Querengässer, Alexander Kesselsdorf 1745

A decisive battle in the early modern period

Hohenfriedberg, Roßbach, Leuthen - the names of the battles now associated with the military rise of Prussia during the three Silesian Wars and the martial art of Frederick the Great are numerous. The Battle of Kesselsdorf, however, in which a Prussian army under the command of Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, the "Old Dessau", defeated a Saxon army at the gates of Dresden in December 1745, is largely forgotten, possibly because Frederick II did not take part in this engagement himself. Yet Kesselsdorf is one of the few decisive battles of the 18th century that had far-reaching political and military consequences. It led to the peace treaty of Dresden, in which Prussia was able to secure possession of Silesia and through which Saxony faced an inexorable loss of political and military importance.
This volume tells the story of this decisive battle of the 18th century and embeds it in the context of Saxon-Prussian rivalry. The Battle of Kesselsdorf thus appears as a military event with far-reaching consequences for European history.

Introduction

State of Research
A Modern History of Battles
The Grip on Great Power - The Saxon-Prussian Dualism
Saxony and Prussia in the Early 18th Century

The Preliminary Battle of Kesselsdorf
The Saxon-Prussian Dualism in the Early 18th Century. Century

The Prussian Army
The Electoral Saxon Army
The Campaign of Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau in 1745
The Battle

The Battle of Old Dessau, but the King's Campaign - The Impact of Kesselsdorf
The Peace of Dresden
The Fate of the Prisoners of War
A Wretched Sight

The Fading Memory
Contemporary Memory
A Decisive Battle?
Weathering monuments - The Battle of Kesselsdorf in the judgement of posterity

Conclusion

Sources
Literature
Final notes.