Chapter XXIX: Front Matter (29)

"While . . . a portion of the French troops, under the command
of the Count de Segur, was left in Upper Austria, the
remainder of the allied army turned towards Bohemia; where
they were joined by a body of Saxons, under the command of
Count Rutowsky. They took Prague by assault, on the night of
the 25th of November, while the Grand Duke of Tuscany, the
husband of Maria Theresa, was marching to his relief. In
Prague, 3,000 prisoners were taken. The elector of Bavaria
hastened there, upon hearing of the success of his arms, was
crowned King of Bohemia, during the month of December, and
received the oath of fidelity from the constituted
authorities. But while he was thus employed, the Austrian
general, Khevenhuller, had driven the Count de Segur out of
Austria, and had himself entered Bavaria; which obliged the
Bavarian army to abandon Bohemia and hasten to the defence of
their own country."

_Lord Dover, Life of Frederick II.,
book 2, chapter 2 (volume 1)._

ALSO IN: _Frederick II., History of My Own Times
(Posthumous Works, volume 1, chapter 5)._

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1741 (October).
Secret Treaty with Frederick.
Lower Silesia conceded to him.
Austrian success.

"By October, 1741, the fortunes of Maria Theresa had sunk to
the lowest ebb, but a great revulsion speedily set in. The
martial enthusiasm of the Hungarians, the subsidy from
England, and the brilliant military talents of General
Khevenhuller, restored her armies. Vienna was put in a state
of defence, and at the same time jealousies and suspicion made
their way among the confederates. The Electors of Bavaria and
Saxony were already in some degree divided; and the Germans,
and especially Frederick, were alarmed by the growing
ascendency, and irritated by the haughty demeanour of the
French. In the moment of her extreme depression, the Queen
consented to a concession which England had vainly urged upon
her before, and which laid the foundation of her future
success. In October 1741 she entered into a secret convention
with Frederick [called the convention of Ober-Schnellendorf],
by which that astute sovereign agreed to desert his allies,
and desist from hostilities, on condition of ultimately
obtaining Lower Silesia, with Breslau and Neisse. Every
precaution was taken to ensure secrecy. It was arranged that
Frederick should continue to besiege Neisse, that the town
should ultimately be surrendered to him, and that his troops
should then retire into winter quarters, and take no further
part in the war. As the sacrifice of a few more lives was
perfectly indifferent to the contracting parties, and in order
that no one should suspect the treachery that was
contemplated, Neisse, after the arrangement had been made for
its surrender, was subjected for four days and four nights to
the horrors of bombardment. Frederick, at the same time
talked, with his usual cynical frankness, to the English
ambassador about the best way of attacking his allies the
French; and observed, that if the Queen of Hungary prospered,
he would perhaps support her, if not--everyone must look for
himself. He only assented verbally to this convention, and, no
doubt, resolved to await the course of events, in order to
decide which Power it was his interest finally to betray; but
in the meantime the Austrians obtained a respite, which
enabled them to throw their whole forces upon their other
enemies. Two brilliant campaigns followed. The greater part of
Bohemia was recovered by an army under the Duke of Lorraine,
and the French were hemmed in at Prague; while another army,
under General Khevenhuller, invaded Upper Austria, drove
10,000 French soldiers within the walls of Linz, blockaded
them, defeated a body of Bohemians who were sent to the
rescue, compelled the whole French army to surrender, and
then, crossing the frontier, poured in a resistless torrent
over Bavaria. The fairest plains of that beautiful land were
desolated by hosts of irregular troops from Hungary, Croatia,
and the Tyrol; and on the 12th of February the Austrians
marched in triumph into Munich. On that very day the Elector
of Bavaria was crowned Emperor of Germany, at Frankfort, under
the title of Charles VII., and the imperial crown was thus, for
the first time, for many generations, separated from the House
of Austria."

_W. E. H. Lecky, History of England, 18th Century,
chapter 3 (volume 1)._

ALSO IN:
_F. Von Raumer, Contributions to Modern History:
Frederick II. and his Times, chapter 13-14._

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1741-1743.
Successes in Italy.

See ITALY: A. D. 1741-1743.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1742 (January-May).
Frederick breaks faith again.
Battle of Chotusitz.

"The Queen of Hungary had assembled in the beginning of the
year two considerable armies in Moravia and Bohemia, the one
under Prince Lobkowitz, to defend the former province, and the
other commanded by Prince Charles of Lorraine, her
brother-in-law. This young Prince possessed as much bravery
and activity as Frederick, and had equally with him the talent
of inspiring attachment and confidence. ... Frederick, alarmed
at these preparations and the progress of the Austrians in
Bavaria, abruptly broke off the convention of
Ober-Schnellendorf, and recommenced hostilities. ... The King
of Prussia became apprehensive that the Queen of Hungary would
again turn her arms to recover Silesia. He therefore
dispatched Marshal Schwerin to seize Olmutz and lay siege to
Glatz, which surrendered after a desperate resistance on the
9th of January. Soon after this event, the King rejoined his
army, and endeavoured to drive the Austrians from their
advantageous position in the southern parts of Bohemia, which
would have delivered the French troops in the neighbourhood
and checked the progress of Khevenhüller in Bavaria.
{217}
The king advanced to Iglau, on the frontiers of Bohemia, and,
occupying the banks of the Taya, made irruptions into Upper
Austria, his hussars spreading terror even to the gates of
Vienna. The Austrians drew from Bavaria a corps of 10,000 men
to cover the capital, while Prince Charles of Lorraine, at the
head of 50,000 men, threatened the Prussian magazines in Upper
Silesia, and by this movement compelled Frederick to detach a
considerable force for their protection, and to evacuate
Moravia, which he had invaded. Broglie, who commanded the
French forces in that country, must now have fallen a
sacrifice, had not the ever-active King of Prussia brought up
30,000 men, which, under the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, entering
Bohemia, came up with Prince Charles at Czaslau, about
thirty-five miles from Prague, before he could form a junction
with Prince Lobkowitz. Upon this ensued [May 17, 1742] what is
known in history as the battle of Czaslau [also, and more
commonly, called the battle of Chotusitz]. ... The numbers in
the two armies were nearly equal, and the action was warmly
contested on both sides. ... The Prussians remained masters of
the field, with 18 cannon, two pairs of colours and 1,200
prisoners; but they indeed paid dearly for the honour, for it
was computed that their loss was equal to that of their enemy,
which amounted to 7,000 men on either side; while the Prussian
cavalry, under Field-Marshal Buddenbroch, was nearly ruined.
... Although in this battle the victory was, without doubt, on
the side of the Prussians, yet the immediate consequences were
highly favourable to the Queen of Hungary. The King was
disappointed of his expected advantages, and conceived a
disgust to the war. He now lowered his demands and made
overtures of accommodation, which, on the 11th of June,
resulted in a treaty of peace between the two crowns, which
was signed at Breslau under the mediation of the British
Ambassador."

