numerical strength.

On the fifteenth of June, 1866, King William called upon Saxony,
Hanover, Hesse-Cassel and Nassau to remain neutral in the impending
conflict, and gave them _twelve hours_ in which to decide! Receiving
no answer, he ordered the Prussians out of Holstein to seize Hanover.
This work was accomplished in two days. In another two days
Hesse-Cassel was occupied by an army from the Rhine, while at the same
time a third division of the Prussian forces was thrown into Dresden
and Leipsic. On the twenty-seventh of the month, a battle was fought
with the Hanoverians, in which the latter were at first successful,
but were soon overpowered and compelled to surrender. George V., King
of Hanover, fled for refuge to Vienna.

Within two weeks the field in the South was cleared, and the Prussian
army was turned upon Austria. King William's forces numbered 260,000
men. They were commanded by the Crown Prince, Prince Frederick
Charles, Von Moltke, Von Roon and General Bittenfeld. The King in
person and Bismarck were present with the advance. The impact was more
than Austria could stand. On the twenty-seventh and twenty-ninth of
June, Frederick Charles defeated the Austrian advance in four
indecisive engagements. Count Clam-Gallas, the Austrian general, was
obliged to fall back on the main body for support.

In these same days the Crown Prince gained several preliminary
successes over the principal Austrian army under Benedek. Then, on the
river Bistritz, on the sixth of July, came the great battle of Sadowa.
The opposing commanders in the beginning of the engagement were
Frederick Charles and Benedek. The battle began at eight in the
morning, and raged with the utmost fury until two in the afternoon.