian main battery . Frederick soon realised that the force he faced was not the Austrian rearguard , but a full field army . In order to find out more , he ordered his cavalry to advance and reconnoitre . As they neared Sullowitz , they came under fire and veered leftwards . This provoked an Austrian cavalry charge from the left . In an attempt to outflank the Austrians , Colonel Hans von Blumenthal led his Gardes du Corps , who were closest to Sullowitz , in a counter - charge which brought them back into musket - range from the village . Von Blumenthal had his horse shot down and received a crippling sabre - blow in the neck . Twice Prussian cavalry assaulted the Austrian position , but in vain . Already believing the battle to be lost , Frederick wanted to leave the battlefield , saying " These are no longer the same Austrians " . But the Duke of Brunswick - Bevern , in command of the Prussian left wing , then succeeded in storming the Austrian right flank with infantry . The Prussians charged at bayonet - point , many having run out of ammunition . Bevern ' s men chased the Austrians through the burning town of Lobositz . The Austrian army retreated , leaving the Prussians in command of the battlefield . Results . The Prussians and the Austrians lost about 2 , 900 men each . The Austrian army retreated intact , and von Browne even managed to slip a force around the Prussians towards the besieged Saxons , but it was too little too late . The Saxon army at Pirna surrendered on 14 October before the relief force arrived , and Saxony surrendered the next day . Both Prussian and Austrian armies then retreated into their winter quarters . References . Duffy , Christopher . 1964 . " The wild goose and the eagle : A life of Marshal von Browne , 1705 - 1757 " . Chatto & Windus .