_Sir E. Cust, Annals of the Wars of the 18th Century,
volume 2, page 19._

ALSO IN: _T. Carlyle, History of Friedrich II. of
Prussia, book 13, chapter 13 (volume 5)._

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1742 (June).
Treaty of Breslau with the King of Prussia.

"The following are the preliminary articles which were signed
at Breslau: 1. The queen of Hungary ceded to the king of
Prussia Upper and Lower Silesia, with the principality of
Glatz; except the towns of Troppau, Jaegendorff and the high
mountains situated beyond the Oppa. 2. The Prussians undertook
to repay the English 1,700,000 crowns; which sum was a
mortgage loan on Silesia. The remaining articles related to a
suspension of arms, an exchange of prisoners, and the freedom
of religion and trade. Thus was Silesia united to the Prussian
States. Two years were sufficient for the conquest of that
important province. The treasures which the late king had left
were almost expended; but provinces that do not cost more than
seven or eight millions are cheaply purchased."

_Frederic II., History of My Own Times (Posthumous Works,
volume 1), chapter 6._

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1742 (June-December).
Expulsion of the French from Bohemia.
Belleisle's retreat from Prague.

"The Austrian arms began now to be successful in all quarters.
Just before the signature of the preliminaries, Prince
Lobcowitz, who was stationed at Budweiss with 10,000 men, made
an attack on Frauenberg; Broglio and Belleisle advanced from
Piseck to relieve the town, and a combat took place at Sahay,
in which the Austrians were repulsed with the loss of 500 men.
This trifling affair was magnified into a decisive victory.
... Marshal Broglio, elated with this advantage, and relying
on the immediate junction of the King of Prussia, remained at
Frauenberg in perfect security. But his expectations were
disappointed; Frederic had already commenced his secret
negotiations, and Prince Charles was enabled to turn his
forces against the French. Being joined by Prince Lobcowitz,
they attacked Broglio, and compelled him to quit Frauenberg
with such precipitation that his baggage fell into the hands
of the light troops, and the French retreated towards Branau,
harassed by the Croats and other irregulars. ... The
Austrians, pursuing their success against the French, drove
Broglio from Branau, and followed him to the walls of Prague,
where he found Belleisle. ... After several consultations, the
two generals called in their posts, and secured their army
partly within the walls and partly within a peninsula of the
Moldau. ... Soon afterwards the duke of Lorraine joined the
army [of Prince Charles], which now amounted to 70 70,000 men,
and the arrival of the heavy artillery enabled the Austrians to
commence the siege."

_W. Coxe, History of the House of Austria,
chapter 102 (volume 3)._

"To relieve the French at Prague, Marshal Maillebois was
directed to advance with his army from Westphalia. At these
tidings Prince Charles changed the siege of Prague to a
blockade, and marching against his new opponents, checked
their progress on the Bohemian frontier; the French, however,
still occupying the town of Egra. It was under these
circumstances that Belleisle made his masterly and renowned
retreat from Prague. In the night of the 16th of December, he
secretly left the city at the head of 11,000 foot and 3,000
horse, having deceived the Austrians' vigilance by the feint
of a general forage in the opposite quarter; and pushed for
Egra through a hostile country, destitute of resources and
surrounded by superior enemies. His soldiers, with no other
food than frozen bread, and compelled to sleep without
covering on the snow and ice, perished in great numbers; but
the gallant spirit of Belleisle triumphed over every obstacle;
he struck through morasses almost untrodden before, offered
battle to Prince Lobkowitz, who, however, declined engaging,
and at length succeeded in reaching the other French army with
the flower of his own. The remnant left at Prague, and
amounting only to 6,000 men, seemed an easy prey; yet their
threat of firing the city, and perishing beneath its ruins,
and the recent proof of what despair can do, obtained for them
honourable terms, and the permission of rejoining their
comrades at Egra. But in spite of all this skill and courage
in the French invaders, the final result to them was failure;
nor had they attained a single permanent advantage beyond
their own safety in retreat. Maillebois and De Broglie took up
winter quarters in Bavaria, while Belleisle led back his
division across the Rhine; and it was computed that, of the
35,000 men whom he had first conducted into Germany, not more
than 8,000 returned beneath his banner."

_Lord Mahon (Earl Stanhope), History of England,
1713-1783, chapter 24 (volume 3)_.

"Thus, at the termination of the campaign, all Bohemia was
regained, except Egra; and on the 12th of May, 1743, Maria
Theresa was soon afterwards crowned at Prague, to the recovery
of which, says her great rival, her firmness had more
contributed than the force of her arms. The only reverse which
the Austrians experienced in the midst of their successes was
the temporary loss of Bavaria, which, on the retreat of
Kevenhuller, was occupied by marshal Seckendorf; and the
Emperor made his entry into Munich on the 2d of October."

_W. Coxe, History of the House of Austria,
chapter 103 (volume 3)._

{218}

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1743.
England drawn into the conflict.
The Pragmatic Army.
The Battle of Dettingen.

