The Countries Involved In The Austrian Succession War

The War of the Austrian Succession was a conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The war was sparked by the death of Emperor Charles VI, which brought about the question of whether his daughter Maria Theresa could succeed him as ruler of the Habsburg monarchy.

The conflict was fought between several European powers, including Prussia, France, Bavaria, Spain, Britain, the Dutch Republic, Hanover, Russia, Sardinia, Saxony and Sweden. The war was ended by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which confirmed Maria Theresa as Austrian ruler, but failed to resolve underlying tensions between the signatories.

The First Silesian War (1740-1742)

The First Silesian War began when Prussia invaded Habsburg Silesia in late 1740, citing its centuries-old dynastic claims on parts of the region. The war was also influenced by Realpolitik and geostrategic factors, as Prussia sought to strengthen itself relative to regional rivals such as Saxony and Bavaria. The invasion was also motivated by Austria's financial distress and the favourable European strategic situation, with Britain and France occupied by the War of Jenkins' Ear and Sweden moving towards war with Russia.

By the end of January 1741, almost the entirety of Silesia was under Prussian control, and the remaining Austrian strongholds of Glogau, Brieg and Neisse were besieged. In late March 1741, an Austrian force of around 20,000, under the command of Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg, crossed the Sudetes mountains from Moravia and broke the siege of Neisse on 5 April. The two armies engaged in the Battle of Mollwitz on 10 April, which resulted in a Prussian victory.

In June 1741, Prussia and France signed the Treaty of Breslau, in which France supported Prussia's seizure of Silesia. This marked the beginning of the wider War of the Austrian Succession, as France, Spain, Saxony, Naples and Bavaria attacked Austria on multiple fronts. In response, Maria Theresa worked to regroup and prepare a counter-attack, receiving her formal coronation as Queen of Hungary in Pressburg in June 1741.

In October 1741, Austria and Prussia agreed to a secret armistice known as the Convention of Klein Schnellendorf, under which Austria committed to eventually concede Lower Silesia in return for peace. However, Prussia repudiated the armistice and renewed its offensive operations, advancing into Moravia and occupying its capital, Olmütz, in December 1741.

In January 1742, Elector Charles Albert of Bavaria won the Imperial election and became Holy Roman Emperor. In February, Prussia organised a joint advance through Moravia towards Vienna with the Saxons and French, but the campaign was abandoned in April due to the reluctance of its allies.

In May 1742, an Austrian counter-advance into Bohemia engaged the Prussians in the Battle of Chotusitz, resulting in a narrow Prussian victory. This left Austria without the immediate means to drive its enemies out of Bohemia, and renewed peace talks began in Breslau. Under British pressure, Austria agreed to cede to Prussia the large majority of Silesia, along with the County of Glatz in Bohemia, while retaining small portions of southern Silesia. This peace agreement was formalised in the Treaty of Breslau on 11 June 1742, ending the First Silesian War, and later in the Treaty of Berlin on 28 July 1742.

The First Silesian War ended in a clear victory for Prussia, which secured around 35,000 square kilometres of new territory and enhanced its resources, prestige and position relative to its rivals. However, Prussia's separate peace with Austria and its abandonment of the League of Nymphenburg earned it a reputation for diplomatic unreliability. The war also ensured continuing conflict between the two powers, with the Second Silesian War beginning just two years later.

The Second Silesian War (1744-1745)

In the lead-up to the Second Silesian War, Prussia formed alliances with Bavaria, Sweden, Hesse-Kassel, and the Electoral Palatinate, creating the League of Frankfurt. This coalition aimed to defend the territories of Emperor Charles VII, including Bohemia, where he had been proclaimed king in 1742. Prussia also negotiated with France, which agreed to support the League and attack the Austrian Netherlands.

The war began in mid-1744 with a Prussian invasion of Bohemia, led by Frederick. The Prussian army consisted of around 70,000 men, divided into three columns, which entered Bohemia from different directions. The eastern column, commanded by Count Kurt von Schwerin, advanced through Glatz and the Giant Mountains. The central column, under the leadership of Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, marched through Saxony and Lusatia towards Leitmeritz. Frederick himself led the western column, moving up the Elbe through Dresden and across the Ore Mountains to join the others at Leitmeritz.

The Second Silesian War ended in December 1745 with the Treaty of Dresden, which confirmed Prussian control of Silesia. This outcome is considered a victory for Prussia, solidifying its dominance in the region. However, Prussia's separate peace agreement while France continued fighting in the broader War of the Austrian Succession damaged Frederick's diplomatic credibility.

