At that time, during May and June 1757, the Prussians besieged Prague, which was defended by about 46,000 soldiers of Prince Charles of Lorraine.
One of the decisive battles of the Seven Years’ War took place at Colin on June 18, 1757. There the Habsburg army defeated the forces of the Prussian King Frederick II for the first time in a great battle. Great, thus preventing his penetration in the direction of Vienna and forcing him to leave the siege of Prague.
The battle took place near the town of Kolín in the Czech Republic, about forty kilometers east of Prague. At that time, during May and June 1757, the Prussians besieged Prague, which was defended by about 46,000 soldiers of Prince Charles of Lorraine. Pressed by Prussian forces, Habsburg units were forced to retreat to the city where they offered desperate resistance. At the last minute, the besieged defenders came to the rescue, led by Fed Marshal Leopold Down, who set out for Prague with 35,000 infantry, 19,000 cavalry and 60 cannons. King Friedrich II of Prussia understood Down’s intention, so he set out to meet an army of about 19,000 infantry, 14,000 cavalry, and his support was 28 cannons. As the positions in which Daun (Krychnov behind the Bečvarka River was initially deployed) were quite unsuitable for carrying out the attack, Friedrich II. undertakes a bypass maneuver to attack the right wing of the Habsburg army. But Daunu read Friedrich’s intention, so he changed the battlefield and occupied the hills between Krečhor and Poborži.
Eventually there is a strong clash in which the Prussian forces are completely defeated. The complete catastrophe of Prussia was prevented by the forces commanded by the Duke of Bavern near Novemest, which, with persistent resistance, enabled the Prussian army to be drawn across the Planjan. In this battle, the Prussians lost 13,700 soldiers, and the Habsburg forces 7,800 of them.
Due to the awarding of victorious military officers in the Battle of Kolín, Empress Maria Theresa founded the famous Military Order of Maria Theresa (German: Militär-Maria-Theresien-Orden), the highest military decoration of the Habsburg Monarchy. The decoration of the Grand Cross (German: Grosskreutz) of this order was given to Field Marshal Count Daun and the cavalry general Count Franjo Nádasdy, who was also the ban of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia at the time, for his victory at Kolín.
