A significant victory in the Seven Years' War. Seven Years' War

SEVEN YEARS WAR(1756–1763), coalition war of Austria, Russia, France, Saxony, Sweden and Spain against Prussia and Great Britain

The war was caused by two main reasons. In the first half of the 1750s, the colonial rivalry between France and Great Britain intensified in North America and India; French capture of the river valley Ohio led in 1755 to the beginning of an armed confrontation between the two states; the formal declaration of war followed after the French occupation in May 1756 of Menorca. This conflict was superimposed on the intra-European conflict of Prussia with its neighbors: the strengthening of the military and political power of Prussia in Central Europe and the expansionist policy of its king Frederick II (1740–1786) threatened the interests of other European powers.

The initiator of the creation of the anti-Prussian coalition was Austria, from which Frederick II took Silesia in 1742. The formation of the coalition accelerated after the conclusion of the Anglo-Prussian treaty of alliance on January 27, 1756, at Westminster. May 1, 1756 France and Austria officially entered into a military-political alliance (Pact of Versailles). Later, Russia (February 1757), Sweden (March 1757) and almost all the states of the German Empire, except for Hesse-Kassel, Brunswick and Hanover, which was in personal union with Great Britain, joined the Austro-French coalition. The Allied forces numbered more than 300 thousand, while the strength of the Prussian army was 150 thousand, and the Anglo-Hanoverian expeditionary force - 45 thousand.

In an effort to prevent the performance of his opponents, Frederick II decided to put an end to his main enemy, Austria, with one sudden blow. On August 29, 1756, he invaded the Austrian allied kingdom of Saxony in order to break through into Bohemia (Czech Republic) through its territory. On September 10, the capital of the kingdom of Dresden fell. On October 1, near Lobozitz (North Bohemia), an attempt by the Austrian Field Marshal Brown to help the Allies was thwarted. On October 15, the Saxon army capitulated in the Pirna camp. Nevertheless, Saxon resistance delayed the Prussian advance and enabled the Austrians to complete their military preparations. The approach of winter forced Frederick II to end the campaign.

In the spring of the following 1757, Prussian troops from three sides - from Saxony (Frederick II), Silesia (Field Marshal Schwerin) and Lausitz (Duke of Brunswick-Bevernsky) - invaded Bohemia. The Austrians under the command of Brown and Duke Charles of Lorraine withdrew to Prague. On May 6, Frederick II defeated them at Mount Zizka and laid siege to Prague. However, on June 18, he was defeated by the Austrian Field Marshal Daun near Kolin; he had to raise the siege of Prague and retreat to Leitmeritz in North Bohemia. The failure of Frederick II meant the collapse of the plan for the lightning defeat of Austria.

In August, Prince Soubise's detached French corps entered Saxony and linked up with Prince von Hildburghausen's imperial army, planning an invasion of Prussia. But on November 5, Frederick II utterly defeated the Franco-Imperial troops at Rossbach. At the same time, the Austrians, under the command of Charles of Lorraine, moved into Silesia; On November 12, they took Schweidnitz, on November 22 they defeated the Duke of Brunswick-Beversky near Breslau (modern Wroclaw in Poland) and on November 24 they captured the city. However, on 5 December Frederick II defeated Charles of Lorraine at Leuthen and regained Silesia, minus Schweidnitz; Austrian commander in chief Down became.

In the west, the French army under the command of Marshal d'Estre occupied Hesse-Kassel in April 1757 and defeated the Anglo-Prussian-Hanoverian army of the Duke of Cumberland on July 26 at Hastenbeck (on the right bank of the Weser). French commander Duke de Richelieu, under which he undertook to disband his army.But the British government, which was headed by the energetic W. Pitt the Elder on June 29, annulled the Klostertseven Convention; the Duke of Cumberland was replaced by Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick. On December 13, he drove the French beyond the river Aller; Richelieu gave up his post to the Count of Clermont, who took French army for the Rhine.

In the east, in the summer of 1757, the Russian army launched an offensive against East Prussia; On July 5, she occupied Memel. An attempt by Field Marshal Lewald to stop her at Gross-Jägersdorf on August 30, 1757 ended in a crushing defeat for the Prussians. However, the Russian commander S.F. Apraksin, for domestic political reasons (the illness of Empress Elizabeth and the prospect of the accession of the pro-Prussian-minded Tsarevich Peter), withdrew his troops to Poland; recovered Elizabeth dismissed Apraksin. This forced the Swedes, who moved in September 1757 to Stettin, to retreat to Stralsund.

