The Seven Years' War is the most spectacular and large-scale military conflict of the 18th century. It began in 1756 and lasted, oddly enough, 7 years, ending in 1763. Interesting fact is that the countries involved in the conflict were located on all continents known at that time. Australia and Antarctica have not yet been explored.
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The main participants of the Seven Years' War
Quite a few states took part in the Seven Years' War, but it is worth highlighting only the main ones that carried out the most significant actions:
- Habsburg Austria;
- Prussia;
- France;
- Great Britain;
- Russian empire.
Causes of conflicts
The first preconditions for war appeared in connection with the unresolved geopolitical problems of Europe. This happened after the War of the Austrian Succession in 1740 - 1748.
The main reasons for the start of the Seven Years' War were:
- Conflicts between the French kingdom and Great Britain regarding overseas possessions. That is, states could not divide the colonies.
- Austria-Hungary and Germany were in conflict over Silesian territories.
Formation of coalitions
After the War of the Austrian Succession and Europe was divided into two groups of states contradicting each other:
- Habsburg Coalition, which included:
- Austria-Hungary;
- Great Britain;
- Netherlands;
- Russia.
- Anti-Habsburg coalition, which included:
- Germany;
- France;
- Saxony.
Such unfriendly relations persisted for quite some time, until the mid-1750s. There were only a few changes between the coalitions: representatives of the Netherlands chose to remain neutral regarding the coalitions, and Saxony expressed an open reluctance to conduct military action, however, it maintained an alliance with Russia and Austria.
In 1756, the process of the so-called “diplomatic coup” was launched. It was marked the following events:
Throughout January, negotiations took place between Germany and England, which ended with the joint signing of a subsidiary agreement. Distinctive feature These negotiations were that they took place at a strictly secret level and were not reported on the world stage. The terms of this agreement implied that the military forces of the Kingdom of Prussia had to defend the possessions of Great Britain, in return they received a banal monetary payment.
State, which forced us to agree to this agreement English king, this is France. She was Britain's most obvious and dangerous enemy.
After the terms of the subsidiary agreement were announced to the whole world, further political changes took place. Two new political groups emerged, whose interests opposed each other:
- Austria-Hungary, Russia, French Kingdom;
- Great Britain, Kingdom of Prussia.
These were the obvious and main participants in the Seven Years' War. Of course, many other countries took part in the war, which will be mentioned later, however, these are the main participants.
Events of the Seven Years' War
The main personality of the war was Frederick II the Great of Prussia. It was he who started the fighting. In August 1756, Prussian troops invaded the territory of Saxony and began aggressive actions. This marked the beginning of the great war.
Map of the Seven Years' War: fighting took place on the following continents:
- Europe;
- North America;
- India.
North America
In January 1755, the English king gave the order to begin military policy in relation to France. The first clash is considered to be the events that took place in the Canadian region in North America, when British troops tried to intercept a convoy of the French kingdom. However, the attempt was unsuccessful and the troops collapsed.
As soon as representatives France learned of this incident, all diplomatic relations between the French and English kings were severed and the war officially began.
Key events on this continent occurred in 1759 at the Battle of Quebec. This battle ended with the capture of the French outpost, which was located in Canada. At the same time, Martinique was captured. It is the main center of trade in the West Indies, owned by the French.
Actions in Europe
Oddly enough, the main battles took place in Europe. It is worth noting that most of the clashes took place against the Prussian king Frederick II. It is noteworthy that representatives of Great Britain contributed their troops weakest to the Seven Years' War. The main investments were in the form of cash.
The rulers of the countries fighting against Prussia made an unforgivable mistake, which led to complications of the war. The fact is that the German state gave way already at the beginning of the battles, however, for some reasons the Allied victory did not happen:
- A full-fledged union was not formed between the rulers of Austria, France and Russia, which led to a lack of coherence in actions.
- The commanders-in-chief of Russia did not have the opportunity to take proactive actions, since they were directly dependent on the conference at the Imperial Court.
Key battles fought in Europe:
- Battle of Rosbach (November 1757);
- under Zorndorf (1758);
- under Kunersdorf (August 1759);
- capture of Berlin in October 1760;
- Battle of Freiberg in October 1762.
It is quite remarkable that during the Seven Years' War, Prussia had an excellent opportunity to show its military power, because they were able to confront the three largest states of the continent at once. These included Russia, Austria-Hungary and France.
Battles in Asia and their results
The surprising fact is that the war has affected even this continent. It all started here in 1757, when confrontations broke out between Bengal and England. Initially, upon learning of the outbreak of hostilities in Europe, England announced maintaining its neutrality, however, they very quickly began to attack the French.
