One of the greatest Britons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, called the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) the "first world war", as it took place on several continents and huge human resources were involved in it.
The Seven Years' War was also called the "first trench war", because it was then that rapidly erected fortifications, redoubts, etc. were involved on a large scale. During the conflict, artillery guns also began to be widely used - the number of artillery in the armies increased by 3 times.
Causes of the war
One of the main causes of the Seven Years' War is considered to be the Anglo-French conflicts in North America. There was a sharp colonial rivalry between the countries. In 1755, a war broke out between England and France in America, during which the indigenous tribes also took part. Officially, the British government declared war already in 1756.It was the conflict between the French and the British that broke all the alliances and agreements that had developed in Western Europe. Prussia, once a weak state, after coming to power of Frederick II, began to gain its power, thereby oppressing France and Austria.
After the war with France had already begun, the British entered into an alliance with a new powerful player in the political arena - with Prussia. Austria, which had previously lost the war to Prussia and ceded Silesia, entered into negotiations with France. In 1755, France and Austria signed a defensive alliance, and in 1756 Russian empire. Thus, Frederick found himself embroiled in a conflict against three powerful states. England, which at that moment did not have a powerful land army, could only help Prussia with funding.
France, Austria and Russia were not interested in the complete destruction of Prussia, but each of them wanted to significantly weaken the country, and then use it to their advantage. Thus, we can say that France, Austria and Russia sought to restore the old political picture of Europe.
The balance of forces of opponents at the beginning of hostilities in Europe
Anglo-Prussian side:
Prussia - 200 thousand people;
England - 90 thousand people;
Hannover - 50 thousand people.
In total, the Anglo-Prussian coalition had 340 thousand fighters at its disposal.
Anti-Prussian coalition:
Spain - 25 thousand people;
Austria - 200 thousand people;
France - 200 thousand people;
Russia - 330 thousand people.
Opponents of the Anglo-Prussian side were able to raise an army total strength 750 thousand people, which is more than twice the strength of their enemies. Thus, we can see the complete superiority of the anti-Prussian coalition in manpower at the beginning of hostilities.
First of all, Frederick went to war with Saxony. Already on September 12, the Russian Empire reacted to the aggression of Prussia and declared war on that.
In October, an Austrian army was sent to help Saxony, but Frederick defeated it at the Battle of Lobositz. Thus, the Saxon army was left in a stalemate. On October 16, Saxony capitulated, and its fighting forces were forcibly driven into the ranks of the Prussian army.
European theater of operations in 1757
Frederick, again, decided not to wait for aggression from France and the Russian Empire, but planned to defeat Austria in the meantime and throw it out of the conflict.In 1757, the Prussian army enters the Austrian province of Bohemia. Austria sent 60,000 men to stop Frederick, but was defeated, as a result of which the Austrian army was blocked in Prague. In June 1757, Frederick lost the battle to the Austrians without taking Prague, after which he was forced to return to Saxony.
The initiative was intercepted by the Austrian troops and during 1757 they inflicted several defeats on the Prussian army, and in October of the same year they managed to capture the capital of Prussia - Berlin.
Meanwhile, Frederick with the army defended his borders from the West - from the aggression of the French. Upon learning of the fall of Berlin, Friedrich sends 40 thousand soldiers in order to regain the advantage and defeat the Austrians. December 5, leading the army personally, Frederick the Great inflicts a crushing defeat on the Austrians at Leuthen. Thus, the situation at the end of 1757 returned the opponents to the beginning of the year, and the military campaigns eventually ended in a “draw”.
European theater of operations in 1758
After an unsuccessful campaign in 1757, the Russian army under the command of Fermor occupies East Prussia. In 1758, Konigsberg also fell under the onslaught of the Russian army. In August 1858, the Russian army was already approaching Berlin. Frederick advances the Prussian army to meet. On August 14, a battle takes place near the village of Zorndorf. A bloody chaotic battle unleashed, and in the end both armies retreated. The Russian army returned to the Vistula. Frederick withdrew troops to Saxony.
Meanwhile, the Prussian army is fighting against the French. During 1758, Frederick inflicted three major defeats on the French, which also seriously weakened the Prussian army.
European theater of operations in 1759
On July 23, 1759, the Russian army under the command of Saltykov defeated the Prussian army in the Battle of Palzig. Friedrich moved on the Russian army from the south and on August 12, 1759, the battle of Kunersdofr began. With a numerical advantage, the Austrian-Russian army was able to deliver a crushing blow to Frederick. The king had only 3 thousand soldiers left and the road to Berlin was already open.Friedrich understood that the situation was hopeless. And yet, a miracle happened - due to disagreements, the allies left Prussia, not daring to go to Berlin.
In 1759, Friedrich asks for peace, but is refused. The Allies intend to completely defeat Prussia next year by taking Berlin.
Meanwhile, England inflicted a crushing defeat on the French at sea.
European theater of operations in 1760
Although the allies had a numerical advantage, they did not have an agreed plan of action, which Frederick II continued to use.
At the beginning of the year, Frederick with difficulty again gathered an army of 200 thousand people, and already in August 1760, not far from Liegnitz, he defeated the corps of the Austrian army.
Allies storm Berlin
In October 1760, the Allies storm Berlin, but the defenders repulse the attack. On October 8, seeing the advantage of the enemy, the Prussian army deliberately leaves the city. Already on October 9, the Russian army accepts the surrender of the capital of Prussia. Then information about the approach of Frederick reaches the Russian command, after which they leave the capital, and the king of Prussia, having heard about the retreat, deploys the army to Saxony.
On November 3, 1760, one of the largest battles of the war takes place - at Torgau, Frederick defeats the Allied armies.
European theater of operations in 1761-1763
In 1761, neither side was actively fighting. The Allies are sure that the defeat of Prussia cannot be avoided. Friedrich himself thought otherwise.
In 1762, the new ruler of the Russian Empire, Peter III, concludes the Peace of St. Petersburg with Frederick and thereby saves Prussia from defeat. The emperor renounces the occupied territories in East Prussia and sends an army to support Frederick.
Peter's actions caused discontent, as a result of which the emperor was thrown off the throne and he died under strange circumstances. Catherine takes the throne of the Russian Empire. After the empress recalls the army sent to help Prussia, but does not declare war, adhering to the peace agreement of 1762.
In 1762, the Prussian army, taking advantage of the situation, won four big battles against the Austrians and the French, completely returning the initiative to Prussia.
In parallel with the fighting in Europe, a war was going on between the French and the British in North America.
On September 13, 1759, the British won a brilliant victory over the French at Quebec, despite being outnumbered by the enemy. In the same year, the French withdraw to Montreal, and the British take Quebec - Canada was lost to France.
Fighting in Asia
In 1757-1761, the war continues between France and England in India. During the fighting, the French suffered a series of crushing defeats. As a result, in 1861 the capital of the French possessions in India surrendered under the onslaught of the British army.After the victory in India, the British faced a war with the Spaniards in the Philippines. In 1762, the British sent a large fleet to the Philippines and captured Manila, which was defended by a Spanish garrison. And yet, the British did not manage to gain a foothold here completely. After 1763, English troops began to gradually leave the Philippines.
The reason for the end of the war was the complete exhaustion of the warring parties. On May 22, 1762, Prussia and France signed a peace treaty. On November 24, Prussia and Austria abandoned hostilities.
On February 10, 1763, Great Britain and France signed a peace treaty.
The war ended with a complete victory for the Anglo-Prussian side. As a result, Prussia significantly strengthened its position in Europe and became an important player in the international arena.
France lost control of India and Canada during the war. Russia, on the other hand, gained nothing during the war but military experience. England got India and Canada.
Approximately 1.5 million people died during the hostilities, including civilians. Prussian and Austrian sources speak of a figure of 2 million people.
France's war with England in Europe (part of the Seven Years' War) began with a French expedition against the island of Minorca, which belonged to the British; Richelieu was appointed commander of the expedition, because King Louis XV was pleased to elevate this most trusted servant of his, and the Marquise pompadour it was a pleasure to remove a person dangerous to her from Paris. Richelieu received a command with unusually extensive powers. The British were deceived by false equipment for an expedition to the North Sea and by threats of landings in England. But with the depravity of the French court, even a military expedition was considered simply entertainment and fun: with Richelieu, a lot of nobles and hundreds of seven or eight women went to travel at public expense (in April 1756).
The English garrison on Minorca was very weak and could not defend the island without reinforcements, and the London Admiralty was late in sending the fleet, so bing, the commander of this fleet, no longer had time to prevent the landing of the French. Moreover, Byng's fleet consisted of only ten ships, very bad and poorly armed. The English garrison defended with glory for two months, but was forced to surrender, because Byng, having met the French fleet at Minorca, did not dare to give battle, preferring caution to boldness, against the principle of English sailors. Thanks to this, the French began the Seven Years' War with a victory: they captured Minorca and, in addition, could boast that the British for the first time avoided a naval battle with a fleet that slightly exceeded their fleet in number of ships. The English nation was irritated by the loss of Minorca and the admiral's course of action. The Ministry donated Byng; it brought him to court-martial, received a death sentence against him, and hanged the admiral. The French, on the other hand, rejoiced; Voltaire and other writers extolled the heroism of Richelieu, who, on this expedition, squandered public money and abused his power just as shamefully as before in Genoa.
From Minorca, he returned to Paris to beg for himself the main command over the army appointed in Germany, but he was too late: d "Estre has already been promoted to commander-in-chief. However, the army itself, for which the commander was already ready, had not yet been assembled - a rather original fact. The Austrians were also not yet ready to start the fight. It is true that before the start of the Seven Years' War they fielded two armies in Bohemia, but these armies did not yet have either cavalry, or artillery, or the most necessary military supplies. Therefore, the powers that had entered into an alliance against Prussia would probably have spent much more time in mere preparations for war. But the Prussian king, having learned that he was being prepared against him, secretly prepared his army for the campaign and on August 29, 1756 suddenly invaded Saxony from three sides. Thus began the Seven Years' War on the Continent.
Frederick II the Great of Prussia - protagonist of the Seven Years' War
When Frederick invaded Saxony, the first minister of this state, Brühl, withdrew his army to Pirne, on the Bohemian border. The Saxon army was so reduced by Brühl that it had only 7,000 men; in Pirna she took a strong position, but suffered a lack in everything. The entire Saxon court, except for the queen and princesses, also moved to Pirna. September 9, the Prussians entered Dresden. They immediately broke open the doors of the secret archive, despite the personal resistance of the queen, and took the original documents there, copies of which were delivered to Friedrich Menzel. These papers did not at all prove that alliance of Saxony with other powers for the destruction of Prussia, about which Frederick spoke; therefore they could not justify his attacks on Saxony; but it was justified by the need to defend itself, in which Frederick was really placed.
At the news of the beginning of the Seven Years' War and the Prussian invasion of Saxony, the Austrian commander Broun hurried to Pirna with the strongest of the two armies assembled by the Habsburgs in Bohemia. He wanted to rescue the Saxons locked up in Pirna. Friedrich went out to meet him, and on October 1, 1756, under Lobozitz there was a battle; it was unfavorable for the Austrians, and they retreated. Frederick established himself in Saxony. The Saxons remained shut up in Pirn, suffered a shortage of provisions, and therefore could not wait for the Austrians to come to their rescue again; they surrendered. The most difficult condition for them was that Frederick forced them to enter the Prussian service. With Saxony, Friedrich acted very harshly throughout the Seven Years' War. He constantly took heavy indemnities from its inhabitants; for example, the city of Leipzig paid 500,000 thalers in 1756, and another 900,000 thalers in the first three months of the following year. Young Saxon settlers were forced to serve against their sovereign, and if any of them fled from this compulsion, his relatives were punished for him with a fine. The Elector with Count Brühl fled to his Polish kingdom. Frederick did not find it convenient to transfer the war to Bohemia, because winter was already approaching. Another Prussian army, under the command Schwerin, which entered Bohemia from Silesia, also retreated.
