Frederick II, King of Prussia and bitter rival of the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, invaded Silesia in 1756 but suffered his first defeat at Kolín on June 18.

Austrian commanders noticed this flaw, and Prince Charles of Lorraine, commander of Austrian troops facing Frederick's main army, dispatched Hungarian cavalry officer Count András 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.

The city's military governor, General Hans Friedrich von Rochow [de], believed that his forces were outnumbered and spirited the royal family to Spandau, 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 the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau was marching toward Berlin in an attempt to intercept him.