"The cause of Maria Theresa had begun to excite a remarkable
enthusiasm in England. ... The convention of neutrality
entered into by George II. in September 1741, and the
extortion of his vote for the Elector of Bavaria, properly
concerned that prince only as Elector of Hanover; yet, as he
was also King of England, they were felt as a disgrace by the
English people. The elections of that year went against
Walpole, and in February 1742 he found himself compelled to
resign. He was succeeded in the administration by Pulteney,
Earl of Bath, though Lord Carteret was virtually prime
minister. Carteret was an ardent supporter of the cause of
Maria Theresa. His accession to office was immediately
followed by a large increase of the army and navy; five
millions were voted for carrying on the war, and a subsidy of
£500,000 for the Queen of Hungary. The Earl of Stair, with an
army of 16,000 men, afterwards reinforced by a large body of
Hanoverians and Hessians in British pay, was despatched into
the Netherlands to cooperate with the Dutch. But though the
States-General, at the instance of the British Cabinet, voted
Maria Theresa a subsidy, they were not yet prepared to take an
active part in a war which might ultimately involve them in
hostilities with France. The exertions of the English ministry
in favour of the Queen of Hungary had therefore been confined
during the year 1742 to diplomacy, and they had helped to
bring about ... the Peace of Breslau. In 1743 they were able
to do more," In April, 1743, the Emperor, Charles VII.,
regained possession of Bavaria and returned to Munich, but
only to be driven out again by the Austrians in June. The
Bavarians were badly beaten at Simpach (May 9), and Munich was
taken (June 12) after a short bombardment. "Charles VII. was
now again obliged to fly, and took refuge at Augsburg. At his
command, Seckendorf [his general] made a convention with the
Austrians at the village of Niederschönfeld, by which he
agreed to abandon to them Bavaria, on condition that Charles's
troops should be allowed to occupy unmolested quarters between
Franconia and Suabia. Maria Theresa seemed at first indisposed
to ratify even terms so humiliating to the Emperor. She had
become perhaps a little too much exalted by the rapid turn of
fortune. She had caused herself to be crowned in Prague. She
had received the homage of the Austrians, and entered Vienna
in a sort of triumph. She now dreamt of nothing less than
conquering Lorraine for herself, Alsace for the Empire; of
hurling Charles VII. from the Imperial throne, and placing on
it her own consort." She was persuaded, however, to consent at
length to the terms of the Niederschönfeld convention.
"Meanwhile the allied army of English and Germans, under the
Earl of Stair, nearly 40,000 strong, which, from its destined
object, had assumed the name of the 'Pragmatic Army,' had
crossed the Meuse and the Rhine in March and April, with a
view to cut off the army of Bavaria from France. George II.
had not concealed his intention of breaking the Treaty of
Hanover of 1741, alleging as a ground that the duration of the
neutrality stipulated in it had not been determined; and on
June 19th he had joined the army in person. He found it in a
most critical position. Lord Stair, who had never
distinguished himself as a general, and was now falling into
dotage, had led it into a narrow valley near Aschaffenburg,
between Mount Spessart and the river Main; while Marshal
Noailles [commanding the French], who had crossed the Rhine
towards the end of April, by seizing the principal fords of
the Main, both above and below the British position, had cut
him off both from his magazines at Hanau, and from the
supplies which he had expected to procure in Franconia.
Nothing remained but for him to fight his way back to Hanau."
In the battle of Dettingen, which followed (June 27), all the
advantages of the French in position were thrown away by the
ignorant impetuosity of the king's nephew, the Duke of
Grammont, who commanded one division, and they suffered a
severe defeat. "The French are said to have lost 6,000 men and
the British half that number. It is the last action in which a
king of England has fought in person. But George II., or
rather Lord Stair, did not know how to profit by his victory.
Although the Pragmatic Army was joined after the battle of
Dettingen by 15,000 Dutch troops, under Prince Maurice of
Nassau, nothing of importance was done during the remainder of
the campaign."

_T. H. Dyer, History of Modern Europe,
book 6, chapter 4 (volume 3)._

ALSO IN:
_W. Coxe, History of the House of Austria,
chapter 104 (volume 3)._

_Sir E. Cust, Annals of the Wars of the 18th Century,
volume 2, pages 30-36._

_Lord Mahon (Earl Stanhope), History of England,
1713-1783, chapter 25 (volume 3)._

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1743.
Treaty of Worms with Sardinia and England.

See ITALY: A. D. 1743.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1743 (October).
The Second Bourbon Family Compact.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1743 (OCTOBER).

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1743-1744.
The Prussian King strikes in again.
The Union of Frankfort.
Siege and capture of Prague.