Seven Years' War in 1757
Brown could take advantage of the winter to finish equipping his army, while another Austrian commander, Daun, meanwhile was gathering new troops. Thus, in the spring of 1757, Austria could put up very large forces against the Prussians. But fortunately for Frederick, Brown, a good general, was subordinate to Prince Charles of Lorraine, although the prince had already sufficiently proved his ineptitude in the War of the Austrian Succession.
The French and Russians also equipped their troops for the continuation of the Seven Years' War. The French promised subsidies to the Swedish oligarchs, and Sweden announced that, as one of the powers that guaranteed the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, it should stand up for Saxony and avenge Frederick with an armed hand. But it was a long time before Sweden took part in the Seven Years' War: the Swedish oligarchs spent the money they received on the war from the French, not on the war at all. The first French army, under the command of d "Estre, crossed the Rhine at Düsseldorf on April 4, 1757. The second army gathered in Alsace under the command of Richelieu. The third was commanded by Prince de Soubise, also one of Louis and Pompadour's close associates; he was supposed to join the German imperial army when the imperial The Diet of Regensburg will declare the King of Prussia guilty of violating the imperial peace and starting the Seven Years' War.
Seven Years' War. Map
Imperial Diet This time he made the decision faster than usual. Saxony appealed to the emperor and the empire with a complaint against Prussia in September 1756, and three months later the matter was already decided. The Diet did not declare Frederick an enemy of the empire, as his opponents demanded: the Protestant members of the empire did not agree to this; but the empire promised the emperor armed assistance to restore the exiled elector of Saxony and to protect the Austrian empress, whose Bohemian possessions were attacked (January 17, 1757). The Prussian envoy to the Sejm allowed himself to be treated like a street tramp by a notary who announced to him the decision of the Sejm. North Germany protested against this decision; the princes and dukes of Lippe, Waldeck, Hesse-Kassel, Brunswick, Gotha and the Elector of Hanover found it more profitable to take money from England and join their troops with the English army sent to Westphalia than to pay a tax for the maintenance of the imperial army and send their contingents to it. The German Empire and its sovereigns generally played a sad and shameful role during the Seven Years' War. Most of the German sovereigns were on the payroll of France.
This is proved in the most detailed and irrefutable way by the official list of secret expenses of the French government under Louis XV, or the so-called Red Book, promulgated during the revolution of 1789-1794. It shows, for example, that the Duke of Württemberg received 1,500,000 livres before the Seven Years' War, and 7,500,000 livres during the war; Elector of the Palatinate - before the war 5,500,000, during the Seven Years' War more than 11,000,000 livres; Bavaria was given up to 1768 about 9,000,000, and the same amount to Saxony up to 1763; the rulers of Lüttich, Mecklenburg and Nassau-Saarbrücken received, all together, about 3,000,000; Austria was paid 82,500,000 livres from 1767 to 1769. Even the Duke of Brunswick received from France in 1751-1756. 2,000,000, although he was in close alliance with England and, at every opportunity, profited at the expense of the British. We see that even the Protestant sovereigns could not resist the temptation of French money: this is very characteristic those times, especially since the Pope publicly said that he considered the war with Prussia religious war. He proved the sincerity of his words, firstly, by openly giving the Catholic states permission to impose taxes on the clergy for the war with Prussia, and secondly, by sending a consecrated hat and a consecrated sword to the Austrian general Daun, who defeated the Prussians near Gochkirch, in 1758.
Until the summer of 1758, the British did nothing for Frederick, although he defended the cause of freedom and Protestantism. There were many changes in their ministry after they left it (in November 1755) Pitt Senior and Ledge. The reasons for this were the failures in Minorca and North America, as well as the fact that Pitt and Ledge defended principles in parliament that were contrary to the interests of the king and his son, the Duke of Cumberland, who was predicted to be the commander of the army assigned to Germany: Pitt and Ledge rebelled against an increase in the national debt and continental policy of the ministry; only in July 1757 was a ministry formed that could hold firm. Pitt was its head, with whom Ledge entered the ministry; their companions were the Duke of Newcastle and Charles Fox who later received the title of lord Holland. In his plans for conquest in North America and the East Indies, Pitt saw fit to enter into a close alliance with Prussia; this finally ended the strife of the English parties on matters of foreign policy. But even here Frederick had not yet received energetic help from the British; they only began helping him the following year. In 1757, almost alone, he had to fight against all his many opponents in the Seven Years' War.
In the spring of 1757 he invaded Bohemia; the Austrians themselves gave him the upper hand, laying down the defensive system in the Seven Years' War, despite the objections of the experienced and intelligent Brown; they were forced to retreat at all points, and Frederick took possession of their rich stores. They decided to join the battle only when he began to seriously threaten Prague. Then under Prague there was a bloody battle on May 6, 1757; the loss on both sides is said to have amounted to 20,000 men. The battle ended in the defeat of the Austrians; 12,000 of their troops were captured. Another important misfortune for them was that Brown received a mortal wound here. But the victory cost Friedrich dearly, because he lost Schwerin, whose noble self-sacrifice decided victory. After this defeat, 40,000 Austrians were locked up in Prague. They seemed to face the fate that the Saxons suffered at Pirna, because they also had neither provisions nor heavy artillery. But fortunately for them, the entire right wing of their reserve army escaped and managed to link up with the main army, which was commanded by Daun. Friedrich went to meet Daun in order to throw him back and then to force Prague to surrender without hindrance. But he found the enemy occupying a very strong by nature and well-fortified position at Colline; daring to storm, he was repulsed with great damage (June 18, 1757).
Seven Years' War. The Life Guards Battalion at the Battle of Collin, 1757. Artist R. Knötel
This failure forced Frederick not only to lift the siege of Prague, but even to step out of Bohemia. During the retreat, he had heavy losses and would have suffered even more serious damage if the Austrian generals had not been afraid to pursue him. He himself acted masterfully during the retreat; but his brother was not so happy, August Wilhelm, who was instructed to withdraw one Prussian corps to Lusatia. Frederick did not distinguish between a prince and a soldier when necessary, and publicly reprimanded his brother severely. This upset the prince so much that, they say, he died of sadness (in June of the following year). Fortunately for Frederick, the Austrians left the French and the imperial army with the task of liberating Saxony, while they themselves went to Silesia and sent only a flying detachment Gaddika to Berlin. Haddik managed to enter the capital of Prussia, took indemnity from it, but was soon forced to retreat.
Part of the French troops that entered the Seven Years' War under the command of d "Estre had already crossed the Rhine; the bribed Electors of Cologne and the Palatinate accepted the French with open arms. This army was supposed to occupy Westphalia and Hanover. But the French troops were completely demoralized. All officers were nobles; they watched to camp as to a picnic, and lived in the camp as they used to live in Paris.In the autumn they left the army in droves without leave to spend the winter in Paris.They had many servants with them, brought with them many things for comfort and entertainment; therefore the convoy of the army was huge and slowed down its movement.The French soldiers suffered a shortage during the Seven Years' War; hospitals were so bad that more people died in them than in battles. Noble officers did not observe any subordination; relying on their rank and connections, they often acted even in defiance of each other.Even if the army had a good commander in chief, then in this position it would be impossible to unite stvo in action; in vain were also militancy and courage, in which the French even then had no shortage.
Entering the Seven Years' War, d "Estre walked very slowly through Westphalia; the Duke of Cumberland stood against him, with the Hanoverian army, reinforced by the Brunswick, Prussian, Hessian, Gothic and Bückeburg detachments. This combined army retreated before the French and took up a strong position at Hameln. D "Estre slowly followed the enemy. Subise, who at first commanded the vanguard of d'Estre, and then, by the favor of the court, received a separate army, did not at all think of thinking about his movements with the actions of the main army. Richelieu, who crossed the Rhine with the third army in July 1757, intrigued in every way to overthrow d'Estre and take his place. At the end of July, d "Estre saw that Richelieu was gaining success in his intrigues and would soon be appointed commander in chief in his place. Then he decided to give the Duke of Cumberland a battle before he was deprived of his chief command. The battle took place on July 26, 1757 under Hamelny and ended in favor of the French. Both the Duke of Cumberland and d'Estre are reproached for making big mistakes. The chief of the general staff of the French army, Mailbois, also performed his duty poorly: he wanted no battle to start before Richelieu's arrival.
Frederick indignantly withdrew his troops from the army of the Duke of Cumberland, who hastily retreated to Bremerwerda. The duke was subordinate to the aristocrats who made up the Hanoverian ministry, and in the Seven Years' War they thought only of their own interests, that is, of their estates. Frederick II contemptuously mentions this, saying that military affairs were completely incomprehensible to the limited circle of bureaucratic thoughts and that, due to their incredulous obstinacy, they could not be taught anything. These noble gentlemen sacrificed their homeland and honor to the enemy. They made a capitulation with Richelieu, who came to the French army shortly after the Battle of Hamelin; Under the terms of the surrender, all of Hanover was given over to the French. A month later (September 8, 1757) and the Duke of Cumberland concluded with Richelieu, through Danish mediation, a shameful Kloster-Tsevenskaya convention. It resolved issues that can only be decided by governments, and not by generals. She also completely handed over the Electorate of Hanover to the power of the French, without even defining any conditions on who and how would manage it. The only favorable condition for England and Prussia was that all the troops of the Duke of Cumberland, except for the Hanoverians, received permission to return to their homeland, and the Hanoverians could, without relying on weapons, settle down near Stade. Indirectly, this convention brought Pitt a very big benefit. George recalled his son in annoyance. Pitt got rid of the Duke of Cumberland forever and could take a Prussian general from Frederick to command the Hanoverian army. Friedrich chose for this prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, who was in his service (it was the brother of Anton Ulrich, husband of the short-term Russian Empress Anna Leopoldovna). Pitt did not approve the Kloster-Zeven convention and entered into a close alliance with Frederick, whom he needed to support in order to more easily fulfill the plans that he intended to carry out during the Seven Years' War in the East Indies and North America. The French government also rejected the Ceven convention. The Parisian court was very dissatisfied with the Duke of Richelieu because he did not destroy the army of the Duke of Cumberland, or at least did not force it to shut itself up in some fortress. The military exploits of Richelieu were lampooned. It was even said that he was bribed by the British and Prussians. This is a very possible thing on the part of a man who had no rules, no shame, no conscience. But Richelieu had other reasons for sparing the King of Prussia; he did not approve of Pompadour's policy and, hoping for his strength with the king, thought to persuade Louis to another system. With the unfortunate Hanover, he acted horribly. He allowed his soldiers all sorts of rampages, and plundered the country for his luxurious revelry.
While d "Estre and Richelieu took possession of Hanover, Subise joined his army with the imperial army. Much time was lost on equipping this army, but finally it formed. It consisted of a motley crowd of foot soldiers; the contingent of another prelate or imperial count consisted of only 10 or 12 man; Maria Theresa supplied this army with cavalry. The incompetent prince of Hildburghausen was appointed imperial commander-in-chief. Joining him, Soubise entered Saxony. Frederick in early November moved against the allies. He had only 25,000 troops, the allies had twice as many; November 5, 1757 he attacked the German-French army near the village Rosbach and without difficulty won a complete victory, it was simply the result of the arrogance and imprudence of the enemy and the panic fear that suddenly took possession of him. The defeat and flight of the beaten army was an amazing episode of the Seven Years' War; she fled, although only one wing of the Prussians had time to join the battle; the French and imperial troops lost all their artillery and baggage, and fled to such an extent that the imperial troops came to their senses only in Franconia, and the French in Kassel.
From the field of Rosbach, Frederick hurriedly went to continue the Seven Years' War in Silesia, where his troops retreated before the Austrians, who outnumbered them three times, and where, shortly before his arrival, Schweidnitz and Breslau were surrendered to the enemy. The Austrians were sure that they would finally take control of Silesia, and they swore the inhabitants to the empress. Therefore, Frederick had to give a decisive battle as soon as he met with the enemy. He needed to hurry to save this province and with it the glory and magical power of his name. For the same reasons, the Austrians had to evade the battle. So thought Down; but Prince Charles of Lorraine was of a different opinion, and the rank gave him an advantage in the military council. The battle was given on December 5, 1757 under Leiten. The Austrians were completely defeated and had to retreat to Bohemia. On December 20, 1757, the 20,000-strong garrison that they left in Breslau surrendered.