On January 16, 1758, the new Russian commander V.V. Fermor crossed the border and captured Koenigsberg on January 22; East Prussia was declared a Russian province; in the summer he penetrated Neumark and laid siege to Küstrin on the Oder. When Frederick II's plan to invade Bohemia through Moravia failed due to failed attempt take Olmutz in May-June, he moved towards the Russians in early August. The fierce battle at Zorndorf on August 25 ended inconclusively; both sides suffered huge losses. Fermor's retreat to Pomerania enabled Frederick II to turn his forces against the Austrians; despite the defeat on October 14 from Daun at Hochkirch, he retained Saxony and Silesia in his hands. In the west, the threat of a new French offensive was eliminated by the victory of the Duke of Brunswick over the Count of Clermont at Krefeld on June 23, 1758.

In 1759 Frederick II was forced to go on the defensive on all fronts. The main danger for him was the intention of the Russian and Austrian command to start joint operations. In July, the army of P.S. Saltykov, who replaced Fermor, moved to Brandenburg to join the Austrians; the Prussian General Wendel, who tried to stop her, was defeated on July 23 at Züllichau. On August 3, at Crossen, the Russians connected with the corps of the Austrian General Laudon and occupied Frankfurt an der Oder; On August 12, they utterly defeated Frederick II at Kunersdorf; at the news of this, the Prussian garrison of Dresden capitulated. However, due to disagreements, the Allies did not build on their success and did not take the opportunity to capture Berlin: the Russians went to spend the winter in Poland, and the Austrians in Bohemia. Moving through Saxony, they surrounded the corps of the Prussian General Fink near Macsen (south of Dresden) and on November 21 forced him to surrender.

In the west, at the beginning of 1759, Subise captured Frankfurt am Main and made it the main southern base of the French. The Duke of Brunswick's attempt to recapture the city ended in his defeat on April 13 at Bergen. However, on August 1, he defeated the army of Marshal de Contade, which was besieging Minden, and thwarted the French invasion of Hanover. The attempt of the French to land in England also ended in failure: on November 20, Admiral Howe destroyed the French flotilla near Belle-Ile Island.

In the early summer of 1760, Laudon invaded Silesia and on June 23 defeated the Prussian corps of General Fouquet at Landesgut, but on August 14–15 he was defeated by Frederick II at Liegnitz. In the fall, the combined Russian-Austrian army under the command of Totleben marched on Berlin and occupied it on October 9, but left the capital on October 13, taking a huge contribution from it. The Russians have gone beyond the Oder; the Austrians retreated to Torgau, where on November 3 they were defeated by Frederick II and pushed back to Dresden; almost all of Saxony was again in the hands of the Prussians. Despite these successes, the military-political and economic situation of Prussia continued to deteriorate: Frederick II had practically no reserves left; financial resources were exhausted, and he had to resort to the practice of defacing coins.

On June 7, 1761, the British captured the island of Belle-Ile off the western coast of France. In July, the Duke of Brunswick repelled another French invasion of Westphalia by defeating Marshal Broglie at Bellinghausen near Paderborn. Disagreements between the new Russian commander A.B. Buturlin and Laudon prevented the implementation of the plan for joint Russian-Austrian operations; On September 13, Buturlin retreated to the east, leaving only the corps of Z.G. Chernyshev with Laudon. However, Frederick II's attempt to force Laudon to withdraw from Silesia failed; The Austrians captured Schweidnitz. In the north, on December 16, Russian-Swedish detachments took the strategically important fortress of Kolberg. On top of all these failures of Frederick II, Spain concluded a Family Pact with France on August 15, 1761, pledging to enter the war on the side of the Allies, and the cabinet of Pitt the Elder fell in England; Lord Bute's new government refused to renew the treaty in December financial assistance Prussia.

January 4, 1762 Great Britain declared war on Spain; after the refusal of Portugal to break allied relations with the British, Spanish troops occupied its territory. However, in Central Europe, after the death of the Russian Empress Elizabeth on January 5, the situation changed dramatically in favor of Frederick II; the new emperor Peter III suspended military operations against Prussia; On May 5, he concluded a peace treaty with Frederick II, returning to him all the regions and fortresses conquered by the Russian troops. Sweden followed suit on 22 May. June 19 Russia entered into a military alliance with Prussia; Chernyshev's corps joined the army of Frederick II. After the overthrow of Peter III on July 9, 1762, the new Empress Catherine II severed the military alliance with Prussia, but kept the peace agreement in force. Russia, one of the most dangerous opponents of Frederick II, withdrew from the war.

