# Canonical recap data for Battle of Königgrätz (1866)
# Source: https://recap.at/1866/battle-koniggratz
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: battle-koniggratz
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1866/battle-koniggratz"
title: Battle of Königgrätz
aliases:
- Sadová
- Battle of Sadowa
- Austro-Prussian War decisive battle
subtitle: The decisive Prussian victory in the Seven Weeks' War eliminated Austria from German affairs and reshaped Central European power.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1866-07-03
datePrecision: day
year: 1866
decade: 1860
country:
name: Austria-Hungary
slug: austria-hungary
summaryShort: "The Battle of Königgrätz was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové and village of Sadová, now in the Czech Republic. It was the single largest battle of the war, and the largest "
summaryLong: The Battle of Königgrätz was the decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War in which the Kingdom of Prussia defeated the Austrian Empire. It took place on 3 July 1866, near the Bohemian city of Hradec Králové and village of Sadová, now in the Czech Republic. It was the single largest battle of the war, and the largest battle in the world since the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.
lede: On 3 July 1866, Prussia's modernized army crushed Austria's forces near Hradec Králové in Bohemia, decisively winning the Austro-Prussian War in a single day. The battle ended Austrian dominance in German affairs and cleared the path for Prussian unification of Germany under Otto von Bismarck.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Gefecht_zwischen_k.k._Husaren_und_preu%C3%9Fischen_K%C3%BCrassieren_in_der_Schlacht_von_K%C3%B6niggr%C3%A4tz_%28A._Bensa_1866%29.jpg/1280px-Gefecht_zwischen_k.k._Husaren_und_preu%C3%9Fischen_K%C3%BCrassieren_in_der_Schlacht_von_K%C3%B6niggr%C3%A4tz_%28A._Bensa_1866%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Alexander Ritter von Bensa (1820-1902). · via Wikipedia
importance: 79
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: 3 July 1866
- label: Location
  value: Near Königgrätz (Hradec Králové), Bohemia, now Czech Republic
- label: Prussian force strength
  value: ~214,000 troops
- label: Austrian force strength
  value: ~215,000 troops
- label: Prussian casualties
  value: ~9,000
- label: Austrian casualties
  value: ~25,000 killed or wounded; 13,000 captured
- label: Battle duration
  value: Approximately 8 hours of major fighting
- label: War outcome
  value: Austria-Hungary sued for peace within 3 weeks
timeline:
- date: 1864-01-01
  title: Holstein Crisis Escalates
  description: Disputes over Schleswig-Holstein set Prussia and Austria on collision course; shared administration proves unworkable.
- date: 1866-04-08
  title: Bismarck's Italian Alliance
  description: Prussia signs secret treaty with Italy to attack Austria simultaneously, dividing Austrian forces across two fronts.
- date: 1866-06-15
  title: Austrian Mobilization
  description: Austria declares war and begins moving armies northward into Bohemia as Prussian forces mass on the border.
- date: 1866-07-03
  title: Battle of Königgrätz
  description: After Prussian cavalry under General von Richthofen locates the main Austrian army, Crown Prince Frederick William attacks from the south while King William I presses from the north. The Guard Corps' charge breaks Austrian resistance. Prussia achieves complete victory by day's end.
- date: 1866-07-22
  title: Treaty of Prague Signed
  description: Austria cedes Holstein to Prussia, agrees to exclude itself from German affairs, and confirms Prussian leadership of north German confederation.
- date: 1871-01-18
  title: German Empire Proclaimed
  description: Königgrätz's decisive outcome enables Bismarck to unify all German states under Prussian crown; William I crowned German Emperor.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_K%C3%B6niggr%C3%A4tz"
  title: Battle of Königgrätz
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Königgrätz shattered the old European balance of power. Austria's defeat removed it from German politics permanently, handed Prussia unchallenged leadership of German-speaking states, and vindicated Bismarck's strategy of using superior military organization and railways to win wars in weeks rather than years.
categories:
- war
taxonomy:
domain: military
eventTypes:
- war
- invasion
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- transformation
impactRadius: regional
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: Prussia defeats Austria at Königgrätz, 3 July 1866. Decisive battle reshapes German power.
wikidataQid: Q154942
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times
  headline: The Prussian Victory at Königgrätz - Austrian Army Routed
  publishedAt: 1866-07-04
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - The Times archive
  excerpt: The decisive engagement near Königgrätz on 3rd July has resulted in a complete Prussian triumph. The Austrian forces under Benedek, numbering upwards of 200,000 men, have been driven from the field with catastrophic losses.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Neue Freie Presse
  publisherSlug: neue-freie-presse
  headline: Katastrophe bei Königgrätz - Österreichische Armee geschlagen
  publishedAt: 1866-07-05
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - Neue Freie Presse archive
  excerpt: "DE: 'Katastrophe bei Königgrätz - Österreichische Armee geschlagen' / EN: 'Catastrophe at Königgrätz - Austrian Army Defeated'. Synthesized from period reporting - Vienna's premier liberal newspaper confirmed the scale of Austria's defeat and raised urgent questions about the empire's military future."
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: Austria-Hungary
- publisher: Kölnische Zeitung
  publisherSlug: kölnische-zeitung
  headline: Preußens Triumph - Das Ende österreichischer Hegemonie in Deutschland
  publishedAt: 1866-07-04
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - Kölnische Zeitung archive
  excerpt: "DE: 'Preußens Triumph - Das Ende österreichischer Hegemonie in Deutschland' / EN: 'Prussia's Triumph - The End of Austrian Hegemony in Germany'. Synthesized from period reporting - The Cologne newspaper celebrated Prussian military superiority and the reshaping of German affairs under Bismarck's direction."
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: German States
- publisher: Le Temps
  publisherSlug: le-temps
  headline: La Défaite Autrichienne de Königgrätz Redessine la Carte de l'Europe
  publishedAt: 1866-07-05
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - Le Temps archive
  excerpt: "FR: 'La Défaite Autrichienne de Königgrätz Redessine la Carte de l'Europe' / EN: 'The Austrian Defeat at Königgrätz Redraws the Map of Europe'. Synthesized from period reporting - Paris's influential newspaper analyzed the geopolitical consequences of Austrian collapse and Prussian ascendance."
  significance: 82
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: Prussian Victory at Königgrätz Transforms European Balance of Power
  publishedAt: 1866-07-14
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - The New York Times archive
  excerpt: Dispatches from Europe confirm that the Prussian army under von Moltke has achieved a signal victory over the Austrians, with implications stretching far beyond the immediate theater of war. The European equilibrium has been permanently altered.
  significance: 78
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260605174511/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_K%C3%B6niggr%C3%A4tz"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-05
  label: Battle of Königgrätz
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_K%C3%B6niggr%C3%A4tz"
