While his allies were being defeated, Prince Charles of Lorraine had done nothing, believing that the cannonade was merely an outpost affair for the possession of the Spitzberg. His generals indeed had drawn out their respective commands in order of battle, the infantry south of Günthersdorf, the cavalry near Thomaswaldau, but they had no authority to advance without orders, and stood inactive, while, 1 m. away, the Prussian columns were defiling over the Striegau Water. This phase of the king’s advance was the most delicate of all, and the moment that he heard from Prince Dietrich that the marsh was captured he stopped the northward flow of his battalions and swung them westward, the left wing cavalry having to cover their deployment. But when one-third of this cavalry only had crossed at Teichau the bridge broke. For a time the advanced squadrons were in great danger. But they charged boldly, and a disjointed cavalry battle began, during which (Ziethen’s hussars having discovered a ford) the rest of the left-wing cavalry was able to cross. At last 25 intact squadrons under Lieut.-General von Nassau charged and drove the Austrians in disorder towards Hohenfriedberg. This action was the more creditable to the victors in that 45 squadrons in 3 separate fractions defeated a mass of 60 squadrons that stood already deployed to meet them.
Meanwhile the Prussian infantry columns of the centre and left had crossed Striegau Water and deployed to their left, and by 8.30 they were advancing on Günthersdorf and the Austrian infantry south of that place. Frederick’s purpose was to roll up the enemy from their inner flank, and while Prince Dietrich, with most of the troops that had forced the Saxons out of the marsh, pursued Weissenfels, two regiments of his and one of Dumoulin’s were brought over to the left wing and sent against the north side of Günthersdorf. In the course of the general forward movement, which was made in what was for those days a very irregular line, a wide gap opened up between the centre and left, behind which 10 squadrons of the Bayreuth dragoon regiment, with Lieut.-General von Gessler, took up their position. Thus the line advanced. The grenadiers on the extreme left cleared Thomaswaldau, and their fire galled the Austrian squadrons engaged in the cavalry battle to the south. Then Günthersdorf, attacked on three sides, was also evacuated by the enemy. But although Frederick rode back from the front saying “the battle is won,” the Prussian infantry, in spite of its superior fire discipline, failed for some time to master the defence, and suffered heavily from the eight close-range volleys they received, one or two regiments losing 40 and 50% of their strength. The Austrians, however, suffered still more; feeling themselves isolated in the midst of the victorious enemy, they began to waver, and at the psychological moment Gessler and the Bayreuth dragoons charged into their ranks and “broke the equilibrium.” These 1500 sabres scattered twenty battalions of the enemy and brought in 2500 prisoners and 66 Austrian colours, and in this astounding charge they themselves lost no more than 94 men. By nine o’clock the battle was over, and the wrecks of the Austro-Saxon army were retreating to the mountains. The Prussians, who had been marching all night, were too far spent to pursue.
The loss of the allies was in all 15,224, 7985 killed and wounded, and 7239 prisoners, as well as 72 guns and 83 standards and colours. The Prussians lost 4666 killed and wounded, 71 missing.
HOHENHEIM, a village of Germany, in the kingdom of Württemberg, 7 m. S. of Stuttgart by rail. Pop. 300. It came in 1768 from the counts of Hohenheim to the dukes of Württemberg, and in 1785 Duke Karl Eugen built a country house here. This house with grounds is now the seat of the most important agricultural college in Germany; it was founded in 1817, was raised to the position of a high school in 1865, and now ranks as a technical high school with university status.
See Fröhlich, Das Schloss und die Akademie Hohenheim (Stuttgart, 1870).
HOHENLIMBURG, a town of Germany, on the Lenne, in the Prussian prov. of Westphalia, 30 m. by rail S.E. of Dortmund. Pop. (1905) 12,790. It has two Evangelical churches, a Roman Catholic church and a synagogue. The town is the seat of various iron and metal industries, while dyeing, cloth-making and linen-weaving are also carried on here. It is the chief town of the county of Limburg, and formerly belonged to the counts of Limburg, a family which became extinct in 1508. Later it passed to the counts of Bentheim-Tecklenburg. The castle of Hohenlimburg, which overlooks the town, is now the residence of Prince Adolf of Bentheim-Tecklenburg.
HOHENLOHE, a German princely family which took its name from the district of Hohenlohe in Franconia. At first a countship, its two branches were raised to the rank of principalities of the Empire in 1744 and 1764 respectively; in 1806 they lost their independence and their lands now form part of the kingdoms of Bavaria and of Württemberg. At the time of the mediatization the area of Hohenlohe was 680 sq. m. and its estimated population was 108,000. The family is first mentioned in the 12th century as possessing the castle of Hohenloch, or Hohenlohe, near Uffenheim, and its influence was soon perceptible in several of the Franconian valleys, including those of the Kocher, the Jagst and the Tauber. Henry I. (d. 1183) was the first to take the title of count of Hohenlohe, and in 1230 his grandsons, Gottfried and Conrad, supporters of the emperor Frederick II., founded the lines of Hohenlohe-Hohenlohe and Hohenlohe-Brauneck, names taken from their respective castles. The latter became extinct in 1390, its lands passing later to Brandenburg, while the former was divided into several branches, only two of which, however, Hohenlohe-Weikersheim and Hohenlohe-Uffenheim-Speckfeld, need be mentioned here. Hohenlohe-Weikersheim, descended from Count Kraft I. (d. 1313), also underwent several divisions, that which took place after the deaths of Counts Albert and George in 1551 being specially important. At this time the lines of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein and Hohenlohe-Waldenburg were founded by the sons of Count George. Meanwhile, in 1412, the family of Hohenlohe-Uffenheim-Speckfeld had become extinct, and its lands had passed through the marriages of its heiresses into other families.