On July 21, 1762, Frederick II stormed the fortified camp of Daun near Burkersdorf and conquered all of Silesia from the Austrians; On October 9, Schweidnitz fell. On October 29, Prince Henry of Prussia defeated the imperial army at Freiberg and captured Saxony. In the west, the French were defeated at Wilhelmstan and lost Kassel. The corps of the Prussian General Kleist reached the Danube and took Nuremberg.

In the non-European theater of operations, there was a fierce struggle between the British and French for dominance in North America and India. In North America, the advantage was at first on the side of the French, who on August 14, 1756 captured Fort Oswego, and on August 6, 1757 - Fort William Henry. However, in the spring of 1758, the British embarked on major offensive operations In Canada. In July, they took a fortress on Cap Breton Island, and on August 27 they captured Fort Frontenac, establishing control over Lake Ontario and interrupting French communications between Canada and the river valley. Ohio. On July 23, 1759, the English General Amherst captured the strategically important Fort of Tyconderogu; On September 13, 1759, the English general Wolfe defeated the Marquis de Montcalm on the plain of Abraham near Quebec and on September 18 captured this citadel of French rule in the valley of the St. Lawrence. An attempt by the French to return Quebec in April-May 1760 failed. September 9 English General Amherst took Montreal, completing the conquest of Canada.

In India, success also accompanied the British. At the first stage, hostilities concentrated at the mouth of the river. Ganges. On March 24, 1757, Robert Clive took Chandernagor, and on June 23, at Plassy, ​​on the Bagirati River, he defeated the army of the Bengali Nabob Siraja-ud-Daula, an ally of France, and captured all of Bengal. In 1758 Lally, the governor of the French possessions in India, launched an offensive against the British in the Carnatic. On May 13, 1758, he took Fort St. David, and on December 16 he laid siege to Madras, but the arrival of the English fleet forced him to retreat to Pondicherry on February 16, 1759. In March 1759 the British captured Masulipatam. On January 22, 1760, Lally was defeated at Vandevash by the English general Kuta. Pondicherry, the last stronghold of the French in India, besieged by the British in August 1760, capitulated on January 15, 1761.

After Spain entered the war, the British attacked her possessions in pacific ocean, capturing the Philippine Islands, and in the West Indies, having captured the fortress of Havana on the island of Cuba on August 13, 1762.

The mutual exhaustion of forces by the end of 1762 forced the belligerents to begin peace talks. On February 10, 1763, Great Britain, France and Spain concluded the Peace of Paris, according to which the French ceded to the British in North America the island of Cap Breton, Canada, the Ohio river valley and lands east of the Mississippi river, with the exception of New Orleans, in the West Indies islands Dominica, Saint Vincent, Grenada and Tobago, Senegal in Africa and almost all of their possessions in India (except for five fortresses); the Spaniards gave them Florida, receiving Louisiana in return from the French. On February 15, 1763, Austria and Prussia signed the Treaty of Hubertsburg, which restored the pre-war statu quo; Prussia preserved Silesia by guaranteeing freedom of the Catholic religion to its people.

The result of the war was the establishment of the complete hegemony of Great Britain on the seas and a sharp weakening of the colonial power of France. Prussia managed to maintain the status of a great European power. The era of the dominance of the Austrian Habsburgs in Germany is finally a thing of the past. From now on, a relative balance of two strong states– Prussia, dominating in the north, and Austria, dominating in the south. Russia, although it did not acquire any new territories, strengthened its authority in Europe and demonstrated its considerable military and political capabilities.

Ivan Krivushin

The outcome of the war Austrian inheritance(1740–1748) turned Prussia into a great European power.

The main causes of the war:

1) the aggressive plans of Frederick II to gain political hegemony in Central Europe and acquire neighboring territories;

2) the clash of the aggressive policy of Prussia with the interests of Austria, France and Russia; they wanted the weakening of Prussia, its return to the borders that existed before the Silesian wars. Thus, the participants in the coalition waged a war for the restoration of the old system of political relations on the continent, violated by the results of the War of the Austrian Succession;

3) the aggravation of the Anglo-French struggle for colonies.

Opposing sides:

1) anti-Prussian coalition– Austria, France, Russia, Spain, Saxony, Sweden;

2) Prussian supporters- UK and Portugal.

