At 1:30 P.M. Frederick was satisfied with the deployment and gave the order to advance. Drums beat, instruments played martial tunes, and colours snapped in the breeze as the Prussians advanced like a moving wall of blue. The Prussian artillery, 60 guns in all, opened fire on the nearest available target, namely Romer's cavalry on the Austrian left. Their fire could not be answered for the Austrian guns still had not deployed and Romer was not one to stand still and take a pounding from the Prussian guns.

He then noticed that Schulenburg's cavalry was wheeling to their right, flanks exposed to Romer's cavalry. The order to charge was given and 30 squadrons (4500 men) of Europe's finest cavalry came thundering down on Schulenburg's flank, facing barely half their number. Some units were caught in the flank, while others receive the Austrian charge at the halt. The result was disasterous for the Prussian horse and they fled the field in droves. Ten Prussian squadrons were swept away by this charge.

Christoper Duffy gives us a more graphic account of the melee in his book The Army of Maria Theresa, page 147:

"They fought at a stand, and got the worse of every clash. The extraordinary size of their horses did them no good at all -- our cavalrymen always directed their first sword cut at the head of the enemy horse; the horse fell, throwing its rider to the ground, and he would then be attacked from behind. The Prussian troopers have iron crosses set inside their hats. These were splintered by our swords, which made the cuts more deadly still. I might add that we had been ordered to sharpen most of our swords before the action,and now their edges looked like saws."

Frederick himself was on the right flank and attempted to stem the tide by leading the Lieb Carabiniers into the fray, but both they and their sovereign were swept away with the rest of the routing Prussian cavalry. Both Romer and Schulenburg were killed during this initial phase of the battle.

Meanwhile, the Winterfeldt (1/25) and Bolstern (3/22) grenadiers were isolated on the far right of the line, once the Prussian cavalry left the field. They were stalwart and immovable, blazing away at the Austrian horse. The blood of the Austrian cavaliers was up and they charged at least two more times in an attempt to break these grenadiers that protected the Prussian flank. At about this time, Schwerin became concerned that the discipline of the army might be breaking down and he advised Frederick to leave the field and seek refuge in the town of Oppeln, some 35 miles to the rear. This he did at about 4 P.M. Some historians suggest that Schwerin simply saw this as an opportunity to rid himself temporarily of his amateur commander, but whatever the reason, Frederick heeded his advice and left thinking that all was lost.

Battle of Mollwitz: April 10, 1741

Background and Austrian Counter-Attack
The Action Begins
The Austrian Cavalry Charge
Momentum Swings to the Prussians
Order of Battle and Wargaming Mollwitz

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