Seven Years' War. Attack of the Prussian infantry at the Battle of Leuthen, 1757. Artist Karl Röchling
Europe was amazed at the exploits that Frederick accomplished in the Seven Years' War in the last months of 1757. In Austria, the defeat of Leuthen and the loss of Silesia made such a strong impression that public opinion dared to blame the generals and the court - an unprecedented case in Austria; the government was forced for the second time to remove from the team of Prince Charles, the culprit of all the troubles. In vain did Emperor Franz cover his brother with his purple; in vain, a few days before Charles's return to Vienna, the police published a strange order that no one dared to blame the prince for the battle of Lieutenant, because he only carried out the orders of the empress; in vain did Empress Maria Theresa herself insistently say that one should not yield to public opinion. It turned out to be so strong that Prince Charles considered it dangerous to retain the title of commander in chief and left for Brussels.
Happiness favored Frederick in 1757: he surprisingly managed to defend Silesia from the Austrians, and the state of affairs at the St. Petersburg court paralyzed the actions of the Russian army that year, which was very numerous. Apraksin and Fermor, who commanded it, entered the province of Prussia and began to devastate the country so ferociously that the commander of the Saxon corps, who joined the Russians, was outraged by their cruelties and indignantly resigned his command. On August 30, 1757, the old Field Marshal Lewald, who commanded the troops of Frederick in the province of Prussia, had the imprudence to attack at Gross-Jägersdorf with his 30,000 army against the Russian army, which was much more numerous. It was defeated, and the Russians could now go on to continue the Seven Years' War for the Oder. But instead they retreated to the Russian border, and their retreat was so hasty that it looked like a hasty flight.
This yet another strange episode of the Seven Years' War happened from the following circumstances. The Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna fell dangerously ill. Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin made a plan after her death to remove the heir to the throne Peter from the throne and proclaim his son emperor; Peter's wife, Catherine, most likely participated in this plan. For its execution, Bestuzhev needed an army located in Prussia, and he won over Apraksin to his side. Shortly before the Grand Jaegersdorf battle, Apraksin was informed that the life of the Empress was in danger, and therefore hurried to the Russian border. But the empress did not die, but quickly recovered, as soon as Apraksin managed to make this imprudence. Having learned from Peter about the intrigue, she became extremely angry and sent Bestuzhev into exile, from which Catherine returned him in 1764; and the Empress did not want to see the Grand Duchess Catherine for several months. Apraksin escaped punishment only by the fact that he died (August 30, 1758). In January 1758, the Russian army returned to continue the Seven Years' War in the province of Prussia and occupied the whole country up to the Oder; this was all the easier since all the Prussian troops were withdrawn from there to Pomerania to fight the Swedes.
Stepan Apraksin, one of the four Russian commanders-in-chief in the Seven Years' War
The Swedish Council of State in the autumn of 1757 decided to enter the Seven Years' War on the side of the enemies of Prussia, without listening to the public protest of the king and without convening a diet. For the Swedes, the motive for war was only that France offered subsidies, which went into the hands of the ruling aristocrats and were necessary for them for pomp and extravagance. These gentlemen left the soldiers without pay, did not prepare any food or military supplies. There was no discipline in the army. The generals and officers were nobles, necessary and terrible for the state council, so they were not afraid of punishment for misconduct. Under such circumstances, the Swedish army could not do anything important, and almost all of its participation in the Seven Years' War was limited to some movements in Pomerania.
Seven Years' War in 1758
The year 1758 opened up an excellent prospect for new successes in the Seven Years' War of Frederick, whom both friends and enemies recognized as a victorious hero, and the French considered almost their own person, whom they should be proud of. Pitt called him a Protestant hero in Parliament and made a grant agreement with him for a year; this treaty was then renewed annually until his death GeorgeII. Prussia and England undertook to conclude peace only together; England gave the King of Prussia 4,000,000 thalers a year: in addition, she assumed all the costs of maintaining the so-called allied army and promised to strengthen it with a significant number of English troops. But even with the aid of England, Frederick could hold out against the enormous forces of his numerous enemies only by desperate means. 4,000,000 thalers received from England, he minted into 10,000,000. He squeezed Saxony like a sponge; he so terribly oppressed Mecklenburg, whose government recklessly joined the enemy, that during the Seven Years' War he took more than 17,000,000 thalers from the inhabitants of this small state. With Saxony, the Prussians acted completely Turkish. For example, once, in order to extort money from the city of Leipzig, they locked up the entire Leipzig magistrate in the Pleissenburg fortress, where the first Leipzig merchants sat for several weeks without candles, without chairs, without beds, even without straw. Seventy merchants fled, fearing a similar fate, and the Prussians confiscated their property. Frederick even took utensils from churches. In his writings, he justifies these harshnesses by explaining that the occupation of his Westphalian possessions by the enemy took away from him 4,500,000 thalers of income, and that the whole province of Prussia was occupied by the Russians, and therefore he could not do otherwise. However, his opponents did no better during the Seven Years' War, and sometimes worse. Russian troops raged in the province of Prussia, then in the Margraviate of Brandenburg, like wild hordes. The French army under Soubise committed outrageous ferocities against its allies, the Thuringians and Saxons, and under Richelieu allowed itself unheard of robberies in Westphalia and Hanover.
Ferdinand of Brunswick, with an allied army, began a campaign in the winter, as early as 1757, and by the spring of 1758 he had already achieved many successes. In March, the French were completely pushed back across the Elbe. We cannot describe in detail all the actions of Ferdinand and will only report the most important facts. By the beginning of February, Richelieu had already so clearly shown his mediocrity and done so many nasty things that the French court was forced to recall him from the theater of the Seven Years' War. But in his place came another accomplice of the king's orgies, the prince of the blood, Count of Clermont, and showed the same mediocrity, the same extravagance, as Richelieu. He retreated without a fight as far as the Rhine, and his retreat was like a hasty flight after a complete defeat. It is also true that Richelieu left him the army in the most miserable state: the soldiers suffered the greatest shortage, while the commissaries, suppliers and the like were enriched; discipline was in such decline that once the king had to demote 52 officers at a time. In June 1758 Ferdinand crossed the Rhine without the enemy noticing. Having made this crossing, Ferdinand defeated Clermont at Krefeld. Then Clermont was recalled, and his successor, Marshal de Contad, managed to push Ferdinand across the Rhine. Soon after, Ferdinand's army was reinforced by 12,000 English corps. In September 1758, Kontad passed through Westphalia as far as Lippe. Soubize, who received reinforcements, and one of the generals of Soubise, had to go there, Broglie, defeated a detachment of the allied army near Kassel. After a while another corps of this army was utterly defeated by Soubise near Minden; the count's negligence and inability were to blame for the defeat Oberga who commanded this corps. During the winter, the French did not act, because their officers were still irresistibly rushing to Paris. Finally, the court became convinced that Soubise was unable to manage the large operations of the Seven Years' War and appointed Contade commander-in-chief of both Rhine armies.
In other parts of Germany, the campaign of 1758 was just as poor in decisive action and just as rich in devastation, as in Westphalia and on the Rhine. But the Russians treated the province of Prussia very condescendingly, because they already considered it a Russian region. But the provinces of Pomerania and Brandenburg suffered the more when the Russians entered them. Frederick took Schweidnitz, then invaded not Bohemia, as before, but Moravia, and laid siege to Olmutz. This unsuccessful siege occupied him for two months and gave Down time and opportunity to improve his army, whose soldiers were poorly armed and ill-trained. June 28, 1758 Austrian general Loudon captured a large convoy going to the army of Frederick, and thus laid the foundation for his glory. This loss and the successes of the Russian troops forced Frederick to lift the siege of Olmutz. In July, he made his famous retreat to Silesia, and, however, no less than his skill, was due to the methodical slowness of the Austrians, which allowed him, after a successful retreat, to undertake a campaign against the Russians.
The Russians besieged the fortress of Kustrin. The Swedes moved forward. Daun was to support the operations of both with a campaign in Saxony. But he delayed so much time that Friedrich went ahead of him with a forced march and on August 25, 1758 could give the Russian army a very famous in the history of the Seven Years' War Battle of Zorndorf. Both sides boasted of their victory; but Frederick did not need to give another battle to drive the Russians out of Pomerania and Brandenburg, which they devastated: they themselves retreated to rest in the province of Prussia and Poland.
Seven Years' War. Frederick the Great at the Battle of Zorndorf. Artist Karl Röchling
Meanwhile, the imperial army, commanded by Prince Friedrich of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken. But the second brother of Frederick the Great, Prince Heinrich, having made a successful campaign against the French, was already approaching Saxony; the imperial army hurriedly hid from him in Bohemia and appeared again at the theater of the Seven Years' War only when Daun went to Saxony (at the end of July). As soon as the Russians set out from Brandenburg, Frederick went to Daun. But both of them did not dare for a decisive battle for a long time; Finally, Friedrich, who considered Downe to be too timid a general, became close to him at Gohkirke, with no more than 30,000 troops. Laudon, the best of the Austrian generals, took advantage of this imprudence and on October 14, 1758, unexpectedly attacked the Prussians. He took their camp, all their baggage and a hundred guns; the Prussians lost 9,000 killed; among others, Marshal Keith was killed here.
Broken Frederick went to Silesia. While Daun and the Vienna military council were discussing a plan for further action in the Seven Years' War, the Prussian king went ahead of the Austrians and freed the Silesian fortresses of Neisse and Kosel from the siege. Prince Heinrich, abandoned by Frederick in Saxony, forced Daun to retreat. When Friedrich (November 20, 1758) returned from Silesia to Saxony, Daun had already gone to Bohemia, and the imperial army retired to winter quarters in Franconia after an unsuccessful campaign against Leipzig and Torgau. The year ended with severe suffering in Saxony, where Frederick, as usual, avenged the evil inflicted on him by the Austrians and Russians.
In France, the failures of the campaign of 1758 created a strong rupture between the court and the nation. Officers and soldiers, ladies and novelists admired the King of Prussia as if they were their own hero. Cursing the alliance with Austria and extolling Frederick has become fashionable. In the words of a French writer of that time, to a person who had been in Parisian theaters, in society and on walks, it must have seemed that Paris was inhabited by Prussians, and not French, and that the few who had a French view of the Seven Years' War hardly dare to express it. But for Germany, this mood of her frivolous neighbors was more harmful than one might imagine. The German sovereigns gave the highest price clever French compliments and manners, and those who were most capable of improving and renewing German life were most carried away by this weakness; passion for the French completely alienated them from their people, and the German nobility followed their example. Frederick II himself, his brother Heinrich, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick and the Crown Prince of Brunswick, also Ferdinand (then still a young man), were more French than Germans both in the nature of education, and in language, and in all habits. Such German Frenchmen envied people who were in the French service, and loudly said that only their body lives in Germany, and their soul belongs to French good society.
In France at the end of 1758 an important change took place. Cardinal de Berni was forced to retire, arousing the court's displeasure with the fact that he wanted to somewhat reduce court expenses and end the unpopular Seven Years' War, seeing this as a need to upset finances. In place of Bernie, Minister of Foreign Affairs was appointed Duke of Choiseul, who held this position for 12 years and gradually took over the management of the military department and finances: he held on because he knew how to please the king, and Pompadour, and the writers of the Voltaire direction at the same time. He began his management of an amazing business, concluding with Austria new treaty, which provided the Austrians with even more benefits than the treaty of 1756, and was completely silent about the interests of France.
Seven Years' War in 1759
The continuation of the Seven Years' War in 1759 was marked by the victory of the French. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick wanted to take Frankfurt am Main from the French, which Soubise captured by cunning. But approaching this city, he met a French army under the command not of the Prince of Soubise, who had not yet returned to the camp from the Parisian winter pleasures, but under the command of Broglie, an experienced and prudent general. If Broglie had acted according to the instructions sent to him from Paris, he would have fallen into inevitable death; but he followed his own mind and took up an extremely strong position on the mountains near Bergen, an hour and a half from Frankfurt. On April 13, 1759, Ferdinand stormed it and was defeated, but retreated in perfect order, and the French did not profit much from their victory, because they lost a lot of time in inaction.