Frederick II started a preventive war with an attack August 29, 1756 to Saxony, occupied and ruined it. Thus began the second largest war of the era - Seven Years' War 1756–1763 The victories of the Prussian army of Frederick II in 1757 at Rosbach and Leuten were nullified by the victory of the Russian-Austrian troops in the Battle of Kunersdorf in 1759. Frederick II even intended to abdicate, but the situation changed dramatically due to the death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna (1762) . Her successor was Peter III, an enthusiastic admirer of Frederick II, who renounced all claims against Prussia. In 1762 he concluded an alliance with Prussia and withdrew from the war. Catherine II terminated it, but resumed the war. The two main conflict lines of the Seven Years' War - colonial and European- matched and two peace treaties, concluded in 1763 On February 15, 1763, the Peace of Hubertusburg was concluded Austria and Saxony with Prussia based on the status quo. The borders of states in Europe remained unchanged. On November 10, 1763, the Peace of Paris was concluded at Versailles. between England on the one hand, and France and Spain on the other. The Peace of Paris confirmed all treaties between countries since the Peace of Westphalia. The Peace of Paris, along with the Treaty of Hubertusburg, ended the Seven Years' War.

The main results of the war:

1. The victory of Great Britain over France, because. across the ocean, England took possession of the richest colonies of France and became the largest colonial power.

2. Falling prestige and the actual role of France in European affairs, which led to its complete disregard in deciding the fate of one of its main satellites – Poland.

The Seven Years' War is the most spectacular and large-scale military conflict of the 18th century. It began in 1756 and lasted, oddly enough, for 7 years, ending in 1763. An interesting fact is that the countries participating in the conflict were located on all continents known at that time. Australia and Antarctica have not yet been explored.

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The main participants in the Seven Years' War

Many states took part in the Seven Years' War, but it is worth highlighting only the main ones that produced the most significant actions:

  • Habsburg Austria;
  • Prussia;
  • France;
  • Great Britain;
  • Russian empire.

Causes of conflicts

The first prerequisites for war appeared in connection with the unresolved geopolitical problems of Europe. This happened after the War of the Austrian Succession in 1740-1748.

The main reasons for the start of the Seven Years' War were:

  1. Contradictions between the French kingdom and Great Britain regarding overseas possessions. That is, the states could not divide the colonies.
  2. Austria-Hungary and Germany fought over the Silesian territories.

Formation of coalitions

After the War of Succession of Austria and Europe was divided into two groups of states that contradicted each other:

  • The Habsburg coalition, which included:
    • Austria-Hungary;
    • Great Britain;
    • Netherlands;
    • Russia.
  • Anti-Habsburg coalition, which included:
    • Germany;
    • France;
    • Saxony.

Such unfriendly relations persisted for a long time, until the mid-1750s. There were only a few changes between the coalitions: the representatives of the Netherlands preferred to remain neutral regarding the coalitions, and Saxony expressed an open unwillingness to wage war, however, retained the alliance with Russia and Austria.

In 1756, the process of the so-called "diplomatic coup" was launched. He was marked the following events:

Throughout January, negotiations took place between Germany and England, which ended with the joint signing of a subsidiary treaty. A distinctive feature of these negotiations was that they were held at a strictly secret level and were not reported on the world stage. The terms of this agreement implied that the military forces of the Prussian kingdom were supposed to protect the possessions of Great Britain, in return they received a banal cash payment.

State, which led to this agreement the English king, this is France. She was the most obvious and dangerous enemy for Britain.

After the announcement of the terms of the subsidiary agreement for the whole world, another political change took place. Two new political groups were formed, whose interests were opposed to each other:

  • Austria-Hungary, Russia, French Kingdom;
  • Great Britain, Kingdom of Prussia.

These were the obvious and main participants in the Seven Years' War. Of course, many other countries took part in the war, which will be mentioned later, however, these are the main participants.

Events of the Seven Years' War

The main personality of the war was Frederick II the Great of Prussia. It was he who initiated the fighting. In August 1756, Prussian troops invaded the territory of Saxony and began aggressive actions. This marked the beginning of the great war.

Map of the Seven Years' War: fighting took place on the following continents:

  • Europe;
  • North America;
  • India.

North America

In January 1755, the English king gave the order to start a military policy towards France. The first clash is considered to be the events that took place in the Canadian area in North America, when the troops of England tried to intercept the convoy of the French kingdom. However, the attempt was unsuccessful and the troops collapsed.

As soon as the representatives France learned of this incident, all diplomatic relations between the French and English kings were cut off and the war began officially.

The key events of the action on this continent occurred in 1759 at the Battle of Quebec. This battle ended with the capture of the outpost of France, which was located in Canada. At the same time, Martinique was captured. This is the main center of trade in the West Indies, owned by the French.

Actions in Europe

Strange as it may seem, the main battles unfolded precisely in Europe. It is worth noting that most of the clashes took place against the Prussian king Frederick II. It is noteworthy that the representatives of Great Britain invested their troops in the Seven Years' War the weakest of all. The main investments were in the form of cash.

