The first action occurred during the preliminary maneuvers prior to the battle of Hohenfriedberg as the Austrians sought to recapture Silesia by invading from northeast Bohemia. Though the outcome did not change wider events, the engagement is noteworthy as a fiercely-contested clash between two unequal detachments, as well as an occasion when the young Captain Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, the future cavalry general, distinguished himself, and the Prussian foot Jager received their first major test in battle. King Frederick had split his forces in Silesia into three corps to cover the mountain passes. While he held the main body in the center south of Schweidnitz, a small detachment of 6,000 guarded the south of the province, while another screened the northern passes, including Landshut. The Austrian commander, Prince Charles of Lorraine, sent over 10,000 light troops which cut off the southern detachment in mid May.

Frederick entrusted Zieten with the mission to bring the isolated Prussians back north to safety. In his famous "Zieten Ride," the hussar general cut his way through with 550 hussars and then back again with most of the southern corps. Covered by this diversion, the main Austro-Saxon army advanced through Trautenau towards the Landshut pass, intending to break into southern Silesia and trap all the Prussians in the province. Feldmarschallleutenant (Lt. Gen.) Franz Leopold Count Nadasdy (1708-83) was sent ahead in two columns to scout the way across the frontier at Schonberg and Liebau, leading to the first of the three engagements. Landshut was held by a detachment under Colonel Hans Carl von Winterfeldt (1707-57), a rising star and favorite of the king, placed there by Lt. Gen. Du Moulin, commander of the northern Prussian corps. Winterfeldt had four grenadier battalions, the new Foot Jager, three hussar regiments and eight battalion guns. Major General Stille held the double dragoon regiment Alt-Mollendorf at Hartmannsdorf, a village about five km north of Landshut on the road to Schweidnitz, while Du Moulin had a further six grenadier battalions posted slightly further away. All the Prussian units seem to have been under strength and Winterfeldt claimed he only had 1,000 infantry and 1,400 hussars. He later estimated Nadasdy's forces as 2,800 infantry and 3,000 hussars which roughly accords with official Austrian figures.

As one of Nadasdy's columns moved up from Liebau, the other halted at Hermsdorf in the Zieder valley to rest on 21 May. His patrols were spotted by Winterfeldt's outposts that evening and the Prussian colonel immediately made preparations for a battle the next day, summoning General Stille to hold his dragoons in readiness and informing his superior, Du Moulin. At 1am the next morning, Winterfeldt left Landshut and took position on the heights to the south, deploying Grenadier Battalion Stangen on Church Hill to block the Zieder valley, and placing the other three battalions behind the ridge of Justice Hill. The Jager were concealed in a small wood on a spur pointing south west from Justice Hill, while the bulk of the hussars were hidden behind that hill with only a few squadrons out front.

Nadasdy had also decided to attack and broke camp at 3.30am, sending Lt.Col. Franquini with the Croats and 350 hussars ahead as an advance guard. Franquini drove the Prussian posts from the Reich-Hennersdorf ridge at 5am, but as the main Austrian force was still strung out on the roads from Liebau and Hermsdorf, Franquini settled down to wait. Winterfeldt decided to entice him down onto the narrow plain between the ridge and the Prussian position and sent a few hussars forward. Franquini took the bait, moved down the steep slope, deployed on the plain and opened fire. His hussars then advanced through the Croats towards the main Prussian position on Justice Hill where Winterfeldt was waiting to surprise them. As the Prussian hussars fell back behind the hill, Winterfeldt advanced his grenadiers in a line over the ridge and down onto the plain, while opening fire with his battalion guns. A company of Prussian grenadiers left the main line and advanced to within 200 paces of the enemy to open platoon fire. Franquini's command took casualties and fell back towards the Reich-Hennersdorf ridge.

At this point the tables were reversed by the appearance of two of Nadasdy's three hussar regiments arriving from Zieder on the Prussian left at the top end of the plain. Winterfeldt formed his grenadiers into a long square and fell back up Justice Hill, firing as he went to keep the Croats at bay and losing only three men killed in the process. The Austrians now tried to force the Prussians off the hill by attempting to outflank them again, this time on their right as Franquini moved towards Rooster Hill.

This brought him within range of the Jager concealed in the wood who opened fire, forcing his men to retire on Reich- Hennersdorf village. Winterfeldt had another opportunity to attack the retreating Austrians and, despite the presence of the two hussar regiments on his right, decided not to waste it, sending three squadrons of Natzmer Hussars and one from the Soldan regiment. Captain Seydlitz led his squadron of Natzmers directly at the rear of the retreating Croats, sending them running for shelter.

However, as they pounded after them, the Prussians became disorganised and it was necessary to reform the ranks so the "Appel" was sounded calling the men to regroup to the rear. At that very moment the Hungarian Esterhazy Hussar Regiment appear through Reich-Hennersdorf having arrived from the Liebau road. The Prussians were thrown into confusion and driven back .