On April 25, 1759, Contad arrived in the French camp; in June and July he reached the Weser and crossed that river. But on July 31, Prince Ferdinand forced him into battle. This battle took place at Prussian Minden, ended disadvantageously for the French, and they had to retreat behind the Rhine and Main. They say that Marshal Kontad made many mistakes in the battle of Minden; but the main reason for his defeat was that no unity could be established in the movements of an army commanded by privileged generals; many aristocratic generals simply did not follow the orders of the commander in chief, but acted as they pleased. However, the same thing happened to the victors: the French army was saved from complete destruction only due to the fact that the commander of the English cavalry, Lord jermaine, disobeyed the orders of Prince Ferdinand three times. He was brought to a military court for this, the court found him guilty; but nevertheless he subsequently became a minister, and in this rank extremely spoiled by his negligence the course of the North American war, and when it was no longer possible to leave him a minister, despite the opposition of many peers, he was made a member of the upper house with the title Lord Sackville. It was a great happiness for the French that after the battle of Minden, Ferdinand had to send 12 thousandth corps from his army to help Frederick, whose situation was then very bad; Ferdinand of Brunswick, the commander-in-chief's nephew, sent with this corps to the east, had already crossed the Rhine and won successes there. Thanks to this weakening of the allied army, the French settled down in winter quarters in almost the same places where they stood last winter. In October 1759, Prince Soubise was deprived of his leadership, and it was entrusted to Contad and Broglie.
According to the plan drawn up by Frederick's enemies for the campaign of 1759, the Russians with the Austrian detachment of Laudon were to capture Silesia, and the imperial army Saxony. Russians now commanded in the war Saltykov, and Fermor remained with him merely as an adviser; they moved forward slowly, and the Prussian general Don, sent against them, greatly impeded their movement, so that they only reached the Oder in July. Dona was a cautious man and did not risk entering into battle with them; Frederick, who already despised the Russian army too much, recalled the Don because he did not want to give battles. Wedel appointed in his place, carried out the king's order to give battle under any circumstances. With desperate courage, he attacked the Russians on July 23, 1759 at Züllichau and Kae and was broken. His defeat could have been disastrous for Prussia and changed the whole course of the Seven Years' War; but Saltykov and Fermor catered to the wishes of the Grand Duke Peter and did not approve of the policy of the empress. After the battle, they moved towards Frankfurt on the Oder with unusual slowness. Daun with the main Austrian forces stood for a long time without any action in Lusatia, finally moved forward, sent Gaddic to threaten Brandenburg, and Laudon with 18,000 troops to reinforce the Russian army. Frederick left his brother Heinrich with the difficult task of holding Daun, who far outnumbered Henry in strength, and he himself went to Gaddik and Laudon, but did not have time to prevent Laudon from connecting (August 7) with the Russians.
Pyotr Saltykov, one of the four Russian commanders-in-chief in the Seven Years' War
Joining with Wedel's corps, Friedrich attacked the Russians on August 12, 1759 at Kunersdorf , near Frankfurt. He suffered such a defeat that for him the Seven Years' War already seemed lost, and at first he himself despaired. But it was precisely in this difficult situation that the inexhaustibility of his mind showed itself most strikingly. He quickly gathered his army, which was ruined in all directions, put it in order and strengthened it. The disagreement between the Russians and the Austrians helped him a lot. Laudon wanted the victors to go together to Berlin and end the Seven Years' War by taking it. But Saltykov did not at all want to help the Austrians acquire dominion in Germany, and until the end of August he stood motionless in Frankfurt, saying that his army was unable to do anything until he recovered from two battles in which he suffered very heavy losses. Finally he went to Silesia, but at the end of October he returned from there to Poland.
Seven Years' War. Battle of Kunersdorf, 1759. Painting by A. Kotzebue, 1848
Meanwhile, Prince Henry proved to be an excellent general, acting masterfully in Saxony. We cannot speak in detail about this campaign; we will only say that Henry did not allow the Austrians to join the Russians for some time. But in autumn the Prussian general Fink made a mistake, as a result of which (November 21, 1759) he was captured by the enemy with his entire corps, consisting of 12,000 people. This misfortune greatly damaged the success of the actions of Frederick, who was then fighting Daun in Silesia.
Seven Years' War in 1760
The struggle of Ferdinand of Brunswick against the French in the following year (1760) ended with both warring armies remaining for the winter in almost the same positions as they had occupied in the previous year. The Crown Prince of Brunswick scored several successes against the French and their German allies; but he was so praised for them by his own and others that he received an exaggerated opinion about his talents, and long after the Seven Years' War, already in his old age, he had to pay for this self-delusion.
In 1760, Friedrich more brilliantly than ever showed what a brilliant commander with a good army can do, acting against generals fighting according to school tactics and strategy, even if these generals had cold prudence and a huge mass of troops, but troops devoid of an enlivening spirit. Army of Friedrich, was already far from the same as at the beginning of the Seven Years' War, and the generals were not the same, his treasury was depleted; the province of Prussia was occupied by the Russians, Westphalia was defenselessly open to the enemy; Saxony, Silesia and Brandenburg were devastated; he himself sometimes lost heart and despaired of the future; but still he did not give up. Hostilities in Silesia and Saxony began in 1760 only in June; at the very beginning of them, Frederick had the misfortune to lose the fortress and the whole corps. His general Fouquet, on whose ability he relied too much, rashly entered the battle with Laudon near Landsgut, June 28, 1760. 6,000 Prussians were captured; the rest of Fuke's army was dispersed and then destroyed. A few weeks later, the important fortress of Glatz was surrendered to the enemy by the commandant, who was recommended and exalted by the same Fouquet.
About this time Daun moved at last from Saxony to Silesia; but Frederick began to threaten Dresden and the imperial army; Daun was forced to return and rescued Dresden, part of which had already been burned by Friedrich. For that, Loudon burned part of Breslau; but Prince Heinrich forced him to lift the siege of this city, quickly moving from Saxony to Silesia, Frederick on August 15, 1760 defeated Laudon under Liegnitz; Saltykov took advantage of this to separate from the Austrians and return to the Oder. In September, Frederick was already again in a hurry to the Elbe to continue the Seven Years' War by fighting against the Austrian corps. Lassi who went to Berlin. Saltykov sent reinforcements to Lassi, but only as a result of strict orders from Petersburg. October 9, 1760 Lassi entered Berlin; the city and its environs, of course, had to suffer from the enemy, but less than one could expect: the Russian commanders kept their soldiers in discipline. Four days later the enemy withdrew from Berlin, and the Russians at Loudon returned to their main army. She was inactive for some time; The Austrians fought the Prussians in Saxony.
The imperial army won some successes in Saxony over the Prussians, who were twice as small as it, and therefore in the autumn Frederick again came from Silesia to the Elbe. He went to the fortress Torgau, very important to him and in the hands of the enemy. She was covered by two armies: Down, who followed Frederick from Silesia, and Laudon. On November 3, 1760, the king attacked Down, who had taken a very strong position; this battle, called the battle of Torgau, was the bloodiest in the entire Seven Years' War. The Prussians won a brilliant victory; its consequence was the capture of Torgau. Still, Frederick was in a desperate situation. Saxony was no longer in his power; the margraviate of Brandenburg and part of Silesia were devastated; another part of Silesia was occupied by the Austrians; in the west, the French advanced as far as Gotha and Göttingen. To all this, other bad circumstances were added: in August 1759, King Ferdinand VI of Spain died, and Spain joined the alliance against Prussia; and in October 1760 George II died, and it was probably to be expected that Frederick's only true ally, Pitt, would be forced to relinquish power.
Struggle between England and France in the colonies
Spending a lot of money on the war in Germany, Pitt had a very correct calculation that the British would receive huge interest on this money in the East Indies and in America. The events that took place during the Seven Years' War in the colonies of the east and west were very important for the future of Europe. Let's name the main ones.
During the years of the Seven Years' War, the English nation acquired vast expanses of land in the East Indies and America, acquired colossal wealth, and its growing industry received an unlimited field. But no one foresaw that, while gaining in external well-being, the nation suffers an irreparable loss in the character of its internal life. However, even those who are unwilling to admire the flourishing of industry and the development of an industrial civilization must still agree that the English, in the reign of George II, took away from France that primacy in Europe, which she had enjoyed since the time of Louis XIV. It must also be said that there was a certain moral benefit from that admiration for English prosperity and state structure, which has become a European fashion since the time of Montesquieu. People gradually came to the conclusion that freedom, light and living movement bring material benefits to peoples, in other words, that these things also have a monetary price, which in our time is recognized as the only measure of happiness.
The struggle between France and England in the East Indies, which coincided with the Seven Years' War in Europe, gave rise to the foundation of that vast Anglo-East Indies kingdom, which now has about 150 million inhabitants. The British preparations for war served as a pretext for the Nabob of Bengal to destroy the English trading post in Calcutta, then still an insignificant settlement. Having mastered it, the nabob committed a horrendous cruelty: 146 people were locked in a small prison room, known as the "Black Pit"; she was only 11 feet long and 18 feet wide; out of 146 locked in it, 123 people died in terrible suffering in one night (June 1756). The British in the East Indies had under command Lord Clive a small army of 2,400 men. It was so irritated by this barbarism that it performed feats similar to the deeds of the soldiers of Pizarro and Cortes, of course, committed the same robberies. In 1757, Clive, having defeated the Bengalis in Battle of Plassey, had already destroyed French influence in Bengal, and appointed another in place of the former Nawab, who had to pay huge sums to the English East India Company, Lord Clive and his soldiers.
Richard Clive and the Nabob Mir Jafar after the Battle of Plassey, 1757
A year later, the French sent an army to the East Indies under the command of Count Lally. A quick-tempered, rude despot, Lally quarreled with all the French authorities in the East Indies, with his officers and with the commander of the French fleet in the East Indies; this, of course, helped the success of the British. In a few years the French were completely driven out of the East Indies; at the beginning of 1761, they even lost Pondicherry and Mage, so that, following the results of the Seven Years' War, of all their possessions in the Eastern Ocean and beyond this ocean, they had only the islands of Bourbon and Ile-de-France. The English East India Company won a huge kingdom for itself.
The war in America also ended unhappily for the French. In 1759 they lost part of their West Indian possessions, and in the autumn of the following year the British took possession of all of Canada. We skip all the details of this part of the Seven Years' War; we only mention that on September 13, 1759, the British, under the most unfavorable circumstances, won near Quebec; general wolf, having won it, lost his life in it, but his name acquired immortality from the British. French possessions in Africa were also conquered by the British. In addition, the British captured and destroyed many French military and merchant ships on all seas and several times made devastating landings on the northern coast of France.
The death of General Wolf at the Battle of Quebec, 1759. Artist B. West, 1770
Comparing the state of England and France at the time of the death of George II, we will understand why George, at the end of his reign, gained popularity among the English, and Louis XV, whom the people honored in an idolatrous way as late as 1744, fell at that time into contempt among the French, who sang abusive songs about him. England then bore the costs of the war in all parts of the world; but on the other hand, she acquired the treasures of all countries by her growing industry and her dominion over world trade, and the ruler of the English state, Pitt, became famous throughout Europe, which saw in him the ideal of an excellent minister. France, on the other hand, lost her colonies and her trade during the Seven Years' War; its military and merchant ships were destroyed or taken by the British. Her army in the Seven Years' War covered itself with shame; she herself was given as booty to greedy tax-farmers; the government forcibly took away even church utensils, because other sources of income turned out to be insufficient; public credit was exhausted; taxes were raised to the last opportunity, and court fun did not stop. Finally, the rulers of the French state, Pompadour, Cardinal Burney, Duke of Choiseul, were people of such a bad reputation that they were even credited with such crimes as they probably did not commit.
