The War of the Austrian Succession, 1740 to 1748, was a conflict between the European great powers, fought primarily in Europe, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King George's War, the War of Jenkins' Ear, the First Carnatic War, and the First and Second Silesian Wars.
Its immediate cause was the right of Maria Theresa to inherit Austria. This was challenged by a coalition between France, Prussia, and Bavaria, while Maria Theresa was backed by Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, and Hanover, collectively known as the Pragmatic Allies. The conflict later drew in other participants, including Spain, Savoy, Saxony, Sweden, and Russia.
Fighting began when Prussia occupied the wealthy Austrian province of Silesia in December 1740. Neither side was able to achieve a decisive victory and despite success in the Austrian Netherlands, by early 1748 France was close to bankruptcy due to the cost of the war and a crippling British naval blockade. This led to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in October which confirmed Maria Theresa in her titles, but many signatories were unhappy with the terms. In return for vast expenditure, France gained very little, although their Spanish ally made minor gains in Italy and repelled a British invasion of South America at the Battle of Cartagena de Indias.
British insistence that Austria cede Silesia to Prussia as part of the peace undermined the long-standing Anglo-Austrian Alliance, as Austria felt it had received little benefit from the enormous British subsidies paid to it during the war. This led to the realignment known as the Diplomatic Revolution, and ultimately the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756.
Background
The immediate cause of the war was the death of Emperor Charles VI in 1740 and the inheritance of the Habsburg monarchy, often collectively referred to as Austria. The 1703 Mutual Pact of Succession provided that if the Habsburgs became extinct in the male line, these possessions would go first to Maria Josepha and Maria Amalia, daughters of Emperor Joseph I, then to those of Charles, his younger brother. Since Salic law excluded women from the inheritance, this agreement required approval by the various Habsburg territories and the Imperial Diet.
After Joseph died in 1711, he was succeeded by Charles, who in 1713 issued the Pragmatic Sanction, which confirmed the principle of female inheritance. However, it also modified the 1703 agreement by placing the rights of his own children first. After Maria Theresa was born in 1717, Charles's internal and external policy was dominated by ensuring her succession ahead of his two nieces. Prior to their respective marriages to Frederick Augustus of Saxony and Charles Albert of Bavaria in 1719, both nieces were obliged to formally renounce their rights to the inheritance. Charles assumed the rivalry between Saxony and Bavaria would secure his daughter's throne, since neither would be prepared to allow the other to inherit, but instead he gave his two greatest rivals a claim to the Habsburg lands.
Charles was also seeking to ensure the succession of Maria Theresa to not just her family lands but also to the titles and powers of the Holy Roman Emperor. Although held by a Habsburg for over 300 years, it was an elective position and could not be held by a woman. The problem was exacerbated by tensions within the Empire, caused by dramatic increases in the size and power of Bavaria, Prussia, and Saxony, mirrored by the post-1683 expansion of Habsburg power into lands previously held by the Ottoman Empire. These geopolitical tensions led to a war that reshaped the traditional European balance of power; the various legal claims were largely pretexts and seen as such.
Bavaria and Saxony refused to be bound by the decision of the Imperial Diet, while in 1738 France agreed to back Bavaria's 'just claims' despite previously accepting the Pragmatic Sanction in 1735. Attempts to offset this involved Austria in the 1733–1735 War of the Polish Succession and the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739), and it was weakened by the losses incurred. The situation was compounded by a failure to prepare Maria Theresa for her new role, and many European statesmen were sceptical Austria could survive the contest that would follow Charles's death, which finally came in October 1740.
Strategies
On land, the fighting focused on three main theatres; Central Europe, Italy, and the Austrian Netherlands, along with a wider naval conflict. The war itself can be divided into three separate but connected conflicts, the first being the Silesian Wars between Prussia and Austria. In the second, Austria and Sardinia defeated Spanish attacks in Northern Italy, while the third featured an increasingly global contest between Britain and France. In the end, French conquest of the Austrian Netherlands gave them clear dominance on land, while Britain's victories at sea cemented its place as the dominant naval power.
For much of the 18th century, French military strategy focused on potential threats on its eastern and northern borders, which required a strong land army. Its colonies were left to fend for themselves, or given minimal resources, anticipating they would likely be lost anyway. This strategy was driven by a combination of geography and the superiority of the British navy, which made it difficult for the French navy to provide significant supplies and support to French colonies. The expectation was military victory in Europe would compensate for any colonial losses; in 1748, France recovered possessions like Louisbourg, in return for withdrawing from the Austrian Netherlands.
The British, as a matter of policy, tried to avoid large-scale commitments of troops on the Continent. They sought to offset the disadvantage this created in Europe by allying themselves with one or more Continental powers whose interests were antithetical to those of their enemies, particularly France. In the War of the Austrian Succession, the British were allied with Austria; by the time of the Seven Years' War, they were allied with its enemy, Prussia. In contrast to France, once Britain became engaged in the war, it took advantage of the Royal Navy to expand it into the colonies. The British pursued a dual strategy of naval blockade and bombardment of enemy ports, and also utilized their ability to move troops by sea to the utmost. They would harass enemy shipping and attack enemy outposts, frequently using colonists from nearby British colonies in the effort. This plan worked better in North America than in Europe, but set the stage for the Seven Years' War.
Campaign of 1740
Frederick II succeeded his father Frederick William as king of Prussia on 31 May 1740 at the age of 28. Although Prussia had increased in importance over the prior few decades, its disparate and scattered territories limited its power, a reality Frederick intended to change. The death of Emperor Charles VI on 20 October 1740 provided him with an ideal opportunity to acquire resource-rich land in Silesia, but he needed to do so before Augustus of Saxony and Poland could pre-empt him.
