Part 72

"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 [December 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, chapters 3-15 (volume 4)._

_Lord Dover, Life of Frederick II., book 2, chapters 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, December 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.