Since the position of the French kingdom in Asia was fragile, it could not present a proper confrontation and suffered a serious defeat in India.
Results of the Seven Years' War
So, over the course of seven years, serious hostilities broke out between many countries on the territory of three known continents. Final years The Seven Years' War is considered to be:
- February 10, 1762 - Treaty of Paris between England and France.
- On February 15, 1763, exactly one year after the Treaty of Paris, representatives of Austria and Prussia were ready for negotiations. A peace treaty was concluded between these states in Hubertusburg.
The war is finally over, bringing joy to the whole world. People needed to recover from such disastrous hostilities.
Key results wars look like this:
This world experience shows all future generations that war is always terrible and bad. It takes the lives of many people, and in the end gives nothing in return. Nowadays it is very important understand this and be able to learn from the mistakes of the past.
The armed conflict between France and England and Austria and Prussia in 1756–1763 went down in history as the “Seven Years’ War.” Irreconcilable rivals also pulled other states into it. Our article talks about Russia's participation in this war.
The beginning of the war for Russia
In 1756, the transformations begun by Empress Elizabeth continued in the Russian army. They concerned both the formation of the troops themselves, the principles of combat, and the supply system for everything necessary. Therefore, the army began the new military campaign in 1757 with little confidence.
Since Russian troops acted on the side of Austria in the Seven Years' War, it was no longer possible to postpone participation until a later date. Prussia strengthened its position by capturing Saxony, and quite successfully repelled the attacks of the French and Austrian armies.
Rice. 1. Russian soldiers of the 18th century.
General Apraksin, who was appointed commander, decided to take active action only in July 1757. Russian troops crossed the Prussian border and were able to win a victory near Gross-Jägersdorf. But, instead of consolidating success, the general gave the order to retreat. For which he was stripped of his rank and sent to Russia under arrest.
Apraksin suffered due to his excessive forethought. Knowing about the serious illness of the empress, he expected the imminent rise to power of Peter the Great, who considered Prussia a more advantageous ally. But Elizaveta Petrovna continued to rule.
Rice. 2. Field Marshal Stepan Fedorovich Apraksin.
Participation and results
Russia has had three more commanders-in-chief: Fermor, Saltykov, Buturlin. Continuing the reorganization of the army, they managed to achieve serious results. Russian troops took part in such important battles:
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- Zorndorf in August 1758 : heavy losses of both armies;
- At Palzig in July 1759 : defeat of the Prussian army;
- Kunersdorf in August 1759 : victory of Russian-Austrian troops;
- Near Berlin in October 1760 : Russian capture of Berlin, at that time the capital of Prussia;
- Near Kolberg in the autumn of 1761 : surrender of Prussian troops.
This was the last victory of Russia in the Seven Years' War. After the death of Empress Elizabeth (December 1761), Peter the Great, who ascended the throne in 1762, stopped military operations against Prussia.
The results of the war for Russia were ambiguous. On the one hand, she signed an unfavorable peace treaty with Prussia (1762), according to which she voluntarily renounced all the captured territories, without recouping the costs of participating in the battles. On the other hand, Russian troops gained invaluable experience in conducting military operations in new conditions.
It was during the Seven Years' War that the Russian army first found itself in Berlin, occupying it with minimal losses. At that time, this achievement brought only financial benefits to Russia. Later its historical significance became clear.
France
Russia (1757-1761)
(1757-1761)
Sweden
Spain
Saxony
Kingdom of Naples
Sardinian Kingdom
F. W. Seydlitz
George II
George III
Robert Clive
Jeffrey Amherst
Ferdinand of Brunswick
Siraj ud-Daula
Jose I
Count Lassi
Prince of Lorraine
Ernst Gideon Loudon
Louis XV
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
Elizaveta Petrovna †
P. S. Saltykov
K. G. Razumovsky
Charles III
August III
The designation “Seven Years’ War” was given in the 80s of the 18th century; before that it was referred to as a “recent war.”
Causes of the war
Opposing coalitions in Europe in 1756
The first shots of the Seven Years' War rang out long before its official announcement, and not in Europe, but overseas. 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 resulted in 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.
"Reversing Alliances"
Participants in the Seven Years' War. Blue: Anglo-Prussian coalition. Green: anti-Prussian coalition
This conflict disrupted the established system of military-political alliances in Europe and caused a foreign policy reorientation of a number of European powers, known as the “reversal of alliances.” The traditional rivalry between Austria and France for hegemony on the continent 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 easily accept the loss of Silesia.