"Everywhere Austria was successful, and Frederick had reason
to fear for himself unless the tide of conquest could be
stayed. He explains in the 'Histoire de Mon Temps' that he
feared lest France should abandon the cause of the Emperor,
which would mean that the Austrians, who now boldly spoke of
compensation for the war, would turn their arms against
himself. ... France was trembling, not for her conquests, but
for her own territory. After the battle of Dettingen, the
victorious Anglo-Hanoverian force was to cross the Rhine above
Mayence and march into Alsace, while Prince Charles of
Lorraine, with a strong Austrian army, was to pass near Basle
and occupy Lorraine, taking up his winter quarters in Burgundy
and Champagne. The English crossed without any check and moved
on to Worms, but the Austrians failed in their attempt. Worms
became a centre of intrigue, which Frederick afterwards called
'Cette abyme de mauvaisc fol.' The Dutch were persuaded by
Lord Carteret to join the English, and they did at last send
14,000 men, who were never of the least use.
{219}
Lord Carteret also detached Charles Emanuel, King of Sardinia,
from his French leanings, and persuaded him to enter into the
Austro-English alliance [by the treaty of Worms, Sept. 13,
1743, which conceded to the King of Sardinia Finale, the city
of Placentia, with some other small districts and gave him
command of the allied forces in Italy]. It was clear that
action could not be long postponed, and Frederick began to
recognize the necessity of a new war. His first anxiety was to
guard himself against interference from his northern and
eastern neighbours. He secured, as he hoped, the neutrality of
Russia by marrying the young princess of Anhalt-Zerbst,
afterwards the notorious Empress Catherine, with the
Grand-Duke Peter of Russia, nephew and heir to the reigning
Empress Elizabeth. ... Thus strengthened, as he hoped, in his
rear and flank, and having made the commencement of a German
league called the Union of Frankfurt, by which Hesse and the
Palatinate agreed to join Frederick and the Kaiser, he
concluded on the 5th of June, 1744, a treaty which brought
France also into this alliance. It was secretly agreed that
Frederick was to invade Bohemia, conquer it for the Kaiser,
and have the districts of Königgrätz, Bunzlau, and Leitmeritz
to repay him for his trouble and costs; while France, which
was all this time at war with Austria and England, should send
an army against Prince Charles and the English. ... The first
stroke of the coming war was delivered by France. Louis XV.
sent a large army into the Netherlands under two good leaders,
Noailles and Maurice de Saxe. Urged by his mistress, the
Duchesse de Châteauroux, he joined it himself early, and took
the nominal command early in June. ... The towns [Menin,
Ypres, Fort Knoque, Furnes] rapidly fell before him, and
Marshal Wade, with the Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army, sat still
and looked at the success of the French. But on the night of
the 30th June--1st July, Prince Charles crossed the Rhine by
an operation which is worth the study of military students,
and invaded Alsace, the French army of observation falling
back before him. Louis XV. hurried back to interpose between
the Austrians and Paris. ... Maurice de Saxe was left in the
Netherlands with 45,000 men. Thus the French army was
paralysed, and the Austrian army in its turn was actually
invading France. At this time Frederick struck in. He sent
word to the King that, though all the terms of their
arrangement had not yet been fulfilled, he would at once
invade Bohemia, and deliver a stroke against Prague which
would certainly cause the retreat of Prince Charles with his
70,000 men. If the French army would follow Prince Charles in
his retreat, Frederick would attack him, and between France
and Prussia the Austrian army would certainly be crushed, and
Vienna be at their mercy. This was no doubt an excellent plan
of campaign, but, like the previous operations concerted with
Broglio, it depended for success upon the good faith of the
French, and this turned out to be a broken reed. On the 7th of
August the Prussian ambassador at Vienna gave notice of the
Union of Frankfurt and withdrew from the court of Austria; and
on the 15th the Prussian army was put in march upon Prague
[opening what is called the Second Silesian War]. Frederick's
forces moved in three columns, the total strength being over
80,000. ... Maria Theresa was now again in great danger, but
as usual retained her high courage, and once more called forth
the enthusiasm of her Hungarian subjects, who sent swarms of
wild troops, horse and foot, to the seat of war. ... On the
1st of September the three columns met before Prague, which
had better defences than in the last campaign, and a garrison
of some 16,000 men. ... During the night of the 9th the
bombardment commenced ... and on the 16th the garrison
surrendered. Thus, one month after the commencement of the
march Prague was captured, and the campaign opened with a
brilliant feat of arms."

_Colonel C. B. Brackenbury, Frederick the Great, chapter 7._

ALSO IN:
_W. Russell, History of Modern Europe, part 2, letter 28._

_F. Von Raumer, Contributions to Modern History:
Frederick II. and his Times, chapter 17-19._

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1744-1745.
Frederick's retreat and fresh triumph.
Austria recovers the imperial crown.
Saxony subdued.
The Peace of Dresden.

