1756-1763 Seven Years War was called Churchill the "First World War". In addition to investing troops in North America and India, Britain was also fighting in Europe, and Britain's only ally in Europe was Prussia.. Under the leadership of Frederick the Great , Prussia fought against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden and other countries, which could be said to be a one-on-one challenge across Europe.
The core of the modern Kingdom of Prussia was the historical Electorate of Brandenburg and the Principality of East Prussia, which were collectively referred to as the Hohenzollern family territories. In 1417, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire consecrated Frederick I of the Hohenzollern family as the elector of Brandenburg. After that, the Hohenzollern family worked hard to manage the electorate of Brandenburg, continuously expanded their territory, and acquired the Principality of East Prussia in 1618. Funny to say, although the Electorate of Brandenburg and the Principality of East Prussia both belong to the Hohenzollern family, the suzerainty of the former is the Holy Roman Empire, and the suzerainty of the latter is Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth. In other words, it may seem strange that two lands in different countries are ruled by one family, but it was commonplace in medieval and modern Europe.
After the Thirty Years' War in 1648, the Holy Roman Empire essentially disintegrated. As the royal family, the Habsburg family 's control over the empire weakened, and it only still had actual ruling power over Austria, Hungary, Silesia , Bohemia and other regions. Since the core of the Habsburg family's territory was in Austria, European historians used Austria to refer to the Habsburg family. As the Hohenzollern family continued to grow in strength, another Frederick I was crowned "King in Prussia" in Königsberg, Prussia, in 1701, and the Kingdom of Prussia was born.
Frederick the Great (ie Frederick II ) was the grandson of Frederick I. He was talented and ambitious, and was very eager to expand the territory of the Hohenzollern family. In 1740, as soon as Frederick the Great succeeded to the throne, he launched a war against the Habsburg family and occupied Silesia. Not to be outdone, Habsburg heiress Maria Theresa also launched a war against Frederick the Great to recapture Silesia. In 1742, at the end of the First Silesian War, Maria Theresa temporarily recognized Frederick the Great's right to rule Silesia. In 1744, Frederick the Great fought another war with Maria Theresa to save Silesia, and won another victory in 1748.
▲ Frederick the Great
Two times The Silesian War changed the situation in Europe. Due to the loss of Silesia, Austria held a grudge against Prussia and turned to get close to its feuding France to fight against Prussia. Britain has always supported Austria, because Austria was very helpful in protecting the British king's Hanover territory, and was also important in curbing French hegemony. After the alliance between Austria and France, Britain changed its diplomatic strategy and began to unite with Prussia. In 1756, Britain and Prussia signed the Agreement of Westminster, officially forming an alliance. In response, Austria and France also signed a mutual assistance treaty. The next year, Austria and France formally signed an alliance treaty. Subsequently, Russia, Saxony , and Sweden joined the Franco-Austrian camp. As a result, the Franco-Austrian camp formed an encirclement against Prussia. Russia would attack from the northeast, Sweden from the north, France from the west, and Saxony and Austria from the south.
Faced with this dangerous situation, Frederick the Great decided to take a preemptive strike and launched an attack on Saxony in 1756, in order to eliminate Austria in one fell swoop before France and Russia intervened. As a result, the Seven Years' War broke out. Although Britain provided Prussia with a large amount of aid, Prussia had to rely mainly on itself to defeat its enemies.
Under the training of Frederick the Great, the Prussian army had strong combat effectiveness, but it had to face enemies from several directions at the same time, so the war was very difficult. In 1756, Frederick the Great won a victory, easily capturing Dresden (the center of Saxony), and launched an attack on Bohemia the next year, besieging Prague (the center of Bohemia).On June 8, 1757, the overconfident Frederick the Great made a tactical error and suffered a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Colin, forcing him to retreat hastily. Soon, the British army suffered a defeat at Hastenbeek, the Swedish army invaded Prussian territory, and the Russian army also launched an attack on Prussia, leaving Frederick the Great facing a disaster. At this time, Frederick the Great used his military genius to annihilate the French army in the Battle of Rossbach on November 5. He then taught the Austrian army a lesson in the Battle of Leuthen, and took advantage of the victory to recapture Breslau, completely driving the Austrian army out of Silesia. The Battle of Rossbach and the Battle of Leuthen were both classic battles in terms of tactical use. These two battles established Frederick the Great's status as a first-class military commander.
▲Maria Theresa
In the following years, Frederick the Great suffered successive defeats. He was defeated by the Russian army in the Battle of Hochsch in 1758, and was defeated by the Austrian army in the Battle of Koulesdorf in 1760. He had to go on the defensive. After entering 1761, Frederick the Great had actually made the decision to cede territory and seek peace. At this time, the Russian Czarina Elizabeth passed away on January 19, and the new Tsar Peter III who succeeded him withdrew from the anti-Prussian alliance and instead formed an alliance with Prussia. Although Peter III was deposed on July 18, his successor, the Tsarina Catherine the Great, maintained a diplomatic neutrality and stopped attacking Prussia, which relieved the pressure on Frederick the Great. A few months later, Prussian troops again drove the enemy out of Silesia, turning the tide of the war.
In 1763, all parties involved in the war signed the "Peace of Hubertusburg", ending the Seven Years' War. According to the Peace of Hubertusburg, Silesia remained part of Prussia. Although the anti-Prussian alliance had more troops than Prussia, it ultimately failed. Frederick the Great survived the Seven Years' War without losing an inch of territory.
The Seven Years' War made Prussia one of the great powers in Europe, at least on par with Austria. During the second half of Frederick the Great's reign, Prussia was generally considered to be the leading continental power, with a powerful army, efficient administration, and a strong king. In 1772, Frederick the Great led Prussia, Austria and Russia to carve up Poland for the first time, and gained West Prussia, which expanded the Hohenzollern family territory again.