Having started a war with France, Great Britain concluded a treaty of alliance with Prussia in January 1756, thereby wanting to protect itself from the threat of a French attack on Hanover, the hereditary possession of the English king on the continent. Frederick, considering a war with Austria inevitable and realizing 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 England's influence on Russia, he, at the same time, clearly underestimated the indignation caused by his agreement with the British in France. As a result, Frederick will have to fight 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 in relation to his opponents lies a lack of confidence in his own strength: 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, thirsting for revenge, to move closer to its old enemy - France, for which Prussia also became an enemy from now on (France, which supported Frederick in the first Silesian wars and saw in Prussia only an obedient instrument for crushing Austrian power, was able to make sure that Friedrich did not even think about taking into account the role assigned to him). The author of the new foreign policy course was the famous Austrian diplomat of that time, Count Kaunitz. 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 states and northern Europe. Close ties with Austria, a treaty of union with which was signed back in 1746, also influenced Russia’s position in the brewing European conflict. Traditionally, close ties also existed with England. It is curious that, having broken diplomatic relations with Prussia long before the start of the war, Russia, nevertheless, did not break 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 for their own interests, but all were interested in weakening Prussia, in returning it to the borders that existed before the Silesian Wars. Thus, the coalition participants fought the war for restoration old system political relations on the continent, disrupted by the results of the War of the Austrian Succession. Having united against a common enemy, the participants in the anti-Prussian coalition did not even think of forgetting about their traditional differences. Disagreement in the enemy’s camp, caused by conflicting interests and having a detrimental effect on the conduct of the war, was ultimately 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 beyond, it never occurred to anyone in Europe to seriously consider Frederick “The Great”: at that time, most Europeans saw He is an impudent upstart who is long overdue for being put in his place. To achieve this goal, the Allies fielded a huge army of 419,000 soldiers against Prussia. Frederick II had at his disposal only 200,000 soldiers plus 50,000 defenders of Hanover, hired with English money.
European theater of war
1756: attack on Saxony
Strengths of the parties in 1756
| A country | Troops |
|---|---|
| Prussia | 200 000 |
| Hanover | 50 000 |
| England | 90 000 |
| Total | 340 000 |
| Russia | 333 000 |
| Austria | 200 000 |
| France | 200 000 |
| Spain | 25 000 |
| Total allies | 758 000 |
| Total | 1 098 000 |
Without waiting for Prussia's opponents to deploy their forces, Frederick II was the first to begin hostilities on August 29, 1756, suddenly invading Saxony, allied with Austria, and occupying it. On September 1 (11), 1756, Elizaveta Petrovna declared war on Prussia. On September 9, the Prussians surrounded the Saxon army encamped near Pirna. On October 1, the 33.5 thousand army of the Austrian Field Marshal Brown, who went to the rescue of the Saxons, was defeated at Lobositz. Finding itself in a hopeless situation, the eighteen-thousand-strong army of Saxony capitulated on October 16. Captured, the Saxon soldiers were forced into the Prussian army. Later they would “thank” Frederick by running over to the enemy in entire regiments.
Saxony, which had armed forces the size of an average army corps and, moreover, was bound by eternal troubles in Poland (the Saxon elector was also the Polish king), did not, of course, pose any military threat to Prussia. The 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,
- 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 to be a defensive war. The reasoning is that the war would still have been started by Austria and its allies, regardless of whether Frederick 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 weakly protected neighbor.
1757: Battles of Kolin, Rosbach and Leuthen, Russia begins hostilities
Strengths of the parties in 1757
| A country | Troops |
|---|---|
| Prussia | 152 000 |
| Hanover | 45 000 |
| Saxony | 20 000 |
| Total | 217 000 |
| Russia | 104 000 |
| Austria | 174 000 |
| Imperial German Union | 30 000 |
| Sweden | 22 000 |
| France | 134 000 |
| Total allies | 464 000 |
| Total | 681 000 |
Bohemia, Silesia
Having strengthened himself by absorbing Saxony, Frederick at the same time achieved the opposite effect, spurring his opponents to active offensive actions. Now he had no choice but, to use the German expression, “flight forward” (German. Flucht nach vorne). Counting on the fact that France and Russia will not be able to enter the war before the summer, Frederick intends to defeat Austria before that time. Early in 1757, the Prussian army, moving in four columns, entered Austrian territory in Bohemia. The Austrian army under the command of the Prince of Lorraine numbered 60,000 soldiers. On May 6, the Prussians defeated the Austrians and blocked them in Prague. Having taken Prague, Frederick plans to march on Vienna without delay. However, the blitzkrieg plans were dealt a blow: a 54,000-strong Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal L. Down came to the aid of the besieged. On June 18, 1757, in the vicinity of the city of Kolin, a 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 also, more importantly, forced Frederick II to lift the blockade of Prague and hastily retreat to Saxony. Soon the threat that arose in Thuringia from the French and the Imperial Army (the "Tsars") forced him to leave there with the main forces. Having from this moment on a significant numerical superiority, the Austrians win a series of victories over Frederick's generals (at Moise on September 7, at Breslau on November 22), and the key Silesian fortresses of Schweidnitz (now Świdnica, Poland) and Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) are in their hands. In October 1757, the Austrian general Hadik managed to briefly capture the capital of Prussia, the city of Berlin, with a sudden raid of a flying detachment. Having warded off 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.”
