Casualties Flood into Dresden (June-July 1866)

In late June 1866, Saxon cities were already seeing the arrival of casualties resulting from skirmishes between Prussian, Saxon, and Austrian forces. After the Battle of Königgrätz on July 3, 1866, the number of dead and wounded rose enormously, straining Saxony’s transportation and medical facilities to the limit. The influx of prisoners of war only compounded the logistical nightmare. When Saxony’s municipal authorities complained to Prussian civil and military authorities in Dresden about the hardships their residents were facing as the result of war and occupation – including the billeting of Prussian soldiers, the building of huge defensive earthworks in the center of Dresden, forced tributes paid to the occupiers, and demands for ever greater numbers of hospital beds and medical supplies – their complaints generally fell on deaf ears. This woodcut is by Herbert König.

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