The rulers of the countries fighting against Prussia made an unforgivable mistake, which led to the complications of the war. The fact is that the German state gave up slack already at the beginning of the battles, however, for some reason, the victory of the allies did not happen:

  1. A full-fledged alliance was not formed between the rulers of Austria, France and Russia, which led to a lack of coherence in actions.
  2. The commanders-in-chief of Russia did not have the opportunity to take initiative actions, since they were directly dependent on the conference at the Imperial Court.

Key battles unfolding in Europe:

  • the battle of Rosbach (November 1757);
  • under Zorndorf (1758);
  • at Kunersdorf (August 1759);
  • the capture of Berlin in October 1760;
  • Battle of Freiberg in October 1762.

Quite remarkable is the fact that during the Seven Years' War Prussia had an excellent opportunity to show its military power, because they were able to resist at once the three largest states of the continent. Among them were Russia, Austria-Hungary and France.

Battles in Asia and their results

The amazing fact that the war even touched this continent. It all started here in 1757, when confrontations broke out between Bengal and England. Initially, upon learning of the outbreak of hostilities in Europe, England declared its neutrality, however, they very quickly began to attack the French.

Since the position of the French kingdom in Asia was not strong, it could not present a proper confrontation and suffered a serious defeat in the territory of India.

Results of the Seven Years' War

So, for seven years on the territory of the three known continents, serious hostilities unfolded between many countries. final years The Seven Years' War is considered to be:

  1. February 10, 1762 - Treaty of Paris between England and France.
  2. On February 15, 1763, exactly one year after the Treaty of Paris, the representatives of Austria and Prussia were ready for negotiations. In Hubertusburg, a peace treaty was concluded between these states.

The war is finally over, bringing joy to the whole world. People needed to recover from such disastrous hostilities.

Key Findings wars look like this:

This world experience shows all future generations that war is always terrible and bad. It takes the lives of many people, and in the end gives nothing in return. It's very important these days understand this and be able to learn from the mistakes of the past.

The article is divided into two parts. In the first part, the reasons for the Seven Years' War are set out, and in the second, the same material is presented more

Causes of the Seven Years' War - briefly

main reason Seven Years' War there was an unresolved Western contradiction by the previous major clash of European powers - the War of the Austrian Succession of 1740-1748, in which the Anglo-Austrian alliance opposed the Franco-Prussian one. By Peace of Aachen 1748 almost all the states that participated in this war left it empty-handed, except for a small increase in Sardinia and the acquisition by the Spanish Prince Philip of the Italian Duchy of Parma. Only Prussia won, having taken Silesia from the Austrians and, thanks to this, immediately rose to the rank of one of the strongest states in the West. The Prussian king Frederick II turned out to be a cunning politician who did not disdain to achieve his goals by open treachery with contempt for any right. He was also a skilled general, and his army was exemplary for its time.

Frederick II the Great of Prussia - main character Seven Years' War

Grand Duke Pyotr Fedorovich (future Peter III) and grand duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna (future Catherine II)

That is why Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War, despite a number of high-profile victories, was marked by noticeable indecision. The Russian commanders, who more than once put Frederick II on the brink of complete defeat, constantly acted with an eye on the rivalry between the two Petersburg parties and therefore refrained from bringing the struggle against Prussia to a decisive end.

Causes of the Seven Years' War - in detail

The reasons that prepared the Seven Years' War arose long before it began. The dodgy Frederick II of Prussia was able to maintain the dignity of his small state in relations with big powers, although he did not have brilliant embassies at foreign courts and did not spend big money for diplomatic affairs. He deeply offended the Russian Empress Elizabeth with his comments that she seized the throne through an "illegal" palace coup of 1741; however, he knew how to get her nephew and heir, Peter III, to marry the princess recommended by him (in 1745). This princess was the daughter of the prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, who served in the Prussian service; when she converted to the Greek confession, she received the name Catherine. Her husband, who had been an admirer of Frederick since childhood, did everything according to the Prussian model until his death and acted in favor of Prussia, bringing this addiction to extreme one-sidedness. Friedrich tried to help him with prudent advice. But Peter, due to the limitations of his mind, could not follow the suggestions of the great European politician. He could not love the vast empire he was to rule, and felt, thought and acted only as Duke of Holstein, even when he became emperor.