Central Germany
1758: The battles of Zorndorf and Hochkirch do not bring decisive success to either side
Field Marshal General Willim Villimovich Fermor became the new commander-in-chief of the Russians. At the beginning of 1758, he occupied, without meeting resistance, all of East Prussia, including its capital, the city of Königsberg, then heading towards Brandenburg. In August he besieged Küstrin, a key fortress on the road to Berlin. Frederick immediately moved towards him. The battle took place on August 14 near the village of Zorndorf and was notable for its stunning bloodshed. The Russians had 42,000 soldiers in the army with 240 guns, and Frederick had 33,000 soldiers with 116 guns. The battle revealed several big problems in the Russian army - insufficient interaction between individual units, poor moral training of the observation corps (the so-called “Shuvalovites”), and finally called into question the competence of the commander-in-chief himself. At a critical moment in the battle, Fermor left the army, did not direct the course of the battle for some time, and appeared only towards the denouement. 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 until 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, Frederick, fearing the approach of Rumyantsev’s division, turned his army around and took it to Saxony. Russian troops retreated to the Vistula. General Palmbach, sent by Fermor to besiege Kolberg, stood for a long time under the walls of the fortress without accomplishing anything.
On October 14, the Austrians operating in South Saxony managed to defeat Frederick at Hochkirch, however, without any special 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 campaign of 1758 ended more or less successfully for the Prussians, it further 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 captured, 43 the general was killed or died from wounds received in battle, among them his best military leaders, such as Keith, Winterfeld, Schwerin, Moritz von Dessau and others.
1759: Defeat of the Prussians at Kunersdorf, “miracle of the House of Brandenburg”
Complete defeat of the Prussian army. As a result of the victory, the road was open for the Allied advance on Berlin. Prussia was on the brink of disaster. “Everything is lost, save the yard and archives!” - Frederick II wrote in panic. However, the persecution was not organized. This made it possible for Frederick to gather an army and prepare for the defense of Berlin. Prussia was saved from final defeat only by the so-called “miracle of the House of Brandenburg.”
Strengths of the parties in 1759
| A country | Troops |
|---|---|
| Prussia | 220 000 |
| Total | 220 000 |
| Russia | 50 000 |
| Austria | 155 000 |
| Imperial German Union | 45 000 |
| Sweden | 16 000 |
| France | 125 000 |
| Total allies | 391 000 |
| Total | 611 000 |
On May 8 (19), 1759, Chief General 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. Petersburg Conference repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with Fermor’s reports, their irregularity and confusion; Fermor could not account for spending significant sums on the maintenance of the army. Perhaps the decision to resign was also influenced by the indecisive the outcome of the battle of Zorndorf and the unsuccessful sieges of Küstrin and Kolberg). On July 7, 1759, a forty-thousand-strong Russian army marched west to the Oder River, in the direction of the city of Krosen, intending to link up with Austrian troops there. The debut of the new commander-in-chief was successful: on July 23, in the battle of Palzig (Kai), he completely 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, which had been occupied by Russian troops three days before.
At this time, the Prussian king with an army of 48,000 people, possessing 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 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 completely defeated; out of an army of 48 thousand, by his own admission, he did not have even 3 thousand 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 could only deliver the final blow, take Berlin, the road to which was clear, and thereby force Prussia to capitulate, but disagreements in their camp did not allow them to use the victory and end the war. Instead of attacking Berlin, they withdrew their troops away, accusing each other of violating allied obligations. Frederick himself called his unexpected salvation “the miracle of the House of Brandenburg.” Frederick escaped, but setbacks 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 Finck to surrender without a fight at Maxen.
The severe 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 to be achieved. On November 25, 1759, 5 days after Maxen, representatives of Russia, Austria and France were sent an invitation to a peace congress in Rysvik. France signaled its participation, but it came to nothing because of the irreconcilable position taken by Russia and Austria, who hoped to use the victories of 1759 to deal the finishing blow to Prussia in the following year's campaign.
Nicholas Pocock. "Battle of the Gulf of Quiberon" (1759)
Meanwhile, England defeated the French fleet at sea in the Gulf of Quiberon.