After the reduction of Prague, Frederick, "in deference to the
opinion of Marshal Belleisle, but against his own judgment,
advanced into the south of Bohemia with the view of
threatening Vienna. He thus exposed himself to the risk of
being cut off from Prague. Yet even so he would probably have
been able to maintain himself if the French had fulfilled
their engagements. But while he was conquering the districts
of the Upper Moldau, the Austrian army returned unimpaired
from Alsace. The French had allowed it to cross the Rhine
unmolested, and had not made the slightest attempt to harass
its retreat [but applied themselves to the siege and capture
of Freiburg]. They were only too glad to get rid of it
themselves. In the ensuing operations Frederick was completely
outmanoeuvred. Traun [the Austrian general], without risking a
battle, forced him back towards the Silesian frontier. He had
to choose between abandoning Prague and abandoning his
communications with Silesia, and as the Saxons had cut off his
retreat through the Electorate, there was really no choice in
the matter. So he fell back on Silesia, abandoning Prague and
his heavy artillery. The retreat was attended with
considerable loss. Frederick was much struck with the skill
displayed by Traun, and says, in his 'Histoire de mon Temps,'
that he regarded this campaign as his school in the art of war
and M. de Traun as his teacher. The campaign may have been an
excellent lesson in the art of war, but in other respects it
was very disastrous to Frederick. He had drawn upon himself
the whole power of Austria, and had learnt how little the
French were to be depended upon. His prestige was dimmed by
failure, and even in his own army doubts were entertained of
his capacity. But, bad as his position already was, it became
far worse when the unhappy Emperor died [January 20, 1745], worn
out with disease and calamity. This event put an end to the
Union of Frankfort. Frederick could no longer claim to be
acting in defence of his oppressed sovereign; the ground was
cut from under his feet. Nor was there any longer much hope of
preventing the Imperial Crown from reverting to Austria. The
new Elector of Bavaria was a mere boy. In this altered state
of affairs he sought to make peace. But Maria Theresa would
not let him off so easily.
{220}
In order that she might use all her forces against him, she
granted peace to Bavaria, and gave back to the young elector
his hereditary dominions, on condition of his resigning all
claim to hers and promising to vote for her husband as
Emperor. While Frederick thus lost a friend in Bavaria, Saxony
threw herself completely into the arms of his enemy, and
united with Austria in a treaty [May 18] which had for its
object, not the reconquest of Silesia merely, but the
partition of Prussia and the reduction of the king to his
ancient limits as Margrave of Brandenburg. Saxony was then
much larger than it is now, but it was not only the number of
troops it could send into the field that made its hostility
dangerous. It was partly the geographical position of the
country, which made it an excellent base for operations
against Prussia, but still more the alliance that was known to
subsist between the Elector (King Augustus III. of Poland) and
the Russian Court. It was probable that a Prussian invasion of
Saxony would be followed by a Russian invasion of Prussia.
Towards the end of May, the Austrian and Saxon army, 75,000
strong, crossed the Giant Mountains and descended upon
Silesia. The Austrians were again commanded by Prince Charles,
but the wise head of Traun was no longer there to guide him.
... The encounter took place at Hohenfriedberg [June 5], and
resulted in a complete victory for Prussia. The Austrians and
Saxons lost 9,000 killed and wounded, and 7,000 prisoners,
besides 66 cannons and 73 flags and standards. Four days after
the battle they were back again in Bohemia. Frederick
followed, not with the intention of attacking them again, but
in order to eat the country bare, so that it might afford no
sustenance to the enemy during the winter. For his own part he
was really anxious for peace. His resources were all but
exhausted, while Austria was fed by a constant stream of
English subsidies. As in the former war, England interposed
with her good offices, but without effect; Maria Theresa was
by no means disheartened by her defeat, and refused to hear of
peace till she had tried the chances of battle once more. On
Sept. 13 her husband was elected Emperor by seven votes out of
nine, the dissentients being the King of Prussia and the
Elector Palatine. This event raised the spirits of the
Empress-Queen, as Maria Theresa was henceforward called, and
opened a wider field for her ambition. She sent peremptory
orders to Prince Charles to attack Frederick before he retired
from Bohemia. A battle was accordingly fought at Sohr [Sept.
30], and again victory rested with the Prussians. The season
was now far advanced, and Frederick returned home expecting
that there would be no more fighting till after the winter.
Such however, was far from being the intention of his
enemies." A plan for the invasion of Brandenburg by three
Austrian and Saxon armies simultaneously, was secretly
concerted; but Frederick had timely warning of it and it was
frustrated by his activity and energy. On the 23d of November
he surprised and defeated Prince Charles at Hennersdorf. "Some
three weeks afterwards [Dec. 15] the Prince of Dessau defeated
a second Saxon and Austrian army at Kesselsdorf, a few miles
from Dresden. This victory completed the subjugation of Saxony
and put an end to the war. Three days after Kesselsdorf,
Frederick entered Dresden, and astonished everyone by the
graciousness of his behaviour and by the moderation of his
terms. From Saxony he exacted no cession of territory, but
merely a contribution of 1,000,000 thalers (£150,000) towards
the expenses of the war. From Austria he demanded a guarantee
of the treaty of Breslau, in return for which he agreed to
recognize Francis as Emperor. Peace was signed [at Dresden] on
Christmas Day."

_F. W. Longman, Frederick the Great and the Seven Years
War, chapter 5._

ALSO IN:
_T. Carlyle, History of Frederick II.,
book 15, chapter 3-15 (volume 4)._

_Lord Dover, Life of Frederick II.,
book 2, chapter 3-5 (volume 1)._

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1745.
Overwhelming disasters in Italy.

See ITALY: A. D. 1745.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1745 (May).
Reverses in the Netherlands.
Battle of Fontenoy.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1745.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1745 (September-October).
The Consort of Maria Theresa elected and crowned Emperor.
Rise of the new House of Hapsburg-Lorraine.

Francis of Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany and husband of
Maria Theresa, was elected Emperor, at Frankfort, Sept. 13,
1745, and crowned Oct. 1, with the title of Francis I. "Thus
the Empire returned to the New House of Austria, that of
Hapsburg-Lorraine, and France had missed the principal object
for which she had gone to war." By the treaties signed at
Dresden, Dec. 25, between Prussia, Austria and Saxony,
Frederick, as Elector of Brandenburg, assented to and
recognized the election of Francis, against which he and the
Elector Palatine had previously protested.

_T. H. Dyer, History of Modern Europe,
book 6, chapter 4 (volume 3)._

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1746-1747.
Further French conquests in the Netherlands.
Lombardy recovered.
Genoa won and lost.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1746-1747;
and ITALY; A. D. 1746-1747.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1748 (October).
Termination and results of the War of the Succession.

See AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, THE CONGRESS OF.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1755-1763.
The Seven Years War.

