Having recently lost against the Austrians at Hochkirck (1758) and then the Russians at Kunnersdorf (1759), Frederick was still looking for a decisive win to redress the balance of the war in his favour. Liegnitz (1760) was a victory, but had settled little, and now the King of Prussia once more set out to face his arch-enemy, Austria, on the field of battle. He first marched north to help scare off the Russian raiding party that was ransacking his capital, and also reinforce his numbers to some 50,000 men and 250 guns. Then, looking at a map of Saxony, Federick reasoned that the two Austrian armies - under Daun and Lacy - would be looking to unite their 55,000 men on the banks of the Elbe. And so Frederick went to meet them at Torgau.

The fortified town and river made any attempt to outflank the Austrian left impractical, whilst Daun thought the woods to the west helped to protect his right. But these woods did not deter Frederick, who was planning a grand outflanking march to match that of Zorndorf two years earlier. He also reasoned that the only way to pin down the Austrians long enough for this was to leave a surprisingly large force (18,000 men) on the southern front, under the command of Ziethen.

The timing of these different attacks was not quite as planned, since Frederick found his enemy less strung out than supposed, and so had to alter his route to a more central one, for fear of missing the enemy all together (especially since he was planning to attack in echelon with his left flank forward). Ziethen's attack was delayed and the Austrians had already redeployed ready to face an attack from any direction. Casualties were immense, and Frederick feared the battle lost, but only now (about 4pm) did Ziethen's attack hit home, as he found a causeway around the west of the Austrian position. Daun was injured and forced to leave the field, whilst, on the northern front, von Hulsen suddenly climbed atop a field gun, had it dragged forward to the sound of the drums, and inspired his men to complete the victory.

But this victory came at a huge cost - 17,000 Prussian and 18,000 Austrian casualties making this the biggest and bloodiest battle of the 18th century. It was not as decisive as had been hoped, and Daun had not been forced to abandon Dresden - a crucial supply base for the approaching winter. One more battle would be needed - Burkersdorf in 1762 - before the continent could finally enjoy peace again.