1760: Frederick's Pyrrhic victory at Torgau
The losses of both sides are enormous: more than 16,000 for the Prussians, about 16,000 (according to other sources, more than 17,000) for the Austrians. Their actual size was hidden from the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, but Frederick also prohibited the publication of lists of the dead. For him, the losses suffered are irreparable: in the last years of the war, the main source of replenishment of the Prussian army were prisoners of war. Driven by force into Prussian service, at any opportunity they run over to the enemy in entire battalions. The Prussian army is not only shrinking, but also losing its qualities. Its preservation, being a matter of life and death, now becomes Frederick's main concern and forces him to abandon active offensive actions. Last years The Seven Years' War is filled with marches and maneuvers, major battles like battles initial stage war is not happening.
Victory at Torgau was achieved, a significant part of Saxony (but not all of Saxony) was returned to Frederick, but this was not the final victory for which he was ready to “risk everything.” The war will last another three long years.
Strengths of the parties in 1760
| A country | Troops |
|---|---|
| Prussia | 200 000 |
| Total | 200 000 |
| Austria | 90 000 |
| Total allies | 375 000 |
| Total | 575 000 |
The war thus continued. In 1760, Frederick had difficulty raising the size of his army to 200,000 soldiers. The Franco-Austro-Russian troops by this time numbered up to 375,000 soldiers. However, as in previous years, the Allies' numerical superiority was negated by the lack of a unified plan and inconsistency in actions. The Prussian king, trying to impede the actions of the Austrians in Silesia, transported his thirty thousand army across the Elbe on August 1, 1760 and, with passive pursuit of the Austrians, arrived in the Liegnitz region by August 7. Misleading the stronger enemy (Field Marshal Daun had about 90,000 soldiers by this time), Frederick II first actively maneuvered and then decided to break through to Breslau. While Frederick and Daun were mutually exhausting the troops with their marches and countermarches, the Austrian corps of General Laudon on August 15 in the Liegnitz area suddenly collided with Prussian troops. Frederick II unexpectedly attacked and defeated Laudon's corps. The Austrians lost up to 10,000 killed and 6,000 captured. Frederick, who lost about 2,000 people killed and wounded in this battle, managed to escape from the encirclement.
Having barely escaped encirclement, the Prussian king almost lost his own capital. On October 3 (September 22), 1760, Major General Totleben’s detachment 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 8,000-strong corps) and the Austrian corps of General Lassi, appointed as reinforcements. 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 that same night the Prussian troops defending the city left for Spandau, leaving a garrison in the city as an “object” of surrender. The garrison brings surrender to Totleben, as the general who first besieged Berlin. The illegal, by the standards of military honor, pursuit of the enemy, who had given up the fortress to the enemy, was taken over by Panin’s corps and Krasnoshchekov’s Cossacks, they managed to defeat the Prussian rearguard and capture more than a thousand prisoners. On the morning of October 9, 1760, Totleben's Russian detachment and the Austrians (the latter in violation of the terms of surrender) entered Berlin. In the city, guns and rifles were captured, gunpowder and weapons warehouses were blown up. An indemnity was imposed on the population. At the news of the approach of Frederick with the main forces of the Prussians, the allies left the Prussian capital in panic.
Having received news on the way that the Russians had abandoned Berlin, Frederick turned to Saxony. While he was conducting military operations in Silesia, the Imperial Army managed to oust the weak Prussian forces left in Saxony to screen, Saxony was lost to Frederick. He cannot allow this in any way: he needs the human and material resources of Saxony to continue the war. On November 3, 1760, the last major battle of the Seven Years' War took place near Torgau. He is distinguished by incredible fierceness, victory leans first to one side, then to 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 emerges victorious, but it 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 actions and give the initiative to his opponents in the hope that, due to their indecisiveness and slowness, they will not be able to take advantage of it properly.
In the secondary theaters of war, Frederick's opponents had some successes: the Swedes managed to establish themselves in Pomerania, the French in Hesse.