Having become a minister, Choiseul immediately began to persuade Spain to take part in the Seven Years' War. On the other hand, Pitt persuaded her to ally with England. The efforts of both ministers remained in vain while Ferdinand VI lived. But when, after his death (in 1759), he ascended the Spanish throne CharlesIII, the former king of Naples, Choiseul received a sure hope to achieve his goal. Charles had a disposition towards France, was proud of the name of Bourbon, and Choiseul enjoyed his special gratitude, for the French minister helped him make one of his sons (Ferdinand IV) his successor in Naples, instead of his brother, Philip, who should have been his successor under the terms Aachen Peace. The new king of Spain immediately entered into negotiations with France; their subject was the conclusion of the closest alliance between all members of the Bourbon dynasty or the so-called " Bourbon family treaty". The negotiations lasted a year and a half and were conducted in the same manner as the negotiations of Kaunitz preceding the Seven Years' War to conclude an alliance between Austria and France. This came from the fact that the Spaniards were just as opposed to an alliance with France as the French were against an alliance with Austria. For this reason, the matter was carried on secretly from the ministers between Choiseul, Pompadour and King Louis, King of Spain and his envoy in Paris, Grimaldi. During these negotiations, Choiseul made peace proposals to the participating powers of the Seven Years' War. He either hoped to use them to cover negotiations between France and Spain from England, or to satisfy the demand of his king, who wanted to conclude a separate peace with England. An attempt was even made to convene a peace congress: but all this did not lead to anything. England after some time entered into separate negotiations with France.
Seven Years' War in 1761
After the death of George II (in 1760), his 23-year-old grandson became king of England, GeorgeIII. The new king was not a gifted person, but her mother and friend, a Scot Lord Bute gave him an education that far from prepared him to be a good constitutional king. They inspired him with a sanctimonious zeal for pilgrimage, developed in him an awkward obstinacy and impregnated him with absolute concepts. Having become king, he immediately began to be offended by the concepts and decisive character of Pitt, who in his eyes was a predator who had taken government power from the king. However, Pitt retained control of foreign affairs for about a year, although George soon after his accession to the throne gave a place in the ministry to his mentor and friend, Lord Bute (in March 1761). Pitt was forced to resign six months later on Bute's appointment as minister. The reason for this was the turnover that the negotiations with Spain received. Having received news of the friendship that was being established between France and Spain, Pitt rightly concluded that the negotiations between the French and the English ministry were aimed only at compelling the King of Spain to conclude a family treaty with France. This goal has now been achieved: in August 1761, Charles III signed a family treaty, according to which all lines of the Bourbon house mutually guaranteed their possessions and pledged to help each other in all wars, including the Seven Years. Having received reliable news of the conclusion of this treaty, Pitt demanded in his office that war be immediately declared on Spain. Lord Bute and the King rejected his demand, and he retired (October 5, 1761).
The negotiations further slowed down the already slow pace of the Seven Years' War in Germany. In the summer of 1761, the French could not do anything against Ferdinand of Brunswick, although they were much more numerous than him. Their success was hampered, firstly, by the superiority of Ferdinand over their generals, and secondly, by the disagreement between Soubise and Broglie who envied each other; hindered and a huge wagon train, hindering all their movements. Four companies of the noble guard, 130 people each, kept a convoy with them, in which each company had at least 1,200 horses; from this fact alone, one can judge what the convoy of the entire army was. In the winter of 1761-1762, the French took up winter quarters in almost the same places they had occupied the previous winter.
The imperial army and the Swedes played the same sad role in 1761 as before; was now the imperial commander-in-chief Serbelloni; his army was easily held by a few small detachments of Prince Henry. The Swedes at times made attempts to enter Brandenburg, but constantly failed. In Pomerania itself, they established themselves only when the Russian general Rumyantsev mastered Kohlberg; Heiden he defended this fortress for a long time and courageously, but the lack of provisions forced it to surrender (December 16, 1761). However, even after that, the Prussians, who had taken up winter quarters in Mecklenburg, kept the Swedes tightly locked up in one corner of Pomerania for the whole winter. The Swedish Diet this year strongly condemned the participation of their country in the Seven Years' War; but the ruling oligarchs continued it against the will of the diet, as they began without its consent.
Capture of Kolberg by the Russians during the Seven Years' War, 1761. Painting by A. Kotzebue, 1852
Daun stood all summer against Prince Henry in Saxony; only in November and December did he succeed in driving the Prussians out of part of Saxony. Decisive action was expected in 1761 in the Silesian theater of the Seven Years' War, where Laudon was stationed with most of the Austrian forces and Friedrich. But even there only small battles took place, because Frederick had to take care of his weakened army, and Laudon was waiting for the Russians, who moved late and slowly. In July 1761 they finally arrived, but their commander-in-chief, Buturlin, did not think to act seriously in the Seven Years' War and on September 9 went back from Silesia, leaving the Austrians with only a 20,000th corps Chernysheva. With Chernyshev, Laudon went to Schweidnitz. The Schweidnitz garrison was weak, although it was the most important fortress in the whole of Prussia after Magdeburg; Loudon took her by storm on 1 October. This was the only important work of the main Austrian army during the entire campaign of 1761.
At the end of 1761 Frederick's position was desperate. His army was reduced to the point that he had scarcely 60,000 men; Pitt's resignation was an even heavier blow for him than the loss of Schweidnitz, Kolberg and a large part of Saxony. Pitt's successor, Lord Bute, did not renew the subsidy treaty for 1762 and wanted to make peace separately from Frederick in order to strengthen his ministry. But he showed great mediocrity in his worries about peace: the Seven Years' War went on happily for England, and he carelessly and imprudently showed his idea to sacrifice Frederick for the sake of peace not only to the Austrians, but also to Frederick's admirer, Peter III, who ascended the Russian throne in January 1762.
Seven Years' War in 1762
October 5, 1761 Pitt was forced to resign because he wanted to declare war on Spain, but the king and Bute did not agree to this. But on January 2, 1762, Pitt's successor, Lord Bute, himself had to do what Pitt wanted: the publication of the family treaty between France and Spain forced him to do so. In the same January, Admiral Rodney was sent with the English fleet against the French West Indies possessions. In addition, the British equipped a squadron with landing troops to occupy or devastate the Spanish island of Cuba, and after a while another expedition against the Philippine Islands. The Spaniards wanted to force Portugal, which was in alliance with England, to go to war with the British, and for this they decided to do with her as Frederick had done with Saxony. But they met resistance in Portugal that they did not expect, and their plan collapsed. The French lost all their West Indian colonies in 1762; all their West Indies trade was destroyed, as before the East Indies. Spain, of course, could not fight the British either by land or by sea, and also suffered enormous losses. The rich warehouse of her trade, Havana, was taken by the British. Manila, the main point of the Philippine Islands, was also taken. The British found huge booty in Havana and Manila. In addition, they captured at sea the Spanish warship "Hermione", which was carrying a cargo of precious metals to Spain, at a cost of 6,000,000 rubles. silver; this prize is said to be the richest ever taken by the British. Spaniards lost in 1762 12 battleships, and only once did they manage to take some booty from the British: having conquered one of the Portuguese colonies in South America, they captured there 26 English merchant ships with rich cargo and large stocks different goods.
The victories and conquests of the British in the Seven Years' War prepared a great embarrassment for George III and his favorite, Bute. They wanted to conclude peace as soon as possible, because both, as limited and strictly religious people, extremely hated Frederick for his mind and for his free way of thinking; and in England the number of people increased every day, dissatisfied that they leave the King of Prussia without help. The opposition agitated the people by all means. All Whigs left the ministry; all efficient people refused positions, and were replaced by incompetent people. The Whigs began to raise the power of the democrats against the king and minister, who opposed the will of the nation. The king and Bute were anxious that the French should make progress in the German theater of the Seven Years' War, make conquests there, in exchange for which one could offer the return of some of the conquests made by the British in America and Asia, and thus find the possibility of reconciliation. But in 1762 there was little hope for French success in Germany.
Broglie was replaced, and the army entrusted to an incompetent prince Subizu; Ferdinand of Brunswick then had almost as many troops as Soubise, and he pushed him back. This put both the British ministers in great difficulty and the Duke of Choiseul, who now also wanted to end the Seven Years' War and was in secret negotiations with Lord Bute. Bute hotly reproached Choiseul for the mediocrity of the French commander-in-chief, and Soubise was ordered to go forward again, at all costs. But Soubise could not even hold on to his former positions and was very glad that, despite the successes of his opponents, on November 3, preliminary peace conditions were signed between France and England. Prince Ferdinand resented George, as did the English; he angrily refused the command. The reconciliation of France with England brought Frederick the advantage that, under the preliminary conditions of peace, the French stopped the war with him; but on the other hand, he remained left to his own forces alone. At the same time, he had the misfortune to see that in Russia the state of affairs had changed to his disadvantage. We must now say what a change has taken place in Russia.
On January 5, 1762 (December 25, 1761, old style), Empress Elizabeth died, and Peter III became Russian emperor. This gave the king of Prussia the first hope of getting out of the labyrinth in which he was then. Peter was an enthusiastic admirer of Frederick, and it was known that in everything he followed only his own inclinations and whims. As soon as he ascended the throne, he entered friendly relations to Prussia. With his usual morbid impatience, he hurried to restore peace between Russia and Prussia, not listening to his ministers, not paying any attention to the treaties between Russia and the powers of the Austrian alliance. On February 23 (1762) he announced to Russia's allies in the Seven Years' War that he was separating from them. March 16, 1762 was imprisoned Stargard peace between Russia and Prussia. On May 5, this world was turned into a defensive and offensive alliance. Even before the signing of the treaty on alliance, Chernyshev, who had gone to Poland, received an order to go to Silesia and unite with the Prussians.
Russian Emperor Peter III. Portrait by Pfanzelt, 1762
A direct consequence of this change in Russian policy was the reconciliation of Sweden with Prussia. The King of Sweden, Adolf Friedrich, was constantly against the Seven Years' War, which brought Sweden neither glory nor profit, but cost in 1758 - 1761. 8,000,000 thalers to this poorest European nation. The Sejm, convened at the end of 1760 and lasting until June 1762, also demanded peace; in addition, he generally strongly condemned the oligarchs who had dominated Sweden since 1718. Adolf Friedrich could easily have overthrown the oligarchy, all the more so since Peter III, who hated the party that started the war with Prussia, would have helped him in this. But in his simple-hearted honesty, the Swedish king remained true to this oath and was content to force the frightened oligarchs to sign out of the Seven Years' War. Peace negotiations were started by his wife, the sister of Frederick II, who had previously experienced many insults from the state council; after the conclusion of peace, the Council of State thanked her publicly for her part in the cause. On April 7, 1762, a truce was concluded; May 22 was signed in Hamburg peace between Prussia and Sweden. Under its terms, everything was restored to the state it was before the war.
Frederick's friends did not have long to enjoy the alliance with the Russians. In the same year, Peter III was deposed by a coup on June 28, 1762, and his wife Catherine II ascended the Russian throne. She had no desire to fight in the Seven Years' War for Austria and ordered that Peter's order to return the fortresses of the province of Prussia to the Prussians be carried out. But she recalled her army to Russia, which had just managed to connect with the Prussians. However, Friedrich knew how to make excellent use of the short time when Chernyshev's army was with him. His success was also helped by the fact that the Austrians recklessly withdrew most of their troops from Silesia in the autumn of 1761. With Chernyshev, Frederick pushed Daun beyond Schweidnitz and cut him off from communication with this fortress. This was done on July 21, when Chernyshev had already received the order to go to Russia; but in order to please the king, he postponed his campaign for three days and took up such a position that the Austrians, who did not know about the order he had received, it seemed as if he wanted to support the attack of Frederick. Pushing back Down, Frederick turned all his efforts to the capture of Schweidnitz; the possession of this fortress strengthened for him the preservation of Upper Silesia in the negotiations for peace and served him as a reward for the Westphalian fortresses that still remained in the hands of the French. But not until October did he manage to force the surrender of the Schweidnitz garrison.
The imperial army after Serbelloni was commanded by two generals, and it had already been expelled from Saxony twice. Serbelloni, who commanded the Austrian army in Saxony, acted so sluggishly and unskillfully that the Prussians managed to pass unhindered into Bohemia and take indemnities there for some time. In September Gaddic was appointed to replace Serbelloni. The new Austrian general summoned the entire imperial army to his side, but was nevertheless pushed back by Prince Henry. On October 29, 1762, the prince won a brilliant victory over the imperial army under Freiberg; the defeated lost more than 7,000 men.
