In August 1760, Fredrick the Great of Prussia and his army made ready to repel further Austrian incursions into Prussian territory.

However, a second Austrian army of 25,000 men also began advancing upon Frederick's holdings in Eastern Saxony, putting the Prussians in danger of being caught in a large pincer movement.

The Austrians arrived from the south, with Zweibrücken splitting his larger army in order to attack the Prussian lines from multiple directions.

Despite being aware of this flanking maneuver, Hülsen resolved to fight a battle centered around a static defensive line.

Soon after, several Prussian battalions broke through the woods near Strehla, forcing a much larger body of Austrian infantry to redeploy to counter them.