Lt. Col. Schotz managed to rally the hussars as Winterfeldt arrived with two fresh squadrons to cover their flank. Seydlitz led two squadrons forward again and managed to capture some of the pursuing Hungarians who now received reinforcements in the shape of Lt. Col. Simbschen's Temesvar Free Battalion. Simbschen's men now chased the Prussian Jager who had unwisely joined the hussar's pursuit of the fleeing Croats. The Temesvarer beat the Jager back to their wood and promptly opened fire on the Prussian grenadiers only 50 paces away. The Croats also returned and now seized Rooster Hill covered by the Esterhazy hussars. As the other two Hungarian hussar regiments continued to work their way down the Zieder valley and round the Prussian left, Nadasdy's main body of infantry finally arrived through Reich-Hennersdorf in the shape of the Hungarian Infantry Regiment which deployed in the plain in front of Justice Hill.

Winterfeldt's position was looking critical, but while he called on General Stille for support, he decided not to wait for the inevitable attack and took energetic measures to hold his position in the meantime. Two companies and one gun were called up from the Stangen grenadiers which had remained till then on Church Hill to reinforce Battalion Luck facing the Hungarian infantry, while battalions Finckenstein and Lepel faced the Croats and Temesvarer to the right.

Winterfeldt obviously hoped to repel the attack with musketry and his battalion guns, but noticed that the volleys of Finckenstein and Lepel were having little effect on the Croats who were sheltering behind rocks on Rooster Hill. He sprang from his horse, crying "don't shoot lads, at the scum with the bayonet!" Both battalions charged, driving the Croats from the hill. It's unlikely that this attack actually made contact and it's interesting to note that once they reached the open ground of the valley, the Prussians stopped their charge and opened fire again instead.

While they neutralized the threat to their right, the Prussians also faced an assault on their center from the Haller Regiment which advanced up Justice Hill in good order. However, the Hungarians only had their two battalion guns for support against the fire of the eight Prussian pieces in addition to musketry from the grenadiers. Suffering heavy loss, the right-wing Hungarian battalion retreated down the slope in disorder while that on the left flung itself on the ground and started to return fire.

It was now 10am and the Austrian attack had ground to a halt with their infantry stalled in a semi-circle in front of the Prussian position engaged in a long fire fight. Winterfeldt's position remained critical, however, as his hussars were too weak to launch a counter attack, while the Ghil nyi and Nadasdy Hussar Regiments had now reached Landshut itself and pushed detached detachments north to the hills at Vogelsdorf to cut the line of retreat.

General Stille now appeared at the head of the 1,000 man Alt Mollendorf Dragoon Regiment which had come up the valley at the trot from Hartmannsdorf in time to drive back the hussars by Landshut. Nadasdy now ordered a general retreat covered by his three hussar regiments and the remaining intact battalion of the Haller Regiment. As the broken Haller battalion retreated past Reich-Hennersdorf through the hamlet of Bethlehem, Stille's dragoons trotted through Landshut to form a second line behind Winterfeldt's three hussar regiments which now deployed behind Rooster Hill to the right of the grenadiers.

The Prussian cavalry now swept over the hilltop and down onto the plain. The Hungarian hussars evaded in the face of this assault and scrambled up the Reich-Hennersdorf ridge where the Croats hastily took position behind some bushes. Though the patriotic staff officers compiling the official history towards the end of the nineteenth century could barely credit it, the steep slope failed to deter the Prussian hussars who pressed on their charge at the gallop in time to catch the last few squadrons of Hungarians and the fleeing Croats. Col. Patatich commanding the Croats was wounded four times and taken prisoner; the rest of Nadasdy's force did not stop until it reached Kloster Grossau. As one grenadier battalion moved onto the ridge in support of the hussars, the Jager swept through the wood capturing the men (probably wounded) left behind by the Austrian retreat.

It was now midday and though Du Moulin arrived with another two grenadier battalions, it was decided to abandon further pursuit because Winterfeldt's men were exhausted and short of ammunition. The Prussians had lost 180 killed, wounded and captured, or about half the total loss of their opponents (366 men). Winterfeldt was promoted to major general at the age of only 38 for his determined seven-hour defense against the superior Austrian forces.

Nadasdy retreated to Schonberg, but Frederick had already decided to retire on Breslau, hoping to entice Prince Charles onto the Silesian plain which would be more favorable to Prussian tactics than further actions in the mountains. Du Moulin and Winterfeldt abandoned Landshut on 25 May to rejoin the royal army, leaving the way clear for the Austrians and Saxons to concentrate there four days later. Prince Charles took the bait and left Landshut on 1 June, moving to meet the king at the battle of Hohenfriedberg.

More Landshut

Introduction
First Landshut: 22 May 1745
Second Landshut: 13-14 August 1757
Third Landshut: 23 June 1760
Orders of Battle