Since the conquest of Silesia by Frederick the Great of
Prussia, "he had cast off all reserve. In his extraordinary
Court at Potsdam this man of wit and war laughed at God, and
at his brother philosophers and sovereigns; he ill-treated
Voltaire, the chief organ of the new opinions; he wounded
kings and queens with his epigrams; he believed neither in the
beauty of Madam de Pompadour nor in the poetical genius of
the Abbé Bernis, Prime Minister of France. The Empress thought
the moment favourable for the recovery of Silesia; she stirred
up Europe, especially the queens; she persuaded the Queen of
Poland and the Empress of Russia; she paid court to the
mistress of Louis XV. The monstrous alliance of France with
the ancient state of Austria against a sovereign who
maintained the equilibrium of Germany united all Europe
against him. England alone supported him and gave him
subsidies. She was governed at that time by a gouty lawyer,
the famous William Pitt, afterwards Lord Chatham, who raised
himself by his eloquence and by his hatred of the French.
England wanted two things; the maintenance of the balance of power
in Europe, and the destruction of the French and Spanish colonies.
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Her griefs were serious; the Spaniards had ill-treated her
smugglers and the French wanted to prevent her from settling
on their territory in Canada. In India, La Bourdonnaie and his
successor Dupleix threatened to found a great empire in the
face of the English. As a declaration of war the English
confiscated 300 French ships (1756). The marvel of the war was
to see this little kingdom of Prussia, interposed between the
huge powers of Austria, France, and Russia, run from one to
the other, and defy them all. This was the second period of
the art of war. The unskillful adversaries of Frederick
thought that he owed all his success to the precision of the
manœuvres of the Prussian soldiers, to their excellent drill
and rapid firing. Frederick had certainly carried the soldier
machine to perfection. This was capable of imitation: the Czar
Peter III. and the Count of St. Germin created military
automatons by means of the lash. But they could not imitate
the quickness of his manœuvres; the happy arrangement of his
marches, which gave him great facility for moving and
concentrating large masses, and directing them on the weak
points of the enemy. In this terrible chase given by the large
unwieldy armies of the allies to the agile Prussians, one
cannot help noticing the amusing circumspection of the
Austrian tacticians and the stupid folly of the fine gentlemen
who led the armies of France. The Fabius of Austria, the sage
and heavy Daun, was satisfied with a war of positions; he
could not find encampments strong enough or mountains
sufficiently inaccessible; his stationary troops were always
beaten by Frederick. To begin with, he freed himself from the
enmity of Saxony. He did not hurt, he only disarmed her. He
struck his next blow in Bohemia. Repulsed by the Austrians,
and abandoned by the English army, which determined at
Kloster-seven to fight no more, threatened by the Russians,
who were victorious at Joegerndorf, he passed into Saxony and
found the French and Imperialists combined there. Prussia was
surrounded by four armies. Frederick fancied himself lost and
determined on suicide. He wrote to his sister and to d'Argens
announcing his intention. There was only one thing which
frightened him: it was, that when once he was dead the great
distributor of glory--Voltaire--might make free with his
name: he wrote an epistle to disarm him. ... Having written
this epistle he defeated the enemy at Rosbach. The Prince of
Soubise, who thought that he fled, set off rashly in pursuit;
then the Prussians unmasked their batteries, killed 3,000 men,
and took 7,000 prisoners. In the French camp were found an
army of cooks, actors, hair-dressers; a number of parrots,
parasols, and huge cases of lavender-water, &c. (1757). None
but a tactician could follow the King of Prussia in this
series of brilliant and skillful battles. The Seven Years'
War, however varied its incidents, was a political and
strategical war: it has not the interest of the wars for
ideas, the struggles for religion and for freedom of the 16th
century and of our own time. The defeat of Rosbach was
followed by another at Crevelt, and by great reverses balanced
by small advantages; the total ruin of the French navy and
colonies; the English masters of the ocean and conquerors of
India; the exhaustion and humiliation of old Europe in the
presence of young Prussia. This is the history of the Seven
Years War. It was terminated under the ministry of the Duke of
Choiseul," by the Peace of Hubertsburg and the Peace of Paris.

_J. Michelet, A Summary of Modern History, pages 300-302._

See
GERMANY: A. D. 1755-1756, to 1763;
and, also, SEVEN YEARS' WAR.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1772-1773.
The First Partition of Poland.

See POLAND: A. D. 1763-1773.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1777-1779.
The question of the Bavarian Succession.

See BAVARIA: A. D. 1777-1779.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1782-1811.
Abolition of Serfdom.

See SLAVERY, MEDIÆVAL: GERMANY.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1787-1791.
War with the Turks.
Treaty of Sistova.
Slight Acquisitions of Territory.

See TURKS: A. D. 1776-1792.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1790-1797.
Death of Joseph II. and Leopold II.
Accession of Francis II.
The Coalition against and war with revolutionary France, to
the Peace of Campo Formio.

"It is a mistake to imagine that the European Powers attacked
the Revolution in France. It was the Revolution which attacked
them. The diplomatists of the 18th century viewed at first
with cynical indifference the meeting of the States-General at
Versailles. ... The two points which occupied the attention of
Europe in 1789 were the condition of Poland and the troubles
in the East. The ambitious designs of Catherine and the
assistance lent to them by Joseph threatened the existence of
the Turkish Empire, irritated the Prussian Court, and awakened
English apprehensions, always sensitive about the safety of
Stamboul. Poland, the battle-field of cynical diplomacy, torn
by long dissensions and mined by a miserable constitution, was
vainly endeavouring, under the jealous eyes of her great
neighbours, to avert the doom impending, and to reassert her
ancient claim to a place among the nations of the world. But
Russia had long since determined that Poland must be a vassal
State to her or cease to be a State at all, while Prussia,
driven to face a hard necessity, realised that a strong Poland
and a strong Prussia could not exist together, and that if
Poland ever rose again to power, Prussia must bid good-bye to
unity and greatness. These two questions to the States
involved seemed to be of far more moment than any political
reform in France, and engrossed the diplomatists of Europe
until the summer of 1791. In February, 1790, a new influence
was introduced into European politics by the death of the
Emperor Joseph and the accession of his brother, Leopold II.
Leopold was a man of remarkable ability, no enthusiast and no
dreamer, thoroughly versed in the selfish traditions of
Austrian policy and in some of the subtleties of Italian
statecraft, discerning, temperate, resolute and clear-headed,
quietly determined to have his own way, and generally skilful
enough to secure it. Leopold found his new dominions in a
state of the utmost confusion, with war and rebellion
threatening him on every side. He speedily set about restoring
order. He repealed the unpopular decrees of Joseph. He
conciliated or repressed his discontented subjects. He
gradually re-established the authority of the Crown. ...
Accordingly, the first eighteen months of Leopold's reign were
occupied with his own immediate interests, and at the end of
that time his success was marked.
{222}
Catherine's vast schemes in Turkey had been checked. War had
been averted. Poland had been strengthened by internal
changes. Prussia had been conciliated and outmanœuvred, and
her influence had been impaired. At last, at the end of
August, 1791, the Emperor was free to face the French problem,
and he set out for the Castle of Pillnitz to meet the King of
Prussia and the Emigrant leaders at the Saxon Elector's Court.
For some time past the restlessness of the French Emigrants
had been causing great perplexity in Europe. Received with
open arms by the ecclesiastical princes of the Rhine, by the
Electors of Mayence and Trèves, they proceeded to agitate
busily for their own restoration. ... The object of the
Emigrants was to bring pressure to bear at the European
Courts, with the view of inducing the Powers to intervene
actively in their behalf. ... After his escape from France, in
June, 1790, the Comte de Provence established his Court at
Coblentz, where he was joined by his brother the Comte
d'Artois, and where, on the plea that Louis was a prisoner, he
claimed the title of Regent, and assumed the authority of
King. The Court of the two French princes at Coblentz
represented faithfully the faults and follies of the Emigrant
party. But a more satisfactory spectacle was offered by the
camp at Worms, where Condé was bravely trying to organise an
army to fight against the Revolution in France. To Condé's
standard flocked the more patriotic Emigrants. ... But the
German Princes in the neighbourhood looked with disfavour on
the Emigrant army. It caused confusion in their dominions, and
it drew down on them the hostility of the French Government.
The Emperor joined them in protesting against it. In February,
1792, Condé's army was compelled to abandon its camp at Worms,
and to retire further into Germany. The Emperor was well aware
of the reckless selfishness of the Emigrant princes. He had as
little sympathy with them as his sister. He did not intend to
listen to their demands. If he interfered in France at all, it
would only be in a cautious and tentative manner, and in order
to save Marie Antoinette and her husband. Certainly he would
not undertake a war for the restoration of the Ancien Régime.
... Accordingly, the interviews at Pillnitz came to nothing.
... Early in March, 1792, Leopold suddenly died. His heir
Francis, unrestrained by his father's tact and moderation,
assumed a different tone and showed less patience. The chances
of any effective pressure from the Powers declined, as the
prospect of war rose on the horizon. Francis' language was
sufficiently sharp to give the Assembly the pretext which it
longed for, and on the 20th April, Louis, amid general
enthusiasm, came down to the Assembly and declared war against
Austria. The effects of that momentous step no comment can
exaggerate. It ruined the best hopes of the Revolution, and
prepared the way for a military despotism in the future."

