The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) is a war between two coalitions for hegemony in Europe, as well as for colonial possessions in North America and India.
General political situation. The reasons
One coalition included England and Prussia, the other - France, Austria and Russia. Between England and France there was a struggle for colonies in North America. There, clashes began in 1754, and in 1756 England declared war on France. 1756, January - the Anglo-Prussian alliance was concluded. In response, the main rival of Prussia, Austria, decided to make peace with its longtime enemy France.
The Austrians wanted to reclaim Silesia, while the Prussians hoped to conquer Saxony. Sweden joined the Austro-French defensive alliance, hoping to recapture Stettin and other territories from Prussia, which were lost during the Great Northern War. By the end of the year, Russia had joined the Anglo-French coalition, hoping to conquer East Prussia in order to later transfer it to Poland in exchange for Courland and Semigallia. Prussia was supported by Hanover and several small North German states.
The course of hostilities
1756 - invasion of Saxony
Promotional video:
King of Prussia Frederick II the Great had a well-trained army of 150,000, at that time the best in Europe. 1756, August - he invaded Saxony with an army of 95 thousand people and inflicted a number of defeats on the Austrian army, who came to the aid of the Saxon elector. On October 15, a 20,000-strong Saxon army surrendered at Pirna, and its soldiers joined the ranks of the Prussian army. After that, the 50 thousandth Austrian army left Saxony.
Attack on Bohemia, Silesia
1757, spring - the Prussian king invaded Bohemia with an army of 121.5 thousand people. At this time, the Russian army had not yet begun an invasion of East Prussia, and France was going to act against Magdeburg and Hanover. On May 6, 64 thousand Prussians defeated 61 thousand Austrians near Prague. Both sides in this battle lost 31.5 thousand killed and wounded, and the Austrian troops also lost 60 guns. As a result, 50 thousand Austrians were blocked in the capital of the Czech Republic by the 60 thousandth Prussian army. For the unblockade of Prague, the Austrians gathered from Colin the 54,000th army of General Down with 60 guns. She moved towards Prague. Frederick fielded 33,000 men with 28 heavy guns against the Austrian troops.
Battles of Colin, Rosbach and Leuthen
1757, June 17 - Prussian troops began to bypass the right flank of the Austrian position at Colin from the north, but Down was able to notice this maneuver in time and deployed his forces to the north. When the next day the Prussians launched an attack, delivering the main blow against the enemy's right flank, they were met with heavy fire. General Gülsen's Prussian infantry was able to occupy the village of Krzegor, but the tactically important oak grove beyond it remained in the hands of the Austrians.
Down moved his reserve here. Finally, the main forces of the Prussians, concentrated on the left flank, could not withstand the rapid fire of enemy artillery, firing grapeshot, and fled. Here the Austrian troops of the left flank went over to the attack. Down's cavalry pursued the defeated enemy for several kilometers. The remnants of the Prussian army retreated to Nimburg.
Down's victory was a consequence of the Austrians' one and a half superiority in men and twofold in artillery. Frederick's army lost 14 thousand killed, wounded and captured, and almost all the artillery, and the Austrians - 8 thousand people. The Prussian king was forced to lift the siege of Prague and retreat to the Prussian border.
Clockwise top left: Battle of Plass (23 June 1757); Battle of Carillon (6-8 July 1758) Battle of Zorndorf (25 August 1758) Battle of Kunersdorf (12 August 1759)
The strategic position of Prussia seemed critical. Allied forces of up to 300,000 men were deployed against the Prussian army. Frederick II decided to first defeat the French army, reinforced by the troops of the principalities allied with Austria, and then again invade Silesia.
The 45 thousandth allied army took up a position at Mücheln. Frederick, who had only 24 thousand soldiers, with a false retreat to the village of Rosbach was able to lure the enemy out of the fortifications. The French hoped to cut off the Prussian army from the crossings across the Saale River and defeat them.