1761-1763: the second “miracle of the Brandenburg House”
Strengths of the parties in 1761
| A country | Troops |
|---|---|
| Prussia | 106 000 |
| Total | 106 000 |
| Austria | 140 000 |
| France | 140 000 |
| Imperial German Union | 20 000 |
| Russia | 90 000 |
| Total allies | 390 000 |
| Total | 496 000 |
In 1761, no significant clashes occur: the war is waged mainly by maneuvering. The Austrians manage to recapture Schweidnitz, 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 that time believed that Prussia would be able to avoid defeat: the resources of the small country were incommensurate with the power of its opponents, and the further the war continued, the more important this factor became. And then, when Frederick was already actively probing through intermediaries for the possibility of starting peace negotiations, his irreconcilable opponent, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, dies, having once declared her determination to continue the war to the victorious end, even if she had to sell half of her dresses to do so. On January 5, 1762, Peter III ascended the Russian throne, who saved Prussia from defeat by concluding the Peace of St. Petersburg with Frederick, his longtime idol. As a result, Russia voluntarily abandoned all its acquisitions in this war (East Prussia with Königsberg, the inhabitants of which, including Immanuel Kant, had already sworn allegiance to the Russian crown) and provided Frederick with a corps under Count Z. G. Chernyshev for the war against the Austrians , their recent allies.
Strengths of the parties in 1762
| A country | Troops |
|---|---|
| Prussia | 60 000 |
| Total allies | 300 000 |
| Total | 360 000 |
Asian theater of war
Indian campaign
In 1757, the British captured French Chandannagar in Bengal, and the French captured British trading posts in southeastern India between Madras and Calcutta. In 1758-1759 there was a struggle between fleets for dominance in the Indian Ocean; On land, the French unsuccessfully besieged Madras. At the end of 1759 the French fleet left the Indian coast, and at the beginning of 1760 the French land forces were defeated at Vandiwash. In the autumn of 1760, the siege of Pondicherry began, and in early 1761 the capital of French India capitulated.
British landing in the Philippines
In 1762, the British East India Company, sending 13 ships and 6,830 soldiers, took possession of Manila, breaking the resistance of a small Spanish garrison of 600 people. The company also entered into an agreement with the Sultan of Sulu. However, the British failed to extend their power even into Luzon. After the end of the Seven Years' War, they left Manila in 1764, and in 1765 completed the evacuation from the Philippine Islands.
British occupation gave impetus to new anti-Spanish uprisings
Central American Theater of War
In 1762-1763, Havana was captured by the British, who introduced a free trade regime. At the end of the Seven Years' War, the island was returned to the Spanish crown, but now it was forced to soften the former harsh economic system. Cattle breeders and planters received greater opportunities in conducting foreign trade.
South American theater of war
European politics and the Seven Years' War. Chronological table
| Year, date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 2, 1746 | Union Treaty between Russia and Austria |
| 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 | The 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 | Subsidy Treaty between Prussia and England |
| April 13, 1758 | Subsidy treaty between Sweden and France |
| May 4, 1758 | Treaty of Union between France and Denmark |
| January 7, 1758 | Extension of the subsidy agreement between Prussia and England |
| January 30-31, 1758 | Subsidy Treaty between France and Austria |
| November 25, 1759 | Declaration of Prussia and England on the convening of a peace congress |
| April 1, 1760 | Extension of the union treaty between Russia and Austria |
| January 12, 1760 | Latest 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 negotiations 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 Elizaveta Petrovna |
| February 4, 1762 | Pact of Alliance between France and Spain |
| May 5, 1762 | Peace Treaty between Russia and Prussia in St. Petersburg |
| May 22, 1762 | Peace Treaty between Prussia and Sweden in Hamburg |
| June 19, 1762 | Treaty of Alliance between Russia and Prussia |
| June 28, 1762 | Coup in St. Petersburg, overthrow Peter III, the rise to power of Catherine II |
| February 10, 1763 | Treaty of Paris between England, France and Spain |
| February 15, 1763 | Treaty of Hubertusburg between Prussia, Austria and Saxony |
Military leaders of the Seven Years' War in Europe
Frederick II during the Seven Years' War
Commanders-in-Chief
Prussia
- Frederick the Great (1712-1786), who had the important advantage over all other commanders that he did not have to report to anyone
Austria
Prince of Lorraine
Seven Years' War 1756 - 1763 - received a variety of definitions in historical science. So Winston Churchill called it the forerunner of the First World War, for Austria it was the Third Silesian, the Swedes called it Pomeranian, in Canada - the Third Carnatic. It was a global conflict that covered various corners of the planet; many European states essentially fought in it. How Russia got involved in this war, and what role it played, read in this article.
Causes
In short, the causes of this war are colonial in nature. Colonial tensions existed between France and England mainly in North America, and because of the possessions of the English king on the continent. Also, Prussia and Austria competed for disputed territories. So, during the first two wars for Silesia, Prussia was able to chop off these lands for itself, which almost doubled its population.
Prussia, led by King Frederick II, after several centuries of fragmentation, began to lay claim to hegemony in Europe. Many people didn't like it. However, in the forerunner of the Seven Years' War, we can observe such a historical phenomenon as a coup of coalitions. This is when a seemingly understandable coalition falls apart and a new one is formed.
