The Austrian Army of the North 
retreated steadily in front of 
the advance of the Prussian 
First Army as their commander, 
Field Marshal Ludwig von 
Benedek, tried to find a 
suitable place to defend.  The 
Iser River seemed logical, and 
on that river Podol seemed to 
be the most vital point, as 
stone bridge there was one the 
only one could stand up to 
military traffic. 
 
Unfortunately, command of the 
Austrian forces in the Podol 
area was in the hands of I 
Korps commander Eduard Graf von 
Clam-Gallas, a notoriously 
incapable officer who failed to 
adequately monitor the Prussian 
advance.  Only two understrength
companies were posted to cover 
Podol.  Unsure of where the 
Prussians were, or would try to 
cross, Gallas' main forces were 
well back from the river.
 
Advance elements of Lt. General 
von Horn's 8th Division struck 
at Podol late in the afternoon 
of June 25th.  As Col. Bergou, 
chief of staff of the Austrian 
Poschacher Brigade [known as 
the Iron Brigade for their work 
in the Danish War two years 
earlier] rushed troops to Podol,
Prussian infantry found fordable
water near the town and began 
to wade across. 

When the Austrian infantry 
arrived, Prussian troops had 
nearly completed clearing Podol.
A sharp firefight ensued, with 
the Prussian infantry taking 
heavy losses from the longer-
ranged Austrian Lorenz rifles.  
As the Prussians pulled slightly
back, the Austrian commanders 
formed their men into columns - 
Austrian assault columns were 
the most tightly packed in 
Europe - and attempted to 
charge.  Prussian Dreyse 
Needle-guns mowed the Austrians 
down in rows, and the attack 
failed. 

More Austrian infantry arrived 
as night fell, more counter-
attacks were planned, but the 
impracticality of attacking the 
Prussian bridgehead in darkness 
combined with the firepower of 
the Needle-gun convinced the 
Austrians abandon the Iser, and 
continue their retreat south.