_C. E. Mallet, The French Revolution, chapter 7._

See
FRANCE: A. D. 1790-1791;
1791 (JULY-DECEMBER);
1791-1792; 1792 (APRIL-JULY), and (SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER);
1792-1793 (DECEMBER-FEBRUARY);
1793 (FEBRUARY-APRIL), and (JULY-DECEMBER);
1794 (MARCH-JULY);
1794-1795 (OCTOBER-MAY);
1795 (JUNE-DECEMBER);
1796 (APRIL-OCTOBER);
and 1796-1797 (OCTOBER-APRIL).

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1794-1796.
The Third partition of Poland.
Austrian share of the spoils.

See POLAND: A. D. 1793-1796.

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1797 (October).
Treaty of Campo-Formio with France.
Cession of the Netherlands and Lombard provinces.
Acquisition of Venice and Venetian territories.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1797 (MAY-OCTOBER).

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1798-1806.
Congress of Rastadt.
Second Coalition against France.
Peace of Luneville.
Third Coalition.
Ulm and Austerlitz.
Peace of Presburg.
Extinction of the Holy Roman Empire.
Birth of the Empire of Austria.

"When Bonaparte sailed for Egypt he had left a congress at
Rastadt discussing means for the execution of certain articles
in the treaty of Campo Formio which were to establish peace
between France and the Empire. ... Though openly undertaking
to invite the Germans to a congress in order to settle a
general peace on the basis of the integrity of the Empire, the
Emperor agreed in secret articles to use his influence to
procure for the Republic the left bank of the Rhine with the
exception of the Prussian provinces, to join with France in
obtaining compensation in Germany for those injured by this
change, and to contribute no more than his necessary
contingent if the war were prolonged. The ratification of
these secret provisions had been extorted from the Congress by
threats before Bonaparte had left; but the question of
indemnification had progressed no farther than a decision to
secularise the ecclesiastical states for the purpose, when
extravagant demands from the French deputies brought
negotiation to a deadlock. Meanwhile, another coalition war
had been brewing. Paul I. of Russia had regarded with little
pleasure the doings of the Revolution, and when his proteges,
the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, had been deprived of
Malta by Bonaparte on his way to Egypt, when the Directory
established by force of arms a Helvetic republic in
Switzerland, when it found occasion to carry off the Pope into
exile and erect a Roman republic, he abandoned the cautious
and self-seeking policy of Catherine, and cordially responded
to Pitt's advances for an alliance. At the same time Turkey
was compelled by the invitation of Egypt to ally itself for
once with Russia. Austria, convinced that the French did not
intend to pay a fair price for the treaty of Campo Formio,
also determined to renew hostilities; and Naples, exasperated
by the sacrilege of a republic at Rome, and alarmed by French
aggressiveness, enrolled itself in the league. The Neapolitan
king, indeed, opened the war with some success, before he
could receive support from his allies; but he was soon
vanquished by the French, and his dominions were converted
into a Parthenopean republic. Austria, on the contrary,
awaited the arrival of the Russian forces; and the general
campaign began early in 1799. The French, fighting against
such generals as the Archduke Charles and the Russian
Suvaroff, without the supervision of Carnot or the strategy
and enterprise of Bonaparte, suffered severe reverses and
great privations. Towards the end the Russian army endured
much hardship on account of the selfishness of the Austrian
cabinet; and this caused the Tsar, who thought he had other
reasons for discontent, to withdraw his troops from the field.
{223}
When Bonaparte was made First Consul the military position of
France was, nevertheless, very precarious. ... The Roman and
Cisalpine republics had fallen. The very congress at Rastadt
had been dispersed by the approach of the Austrians; and the
French emissaries had been sabred by Austrian troopers, though
how their insolence came to be thus foully punished has never
been clearly explained. At this crisis France was rescued from
foreign foes and domestic disorders by its most successful
general. ... In the campaign which followed, France obtained
signal satisfaction for its chagrin. Leaving Moreau to carry
the war into Germany, Bonaparte suddenly crossed the Alps, and
defeated the Austrians on the plain of Marengo. The Austrians,
though completely cowed, refrained from concluding a definite
peace out of respect for their engagements with England; and
armistices, expiring into desultory warfare, prolonged the
contest till Moreau laid the way open to Vienna, by winning a
splendid triumph at Hohenlinden. A treaty of peace was finally
concluded at Lunéville, when Francis II. pledged the Empire to
its provisions on the ground of the consents already given at
Rastadt. In conformity with the treaty of Campo Formio,
Austria retained the boundary of the Adige in Italy; France
kept Belgium and the left bank of the Rhine; and the princes,
dispossessed by the cessions, were promised compensation in
Germany; while Tuscany was given to France to sell to Spain at
the price of Parma, Louisiana, six ships of the line, and a
sum of money. Shortly afterwards peace was extended to Naples
on easy terms. ... The time was now come for the Revolution to
complete the ruin of the Holy Roman Empire. Pursuant to the
treaty of Lunéville, the German Diet met at Regensburg to
