During the Seven Years' War, Russian troops for the first time. Generals of the Seven Years' War

The armed clash between France and England and Austria and Prussia in 1756-1763 went down in history as the Seven Years' War. Irreconcilable rivals dragged other states into it. Our article tells about Russia's participation in this war.

The beginning of the war for Russia

In 1756, the reforms begun by Empress Elizabeth continued in the Russian army. They concerned both the formation of the troops themselves, the principles of warfare, and the supply system of everything necessary. Therefore, the new military campaign in 1757, the army began with insufficient confidence.

Since the Russian troops in the Seven Years' War acted on the side of Austria, then postponing participation for more late deadline was no longer possible. Prussia strengthened its positions by capturing Saxony, and quite successfully repulsed the attacks of the French and Austrian armies.

Rice. 1. Russian soldiers of the 18th century.

General Apraksin, who was appointed commander, only in July 1757 decided to active actions. Russian troops crossed the border of Prussia and were able to win near Gross-Egersdorf. But, instead of consolidating success, the general gave the order to retreat. For which he was stripped of his rank and sent to Russia under arrest.

Apraksin suffered because of his excessive foresight. Knowing about the serious illness of the empress, he expected the imminent coming to power of Peter ΙΙΙ, who considered Prussia a more profitable ally. But Elizabeth Petrovna continued to rule.

Rice. 2. Field Marshal Stepan Fedorovich Apraksin.

Participation and results

Russia has changed three more commanders-in-chief: Fermor, Saltykov, Buturlin. Continuing the reorganization of the army, they managed to achieve serious results. Russian troops participated in such important battles:

Seven Years' War (1756–1763)

In this article you will learn:

The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) is one of the largest military conflicts of the 18th century. Its participants were countries whose possessions extended to all the then known continents (Australia and Antarctica still remained unknown).

Main participants:

Habsburg Austria
Great Britain
Russian empire
Prussian kingdom
french kingdom

The reasons

The prerequisite for the conflict was the unresolved geopolitical issues of the great powers of Europe in the previous confrontation - the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). Immediate causes new war contradictions arose between:

1. England and France with respect to their overseas possessions, in other words, there was a sharp colonial competition.

2. Austria and Prussia over the Silesian territories. In the previous conflict, the Prussians selected Silesia, the most industrialized region of the Habsburg monarchy, as the Austrians.

Map of military operations

coalitions

As a result of the last war, two coalitions were formed:

- Habsburg (main participants: Austria, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Russia, Saxony);

- anti-Habsburg (Prussia, France, Saxony).

By the mid-1750s, the situation continued, except that the Dutch chose neutrality, and the Saxons did not want to fight anymore, but maintained close relations with the Russians and Austrians.

During 1756, the so-called. "diplomatic coup". In January, secret negotiations between Prussia and England ended, and a subsidiary treaty was signed. Prussia was supposed to protect the European possessions of the English king (Hanover) for a fee. There was only one enemy - France. As a result, coalitions completely changed over the course of the year.

Now two groups confronted each other:

Austria, Russia, France
England and Prussia.

Other participants did not play a significant role in the war.

The beginning of the war

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

The beginning of the war is considered to be the first battles in Europe. Both camps no longer concealed their intentions, so the allies of Russia discussed the fate of Prussia, its king Frederick II did not wait for the blows. In August 1756, he was the first to act: he invaded Saxony.

There were three main theaters of warfare:

Europe
North America
India.

In Russian historiography, the first and the last are often considered separately from the war in Europe.

Fighting in North America

Back in January 1755, the British government decided to intercept a French convoy in the Canadian area. The attempt was unsuccessful. Versailles found out about this and broke off diplomatic relations with London. The confrontation was also on the ground - between the British and French colonists, with the involvement of the Indians. That year, an undeclared war was in full swing in North America.

The decisive battle was the Battle of Quebec (1759), after which the British captured the last French outpost in Canada.

In the same year, a powerful British landing captured Martinique, the center of French trade in the West Indies.

European theater

Here the main events of the war unfolded and all the warring parties took part in them. The stages of the war are conveniently structured by campaigns: every year there is a new campaign.

It is noteworthy that in general, military clashes were fought against Frederick II. Great Britain provided the main assistance in cash. The contribution of the army was insignificant, limited to the Hanoverian and neighboring lands. Also, Prussia was supported by small German principalities, providing their resources under the Prussian command.

Frederick II at the Battle of Kunersdorf

At the beginning of the war, there was an impression of a quick Allied victory over Prussia. However, due to various reasons That did not happen. It:

- lack of coordinated coordination between the commands of Austria, Russia and France;

- Russian commanders-in-chief did not have the right of initiative, they depended on the decisions of the so-called. Conferences at the Highest Court.

On the contrary, Frederick the Great allowed his generals, if necessary, to act at their own discretion, to negotiate a ceasefire, etc. The king himself directly commanded his army and lived in the field. He could carry out lightning marches, thanks to which he “simultaneously” fought on different fronts. In addition, in the middle of the century, the Prussian military machine was considered exemplary.

Main battles:

under Rosbach (November 1757).
at Zorndorf (August 1758).
at Kunersdorf (August 1759).
the capture of Berlin by the troops of Z.G. Chernyshev (October 1760).
at Freiberg (October 1762).

With the outbreak of the war, the Prussian army proved its ability to resist the three largest states of the continent almost alone. Until the end of the 1750s, the French lost their American possessions, the profits from the trade of which went to finance the war, including aid from Austria and Saxony. In general, the forces of the allies began to dwindle. Also Prussia was exhausted, she held on only thanks to financial assistance England.

