The Leipzig-Dresden railway line through time

In 1866, the so-called 'Seven Weeks War' took place. Some 250,000 Prussian troops advanced on a 270 mile front towards the Austrians. Saxony lay between the two powers striving for supremacy, and the Saxons joined with the Austrians in this struggle over the future of Schleswig-Holstein. Bismarck had been made Prussian Chancellor in 1862 and he advocated an undisputed lead role for the Prussian state. Tension between Austria and Prussia sharpened and war had become inevitable in 1866.

In an amazingly brief war, the forces of Austria helped by Saxony troops were defeated by the superior military skills of Moltke, the Prussian Chief of Staff. Moltke was an acknowledged supporter of the railway and had helped finance the building of the Hamburg -Berlin line in 1839. He became a Director of this railway and sharply appreciated the future role of railways. He had made himself fully conversant with the technical matters of the railway and tested the capacity of the railway system to move large numbers of troops in 1859, as a precaution during the Austrian attack on Piedmont. The Prussian army corps had used trains for large scale troop movements as early as 1846. In 1833, Friedrich Harkort had written a pamphlet calling for a railway line from Köln to Minden, linking the River Rhine to the River Weser. Although commercial reasoning was the prime reason for the line, Harkort went on to draw the authorities' attention to the military advantages of a line:

"150 railway carriages could take a brigade from Minden to the Rhine in a day and a telegraph line from Mainz to Wesel would make it impossible for the French to cross the Rhine."

Moltke wrote in 1843:

"Every new development of railways is a military advantage; and for the national defence a few million on the completion of our railways is far more profitably employed on our new fortresses."

The full benefit of the substantial system was completely realised when the Prussians invaded Austria. They used five lines to move against the Austrians who only had one line coming up from Wien (Vienna). The following accounts well illustrate the role of the Leipzig - Dresden Railway line in the short war.

The Leipzig military go to the Theatre of War in May and June 1866

" This morning at eleven and eleven thirty our first and second infantry battalions marched out in full battle dress. The battalion was over 1000 men strong. Quite a large crowd had assembled in the castle court yard out on the promenade to witness this military display. Before they set off the officers gave three cheers for His Majesty, the King and the army generals. The troops and the members of the public present also joined in. Then the troops departed accompanied by lively music, cries of support and good wishes for a speedy return from the crowd. Their bearing was imposing and convinced all present of their loyalty and patriotism."

"The company assembled with great speed and they marched out of Bleissenburg Castle by 10 o'clock led by the garrison commander, Major von Schulz, in the direction of the Dresdener Station. The news of the departure spread like wild fire among the inhabitants and a large crowd assembled at the station where a special train had been prepared to transport the troops to Dresden. At quarter to twelve the train departed and the brave Saxon troops were cheered enthusiastically by the crowds."

Moltke moved the Prussian troops speedily down to the borders of both Saxony and Bohemia, and the closeness of the Leipzig - Dresden Railway Line to the border with Prussia was vividly caught by the following newspaper stories:

The Prussians cross the Saxon border
" Small numbers of Prussian troops have moved into Riesa and Wurzen where they occupied both stations. Larger troop masses have been seen near Dahlen. The burning of two wooden supports of the bridge over the River Elbe at Riesa was carried out on the orders of the imperial Saxon authorities."

The mobilisation of the Prussian army was delayed by the King of Prussia's unwillingness to be seen as the aggressor, and this allowed the Saxons hastily to remove all the engines, coaches and wagons of the Leipzig - Dresden Railway line to a safe haven in the south-east. The newspaper article chronicles this flight:

All rolling stock brought to a safe place - An eyewitness account of the speedy concealment of the Saxon Rolling Stock
" Units of the Saxon Army had burnt down the railway bridge at Riesa over the Elbe and had blown up the stone bridge in Meissen, to prevent a rapid advance by the Prussians. The Prussian military was first seen in Leipzig, since one of its city boundaries is situated immediately on the Prussian border. They had to make the best of a bad deal as they could not rely on Saxon military support. They had no choice in the circumstances other than to welcome the enemy with dignity. A major factor for the occupation of Saxony by the enemy was the Saxon rolling stock. So as to make this impossible for the Prussians to have this and thus prevent a rapid advance to southern Germany and to save an important national fortune, Saxon railway officials, the highest and the lowest, set about making this impossible. Thus began the general removal of all rolling stock and equipment to safety.

