The siege of Pirna (or Investment of Pirna) took place in 1756 as part of the Prussian invasion of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

during the Third Silesian War (part of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

). Following the occupation of the capital

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

on 9 September the Saxon army had withdrawn south and taken up position at the fortress of

Pirna Pirna (; , ) is a town in Saxony, Germany and capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 37,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a ''Große ...

under Frederick von Rutowski. The Saxons hoped to receive relief from the Austrian army which was across the border in neighbouring

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

under Marshal Browne. Following the

Battle of Lobositz The Battle of Lobositz or Lovosice also Lowositz on 1 October 1756 was the opening land battle of the Third Silesian War and the wider Seven Years' War. Frederick the Great's 28,000 Prussians were prevented by 33,000 Austrians under Maximilian ...

the Austrians withdrew, and tried to approach Pirna by a different route but they failed to make contact with the defenders. Despite a Saxon attempt to escape by crossing the

River Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

, it soon became apparent that their position was hopeless. On 14 October Rutowski concluded a capitulation with Frederick. In total 18,000 troops surrendered. They were swiftly and forcibly incorporated into the Prussian forces, an act which caused widespread protest even from Prussians.Szabo p.45-46 Many of them later deserted and fought with the Austrians against the Prussian forces - with whole

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

s changing sides at the Battle of Prague.

References

Bibliography

* Dull, Jonathan R. ''The French Navy and the Seven Years' War''. University of Nebraska Press, 2005. * Jacques, Tony. ''Dictionary of Battles and Sieges''. Greenwood Press, 2007. * Szabo, Franz A.J. ''The Seven Years War in Europe, 1756-1763''. Pearson, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pirna 1756 Sieges of the Seven Years' War Conflicts in 1756 Sieges involving Prussia Sieges involving Saxony 1756 in the Holy Roman Empire 18th century in Saxony Battles of Frederick the Great Military history of Saxony Battles of the Silesian Wars Sieges involving Austria

Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...