Atlas of Battles

battle, major, early modern

Battle of Kesselsdorf

Battle of Kesselsdorf was a battle fought in 1745 in what is now Germany. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at its recorded location. It was part of Second Silesian War, which ran from 1744 to 1745. The recorded result: Prussian victory. Recorded strength: 32,000; 33 field guns; additional battalion guns against 35,000: 28,000 Saxons; 7,000 Austrians; 80 field and battalion guns.

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Leopold I. von Anhalt-Dessau und Fryderyk August Rutowski
Leopold I. von Anhalt-Dessau und Fryderyk August Rutowski. Fryderyk_August_Rutowski.jpeg: Louis de Silvestre Leopold_I,_Prince_of_Anhalt-Dessau.jpeg: Georg Lisiewski (1674-1750) d, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought1745
WhereGermany51.033N, 13.600E, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomePrussian victory
BelligerentsPrussiaagainstElectorate of Saxony; Austria
Part ofSecond Silesian War1744 to 1745

Record

Date1745 (year precision)
PlaceGermany
51.033N, 13.600E
KindBattle, early modern
Strength32,000; 33 field guns; additional battalion guns35,000: 28,000 Saxons; 7,000 Austrians; 80 field and battalion guns
Casualties and losses5,100: 1,600 killed; 3,500 wounded and missing10,500: 3,800 dead and wounded; 6,700 captured; 48 cannon
Commanders
  • Frederick Augustus Rutowsky
Battle of KesselsdorfBattle of KesselsdorfBattle of DresdenSiege of DresdenSiege of DresdenBattle of MeissenSiege of Meissen (1015)Battle of DresdenBattle of MeissenPragueLeipzigMagdeburgZielona GóraPardubiceCottbusJenaHof100 km51.033N, 13.600E
Placed at its recorded location; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Kesselsdorf
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Kesselsdorf today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-09-10. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 301 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 358 m, 358 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 42% cropland, 23% grassland, 22% tree cover.

cropland: 42%grassland: 23%tree cover: 22%built-up: 12%cropland 42%grassland 23%tree cover 22%built-up 12%
west to east, 10.0 km216 to 319 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 355 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1745

Combat data (CDB90)

Attacker: PR ARMYDefender: SAX ARMY
Strength31,00031,200
Casualties5,000 (16.1%)6,630 (21.2%)
Mission accomplishment, 1 to 1093
Outcomeattacker won
Duration1 day
Front width4.4 km3 km
Attacker advanced2 km

From the US Army Concepts Analysis Agency Database of Battles (CDB90, battle 61), public domain, in the CC0 tidy edition by Jeffrey B. Arnold. Figures are the database's estimates, compiled in 1990 from published histories, and may differ from the Wikipedia infobox above.

Battle of Kesselsdorf is one of 2,009 engagements of the 18th century in the atlas and one of 538 in present-day Germany.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q695325, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Kesselsdorf, revision 1370445087, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.