Europe 1866: Königgrätz and its Aftermath

Three weeks into the war, invading Prussian armies crushed the Austrians at Königgrätz (Sadowa). Austria was forced to divert troops from the south to defend Vienna, allowing the Italians to make a second attempt on their front.

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Main Events

3 Jul 1866 Battle of Königgrätz

In late June 1866 the Prussian First and Second armies had invaded Bohemia, in the Austrian Empire, and by early July were converging on the city of Königgrätz (Hradec Králové) and the village of Sadowa (Sadová), where the 215,000-strong Austrian army had decided to make its stand under the command of Ludwig von Benedek. Reaching the field on the morning of the third, the 129,000-strong First Army, led by Prince Friedrich Karl, engaged the numerically superior Austrians in heavy fighting and repulsed their attempt to flank the smaller Prussian force. This left the Austrians exposed to the almost 100,000 troops of Crown Prince Frederick William’s Second Army when they arrived that afternoon and attacked the Austrian right flank. Routed, the Austrians only narrowly escaped across the Elbe, having lost some 31,000 men for nearly 9,000 Prussian casualties. in wikipedia

11 Jul 1866 Invasion of Venetia

Italians cross the Po, launching renewed invasion of Venetia in wikipedia

20 Jul 1866 Battle of Lissa

Austrians defeat Italian fleet at Lissa in wikipedia