The War of Jenkins' Ear (1739-1748)

The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between the kingdoms of Spain and Great Britain, which lasted from 1739 to 1748. It was sparked by an incident in 1731, when Captain Robert Jenkins, a British naval officer, had his ear cut off by Spanish coast guards who boarded and pillaged his ship in the West Indies. Jenkins presented his severed ear to the House of Commons in March 1738, stirring up anti-Spanish sentiment in Britain. The war was also driven by economic factors, as British merchants complained of "depredations" by Spanish colonies against them.

The war began in October 1739 and eventually merged into the wider European conflict known as the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). The War of the Austrian Succession was fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, and at sea in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. It was sparked by the death of Emperor Charles VI in 1740 and the question of whether his daughter, Maria Theresa, could succeed him as ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy. France, Prussia, and Bavaria challenged Habsburg power, while Maria Theresa was backed by Britain, the Dutch Republic, and Hanover, collectively known as the Pragmatic Allies.

The War of Jenkins' Ear was part of this wider conflict, as Spain was allied with France and Britain with the Pragmatic Allies. It involved the colonies of both Spain and Great Britain, including Georgia in North America and the Spanish West Indies. The war was also connected to the First Carnatic War, a colonial conflict between Britain and France in India.

The War of Jenkins' Ear ended in 1748, with no clear victor. It concluded as part of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which also ended the War of the Austrian Succession. While the treaty confirmed Maria Theresa's right to the Monarchy, Prussia retained control of Silesia, and colonial conflicts between Britain and France remained unresolved.

King George's War (1744-1748)

The conflict was sparked by the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the Austrian Habsburg crown. In December 1740, King Frederick II of Prussia invaded the Austrian province of Silesia, and other countries were soon drawn into the fray. Prussia allied itself with France, Bavaria, Spain, Sweden, and Saxony, while Austria was backed by Britain, the Dutch Republic, and Hanover (collectively known as the Pragmatic Allies).

In North America, King George's War was characterised by bloody border raids by both sides, aided by their Indian allies. The most significant action was an expedition organised by Massachusetts Governor William Shirley, which besieged and captured the French fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, in 1745. In retaliation, the Wabanaki Confederacy of Acadia launched the Northeast Coast Campaign against British settlements in northeast Maine. Raids were also conducted against outlying villages, with captives taken for ransom or sometimes adopted by Native American tribes.

The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ended the war in 1748, restoring Louisbourg to France and confirming Maria Theresa as Austrian ruler. However, the peace treaty failed to resolve outstanding territorial issues or lingering enmity between the nations involved, and tensions remained high. King George's War was followed by the French and Indian War in 1754, which spread to Europe two years later as the Seven Years' War.

The First Carnatic War (1746-1748)

The First Carnatic War (1746–1748) was the Indian theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession and the first of a series of Carnatic Wars that established early British dominance on the east coast of the Indian subcontinent.

The conflict was fought between the British and French East India Companies for control of their respective trading posts at Madras, Pondicherry, and Cuddalore, while naval forces of France and Britain engaged each other off the coast. The war set the stage for the rapid growth of French hegemony in southern India under the command of French Governor-General Joseph François Dupleix in the Second Carnatic War.

In 1740, the War of the Austrian Succession broke out in Europe, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Mediterranean Sea. Great Britain was drawn into the war in 1744, opposed to France and its allies. The trading companies of both countries maintained cordial relations in India while their parent countries were bitter enemies on the European continent. However, the British launched a naval attack on a French fleet in 1745, which led the French Governor-General Dupleix to request additional forces. A fleet under La Bourdonnais arrived in 1746 to help him. In July of that year, La Bourdonnais and British Admiral Edward Peyton fought an indecisive action off Negapatam, after which the British fleet withdrew to Bengal.

On 21 September 1746, the French captured the British outpost at Madras. La Bourdonnais had promised to return Madras to the British, but Dupleix withdrew that promise, and wanted to give Madras to Anwar-ud-din after the capture. The Nawab then sent a 10,000-man army to take Madras from the French but was decisively repulsed by a small French force in the Battle of Adyar. The French then made several attempts to capture the British Fort St. David at Cuddalore, but the timely arrivals of reinforcements halted these and eventually turned the tables on the French.

British Admiral Edward Boscawen besieged Pondicherry in the later months of 1748, but lifted the siege with the advent of the monsoon rains in October. With the termination of the War of the Austrian Succession in Europe, the First Carnatic War also came to an end. In the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Madras was given back to the British in exchange for the French fortress of Louisbourg in North America, which the British had captured. The war was principally notable in India as the first military experience of Robert Clive, who was taken prisoner at Madras but managed to escape, and who then participated in the defence of Cuddalore and the siege of Pondicherry. The French retained their position as the protectors of the nizams of Hyderabad.

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