On the contrary, Elizabeth's chief minister, Bestuzhev-Ryumin , was a decisive enemy of the King of Prussia, as he was an enemy of the Grand Duke Peter. Before the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, he took large sums from the British and Austrians, but his policy was not based on bribery alone. Frederick II was not only himself inaccessible to any foreign influence, but also did not allow Denmark and Sweden to submit to the influence of Russia. Therefore, Bestuzhev, even during the War of the Austrian Succession, concluded an agreement with Austria and Saxony directed against Prussia. Since then, relations between Russia and Prussia have been very strained. In May 1753, Russia finally decided not to allow further expansion of the Prussian monarchy, which Austria, which was preparing the future Seven Years' War, also aspired to. The following year, Bestuzhev even prepared troops to, if necessary, attack Prussia together with the Austrians. But while the first minister of Russia, on the eve of the Seven Years' War, acted against the king of Prussia, the heir to the Russian throne remained a blind admirer of Frederick and told him everything he learned about secret plans against him, so that Bestuzhev had to surround Peter with spies.

Russian Chancellor Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin. Portrait by an unknown artist

Before the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, the Russian government had the most hostile intentions against Frederick and had been negotiating with Austria and Saxony for years, which were detrimental to Prussia. But only this would not have resulted in the subsequent Seven Years' War. There has not yet been a war even from the close alliance concluded by the Austrian Chancellor Kaunitz between Austria and France against Prussia: the war was hampered by the slowness that prevailed in Austrian politics, the disgust that this unnatural alliance with an old rival inspired in the French, the miserable state of the Saxon government and the strange state of affairs in Russia. The seven-year war with Prussia would not have begun soon if a war had not broken out across the ocean between France and England.

These two powers, even before the start of the Seven Years' War, began to fight in two opposite ends of their possessions across the ocean, in the East Indies and in North America. The war was caused by a dispute that arose between them over American possessions. V East Indies In their internecine wars, the native sovereigns, who called themselves vassals of the Great Mogul, took as allies some of the French, who owned Pondicherry, and others of the English, who had an army in Madras. One of these sovereigns ceded a huge area to the French East India Company in gratitude for the military services rendered to him by the Frenchman. Bussy. Because of this, war could break out between England and France; but the French government forbade their East India Company from accepting the area presented to it and did not approve of the plans of the ambitious director of the company, Dupleix. The British calmed down. But in America, right before the start of the Seven Years' War, the argument took a different turn.

The current USA was then still a British colony and was limited to a strip of land along the eastern coast. Canada and Louisiana belonged to the French, and the Ohio and Mississippi river basins, which were still steppe, were the subject of a dispute between these powers. In addition, there was a dispute over the boundaries of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; they also argued over the fur trade, which was then very important. The English left all trade with the interior of America to a partnership of London merchants, called the Ohio Company, and gave it a strip of land on the Ohio River. The French drove off the English merchants by force of arms and built whole rows of forts on the Ohio, Mississippi, and along the northern frontier to prevent the expansion of the English colonies. This strife, which became one of the main causes of the Seven Years' War, took place just before it began, at a time when the Pelhem ministry, supported by Pitt Senior, enjoyed the favor of the king and the nation. But unfortunately, Pelghem died at that very time (in 1754). The Duke of Newcastle, having become Prime Minister after the death of his brother, was a man devoid of the talents required by the state of affairs, and in his pride and stubbornness did not allow such people as Pitt to act independently. Therefore, there was discontent among the people, and discord in the ministry, while unanimity was most needed.

In Europe, the Seven Years' War was already brewing, and in the American colonies, the British government demanded that the French clear the areas in which they began to build their new forts. The negotiations did not lead to anything, and England decided to use force, without yet declaring war. Without interrupting the negotiations that were going on in Europe, the government ordered its ships to seize French ships everywhere, and in a short time 300 French ships were captured. In January 1755 Braddock with the English fleet appeared off the American coast to prevent French ships from entering the St. Lawrence River, which were carrying supplies and reinforcements to Canada, and to attack French ports. But this did not succeed: the troops landed by Braddock on the shore were defeated and would even have been exterminated if their retreat had not been masterfully covered by the major and adjutant general of the Virginia militia, Washington, whose name subsequently acquired such a celebrity.

This began in 1755 the war between France and England, which was among the main causes of the Seven Years' War. Its first consequence was that the English nation had to give money to protect the Hanoverian Electorate of their king from the French, and the French began to draw Spain into the war. To protect Hanover from England, before the Seven Years' War, an agreement was concluded with Russia, which undertook to keep troops in readiness, receiving subsidies for this (in September 1755). Gotha, Hesse, Bavaria and some other German states also received subsidies, with the same obligation. In Spain (where the minister Carvajal died in 1755), the English envoy frustrated the French plan, having managed to overthrow Ensepad, who was on their salary, and put in his place minister walla, an Irishman naturalized in Spain.