With a population of 16 million, Austria had an authorised standing army of 157,000, although financial restraints meant its true size was considerably less than that in 1740. Since they had a much greater area to defend, their army was more of "a sieve" than a shield against foreign invasion. In contrast, the Prussian Army was better trained and led than its opponents, while its standing army of 80,000 was disproportionately large, at around 4% of its 2.2 million population. To add to these advantages, in April 1739 Frederick ensured Austria faced war on two fronts when Louis XV of France agreed to attack from the west, while Prussia did so from the north.
In early December 1740, the Prussian army assembled along the river Oder and on 16 December invaded Silesia without a formal declaration of war. Since Austrian military resources were concentrated in Hungary and Italy, they had fewer than 3,000 troops in Silesia, although this increased to 7,000 shortly before the invasion. They held on to the fortresses of Glogau, Breslau, and Brieg, but abandoned the rest of the province and withdrew into Moravia, with both sides taking up winter quarters. In under two weeks Prussia had occupied one of the richest provinces in the Holy Roman Empire, containing a population of over one million, and the commercial centre of Breslau along with mining, weaving and dyeing industries. However, Frederick underestimated Maria Theresa's determination to reverse her loss, while the retention of Austrian fortresses in Southern Silesia meant a quick victory could not be achieved.
Campaign of 1741
Early in the year, an Austrian army under von Neipperg relieved Neisse, and marched on Brzeg, and on 10 April, the two armies met at Mollwitz. Frederick made a series of mistakes in his first battle, and came so close to defeat, he left the battlefield to avoid capture. His deputy von Schwerin managed to drag out a narrow Prussian victory, both sides losing nearly 5,000 men each.
On 5 June, Frederick signed an alliance against Austria with France, and in August a combined Franco-Bavarian force marched along the Danube towards Vienna, capturing Linz on 14 September. Joined by a Saxon force of 20,000, they advanced on Prague from three different points, initially meeting little resistance. A hastily assembled Austrian army concentrated near Tábor, while Neipperg was recalled from Silesia to defend Vienna.
Apparently close to defeat, on 21 September Maria Theresa made an emotional speech to the Diet of Hungary, who approved the raising of additional troops, an assertion of loyalty long remembered. Her position soon improved due to deep divisions among her opponents and Frederick's own duplicity. Hoping to weaken Saxony, on 9 October he signed the Klein–Schnellendorf agreement with Neipperg. In a memorable act of diplomatic subterfuge, the Austrians promptly surrendered Neisse, which under the prevailing rules of war gave the garrison unimpeded passage to the nearest friendly territory, allowing them to be used against Prussia's allies elsewhere.
Khevenhüller incorporated these men into an army for a winter offensive to retake Upper Austria, and attack Bavaria. While Frederick completed his conquest of Silesia, the French under Maurice de Saxe took Prague on 26 November 1741, allowing the Bavarian elector, Charles Albert, to be crowned King of Bohemia, a title usually held by the emperor. The year ended with Khevenhüller advancing up the Danube towards Linz, while a second column under Johann Leopold Bärnklau moved through the Tyrol, towards Munich.
Campaign of 1742
On 17 January, von Khevenhüller defeated a Bavarian army at Schärding while seven days later 10,000 French soldiers surrendered at Linz. On 12 February, Charles Albert of Bavaria was crowned Emperor Charles VII, the first non-Habsburg to hold the position in 300 years, although Bärenklau captured Munich the same day. Although technically all allies, Prussia, Saxony and Bavaria had no desire to see France established in the Empire, nor to see one another gain relative ground. Maria Theresa ended Austria's secret truce with Frederick, first releasing the details. The Austrians assembled a second army of 28,000 to retake Prague, under Charles of Lorraine.
News of the secret truce badly damaged the relationship between Frederick and his allies, but Emperor Charles asked him to relieve the pressure by invading Moravia. Frederick had used the interval to reorganise his cavalry, previously neglected in favour of the infantry, and who performed poorly at Mollwitz; they would prove more effective in the 1742 campaign.
In December 1741, von Schwerin had captured Olmütz; Frederick took Glatz, before moving onto Groß Seelowitz in March 1742. This allowed him to threaten Vienna; a few Prussian patrols even appeared in the suburbs, before withdrawing. In early May, he took the offensive, and moved into north-east Bohemia; by 16 May, he had 10,000 infantry at Kuttenberg, and another 18,000 men under Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau a day's march behind.
On the afternoon of 16 May, Charles of Lorraine's cavalry ran into Leopold's rearguard. Leopold recognized he was in contact with the Austrian main force and so accelerated his march ahead to close the gap with Frederick. At 2:00 am on 17 May, his exhausted troops stopped at the small village of Chotusitz, still three hours from Kutná Hora. Fought later the same day, the Battle of Chotusitz was inconclusive, but technically a Prussian victory, since the Austrians withdrew. On 24 May, French Field Marshal de Broglie won a minor action at Sahay. The two victories left the strategic situation unchanged, since Charles was still able to move against Prague, while the Prussian presence in Moravia remained a threat to Vienna.
However, Habsburg policy was generally to avoid fighting on too many fronts at the same time; Prussia was the most dangerous, and most difficult to defeat. Although recovering Silesia remained a priority for decades, Maria Theresa was willing to agree a temporary truce with Prussia to improve her position elsewhere. This suited Frederick, who was short of money and men and also suspected France was preparing a separate peace. In June, the Treaty of Breslau ended the First Silesian War; Prussian troops withdrew from Bohemia, and Austria recaptured Prague in December.