"After the various locomotives and countless wagons from Riesa and Chemnitz had been removed to safety to Zwickau, on 18 June 1866 and in spite of attempts by Prussian cavalry to stop them, the general evacuation of equipment to the border with Bavaria took place. Trains travelling in the opposite direction turned round and joined the flight. At every station, as if by general command, all machines and carriages, regardless whether they were empty, half-full or full, were coupled and set off in great haste.

"Thus came train load after train load to Reichenbach. Sometimes with 5 or 6 locomotives, some fired, some not, the latter coming directly from the locomotive sheds. They hoped to be able to take on water as Reichenbach was a water supply station. However because of the great demand, Reichenbach soon ran out of water and they consoled themselves by looking towards the next water station at Herlasgrün. Here, there was a repetition of what had happened in Reichenbach and the majority had to continue their journey without hope, which was even worse.

"If one considers that this flight took place without preparation, in order not to warn the enemy not even a whistle or signal could be given, it shows the great intelligence and loyalty of the railway officials and they deserve the gratitude and the recognition of the whole Saxon people because of their love for their Fatherland they saved 140 locomotives and about 8000 carriages of all types in the space of a few hours.

"On the evening of 19 June 1866 all the locomotives and carriages owned by Saxony ( with just a few exceptions ) had reached Eger station that is the final station in the Saxon network. From here they were transported to safety in Hungary a few days later. A photograph taken in the evening shows the station crowded with its endless lines of trains and smoking locomotives. Two other photographs taken six weeks later show the station at Eger empty - occupied only by two Prussian armed guards - What a contrast.

"In brief we also mention the whole of Saxony from 19 June to November had no train services except the Prussian military trains and for the transport of letters and people the old yellow letter postcoaches were brought into service again. Even the old coach driver in traditional dress came into his own again."

The Austrians were surrounded by the Prussians on 3 July 1866 when the decisive battle was fought at Königgrätz. The Prussians were using superior breech-loading rifles and the Austrians and Saxons with their older muzzle-loading rifles were both technically and tactically routed. 34,000 Austrian, Saxon and Prussians troops were killed and many thousand more wounded. Again the railways were called into action:

" At four o'clock, Tuesday afternoon, 4 July, on the Leipzig to Dresden railway, a special train arrived here, which transported wounded soldiers of the Prussian, Austrian and Saxon armies. The train was immediately directed to near the orphanage where porters and others carried the wounded from the carriages to well ordered rooms in the orphanage. The number of wounded was calculated to be between 170 and 200. It has been reported that a further train arrived during the night and the occupants have been housed partly in the military hospital and partly in the orphanage."

Leipzig 10 July
"Early yesterday another Leipzig - Dresden special train arrived with 500 wounded soldiers from the Bohemian theatre of war. Some of them were very severely injured, some were housed in the orphanage, some under canvas and some in the sports hall. As all these places are already full, the fifth elementary school in Schletterstrasse that was closed and emptied on Saturday, has also been equipped as a hospital."

The use of the railways in this war between Austria and Prussia was the first major use by the military and the side that had more lines and used them more effectively was the victor. Armies throughout the world took notice of the speed of assembly and deployment of the Prussian troops through both their own territory and across Saxony using the Leipzig - Dresden Line. The Austrians signed a Peace Treaty in Prague in August 1866, a North German Federation was formed and Saxony came firmly under the tutelage of Prussia. The following correspondence between Bismarck and William I illustrates the end of any dreams of political strength that Saxony may have had:

Bismarck: "The double declaration of Austria that it will withdraw from the German Bund and agree to the reconstruction of it under Prussia's leadership without Austrian participation and that it will recognise everything that Your Majesty thinks fit to do in Northern Germany, provides all the essentials that Prussia demands of her. The preservation of the Kingdom of Saxony is the wish of both Austria and France."

William I: "That besides the preservation of the Kingdom of Saxony also will be guaranteed, bears very hard on me, as Saxony was the chief instigator of the war and has come out of it unimpaired."