The war started by England and France in America helped the success of the efforts of Empress Maria Theresa and Kaunitz to conclude an Austro-French alliance, which became one of the two main coalitions of the upcoming Seven Years' War. The negotiations, or rather, the intrigues, waged by Kaunitz for many years, more fully than all other diplomatic affairs of the 18th century, acquaint us with the nature of the then governments and the morality of that time. dominated in France Marchioness Pompadour, whose power was especially strengthened since 1752, when she entered into a close alliance with the Duke of Richelieu, Subise and other notable participants in royal orgies. The alliance of France with Austria and the Seven Years' War, anticipated by this alliance, presented the marquise with the prospect of great personal benefits. This alliance tied European politics to her personality, so that for the duration of the Seven Years' War she became necessary to Louis XV, and the main powers of Europe had to help her in the destruction of any rival that might appear. In addition, the Seven Years' War was an opportunity to give occupation abroad to the Duke of Richelieu, and his removal from Paris saved the marquis from the greatest of all life-pimps of that time, and Pompadour was freed from the every moment fear that he would bring the king to some new mistress. On this position and on the advantages of Marquise Kaunitz built all the intrigue, through which, before the Seven Years' War, he accomplished the most wonderful feat of diplomatic art. According to this calculation, Maria Theresa also decided on an act that was strangely indecent: at the decisive moment she wrote a letter to Pompadour in her own hand; however, with her strong anger at Frederick II, this step was not at all as difficult for her as it is usually imagined.

Portrait of the Marquise Pompadour. Artist François Boucher, 1756

These negotiations, which preceded the Seven Years' War, dragged on for years before it began, and neither the French nor the British ministers knew anything about them. They even followed at this time a policy that was in direct opposition to the affairs that were being arranged without their knowledge. Emperor Franz also knew nothing; in general, he was kept away from all government affairs of the hereditary Austrian possessions. In France, Louis XV and Pompadour, in order to conclude an unnatural alliance with France's old rival, Austria, had to betray the state to the power of a man who had no merit, except that he had previously composed love letters for Pompadour to Louis XV. It was the abbot, later cardinal de Bernie. To conclude an alliance with Austria, he was accepted into the state council (in September 1755). Much earlier (in May 1753) Kaunitz left Paris and took up the title of State Chancellor in Vienna; in his place, Count Staremberg was sent as ambassador to Paris, who was also initiated into the secret. While Kaunitz was in Paris, he and the empress each played their own special role. Maria Theresa, with all sorts of courtesies, attracted the French envoy in Vienna to restore the French ministry through him against the recent ally of the French - Prussia. Kaunitz, completely against his inclinations, played in Paris before the Seven Years' War a high society nobleman and shared the lifestyle of Louis and Pompadour in order to bind them to himself and to his plan. But when he left Versailles for Paris, he led the most simple life and did not look for any amusements, except that he was in literary salons.

French king Louis XV, participant of the Seven Years' War

One of the means to achieve the desired goal was Kaunitz to intimidate the French government with the idea that Austria would make an alliance with England. Indeed, the French ministers were firmly convinced that Austrian policy was inextricably linked with that of England, although it was not difficult to see that Austria was talking about her friendship with England only in order to receive subsidies from her. Moreover, the English king George II had a strong dislike for Prussia; therefore, when the French began to threaten his Hanoverian electorate, he concluded an alliance not with Prussia, but with Russia, in September 1755, in September 1755, for his protection. George II written evidence that has long been underway secret negotiations between Austria, Russia, Saxony and France and that in October (1755) Russia concluded an alliance with Austria. Georg was forced against his will to conclude an alliance with Prussia - and, in fact, nothing could prevent the Seven Years' War. Friedrich had in his hands written evidence of the secret relations of Austria, thanks to the fact that for two years he had been paying the secretary of the Austrian embassy in Vienna, von Weingarten, and the Prussian envoy in Dresden bribed an official of the Saxon court office, Menzel. In this way, Frederick became aware of the alliance that was slowly being formed against him, preparing the Seven Years' War, although he did not yet know the main secret, which Maria Theresa and Kaunitz kept very carefully. At the end of 1755, England entered into negotiations with Prussia, and on January 16, 1756, an alliance was concluded between these powers, known as Westminster Treatise. The English Ministry, however, lost the last remnant of its popularity when it was discovered that it had given itself to the deception of France. Only two of its members remained popular, Pitt and ledge, who in November 1755 opposed the subordination of English policy to Hanoverian interests and at the same time retired.

