| 1757 raid on Berlin | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theThird Silesian War (Seven Years' War) | |||||||||
 Der Überfall auf Berlin 1757 byKarl von Blaas, 1865 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Holy Roman Empire |  Kingdom of Prussia | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Count Hadik | General von Rochow [de] | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 5,100-strong raiding party (including troops assigned to guard supply bases) | 5,521-strong Berlin garrison | ||||||||
The1757 raid on Berlin took place during theThird Silesian War (part of theSeven Years' War). Cavalrymen of theHoly Roman Empire attacked and briefly occupiedBerlin, the capital ofPrussia. According to an apocryphal story General Hadik picked up gloves in Berlin for Empress Maria Theresa, but after leaving he realized that he got only gloves for her left hand. He returned to Berlin and got also the gloves for her right hand.
After theWar of the Austrian Succession, traditional European alliances fell apart and were replaced by an Anglo-Prussian pact and a Franco-Austrian alliance.[1] Known as theDiplomatic Revolution, these events caused the Seven Years' War.Frederick II, King of Prussia and bitter rival of the Holy Roman EmpressMaria Theresa of Austria, invadedSilesia in 1756 but suffered his first defeat atKolín on June 18.[2] In the aftermath of the battle, however, Frederick neglected to protect the approach to his capital, Berlin.
Austrian commanders noticed this flaw, andPrince Charles of Lorraine, commander of Austrian troops facing Frederick's main army, dispatched Hungarian cavalry officer CountAndrás Hadik and a force of about 5,100 men, mostly Hungarian hussars,[1][3] to capture the city. However, to guard his main base at Elsterwerda, Hadik left behind enough troops that his raiding party was outnumbered by the unsuspecting Berlin garrison.[citation needed]
On 16 October Hadik and his raiding force arrived outside of Berlin. Although the Prussian defenders were surprised, they refused Hadik's surrender demands. Hadik promptly attacked the city gates,[1] entering the city. The city's military governor, GeneralHans Friedrich von Rochow [de], believed that his forces were outnumbered and spirited theroyal family toSpandau, while Hadik demanded that the city council pay a ransom of 200,000 thalers and a dozen pairs of gloves for the Empress.[3] The ransom was paid, but Hadik left the city hurriedly when he realized that a significant Prussian force under thePrince of Anhalt-Dessau was marching toward Berlin in an attempt to intercept him.[4]
52°31′24″N13°24′41″E / 52.523405°N 13.4114°E /52.523405; 13.4114