Led by Charles of Lorraine, an Imperial force of around 25,000 men was advancing against French-occupied Prague, when it ran into a Prussian army of roughly equal size, commanded by Frederick the Great.

Salic law previously excluded women from inheriting the Habsburg monarchy;[c] the 1713 Pragmatic Sanction set this aside, allowing Maria Theresa to succeed her father.

[3] Austria's position as the most powerful element in the Holy Roman Empire was threatened by the growth of Bavaria, Prussia and Saxony, who disputed the validity of the Sanction.

They inflicted considerable damage on Prussian troops and morale, one officer writing 'these thieves and robbers...never show themselves in battle, like proper brave soldiers.

[8] By stripping garrisons from the rest of Bohemia, the Austrians assembled a field army of 28,000 to retake Prague, under Charles of Lorraine, who had a reputation as a cautious, timid and defensively minded general.

Charles of Lorraine hoped to attack before Frederick could reach him but was not ready to do so until 7:00 am; as he advanced north from Čáslav, his army drifted slightly to the right, allowing Buddenbrock's cavalry to outflank them.

[12] The battle left the basic strategic situation unchanged; Charles was still able to move against Prague, while the Prussian presence in Moravia remained a threat to Vienna.

[15] The battle also showed the Prussian cavalry still needed work, particularly in horsemanship; a contributory factor to their apparent indiscipline was the inability of many to control their mounts and this became an area of focus after 1743.