This battle cemented Frederick's authority over the newly conquered territory of Silesia and gave him valuable military experience.

[6] The Habsburg monarchy[a] was originally subject to Salic law, which excluded women from inheriting it; the 1713 Pragmatic Sanction set this aside, allowing Maria Theresa to succeed her father.

[7] That became a European issue because the Habsburg monarchy was the most powerful element in the Holy Roman Empire, a loose federation of mostly-German states.

Its position was threatened by the growing size and power of Bavaria, Prussia, and Saxony, as well as Habsburg expansion into lands held by the Ottoman Empire.

[10] Under Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, the Prussians quickly over-ran most of the province and settled into winter quarters but failed to capture the southern fortresses of Glogau, Breslau, and Brieg.

[11] Maria Theresa sent an army of about 20,000 men led by Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg to take back the province and assert herself as a strong monarch.

[18] Not only were Austrian troops still in bivouac and cooking food,[19] but they were scattered across three villages [20] with their front facing away from the Prussian advance.

[37] The Prussian infantry, which had been rigorously drilled and trained under Frederick William I,[38] held firm and continued firing rapid volleys into the Austrian cavalry, causing it tremendous losses and killing its commander, General Römer.

[17] Frederick returned to his army the morning after the battle,[53] restored his lines of communication, and subsequently brought the siege of Brieg to a successful conclusion.

[64] The Prussian victory also made it clear to Maria Theresa that she would not be able to reassert her control of Silesia easily and that Prussia was a military power that would have to be more carefully reckoned with.

[65] The defeat of Maria Theresa's army at Mollwitz encouraged other rulers to deny the Pragmatic Sanction and to claim much of the Habsburg territories amongst themselves.

[66] Within a few months, France, Spain, Bavaria, Saxony, Savoy and Prussia became allies in a loose coalition known as the League of Nymphenburg, widening the conflict into a larger European affair that would become known as the War of the Austrian Succession.