Download or read book The Austro-Prussian War in Bohemia, 1866, Otherwise Known as the Seven Weeks' War Or Needle-gun War written by John H. Anderson and published by London : Rees 1908.. This book was released on 1908 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Useful and reliable primer that was designed for use of Staff College students sitting exams in 1908, and as such gives a clear analytical account of this mid-19th century conflict. The Seven Weeks' War was the first war between two major continental powers in seven years, and used many of the same technologies as the American Civil War. The Prussian Army used von Dreyse's breech-loading needle gun, which could be rapidly loaded while the soldier was seeking cover on the ground, whereas the Austrian muzzleloading rifles could only be loaded slowly, and generally from a standing position. Superior Prussian organization and élan decided the battle against Austrian numerical superiority, the victory was near total, with Austrian battle deaths nearly seven times the Prussian figure. --