King of Prussia Frederick the Second the Great. Reign 1740 - 1786
It all happened like this. For Russia, Austria and England were long-time allies. And Russia opposed the strengthening of Prussia. Prussia was blockaded with France and England against Austria. King Frederick II asked England to influence Russia, of course, so as not to fight on two fronts. To this end, Prussia promised that it would protect English possessions on the continent in exchange for money.
A turning point that no one expected was the conclusion of a non-aggression treaty between England and Prussia. This caused a strong reaction in France, Austria and Russia. Ultimately, the following coalitions were formed: Austria, France, Russia and Saxony on the one hand, and Prussia and England on the other.
Thus, Russia was drawn into the Seven Years' War due to its own desires to stop the growth of Prussian influence in Europe. Schematically, this can be indicated as follows:
Progress of the battles
You should know that for the entire 18th century Russian army I have never suffered a single defeat! In the Seven Years' War she had no luck except with the commanders-in-chief. These were the main events and battles.
Field Marshal Stepan Fedorovich Apraksin
One of the key battles took place between Prussia and Russia in July 1757. The commander of the Russian troops was S.F. Apraksin, who did not particularly hide the fact that the Prussian king was his idol! As a result, despite the fact that the campaign began in May, the troops crossed the Prussian border only in July. The Prussians attacked and overtook the Russian army right on the march! Usually an attack on the march means victory for the attacker. But it was not there. Despite the complete lack of command on the part of Apraksin, the Russian army overthrew the Prussians. The battle ended in a decisive victory! Saltykov was tried and removed from command.
Count, General-in-Chief Willim Villimovich Fermor
The next major battle took place in 1958. The place of commander-in-chief of the Russian army was taken by V.V. Fermor. The battle between Russian and Prussian troops took place near the village of Zorndorf. Despite the fact that the commander fled from the battlefield altogether, the Russian army completely defeated the Prussians!
Field Marshal Pyotr Semenovich Saltykov
The last serious battle between the Russian and Prussian armies took place on August 12, 1759. The place of commander was taken by General P.S. Saltykov. The armies went head-to-head. Frederick decided to use the so-called oblique attack, when one of the attacking flanks is strongly strengthened and, as it were, sweeps away the enemy’s opposite flank obliquely, crashing into the main forces. The calculation is that the overturned flank will disorient the remaining troops and the initiative will be seized. But the Russian officers did not care what kind of attack Friedrich used. They still broke it!
Map of Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War
Miracle of the Brandenburg House - results
When the Kolberg fortress then fell, Frederick II was in real shock. He didn't know what to do. Several times the king tried to abdicate the throne, even tried to commit suicide. But at the end of 1761, the incredible happened. Elizaveta Petrovna died and ascended the throne.
The new Russian emperor signed the Treaty of St. Petersburg with Frederick, in which he completely renounced all Russian conquests in Prussia, including Königsberg. Moreover, Prussia was provided with a Russian corps for the war with Austria, Russia’s former ally!
Otherwise, it would be quite possible to count on the fact that Koenigsberg would become part of Russia in the 18th century, and not in 1945.
In fairness, it is worth saying how this war ended for the other warring parties, what were its results.
The Peace of Paris was concluded between England and France, according to which France ceded Canada and other lands in North America to England.
Prussia made peace with Austria and Silesia, which was called Hubertusburg. Prussia received disputed Silesia and the County of Glatz.
Best regards, Andrey Puchkov
Seven Years' War 1756-1763 was provoked by a clash of interests between Russia, France and Austria on the one hand and Portugal, Prussia and England (in union with Hanover) on the other. Each of the states that entered the war, of course, pursued its own goals. Thus, Russia tried to strengthen its influence in the West.
The war began with the battle of the fleets of England and France near the Balearic Islands on May 19, 1756. It ended in victory for the French. Ground operations began later - on August 28. An army under the command of the Prussian king Frederick 2 invaded the lands of Saxony, and later began the siege of Prague. At the same time, the French army occupied Hanover.
Russia entered the war in 1757. In August, the Russian army suffered heavy losses, but won the Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf, opening the way to East Prussia. However, Field Marshal General Apraksin, who commanded the troops, learned about the illness of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Believing that her heir, Pyotr Fedorovich, would soon take the throne, he began withdrawing troops to the Russian border. Later, declaring such actions treason, the empress brought Apraksin to trial. Fremor took his place as commander. In 1758, the territory of East Prussia was annexed into Russia.