discuss a scheme of compensation for the dispossessed rulers.
Virtually the meeting was a renewal of the congress of
Rastadt. ... At Rastadt the incoherence and disintegration of
the venerable Empire had become painfully apparent. ... When
it was known that the head of the nation, who had guaranteed
the integrity of the Empire in the preliminaries of Leoben,
and had renewed the assurance when he convoked the assembly,
had in truth betrayed to the stranger nearly all the left bank
of the Rhine,--the German rulers greedily hastened to secure
every possible trifle in the scramble of redistribution. The
slow and wearisome debates were supplemented by intrigues of
the most degraded nature. Conscious that the French Consul
could give a casting vote on any disputed question, the
princes found no indignity too shameful, no trick too base, to
obtain his favour. ... The First Consul, on his side,
prosecuted with a duplicity and address, heretofore
unequalled, the traditional policy of France in German
affairs. ... Feigning to take into his counsels the young
Tsar, whose convenient friendship was thus easily obtained on
account of his family connections with the German courts, he
drew up a scheme of indemnification and presented it to the
Diet for endorsement. In due time a servile assent was given
to every point which concerned the two autocrats. By this
settlement, Austria and Prussia were more equally balanced
against one another, the former being deprived of influence in
Western Germany, and the latter finding in more convenient
situations a rich recompense for its cessions on the Rhine;
while the middle states, Bavaria, Baden, and Würtemberg,
received very considerable accessions of territory. But if
Bonaparte dislocated yet further the political structure of
Germany, he was at least instrumental in removing the worst of
the anachronisms which stifled the development of improved
institutions among a large division of its people. The same
measure which brought German separatism to a climax, also
extinguished the ecclesiastical sovereignties and nearly all
the free cities. That these strongholds of priestly
obscurantism and bourgeois apathy would some day be invaded by
their more ambitious and active neighbours, had long been
apparent. ... And war was declared when thousands of British
subjects visiting France had already been ensnared and
imprisoned. ... Pitt had taken the conduct of the war out of
the hands of Addington's feeble ministry. Possessing the
confidence of the powers, he rapidly concluded offensive
alliances with Russia, Sweden, and Austria, though Prussia
obstinately remained neutral. Thus, by 1805, Napoleon had put
to hazard all his lately won power in a conflict with the
greater part of Europe. The battle of Cape Trafalgar crushed
for good his maritime power, and rendered England safe from
direct attack. The campaign on land, however, made him master
of central Europe. Bringing the Austrian army in Germany to an
inglorious capitulation at Ulm, he marched through Vienna,
and, with inferior forces won in his best style the battle of
Austerlitz against the troops of Francis and Alexander. The
action was decisive. The allies thought not of renewing the
war with the relays of troops which were hurrying up from
North and South. Russian and Austrian alike wished to be rid
of their ill-fated connection. The Emperor Alexander silently
returned home, pursued only by Napoleon's flattering tokens of
esteem; the Emperor Francis accepted the peace of Presburg,
which deprived his house of the ill-gotten Venetian States,
Tyrol, and its more distant possessions in Western Germany;
the King of Prussia, who had been on the point of joining the
coalition with a large army if his mediation were
unsuccessful, was committed to an alliance with the conqueror
by his terrified negotiator. And well did Napoleon appear to
make the fruits of victory compensate France for its
exertions. The empire was not made more unwieldy in bulk, but
its dependents, Bavaria, Würtemberg, and Baden, received
considerable accessions of territory, and the two first were
raised to the rank of kingdoms; while the Emperor's Italian
principality, which he had already turned into a kingdom of
Italy to the great disgust of Austria, was increased by the
addition of the ceded Venetian lands. But the full depth of
Europe's humiliation was not experienced till the two
following years. In 1806 an Act of Federation was signed by
the kings of Bavaria and Würtemberg, the Elector of Baden, and
thirteen minor princes, which united them into a league under
the protection of the French Emperor. The objects of this
confederacy, known as the Rheinbund were defence against
foreign aggression and the exercise of complete autonomy at
home. ... Already the consequences of the Peace of Lunéville
had induced the ruling Hapsburg to assure his equality with
the sovereigns of France and Russia by taking the imperial
title in his own right; and before the Confederation of the
Rhine was made public he formally renounced his office of
elective Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and released from
allegiance to him all the states and princes of the Reich, The
triumph of the German policy of the Consulate was complete."

_A. Weir, The Historical Basis of Modern Europe, chapter 4._

See, also,
FRANCE: A. D. 1798-1799, to 1805, and
GERMANY: A. D. 1801-1803, to 1805-1806.

{224}

AUSTRIA: A. D. 1809-1814.
The second struggle with Napoleon and the second defeat.
The Marriage alliance.
The Germanic War of Liberation.
The final alliance and the overthrow of the Corsican.