1757, November 5, morning - the allies marched in three columns, bypassing the enemy's left flank. This maneuver was covered by a detachment of 8,000, which began a firefight with the Prussian vanguard. Frederick was able to unravel the enemy's plan and at half past three in the afternoon ordered them to leave the camp and simulate a retreat to Merseburg. The Allies attempted to intercept the escape routes by sending their cavalry around Janus Hill. But she was unexpectedly attacked and defeated by the Prussian cavalry under the command of General Seydlitz.
At this time, under cover of heavy fire from 18 artillery batteries, the Prussian infantry went on the offensive. The allied infantry had to line up in battle formation under enemy cannonballs. Soon she was threatened with a flank attack by Seydlitz's squadrons, wavered and fled. The French with their allies lost 7 thousand killed, wounded and prisoners and all the artillery - 67 guns and a baggage train. The losses of the Prussian army were insignificant - only 540 killed and wounded. Here, both the qualitative superiority of the Prussian cavalry and artillery and the mistakes of the allied command affected. The French commander-in-chief started a difficult maneuver, as a result, most of the army was in marching columns and did not have the opportunity to take part in the battle. Frederick got the opportunity to beat the enemy in parts.
Meanwhile, the Prussian army in Silesia was defeated. Frederick rushed to their aid with 21 thousand infantry, 11 thousand cavalry and 167 guns. The Austrians settled at the village of Leuthen on the banks of the Weistritz River. They had 59 thousand infantry, 15 thousand cavalry and 300 guns. 1757, December 5, morning - Prussian cavalry threw back the Austrian vanguard, depriving the enemy of the opportunity to observe Frederick's army. Therefore, the attack of the main forces of the Prussian army was a complete surprise for the Austrian commander-in-chief, Duke Karl of Lorraine.
The Prussian king, as always, delivered the main blow on his right flank, but by the actions of the vanguard he attracted the enemy's attention to the opposite wing. When Karl realized his true intentions and began to rebuild his army, the order of battle of the Austrians was disrupted. Friedrich took advantage of this for a flank attack. The Prussian cavalry defeated the Austrian cavalry on the right flank and put them to flight. Then Seydlitz also attacked the Austrian infantry, which had previously been driven back behind Leuthen by the Prussian infantry. Only darkness saved the remnants of the Austrian army from complete destruction. The Austrians lost 6.5 thousand people killed and wounded and 21.5 thousand prisoners, as well as all the artillery and baggage. The losses of the Prussian army did not exceed 6 thousand people. Silesia was again under Prussian control.
Frederick II the Great
East Prussia
Meanwhile, Russian troops began active hostilities. Back in the summer of 1757, a 65,000-strong Russian army under the command of General Field Marshal S. F. Apraksin moved to Lithuania, intending to capture East Prussia. In August, the Russian army approached Konigsberg.
On August 19, the 22,000-strong detachment of the Prussian General Lewald attacked the Russian army near the village of Gross-Egersdorf, having no idea either of the true number of the enemy, which was almost three times superior to him, or of his location. Instead of the left flank, Lewald found himself in front of the center of the Russian position. The regrouping of the Prussian forces during the battle only made the situation worse. The right flank of Lewald was overturned, which could not be compensated for by the success of the left-flank Prussian troops, who captured the enemy battery, but did not have the opportunity to build on the success. The losses of the Prussians amounted to 5 thousand killed and wounded and 29 guns, the losses of the Russians reached 5.5 thousand people. Russian troops did not pursue the retreating enemy, and the battle at Gross-Jägersdorf was not decisive.
Suddenly, Apraksin gave the order to retreat, citing the lack of supplies and the separation of the army from its bases. The Field Marshal was charged with treason and put on trial. The only success was the capture of Memel by a 9 thousandth Russian landing party. This port was turned during the war into the main base of the Russian fleet.
1758 - the new commander-in-chief, General-in-Chief, Count V. V. Fermor with a 70 thousandth army with 245 guns could easily occupy East Prussia, captured Konigsberg and continued the offensive to the west.
