In July, 1759 Lieutenant-general Kurt Heinrich von Wedel assumes command of the 28,000-man Prussian army east of the Oder. His orders are to halt the Russian advance and attack them from a strong position. However, it is the Russians, 60,000 men under the untested general Petr Semenovich Saltykov, who outmaneuver Wedel and take up the strong position near the town of Paltzig. Not wanting to disobey direct orders from the king, Wedel dutifully launches his assault on July 23.
The Russian position precludes an attack on a broad front, so Wedel makes for the high ground upon which Saltykov has anchored his right flank. Relying on his powerful artillery and a numerical advantage that allows the shifting of reserves from the left to right, Saltykov repels three separate attacks, the first by Manteuffel and Hulsen, the second by Kanitz and the third by Wobersnow. After initially driving some distance into the Russian flank, an attack by four regiments of Prussian cuirassiers is also repulsed. The battle ends at about 8 p.m.
Of the 40,500 men Saltykov has engaged in the battle, 4,700 are lost to about 8,000 for the Prussians. Wedel retreats. The Russian advance continues, and three weeks later the army would fight Frederick at the Battle of Kunersdorf.