The battle of Freiberg was the last in the Seven Years' War: negotiations between Prussia and Austria began after it. They began thanks to the efforts of the Crown Prince of Saxony, who did his best to save his unfortunate country from the scourge of war. It helped him that on November 3, 1762, England and France had already signed the preliminary peace terms. Prussian negotiations with Austria began in December; before that a truce had been concluded between them. Fortunately for Germany, the matter did not drag on longer than the beginning of the next year: almost all German lands were brought to the saddest state by the Seven Years' War. Westphalia, Hesse, Brandenburg, Silesia and Bohemia were, one might say, completely devastated; Saxony suffered even more; Hanover was ruined; Prussian General Kleist managed to rob Franconia and Thuringia once again just before the end of the Seven Years' War.
on the conclusion of the Paris and Hubertsburg Peace Treaties of 1763 that ended the Seven Years' War - see article
Kingdom of Naples
Sardinian kingdom
Friedrich II F. W. Seidlitz George II
George III
Robert Clave
Ferdinand of Brunswick
Count Lassie
Prince of Lorraine
Ernst Gideon Loudon
Louis XV
Louis Joseph de Montcalm
empress elizabeth
P. S. Saltykov
Charles III
August III
- 1756 - 250 000 soldiers: Prussia 200,000, Hanover 50,000
- 1759 - 220 000 Prussian soldiers
- 1760 - 120 000 Prussian soldiers
- 1756 - 419 000 soldier: Russian Empire 100,000 soldiers
- 1759 - 391 000 soldiers: France 125,000, Holy Roman Empire 45,000, Austria 155,000, Sweden 16,000, Russian Empire 50,000
- 1760 - 220 000 soldier
The main standoff in Europe was between Austria and Prussia over Silesia, lost by Austria in the previous Silesian Wars. Therefore, the Seven Years' War is also called Third Silesian War. The first (-) and second (-) Silesian Wars are an integral part of the War of the Austrian Succession. In Swedish historiography the war is known as Pomeranian War(Swede. Pommerska kriget), in Canada - as "War of Conquest"(English) The War of the Conquest) and in India as "Third Karnatic War"(English) The Third Carnatic War). The North American theater of war is called French and Indian War.
The designation "seven-year" war received in the eighties of the eighteenth century, before that it was spoken of as a "recent war".
Causes of the war
Opposing Coalitions in Europe 1756
The first shots of the Seven Years' War were heard long before its official announcement, and not in Europe, but across the ocean. In - gg. Anglo-French colonial rivalry in North America led to border skirmishes between English and French colonists. By the summer of 1755, the clashes turned into an open armed conflict, in which both allied Indians and regular military units began to participate (see French and Indian War). In 1756 Great Britain officially declared war on France.
"Flipping Alliances"
This conflict disrupted the system of military-political alliances that had developed in Europe and caused a reorientation of the foreign policy of a number of European powers, known as the “reversal of alliances”. The traditional rivalry between Austria and France for continental hegemony was weakened by the emergence of a third power: Prussia, after Frederick II came to power in 1740, began to claim a leading role in European politics. Having won the Silesian wars, Frederick took Silesia, one of the richest Austrian provinces, from Austria, as a result, increasing the territory of Prussia from 118.9 thousand to 194.8 thousand square kilometers, and the population - from 2,240,000 to 5,430,000 people. It is clear that Austria could not so easily come to terms with the loss of Silesia.
Having started the war with France, in January 1756, Great Britain concluded an alliance treaty with Prussia, thereby wishing to protect Hanover, the hereditary possession of the English king on the continent, from the threat of a French attack. Frederick, considering the war with Austria inevitable and aware of the limitations of his resources, relied on "English gold", as well as on the traditional influence of England on Russia, hoping to keep Russia from participating in the upcoming war and thereby avoid a war on two fronts. . Having overestimated the influence of England on Russia, he, at the same time, clearly underestimated the indignation caused by his treaty with the British in France. As a result, Frederick will have to fight with a coalition of the three strongest continental powers and their allies, which he dubbed the "Union of Three Women" (Maria Theresa, Elizabeth and Madame Pompadour). However, behind the jokes of the Prussian king regarding his opponents, there is a lack of self-confidence: the forces in the war on the continent are too unequal, England, which does not have a strong land army, except for subsidies, can do little to help him.
The conclusion of the Anglo-Prussian alliance pushed Austria, yearning for revenge, to move closer to its old enemy - France, for which Prussia has now also become an enemy (France, which supported Frederick in the first Silesian wars and saw in Prussia just an obedient tool for crushing Austrian power, was able to make sure that Friedrich does not even think to reckon with the role assigned to him). The famous Austrian diplomat of that time, Count Kaunitz, became the author of the new foreign policy. A defensive alliance was signed between France and Austria at Versailles, to which Russia joined at the end of 1756.
In Russia, the strengthening of Prussia was perceived as a real threat to its western borders and interests in the Baltic and northern Europe. Close ties with Austria, with which an allied treaty was signed as early as 1746, also influenced the determination of Russia's position in the emerging European conflict. Traditionally close ties also existed with England. It is curious that, having broken off diplomatic relations with Prussia long before the start of the war, Russia, nevertheless, did not break off diplomatic relations with England throughout the war.
None of the countries participating in the coalition was interested in the complete destruction of Prussia, hoping to use it in the future in their own interests, however, all were interested in weakening Prussia, in returning it to the borders that existed before the Silesian wars. That. By the members of the coalition, the war was fought for the restoration of the old system of political relations on the continent, violated by the results of the War of the Austrian Succession. Having united against a common enemy, the members of the anti-Prussian coalition did not even think about forgetting their traditional differences. Disagreement in the camp of the enemy, caused by conflicting interests and having a detrimental effect on the conduct of the war, was, in the end, one of the main reasons that allowed Prussia to resist the confrontation.
Until the end of 1757, when the successes of the newly-minted David in the fight against the “Goliath” of the anti-Prussian coalition created a club of admirers for the king in Germany and abroad, it never occurred to anyone in Europe to seriously consider Frederick the “Great”: at that time, most Europeans saw in him a sassy upstart who should have been put in his place long ago. To achieve this goal, the Allies sent a huge army of 419,000 soldiers against Prussia. Frederick II had only 200,000 soldiers at his disposal, plus 50,000 defenders of Hanover, hired for English money.
|
Russian autocrat Elizaveta Petrovna |
Austrian Empress Maria Theresa |
Prussian King Frederick II |
Louis XV, King of France |
George II, King of England |
European theater of war
| Eastern European theater of operations Seven Years' War |
|---|
| Lobositz - Reichenberg - Prague - Kolin - Hastenbeck - Gross-Jägersdorf - Berlin (1757) - Moiss - Rossbach - Breslau - Leuten - Olmütz - Krefeld - Domstadl - Küstrin - Zorndorf - Tarmov - Lutherberg (1758) -Verbellin - Hochkirch - Bergen - Palzig - Minden - Kunersdorf - Hoyerswerda - Maxsen - Meissen - Landesshut - Emsdorf - Warburg - Liegnitz - Klosterkampen - Berlin (1760) - Torgau - Fehlinghausen - Kolberg - Wilhelmsthal - Burkersdorf - Lutherberg (1762) - Reichenbach - Freiberg |
1756 attack on Saxony
Military operations in Europe in 1756
Without waiting for the opponents of Prussia to deploy their forces, Frederick II on August 28, 1756 was the first to start hostilities, suddenly invading Saxony, allied with Austria, and occupying it. On September 1, 1756, Elizaveta Petrovna declared war on Prussia. On September 9, the Prussians surrounded the Saxon army encamped near Pirna. October 1, going to the rescue of the Saxons, the 33.5 thousandth army of the Austrian Field Marshal Brown was defeated at Lobozitz. Caught in a hopeless situation, the eighteen thousandth army of Saxony capitulated on October 16. Captured, the Saxon soldiers were driven by force into the Prussian army. Later, they would “thank” Friedrich by running across to the enemy in whole battalions.
Seven Years' War in Europe
Saxony, which had armed forces the size of an average army corps and, moreover, was bound by eternal turmoil in Poland (the Saxon elector was, concurrently, the Polish king), did not pose, of course, any military threat to Prussia. Aggression against Saxony was caused by Frederick's intentions:
- use Saxony as a convenient base of operations for the invasion of Austrian Bohemia and Moravia, the supply of Prussian troops here could be organized by waterways, along the Elbe and Oder, while the Austrians would have to use inconvenient mountain roads;
- transfer the war to the territory of the enemy, thus forcing him to pay for it, and, finally,
- to use the human and material resources of prosperous Saxony for their own strengthening. Subsequently, he carried out his plan to rob this country so successfully that some Saxons still dislike the inhabitants of Berlin and Brandenburg.
Despite this, in German (not Austrian!) historiography, it is still customary to consider the war, on the part of Prussia, as a defensive war. The argument is that the war would still have been started by Austria and its allies, regardless of whether Frederick had attacked Saxony or not. Opponents of this point of view object: the war began, not least because of the Prussian conquests, and its first act was aggression against a defenseless neighbor.
1757: Battles of Kolin, Rosbach and Leuthen, Russia begins hostilities
Bohemia, Silesia
Operations in Saxony and in Silesia in 1757
Having strengthened himself by absorbing Saxony, Frederick, at the same time, achieved the opposite effect, spurring his opponents to active offensive operations. Now he had no choice but, to use the German expression, "running forward" (German. Flucht nach vorne). Counting on the fact that France and Russia will not be able to enter the war before summer, Frederick intends to defeat Austria before that time. At the beginning of 1757, the Prussian army, moving in four columns, entered Austrian territory in Bohemia. The Austrian army under the Prince of Lorraine consisted of 60,000 soldiers. On May 6, the Prussians defeated the Austrians and blockaded them in Prague. Having taken Prague, Frederick is going to go to Vienna without delay. However, the blitzkrieg plans were dealt a blow: the 54,000th Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal L. Daun came to the aid of the besieged. On June 18, 1757, in the vicinity of the city of Kolin, the 34,000-strong Prussian army entered into battle with the Austrians. Frederick II lost this battle, losing 14,000 men and 45 guns. The heavy defeat not only destroyed the myth of the invincibility of the Prussian commander, but, more importantly, forced Frederick II to lift the blockade of Prague and hastily retreat to Saxony. Soon, a threat that arose in Thuringia, from the French and the Imperial army ("Caesars"), forced him to leave there with the main forces. Having from this moment a significant numerical superiority, the Austrians win a series of victories over the generals of Friedrich (at Moise on September 7, at Breslau on November 22), the key Silesian fortresses of Schweidnitz (now Swidnica, Poland) and Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) are in their hands. In October 1757, the Austrian general Hadik managed to capture the capital of Prussia, the city of Berlin, with a sudden raid by a flying detachment for a short time. Having averted the threat from the French and the "Caesars", Frederick II transferred an army of forty thousand to Silesia and on December 5 won a decisive victory over the Austrian army at Leuthen. As a result of this victory, the situation that existed at the beginning of the year was restored. Thus, the result of the campaign was a "combat draw".
Middle Germany
1758: The battles of Zorndorf and Hochkirch do not bring decisive success to either side
The new commander-in-chief of the Russians was general-in-chief Willim Fermor, who became famous for taking Memel in the previous campaign. At the beginning of 1758, he occupied, without meeting resistance, all of East Prussia, including its capital, the city of Koenigsberg, then heading towards Brandenburg. In August he laid siege to Küstrin, a key fortress on the way to Berlin. Friedrich immediately moved towards him. The battle took place on August 14 near the village of Zorndorf and was distinguished by tremendous bloodshed. The Russians had 42,000 soldiers in the army with 240 guns, while Frederick had 33,000 soldiers with 116 guns. The battle revealed several big problems in the Russian army - the insufficient interaction of individual units, the poor moral preparation of the observation corps (the so-called "Shuvalovites"), and finally called into question the competence of the commander in chief himself. At the critical moment of the battle, Fermor left the army, did not direct the course of the battle for some time, and appeared only towards the end. Clausewitz later called the battle of Zorndorf the strangest battle of the Seven Years' War, referring to its chaotic, unpredictable course. Having started “according to the rules”, it eventually resulted in a great massacre, breaking up into many separate battles, in which the Russian soldiers showed unsurpassed tenacity, according to Friedrich, it was not enough to kill them, they also had to be knocked down. Both sides fought to the point of exhaustion and suffered huge losses. The Russian army lost 16,000 people, the Prussians 11,000. The opponents spent the night on the battlefield, the next day Fermor was the first to withdraw his troops, thus giving Frederick a reason to attribute the victory to himself. However, he did not dare to pursue the Russians. Russian troops withdrew to the Vistula. General Palmbach, sent by Fermor to besiege Kolberg, stood for a long time under the walls of the fortress, without doing anything.