Battle of Zorndorf
In August, a general battle of Russian and Prussian troops took place near the village of Zorndorf. On the 14th, the Prussian king, who had 32 thousand soldiers and 116 guns, attacked Fermor's army here, in which there were 42 thousand people and 240 guns. The Prussians managed to press the Russian army, which had retreated to Kalisz. Fermor lost 7 thousand killed, 10 thousand wounded, 2 thousand prisoners and 60 guns. Frederick's losses reached 4 thousand killed, more than 6 thousand wounded, 1.5 thousand prisoners. Frederick did not pursue the defeated army of Fermor, but went to Saxony.
Seven Years War Map
1759 - Battle of Kunersdorf
1759 - Fermor was replaced by Field Marshal Count P. S. Saltykov. By this time, the Allies put up 440 thousand people against Prussia, whom the Prussian king could only oppose 220 thousand. On June 26, the Russian army set out from Poznan to the Oder River. On 23 July in Frankfurt an der Oder, she joined up with the Austrian army. On July 31, the king of Prussia with an army of 48 thousand took up a position near the village of Kunersdorf, hoping to meet here the combined Austro-Russian forces, which to a large extent outnumbered his troops.
Saltykov's army numbered 41 thousand people, and the Austrian army of General Down - 18.5 thousand people. On August 1, the Prussians attacked the left flank of the allied forces. The Prussian troops managed to capture an important height here and place a battery there, which brought fire to the center of the Russian army. The Prussians pressed the center and the right flank of the Russians. But Saltykov was able to create a new front and launch a general counteroffensive. After a 7-hour battle, the Prussian army retreated in disarray beyond the Oder. Immediately after the battle, Frederick had only 3 thousand soldiers at hand, since the others were scattered in the surrounding villages, and they had to be gathered under the banner for several days.
Friedrich's army lost 18 thousand people killed and wounded, the Russians - 13 thousand, and the Austrians - 2 thousand. Due to heavy losses and fatigue of soldiers, the Allies could not organize a pursuit, which saved the Prussians from the final defeat. After Kunersdorf, the Russian army, at the request of the Austrian emperor, was transferred to Silesia, where the Prussian army also suffered a number of defeats.
1760-1761 years
The campaign of 1760 was sluggish. Only at the end of September was a raid on Berlin launched. The first assault on the city, undertaken on the 22nd-23rd, 5 thous. detachment of General Totleben, ended in failure. Only with the approach of the 12 thousandth corps of General Chernyshev and the detachment of the Austrian General Lassi to the city, the Prussian capital was besieged by the 38 thousandth allied army (of which 24 thousand were Russians), 2.5 times exceeding the number of the Prussian army concentrated near Berlin. The Prussians preferred to leave the city without a fight. On September 28, the 4,000th garrison covering the withdrawal capitulated. In the city, 57 guns were captured and gunpowder factories and an arsenal were blown up. Because Friedrich was in a hurry to Berlin with the main forces of the army, Field Marshal Saltykov ordered Chernyshev's corps and other detachments to retreat. Berlin itself was not of strategic importance.
The campaign of 1761 proceeded as sluggishly as the previous one. In December, Kolberg took Rumyantsev's corps.
The final stage. Outcome
The position of the Prussian king seemed hopeless, but Emperor Peter III, who replaced Empress Elizaveta Petrovna on the Russian throne at the beginning of 1762, who bowed before the military genius of Frederick II, ended the war and even concluded an alliance with Prussia on May 5. Along with this, after the destruction of its fleet by the British, France withdrew from the war, having suffered a series of defeats from the British in North America and India. True, in July 1762 Peter was overthrown by order of his wife Catherine II. She dissolved the Russian-Prussian alliance, but did not continue the war. An excessive weakening of Prussia was not in Russia's interests, as it could lead to Austrian hegemony in Central Europe.
Austria was forced to conclude a peace treaty with Prussia on February 15, 1763. The King of Prussia was forced to abandon his claims to Saxony, but retained Silesia. Peace had been concluded in Paris between England and France five days earlier. The French lost their possessions in Canada and India, retaining only 5 Indian cities in their hands. The left bank of the Mississippi also passed from France to England, and the right bank of this river, the French were forced to cede to the Spaniards, and even had to pay the latter compensation for the British ceded Florida.
B. Sokolov