This battle’s winning commander supposedly calmly picked the best cigar from his superior’s cigar case, thereby assuring him of victory. The so-called “Battery of the Dead” defended the village of Chlum (“kloom”) during this battle, whose losing commander vowed to keep fighting after misinterpreting a telegram asking, “Has a battle taken place?” as mocking him. At this 19th-century battle, a commander pioneered his strategy of “cauldron warfare” that he later expounded upon in his Instructions for Large-Unit Commanders. This battle, which ended a war sparked by a country’s supposed violation of the Gastein (“gah-STYNE”) Convention, pitted over 200,000 soldiers reluctantly commanded by Ludwig von Benedek against an opposing army wielding Dreyse (“DRY-zuh”) needle guns. For 10 points, Helmuth von Moltke the Elder won what decisive battle of the Austro-Prussian War? ■END■