Further events of the Seven Years' War are brief: the victories won in 1757 by the Prussian army under the command of Frederick 2 in 1769 were reduced to zero thanks to the successful actions of Russian-Austrian troops during the Battle of Kunersdorf. By 1761, Prussia was on the verge of defeat. But in 1762, Empress Elizabeth died. Peter III, who ascended the throne, was a supporter of rapprochement with Prussia. Preliminary peace negotiations held in the fall of 1762 ended with the conclusion of the Paris Peace Treaty on January 30, 1763. This day is officially considered the date of the end of the seven-year war.
With the exception of military experience, Russia gained nothing as a result of this war. France - lost Canada and most of its overseas possessions, Austria lost all rights to Silesia and the County of Galtz. The balance of power in Europe has completely changed.
Brief biography of Catherine 2
The German princess Sophia Frederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerpt was born on April 21, 1729. Her family was not rich and the princess received only a home education, which shaped the personality of Catherine 2, the future Russian empress. In 1744, an event occurred that determined not only the further biography of Catherine 2, but also, in many ways, the fate of Russia. Princess Sophia Augusta was chosen as the bride of the heir to the Russian throne, Peter III. By invitation Elizaveta Petrovna she arrived at the court. And, treating Russia as her second homeland, she actively engaged in self-education, studying the language, culture, and history of the country in which she was to live.
In 1744, on June 24, she was baptized into Orthodoxy under the name of Ekaterina Alekseevna. Wedding ceremony with Peter 3 took place on August 21, 1745. But the husband did not pay much attention to his young wife. And Catherine’s only entertainment was balls, masquerades and hunting. In 1754, on September 20, Catherine gave birth to a son, the future emperor Pavel 1, but the child was immediately taken away from her. Relations with the Empress and Peter 3 deteriorated noticeably. Peter 3 had mistresses, and Catherine herself entered into a relationship with the future Polish king Stanislav Poniatowski.
Daughter Anna, born on December 9, 1758, was not accepted by her husband, since Peter 3 had serious doubts about the paternity of the child. By that time, Empress Elizabeth had become seriously ill. Catherine’s secret correspondence with the Austrian ambassador was also revealed. The fate of Catherine the Great could have turned out completely differently if not for the support of her associates and favorites with whom the wife of Peter 3 surrounded herself.
Peter 3 ascended the throne in 1761 after the death of Elizabeth. Catherine was immediately moved away from the marital quarters, which were occupied by her mistress. Having become pregnant by G. Orlov, she was forced to hide her situation. Her son Alexei was born in the strictest secrecy.
Internal and foreign policy Peter 3 caused growing discontent. Intelligent and active Catherine looked much more profitable against the background of such “deeds” of Peter as the return of lands seized during the Seven Years' War to Prussia. A conspiracy formed in the circle of Peter 3. Catherine's supporters persuaded the guards units to take part in the conspiracy. They took the oath to the future empress in St. Petersburg on June 28, 1762. The next day, Peter 3 was forced to abdicate in favor of his wife and was arrested. Soon after this he was killed. Thus began the reign of Catherine 2, called by historians the Golden Age of the Russian Empire.
The domestic policy of Catherine II was determined by the Russian Empress's commitment to the ideas of the Enlightenment. It was during the period called the enlightened absolutism of Catherine II that the bureaucratic apparatus was strengthened, the management system was unified, and the autocracy was strengthened. In order to carry out comprehensive and useful reforms for the country, Catherine 2 convened the Statutory Commission, which included deputies from the nobility, townspeople and rural population. But it was not possible to avoid internal political problems, and the largest of them was the peasant war led by Emelyan Pugacheva 1773 – 1775.
The foreign policy of Catherine 2 was quite energetic and very successful. The Empress sought to secure the southern borders of the country from the claims of Turkey. Perhaps it was in Turkish companies that the interests of the Russian Empire clashed most sharply with the interests of France and England. The second most important task for Tsarina Catherine 2 was the annexation of the lands of Belarus and Ukraine to the territory of the empire, which she achieved with the help of the divisions of Poland, carried out jointly by both Austria and Prussia. It is also worth noting the decree of Catherine 2 on the liquidation of the Zaporozhye Sich.
The period of reign of Empress Catherine 2 the Great was long and lasted from 1762 to 1796. It was based on the philosophy of the Enlightenment. There is information that Catherine was thinking about the abolition of serfdom, but she never decided on such large-scale changes. During the era of Catherine 2, the Hermitage and the Public Library, the Smolny Institute and pedagogical schools in Moscow and St. Petersburg were created. It was during this period that the foundations of civil society in Russia were laid. The death of Catherine 2 occurred from a cerebral hemorrhage that occurred on November 5, 1796. The Empress died the next day, November 6. Her son, Paul 1, ascended the Russian throne.