In 1757 the Prussian king, Fredrick II, was still active in Saxony. During this time, the duke of Brunswick-Bevern was supposed to cover Silesia with a force of 32,000 troops. This soon turned out to be a difficult task as he had to face the superior Austrian forces, whose main army of 54,000 troops was led by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine and Count Leopold Joseph von Daun. The corps of 28,000 troops under Franz Leopold von Nádasdy was also able to advance to the front. Despite their overwhelming superiority, the Austrians wanted to initially avoid a battle. The main army's role was supposed to be tying up the Prussians thereby allowing Nádasdy’s forces to take the fortress of Schweidnitz, which was a key position ensuring the flow of supplies Bohemia to Silesia.