The Hanoverians under Von Spörcken approached the enemy from
Duderstadt via
Worbis and
Dingelstädt, preventing the French Lieutenant-General Saint-Pern at
Eschwege, from joining forces with the troops on the
Unstrut River. At the same time, a Prussian corps under Major General Syburg marched from
Weißenfels toward Langensalza. Von Spörcken doubled back to the left bank of the Unstrut above
Mühlhausen, which was occupied by 5,000 French troops, and also marched toward Langensalza. In the early morning of 15 February, the combined allies were north of Langensalza, Von Spörcken near
Thamsbrück and Sydow near
Merxleben. However, due to the onset of a thaw, crossing the Unstrut proved difficult. The French and Saxons, who were on the heights southeast of Langensalza, were also separated by the flooded
Salza River. Perhaps decisive in the battle was the fact that the French under command of
Choiseul-Stainville received orders from their commander-in-chief,
Marshal Broglie, to retreat to the
Werra River, barely after the engagement had begun. Saint-Pern had already obeyed the same order. Unfortunately, the 3,000 Saxons only received Broglie's order when they were already in the middle of the fight and had to bear its burden alone. When they attempted to retreat, the Saxon infantry were attacked in the flanks by the enemy cavalry and partially overrun. By 10 a.m. the battle was decided: five Saxon regiments or battalions with about 2,000 men were taken prisoner. The Saxons also lost 13 cannons and 7 flags and standards to the enemy. ==Aftermath ==