On October 14, the Austrians operating in South Saxony managed to defeat Frederick at Hochkirch, however, without much consequences. Having won the battle, the Austrian commander Daun led his troops back to Bohemia.
The war with the French was more successful for the Prussians, they beat them three times in a year: at Rheinberg, at Krefeld and at Mer. In general, although the 1758 campaign of the year ended more or less successfully for the Prussians, it additionally weakened the Prussian troops, who suffered significant, irreplaceable losses for Frederick during the three years of the war: from 1756 to 1758, he lost, not counting those who were captured, 43 general killed or died from wounds received in battles, among them, their best military leaders, such as Keith, Winterfeld, Schwerin, Moritz von Dessau and others.
1759: Defeat of the Prussians at Kunersdorf, "the miracle of the House of Brandenburg"
On May 8 (19), 1759, General-in-Chief P. S. Saltykov was unexpectedly appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army, concentrated at that time in Poznan, instead of V. V. Fermor. (The reasons for Fermor's resignation are not entirely clear, however, it is known that the St. the outcome of the battle of Zorndorf and the unsuccessful sieges of Küstrin and Kolberg). On July 7, 1759, the forty-thousandth Russian army marched west to the Oder River, in the direction of the city of Krosen, intending to join the Austrian troops there. The debut of the new commander-in-chief was successful: on July 23, in the battle of Palzig (Kai), he utterly defeated the twenty-eight thousandth corps of the Prussian General Wedel. On August 3, 1759, the allies met in the city of Frankfurt an der Oder, three days before that occupied by Russian troops.
At this time, the Prussian king with an army of 48,000 people, with 200 guns, was moving towards the enemy from the south. On August 10, he crossed to the right bank of the Oder River and took up a position east of the village of Kunersdorf. On August 12, 1759, the famous battle of the Seven Years' War took place - the Battle of Kunersdorf. Frederick was utterly defeated, out of the 48,000th army, he, by his own admission, did not even have 3,000 soldiers left. “In truth,” he wrote to his minister after the battle, “I believe that all is lost. I will not survive the death of my Fatherland. Goodbye forever". After the victory at Kunersdorf, the allies had only to strike the last blow, take Berlin, the road to which was free, and thereby force Prussia to surrender, however, disagreements in their camp did not allow them to use the victory and end the war. Instead of advancing on Berlin, they pulled their troops away, accusing each other of violating allied obligations. Friedrich himself called his unexpected salvation "the miracle of the House of Brandenburg." Friedrich escaped, but failures continued to haunt him until the end of the year: on November 20, the Austrians, together with imperial troops, managed to encircle and force the 15,000-strong corps of the Prussian general Fink at Maxen to surrender, shamefully, without a fight.
The heavy defeats of 1759 prompted Frederick to turn to England with the initiative to convene a peace congress. The British supported it all the more willingly because they, for their part, considered the main goals in this war achieved. On November 25, 1759, 5 days after Maxen, an invitation to a peace congress was handed over to representatives of Russia, Austria and France in Rysvik. France signaled its participation, however, the matter ended in nothing because of the intransigent position taken by Russia and Austria, who hoped to use the victories of 1759 to deliver the final blow to Prussia in the next year's campaign.
Nicholas Pocock. "The Battle of Quiberon Bay" (1812)
Meanwhile, England at sea defeated the French fleet at Quiberon Bay.
1760: Frederick's Pyrrhic victory at Torgau
The war thus continued. In 1760, Frederick with difficulty brought the size of his army to 120,000 soldiers. The Franco-Austrian-Russian troops by this time numbered up to 220,000 soldiers. However, as in previous years, the numerical superiority of the Allies was nullified by the lack of a unified plan and inconsistency in actions. The Prussian king, trying to prevent the actions of the Austrians in Silesia, on August 1, 1760, sent his thirty thousandth army across the Elbe and, with the passive pursuit of the Austrians, arrived in the Liegnitz region by August 7. Misleading a stronger enemy (Field Marshal Down had about 90,000 soldiers by this time), Frederick II actively maneuvered at first, and then decided to break through to Breslau. While Friedrich and Down mutually exhausted the troops with their marches and countermarches, the Austrian corps of General Laudon on August 15 in the Liegnitz region suddenly collided with the Prussian troops. Frederick II unexpectedly attacked and defeated Laudon's corps. The Austrians lost up to 10,000 killed and 6,000 captured. Friedrich, who lost about 2,000 men killed and wounded in this battle, managed to break out of the encirclement.
Barely escaping encirclement, the Prussian king almost lost his own capital. On October 3 (September 22), 1760, the detachment of Major General Totleben stormed Berlin. The assault was repulsed and Totleben had to retreat to Köpenick, where he waited for the corps of Lieutenant General Z. G. Chernyshev (reinforced by Panin's 8,000th corps) and the Austrian corps of General Lassi, assigned to reinforce the corps. On the evening of October 8, at a military council in Berlin, due to the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy, a decision was made to retreat, and on the same night the Prussian troops defending the city leave for Spandau, leaving the garrison in the city as an "object" of surrender. The garrison brings surrender to Totleben, as the general who first laid siege to Berlin. The pursuit of the enemy is taken over by Panin's corps and Krasnoshchekov's Cossacks, they manage to defeat the Prussian rearguard and capture more than a thousand prisoners. On the morning of October 9, 1760, the Russian detachment of Totleben and the Austrians (the latter in violation of the terms of surrender) enter Berlin. Guns and guns were seized in the city, gunpowder and armory depots were blown up. An indemnity was imposed on the population. With the news of the approach of Frederick with the main forces of the Prussians, the allies, by order of the command, leave the capital of Prussia.
Having received news on the way that the Russians had abandoned Berlin, Friedrich turns to Saxony. While he was conducting military operations in Silesia, the Imperial Army ("Caesars") managed to oust the weak Prussian forces left in Saxony for screening, Saxony was lost to Frederick. He cannot allow this in any way: the human and material resources of Saxony are desperately needed for him to continue the war. November 3, 1760 at Torgau will be the last major battle of the Seven Years' War. He is distinguished by incredible bitterness, victory tends to one side or the other several times during the day. The Austrian commander Daun manages to send a messenger to Vienna with the news of the defeat of the Prussians, and only by 9 pm it becomes clear that he was in a hurry. Frederick comes out victorious, however, this is a Pyrrhic victory: in one day he loses 40% of his army. He is no longer able to make up for such losses; in the last period of the war, he is forced to abandon offensive operations and give the initiative to his opponents in the hope that they, due to their indecision and slowness, will not be able to use it properly.
In the secondary theaters of the war, Frederick's opponents are accompanied by some successes: the Swedes manage to establish themselves in Pomerania, the French in Hesse.
1761-1763: The second "miracle of the House of Brandenburg"
In 1761, there were no significant clashes: the war was waged mainly by maneuvering. The Austrians manage to capture Schweidnitz again, Russian troops under the command of General Rumyantsev take Kolberg (now Kolobrzeg). The capture of Kolberg would be the only major event of the 1761 campaign in Europe.
No one in Europe, not excluding Frederick himself, at this time believes that Prussia will be able to avoid defeat: the resources of a small country are incommensurable with the power of its opponents, and the longer the war continues, the more important this factor becomes. And then, when Frederick was already actively probing through intermediaries the possibility of starting peace negotiations, his implacable opponent, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who once declared her determination to continue the war to a victorious end, dies, even if she had to sell half of her dresses for this. On January 5, 1762, Peter III ascended the Russian throne, who saved Prussia from defeat by concluding the Petersburg Peace with Frederick, his old idol. As a result, Russia voluntarily abandoned all its acquisitions in this war (East Prussia with Koenigsberg, whose inhabitants, including Immanuel Kant, had already sworn allegiance to the Russian crown) and provided Friedrich with a corps under the command of Count Z. G. Chernyshev for the war against Austrians, their recent allies. It is understandable why Friedrich fawned over his Russian admirer like never before before anyone else in his life. The latter, however, needed little: the rank of Prussian colonel, granted to them by Frederick, the eccentric Peter was more proud than the Russian imperial crown.
Asian theater of war
Indian campaign
Main article: Indian Campaign of the Seven Years' War
English landing in the Philippines
Main article: Philippine campaign
Central American Theater of War
Main articles: Guadalupe campaign , Dominican campaign , Martinique campaign , Cuban campaign
South American theater of war
European Politics and the Seven Years' War. Chronological table
| Year, date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 2, 1746 | |
| October 18, 1748 | Aachen world. End of the War of the Austrian Succession |
| January 16, 1756 | Westminster Convention between Prussia and England |
| May 1, 1756 | Defensive alliance between France and Austria at Versailles |
| May 17, 1756 | England declares war on France |
| January 11, 1757 | Russia joins the Treaty of Versailles |
| January 22, 1757 | Union treaty between Russia and Austria |
| January 29, 1757 | Holy Roman Empire declares war on Prussia |
| May 1, 1757 | Offensive alliance between France and Austria at Versailles |
| January 22, 1758 | Estates of East Prussia swear allegiance to the Russian crown |
| April 11, 1758 | Treaty of subsidies between Prussia and England |
| April 13, 1758 | Subsidy agreement between Sweden and France |
| May 4, 1758 | Treaty of Alliance between France and Denmark |
| January 7, 1758 | Extension of the agreement on subsidies between Prussia and England |
| January 30-31, 1758 | Subsidy agreement between France and Austria |
| November 25, 1759 | Declaration of Prussia and England on the Convocation of a Peace Congress |
| April 1, 1760 | Extension of the union treaty between Russia and Austria |
| January 12, 1760 | Last extension of the subsidy treaty between Prussia and England |
| April 2, 1761 | Treaty of Friendship and Trade between Prussia and Turkey |
| June-July 1761 | Separate peace talks between France and England |
| August 8, 1761 | Convention between France and Spain concerning the war with England |
| January 4, 1762 | England declares war on Spain |
| January 5, 1762 | Death of Elizabeth Petrovna |
| February 4, 1762 | Alliance pact between France and Spain |
| May 5, 1762 |
The Seven Years' War is one of the saddest events in Russian history. Having achieved great success on the territory of Prussia, the Emperor was replaced in Russia, who did not lay claim to the Prussian lands. It was Peter III, who idolized Frederick II.
The reason for this war (1756-1762) was the aggressive policy of Prussia, which sought to expand its borders. The reason for Russia's entry into the war was the attack of Prussia on Saxony and the capture of the cities of Dresden and Leipzig.
The seven-year war involved Russia, France, Austria, Sweden on one side, Prussia and England on the other. Russia declared war on Prussia on 1.09. 1756
During this protracted war, Russia managed to take part in several major battles, and change three commanders-in-chief of the Russian troops. It is worth noting that at the beginning of the Seven Years' War, King Frederick II of Prussia had the nickname "invincible".
Field Marshal Apraksin, the first commander in chief of the Russian army in the Seven Years' War, had been preparing the army's offensive for almost a year. He occupied the Prussian cities very slowly, the speed of the advance of the Russian troops deep into Prussia left much to be desired. Friedrich was contemptuous of the Russian army and went to fight in the Czech Republic, with his main troops.
The first major battle of the Seven Years' War, with the participation of the Russian army, took place near the village of Gross-Egersdorf. The Russian army consisted of 55 thousand people, who had 100 artillery guns. General Levald attacked the Russian army. The situation was threatening. The situation was corrected by a bayonet attack by several regiments of Rumyantsev. Apraksin reached the Keninsberg fortress and, standing under its walls, ordered the Russian army to retreat. Apraksin was arrested for his actions, he was charged with treason, he died during one of the interrogations.
