Battle of Lamač
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The Battle of Lamač (Lamač is today a borough of, at that time a suburb of Bratislava) was the last battle fought in the Austro-Prussian War. It was fought near Lamač on July 22, 1866 (on the day of the conclusion of peace), with the Austrians defending against the Prussian army.
Prussian scout patrols were in Malacky already on 19 July 1866, and in two days the Prussian army occupied Stupava. At that time it was evident, that a cease fire would come into being soon. This is why the Prussian General Edward von Franseczky received the command to immediately march upon Bratislava and occupy it, which was not an easy task. The road from Stupava to Bratislava ran near Lamač through a valley in the Little Carpathians (Malé Karpaty). After this, on both sides of road are relatively high mountains, making it a strategic point of defence.
The commander of the Austrian troops in Bratislava Archduke Albrecht of Thun had already located one brigade there under the command of Colonel Mondela on the 18th of July located. Colonel Mondela placed his brigade as follows:
The right wing leaned about Hrubý Pleš from there following to west to the fields of Leskara and to the railway embankment, which protected the greater part of Mondela's brigade. The left wing leaned about the eastern and northeastern hillsides of Devínska Kobyla. The Austrian artillery was located near Lamač and Dúbravka, from where it was able to control the road from Stupava to Bratislava.
Initially, the brigade was reinforced on 19-21 July, the day before battle, by the arrival of the 9th Austrian mountain regiment. On Sunday, the morning of July 22nd, the Prussian army began part of its attack on Lamač. The second part, under the command of Major-General Bose, moved ahead through mountain paths on the Kamzík hill with a view to surround the Austrian defence and occupy Bratislava.
About half past six the first shot was fired from the Austrian cannon. Prussian forces were warded off and around 8 o'clock they got General Edward von Franseczky's message: a cease fire was already negotiated and would be valid from 12 o'clock on the 22nd of July 1866. It would come into effect fewer than five hours later. The Prussian General had mounted in battle a large number of artillery pieces, so an artillery duel had already begun. The result was large fires in Lamač, and even more in Dubravka. The Prussian forces were warded off again despite being their superior numbers. All the success of the battle near Lamač depended on the result of a flanking manoeuvre of Major-General Bose. The movement of the brigade due to the hard terrain was slow, and when it arrived at Kamzík by 12 o'clock, the ceasefire came into effect. By the setting of a line of demarcation, which overshot by Záhorska Bystrica, the Austro-Prussian war terminated the fights for domination over Germany and central Europe.
