Battle of St. Pölten

The Battle of St. Pölten was an engagement between Austrian and Franco-Bavarian forces. It impacted the procession of the 1741 Austrian campaign.

Battle of St. Pölten
Part of the War of Austrian Succession
Date 23 December 1741 Location St. Pölten, (present-day Austria) Result Austrian victory
Belligerents
France Bavaria	Habsburg Monarchy
Commanders and leaders
Count Tavannes	Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller
Strength
40,000	22,000

Background

In 1740, Frederick the Great launched an invasion of Silesia and emerged victorious against Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz. Initially, the Habsburg Monarchy was governed by the Salic Law, which excluded women from inheritance. However, the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 lifted this restriction, allowing Maria Theresa to succeed her father on the throne. However, Austria was unable to defend all its territories; as a result, several European countries entered into an agreement called the League of Nymphenburg to divide and dismantle the territories.

Afterwards, French and Bavarian troops invaded Upper Austria, while 20,000 Saxons simultaneously invaded Bohemia.

In late November 1741, 10,000 Spanish soldiers landed at Orbitello, followed by 16 more battalions at Lerici and La Spezia. Expecting a dozen more battalions and 4,500 horses, Austrian commander Otto Ferdinand von Traun was left with 9,500 infantry and 2,400 cavalry to face over 26,000 Spanish and Neapolitan soldiers. Sardinia, as a member of the League of Nymphenburg, was able to invade Austrian Lombardy, while the Duke of Modena was able to invade the region's opposing side.

Battle

While Vienna was under military detention, troops gathered in the neighboring regions of Hungary and Croatia to provide aid. Opposing forces became aware of this and imposed a siege on Vienna that may have been planned since the beginning of the war. Maria Theresa left Vienna for Pressburg, from which she traveled to Budapest, where the estates from different places in Hungary gathered. She cried while watching the conflict, and the Hungarians shouted their determination to partake in the war. At first, only 22,000 of the 60,000 troops could be called up. However, Khevenhüller assured Maria Theresa that they could still force the invaders to leave.

The Hungarian cavalry, led by Khevenhüller, appeared shortly after the French had assembled in St. Pölten on 23 December 1741. The Hungarians went from Herzogenburg to St. Pölten area in a roundabout way in the middle of the night. They surprised the French and launched an attack on the enemy camp. After defeating several French soldiers, the Hungarian cavalry attacked Count Tavannes, a nobleman, and a group of regular French soldiers at noon. News of the skirmish spread throughout the city and camp, causing consternation and confusion. The city gates were immediately closed by the guards. Regiments armed themselves and prepared to engage the Hungarians. Meanwhile, Khevenhüller's junior officer, Menzel, oversaw the Hungarians, who did not have casualties.

On this occasion, a disparity was observed between the Hungarian and French cavalry. Although both armies were organized into squadrons, the battle caused people to believe that Hungarian cavalry was better than that of the French. Tavannes was subsequently captured and taken to Vienna. Although regarded by the Bavarian elector, he was quickly released from captivity. The battle ended with the French retreating from St. Pölten.

Aftermath

The battle marked a turning point of the war. On 17 January 1742, Khevenhüller defeated a Bavarian army at Schärding. A week later, 10,000 French soldiers surrendered after a brief battle in Linz. When Charles Albert of Bavaria was crowned as Charles VII, the next Holy Roman Emperor and the first non-Habsburg to ascend the throne in 300 years, the Bavarian capital of Munich was taken.

Count Otto Ferdinand von Traun, the Austrian commander, marched ahead of the 40,000-strong Spanish-Neapolitan army, took Modena, and forced the Duke into an agreement. On 1 February 1742, Schulenburg and Ormea signed the Convention of Turin, which settled (or postponed the effects of) differences and established an alliance between the two countries, with Sardinia officially changing sides.

Frederick the Great won against the Austrians again at the Battle of Chotusitz. He then signed the Treaty of Breslau, which acknowledged the permanent loss of Silesia to Prussia.

Sources

• Anderson, Mark (1995). "The Prussian Invasion of Silesia and the Crisis of Habsburg Power". The War of the Austrian Succession. Routledge. ISBN 978-0582059504.
• Asprey, Robert B. (1986). "The First Silesian War, 1740-1742". Frederick the Great: The Magnificent Enigma. New York: Ticknor and Fields. ISBN 978-0-89919-352-6. (registration required)
• Browning, Reed (2005). "New Views on the Silesian Wars". The Journal of Military History. 69 (2): 521–534. doi:10.1353/jmh.2005.0077. JSTOR 3397409. S2CID 159463824. (registration required)
• Clark, Christopher (2006). "Struggle for Mastery". Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02385-7. (registration required)
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Hannay, David (1911). "Austrian Succession, War of the". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 39–45.
• Longman, Frederick (1895). "The Conquest of Silesia". Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War. F. W. Longman.
• Pratt, Fletcher (1956). "Frederick the Great and the Unacceptable Decision". The Battles that Changed History: From Alexander the Great to Task Force 16. Garden City, NY: Hanover House. (registration required)
• Showalter, Dennis (2012). Frederick the Great: A Military History. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1848326408.