General Fermor became the new commander of the Russian army. He moved Russian troops to Prussia, having 60 thousand people at his disposal. In the Battle of Zorndorf, the King of Prussia decided to personally defeat the Russian troops. At night, the Germans went to the rear of the Russian army and deployed artillery on the hills. The Russian army had to deploy the entire front of its attack. The battle was fierce, with varying success. As a result, having lost a lot of strength, the armies dispersed without revealing the winner.
Soon the Russian army was headed by Saltykov, one of the associates of Peter I. The commander-in-chief suggested joining the Russian army with the Austrian one and suggested moving to Berlin. The Austrians were afraid of the strengthening of Russia and refused such actions. In 1760, the corps of General Chernyshev took Berlin. Prussia suffered a major blow to its prestige.
In 1761, the Russian army again had a new commander-in-chief, Buturlin, who went with the main forces to Silesia. In the north, Rumyantsev was left to storm the fortress of Kolberg. Rumyantsevthe Russian fleet helped very actively. The future great commander Alexander Vasilievich Suvorov also participated in the assault on Kolberg. Soon the fortress was taken.
In the following years, Prussia was on the brink of disaster. The Seven Years' War was to bring Russia great honors and new lands. But everything was decided by chance. Empress Elizabeth died on December 25, 1761, and Peter III, a great admirer of Frederick, ascended the throne. The Seven Years' War was stopped. Now the Russian troops had to clear Prussia of the former allies….
Significantly expanded the borders of his state. Prussia, already at the beginning of the war of 1740-1748, which had the third army in Europe in terms of numbers and the first in terms of training, could now create powerful competition for the Austrians in the rivalry for supremacy over Germany. The Austrian Empress Maria Theresa did not want to accept the loss of Silesia. Her dislike for Frederick II was intensified by the religious difference between Catholic Austria and Protestant Prussia.
Frederick II the Great of Prussia - protagonist of the Seven Years' War
The Prussian-Austrian enmity was the main cause of the Seven Years' War, but colonial conflicts between England and France were added to it. In the middle of the 18th century, the question was being decided which of these two powers would dominate North America and India. The confusion of European relations led to the "diplomatic revolution" of the 1750s. The two-century feud between the Austrian Habsburgs and the French Bourbons was overcome in the name of common goals. Instead of the Anglo-Austrian and Franco-Prussian alliances that fought each other during the War of the Austrian Succession, new coalitions formed: Franco-Austrian and Anglo-Prussian.
Russia's position on the eve of the Seven Years' War was also complicated. At the St. Petersburg court, supporters of both Austria and Prussia had influence. In the end, the former prevailed, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna moved her troops to support the Habsburgs and France. However, the authority of the "Prussophiles" continued to be strong. Russian participation in the Seven Years' War from beginning to end was marked by indecision and hesitation between the two European factions.
The course of the Seven Years' War - briefly
The alliance of Austria, France and Russia against Prussia was a great secret, but Frederick II managed to find out about it. He decided himself to be the first to attack the not fully prepared allies in order to prevent them from connecting. The Seven Years' War began with the Prussian invasion of Saxony on August 29, 1756, whose elector sided with Frederick's enemies. The Saxon army (7 thousand soldiers) was blocked in Pirna (on the Bohemian border) and forced to surrender. The Austrian commander Broun tried to save the Saxons, but after the battle on October 1, 1756 near Lobositz, the Prussians forced him to retreat. Frederick captured Saxony.
The Seven Years' War continued in 1757. By the beginning of that year, the Austrians had gathered a large force. Three French armies moved against Frederick from the west - d "Estre, Richelieu and Subise, from the east - Russians, from the north - Swedes. The German Sejm declared Prussia a violator of peace. But the English army arrived in Westphalia to help Frederick. The British thought to tie the French with Prussian hands in Europe, in the meantime to push them decisively in the American and Indian colonies.England had enormous naval and financial power, but her land forces were weak, and they were commanded by the incapable son of King George II, the Duke of Cumberland.
Frederick moved to Bohemia (Czech Republic) in the spring of 1757 and on May 6, 1757 inflicted a heavy defeat on the Austrians near Prague, capturing up to 12 thousand soldiers. He locked another 40 thousand soldiers in Prague, and they almost repeated the fate of the Saxons in Pirna. But the Austrian commander-in-chief Daun rescued his people by moving towards Prague. Frederick the Great, who thought to stop him, was repulsed with heavy damage on June 18 in the battle of Collin and driven back from the Czech Republic.
Seven Years' War. The Life Guards Battalion at the Battle of Collin, 1757. Artist R. Knötel
In the Western theater of the Seven Years' War, the three commanders of the French armies were intriguing against each other: each of them wanted to lead the war alone. Accustomed to luxury, the French officers looked at the campaign as if it were a picnic. They kept going to Paris, carrying crowds of servants with them, and their soldiers needed everything and died in droves from diseases. July 26, 1757 d "Estre defeated the Duke of Cumberland near Hameln. The Hanoverian aristocrats, who thought only of their own benefits, concluded a capitulation that gave all of Hanover to the French. The Duke of Cumberland also wanted to approve it, but the British government Pitt Senior prevented this. It succeeded in removing the duke from command and replacing him (on the advice of Frederick the Great) with the German prince Ferdinand of Brunswick.
Another French army (Subise), united with the Austrians, entered Saxony. Frederick the Great had only 25 thousand troops here - half that of the enemy. But when he attacked the enemies at the village of Rosbach on November 5, 1757, they fled in panic even before the entire Prussian army entered the battle. From Rosbach Friedrich went to Silesia. On December 5, 1757, he inflicted a severe defeat on the Austrians near Leuthen, driving them back to the Czech Republic. On December 20, the 20,000-strong Austrian garrison of Breslau surrendered, and all of Europe froze in surprise at the exploits of the Prussian king. His actions in the Seven Years' War were ardently admired even in France.
Attack of the Prussian infantry at the Battle of Leuthen, 1757. Artist Karl Röchling
Even before that, a large Russian army of Apraksin entered East Prussia. On August 30, 1757, it inflicted a defeat on the old Prussian Field Marshal Lewald at Gross-Jägersdorf and in this way opened a way for itself beyond the Oder. However, instead of moving forward, Apraksin suddenly went back to Russian border. This act of his was connected with the dangerous illness of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Apraksin either did not want to quarrel with Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, a passionate Prussophile who was supposed to inherit the Russian throne after Elizabeth, or he intended, together with Chancellor Bestuzhev, with the help of his army to force the unbalanced Peter to abdicate in favor of his son. But Elizaveta Petrovna, who was already dying, recovered, and the Russian campaign against Prussia soon resumed.
Stepan Apraksin, one of the four Russian commanders-in-chief in the Seven Years' War
The British government of Pitt continued the Seven Years' War with energy, increasing monetary support for the Prussians. Frederick the Great brutally exploited Saxony and Mecklenburg, which he occupied. In the western theater of the Seven Years' War, Ferdinand of Brunswick in 1758 pushed the French back to the Rhine and defeated them at Krefeld, already on the left bank of the river. But the new, more capable French commander-in-chief, Marshal Contad, again invaded the Rhine and in the fall of 1758 passed through Westphalia to the Lippe River.
In the eastern theater of the Seven Years' War, the Russians, led after the removal of Apraksin by Saltykov, crossed from East Prussia to Brandenburg and Pomerania. Frederick the Great himself unsuccessfully besieged the Moravian Olmutz in 1758, and then moved to Brandenburg and on August 25, 1758 gave the Russian army the battle of Zorndorf. Its outcome was indecisive, but the Russians after this battle chose to retreat from Brandenburg, so it was recognized that they were defeated. Frederick rushed to Saxony, against the Austrians. On October 14, 1758, the rising star of the Austrian army, General Laudon, defeated the king at the Gochkirch thanks to a surprise attack. However, by the end of the year, Frederick's generals had driven the Austrians out of Saxony.
Frederick the Great at the Battle of Zorndorf. Artist Karl Röchling
At the beginning of the 1759 campaign, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick suffered heavy losses in the western theater of the Seven Years' War from the French general Broglie in the battle near Bergen (April 13), not far from Frankfurt am Main. In the summer of 1759, the French commander-in-chief Contad went deep into Germany to the Weser, but then Prince Ferdinand defeated him in the battle of the Prussian Minden and forced him to retreat behind the Rhine and Main. Ferdinand, however, could not build on his success: he had to send 12 thousand soldiers to King Frederick, whose position in the east was very bad.
The Russian commander Saltykov led the campaign of 1759 very slowly and only in July reached the Oder. On July 23, 1759, he defeated the Prussian general Wedel at Züllichau and Kai. This defeat could have been disastrous for Prussia and ended the Seven Years' War. But Saltykov, fearing the imminent death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and the coming to power of the "Prussophile" Peter III, continued to hesitate. On August 7, he connected with the Austrian corps of Laudon, and on August 12, 1759, he entered the battle of Kunersdorf with Frederick II himself. In this battle, the Prussian king suffered such a defeat that after him he already considered the war lost and thought about suicide. Laudon wanted to go to Berlin, but Saltykov did not trust the Austrians and did not want to assist them in acquiring unconditional hegemony over Germany. Until the end of August, the Russian commander stood motionless in Frankfurt, citing heavy losses, and in October he returned to Poland. This saved Frederick the Great from inevitable defeat.
Pyotr Saltykov, one of the four Russian commanders-in-chief in the Seven Years' War
Frederick began the campaign of 1760 in the most desperate situation. On June 28, 1760, the Prussian general Fouquet was defeated by Laudon at Landsgut. However, on August 15, 1760, Frederick the Great, in turn, defeated Laudon at Liegnitz. Saltykov, who continued to avoid any decisive undertakings, took advantage of this failure of the Austrians to withdraw beyond the Oder. The Austrians moved Lassi's corps on a short raid on Berlin. Saltykov sent Chernyshov's detachment to reinforce him only after a strict order from St. Petersburg. On October 9, 1760, the combined Russian-Austrian corps entered Berlin, stayed there for four days and took an indemnity from the city.
Frederick the Great meanwhile continued to fight in Saxony. On November 3, here, near the fortress of Torgau, the bloodiest battle of the Seven Years' War took place. The Prussians won a brilliant victory in it, but most of Saxony and part of Silesia remained in the hands of their opponents. The alliance against Prussia was replenished: Spain, ruled by a side branch of the French Bourbons, joined it.
But soon the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna (1761) died, and her successor, Peter III, an enthusiastic admirer of Frederick II, not only abandoned all the Russian armies conquests, but even expressed his intention to go over to the side of Prussia in the Seven Years' War. The latter did not happen only because Peter III, after the coup on June 28, 1762, was deprived of the throne by his wife Catherine II. She abstained from any participation in the Seven Years' War, Russia withdrew from it. The Swedes also lagged behind the coalition. Frederick II could now direct all his efforts against Austria, which was inclined towards peace, especially since France fought so ineptly that it seemed to have completely outlived its former military glory of the era of Louis XIV.
The Seven Years' War on the European continent was accompanied by colonial struggle in America and India.
The results of the Seven Years' War - briefly
The results of the Seven Years' War determined the Paris and Hubertsburg Peace Treaties of 1763.
The Peace of Paris in 1763 put an end to the maritime and colonial struggle between France and England. England wrested from the French an entire empire in North America: Southern and Eastern Canada, the Ohio River Valley and the entire left bank of the Mississippi. From Spain, the British received Florida. Until the Seven Years' War, the whole south of India was subject to French influence. Now it was completely lost there, to soon pass to the British.
Results of the Seven Years' War in North America. Map. The British possessions before 1763 are marked in red, the accession of the British following the Seven Years' War is marked in pink
The Hubertsburg Treaty of 1763 between Prussia and Austria summed up the results of the Seven Years' War on the continent. In Europe, the old borders have been restored almost everywhere. Russia and Austria failed to return Prussia to the position of a minor power. However, Frederick the Great's plans for new conquests and the weakening of the power of the Habsburg emperors of Germany to the benefit of the Prussians did not come true.