An alliance between France and Austria had already been concluded. France undertook to send to Germany very a strong army; it only remained to give this union the form of a public treatise, and from September 1755 negotiations were going on about it; they were not finished when the news of the alliance between England and Prussia spread. Thus, all the conditions for the start of the Seven Years' War were provided. When the Treaty of Alliance between France and Austria was promulgated, all of Europe was amazed, and Emperor Franz himself, among others, was amazed at the conclusion of close friendship between powers that had been constantly at enmity for more than one century. When the Seven Years' War broke out, Pompadour made her client, Bernie, minister, and her two other favorites, Richelieu and Soubise, became the main commanders of the French troops.

Russia had to enter into an armed struggle with Prussia in the years Seven Years' War(1756-1763). The Seven Years' War was all-European. According to the definition of one of its organizers, the head of the British government W. Pitt, she was supposed to "cut the Gordian knot of Anglo-French contradictions on the German" battlefield ". England and France fought for colonies in America and Asia and for dominance at sea. Strengthened England dealt crushing blows to the colonial possessions and maritime communications of France. The Anglo-French feuds were supplemented by the Austro-Prussian rivalry for hegemony in Germany and the aggressive policy of Frederick II. These three circumstances led to the conflict that resulted in the Seven Years' War.

Distribution of forces. On the eve of the Seven Years' War there was a regrouping of forces in Europe. England, striving for the complete isolation of France, at the beginning of 1756 concluded an agreement with Prussia, which stipulated mutual assistance of the two countries in the upcoming war. Such an unexpected turn of events posed before the Russian government the question of defining its relations with England and France. As a result, the line on the Russian-Austrian-French alliance, which was defended by an admirer of France, Vice-Chancellor M.I. Vorontsov, to a certain extent diverged from Bestuzhev's guidelines for Russia's cooperation with England and Austria in curbing Prussian aggression, prevailed at court. As a result, a coalition of states was formed consisting of Austria, France and Russia, which were later joined by Sweden and Saxony. England alone took the side of Prussia, supporting her ally with huge subsidies.

Move. In July 1757. the Russian army of S. F. Apraksin (80 thousand people) entered East Prussia, occupied Memel, Tilsit, approached Koenigsberg and August 19, 1757 defeated the Prussian corps of X. Lewald at Gross Jaegersdorfe. Apraksin, who was afraid of trouble in the event of the death of the often ill Elizabeth and the coming to power of an admirer of Prussia, Peter III, did not develop success, the officers refused to obey him, he was soon dismissed and arrested. His successor, VV Fermor, took Koenigsberg, East Prussia swore allegiance to the Russian Empress. V August 1758. Frederick II attacked the Russian army under Zorndorf. During the battle, Fermor fled from the battlefield, confident in defeat; the enemy attacks were still repulsed, albeit at the cost of huge losses. Replaced Fermor P. S. Saltykov in June 1759 he took Brandenburg, and in July he defeated Wedel's Prussian corps near Padzig. Capturing Frankfurt on the Oder, he linked up with the Austrians and August 11759. defeated Frederick II Kunersdorf. As a result of the 1759 campaign, the Prussian front no longer existed. . The way to Berlin was free, but due to the inconsistency of the actions of the allies, the campaign against Berlin was postponed until 1760. September 1760 the detachment of Z. G. Chernyshev took 3 days Berlin. Arms factories, foundries and cannon yards, gunpowder stores were destroyed in the city. Berlin was forced to pay a large contribution, and the keys to it were sent to Elizaveta Petrovna. The capture of Berlin, according to the plan of the Russian command, was an operation aimed at disorganizing the economic and political center of Prussia. After this goal was achieved, the withdrawal of Russian troops began. However, the Seven Years' War was not over yet. 1761 troops of P. L. Rumyantsev took the fortress Kolberg.

Results. The position of Prussia was hopeless, but it was saved by a sharp turn in Russian foreign policy, caused by the accession to the throne of Peter III on December 25, 1761. On the very first day of his reign, he sent a letter to Frederick II, in which he announced his intention to establish with him "eternal friendship ". April 1762. was signed peace treatywith Prussia and Russia withdrew from the Seven Years' War. The new emperor broke off the military alliance with Austria, stopped hostilities against Prussia, returned East Prussia to Friedrich, and even offered him military assistance. Only the overthrow of Peter III prevented Russia's participation in the war against its former allies. However, Russia no longer provided assistance to Austria.

Catherine II, who came to power in June 1762, although she verbally condemned the foreign policy of her predecessor, nevertheless did not resume the war with Prussia and confirmed peace. So, the Seven Years' War did not give Russia any acquisitions. However, it confirmed the strength of the positions won by Russia in the first quarter of the 18th century in the Baltic, strengthened its international prestige, and provided valuable military experience.

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