In January 1762, the situation changed: the new Russian Emperor Peter III sent Frederick II an offer of peace and alliance. Prussia took this turn as a gift of fate. The Russian Empire withdrew from the coalition, but did not break off relations with the former allies. Dialogue with Britain was also activated.

The anti-Prussian coalition began to fall apart after Russia, Sweden (in April) announced its intention to withdraw from the war. In Europe, they were afraid that Peter III would act together with Frederick the Great, but only a separate corps was transferred under the banner of the latter. However, the emperor was going to fight: with Denmark for his hereditary rights in Holstein. However, this adventure was avoided due to a palace coup, which in June 1762 brought Catherine II to power.

In the autumn, Frederick won a brilliant victory at Freiberg and used this as an important argument for making peace. By that time, the French had lost their possessions in India and were forced to sit down at the negotiating table. Austria could no longer fight on its own.

Theater of War in Asia

In India, it all began with the confrontation between the ruler of Bengal and the British in 1757. The colonial French administration declared neutrality, even after the news of the war in Europe. However, the British quickly began attacking the French outposts. Unlike the previous War of the Austrian Succession, France was unable to turn the tide in its favor, and was defeated in India.

Peace resumed after the conclusion of treaties February 10, 1762 in Paris (between England and France) February 15, 1763 in Hubertusburg (between Austria and Prussia).

War results:

Austria received nothing.
The UK was the winner.
Russia pulled out of the war ahead of time, so it did not take part in peace negotiations, maintained the status quo and once again demonstrated its military potential.
Prussia finally secured Silesia and entered the family of the strongest countries in Europe.
France lost almost all of its overseas territories and gained nothing in Europe.

Categories:// dated 13.09.2016

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 Hesse-Kassel, Braunschweig and Hanover, which was in personal union with Great Britain, joined the Austro-French coalition. The Allied forces numbered over 300,000, while the Prussian army numbered 150,000 and the Anglo-Hanoverian expeditionary force 45,000.

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 its territory into Bohemia (Czech Republic). 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; Daun became the Austrian commander-in-chief.

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). the 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 ceded his post to the Count of Clermont, who withdrew the French army across the Rhine.

In the east, the Russian army launched an offensive against East Prussia in the summer of 1757; 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 an unsuccessful attempt to take Olmütz in May-June, he advanced 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; the new government of Lord Bute refused to extend in December the agreement on financial assistance to 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 launched 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 its possessions in the Pacific Ocean, capturing the Philippine Islands, and in the West Indies, capturing 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 negotiations. 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 was established in it - Prussia, which dominates in the north, and Austria, which dominates 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

Course of the Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) is a war of two coalitions for hegemony in Europe, as well as for colonial possessions in North America and India.

general political situation. The reasons

One coalition included England and Prussia, the other - France, Austria and Russia. Between England and France there was a struggle for colonies in North America. Clashes there began as early as 1754, and in 1756 England declared war on France. 1756, January - Anglo-Prussian alliance was concluded. In response, Prussia's main rival, Austria, decided to make peace with its old enemy France.

The Austrians wanted to regain Silesia, while the Prussians hoped to conquer Saxony. Sweden joined the Austro-French defensive alliance, hoping to win Stettin and other territories from Prussia that were lost during the Great Northern War. By the end of the year, Russia joined the Anglo-French coalition, hoping to conquer East Prussia in order to transfer it to Poland later in exchange for Courland and Semigallia. Prussia was supported by Hanover and several small North German states.

The course of hostilities

1756 - invasion of Saxony

The King of Prussia had a well-trained army of 150,000, at that time the best in Europe. 1756, August - he invaded Saxony with an army of 95 thousand people and inflicted a number of defeats on the Austrian army, which came to the aid of the Saxon elector. On October 15, the 20,000-strong Saxon army capitulated at Pirna, and its soldiers joined the ranks of the Prussian army. After that, the 50,000th Austrian army left Saxony.

Attack on Bohemia, Silesia

1757, spring - the Prussian king invaded Bohemia with an army of 121.5 thousand people. At this time, the Russian army had not yet begun the invasion of East Prussia, and France was going to act against Magdeburg and Hanover. On May 6, near Prague, 64,000 Prussians defeated 61,000 Austrians. Both sides in this battle lost 31.5 thousand killed and wounded, and the Austrian troops also lost 60 guns. As a result, 50,000 Austrians were blocked in the capital of the Czech Republic by a 60,000-strong Prussian army. To unblock Prague, the Austrians gathered at Kolin the 54,000th army of General Down with 60 guns. She moved to Prague. Friedrich fielded 33 thousand people with 28 heavy guns against the Austrian troops.

Battles of Kolin, Rosbach and Leuthen

1757, June 17 - Prussian troops began to bypass the right flank of the Austrian position at Kolin from the north, but Daun was able to notice this maneuver in time and deployed his forces with a front to the north. When the next day the Prussians went on the attack, inflicting the main blow against the enemy's right flank, they were met with heavy fire. The Prussian infantry of General Gulsen was able to occupy the village of Krzegory, but the tactically important oak grove behind it remained in the hands of the Austrians.

Down moved his reserve here. Finally, the main forces of the Prussians, concentrated on the left flank, could not withstand the rapid fire of enemy artillery, which fired grapeshot, and fled. Here the Austrian troops of the left flank went on the attack. Down's cavalry pursued the defeated enemy for several kilometers. The remnants of the Prussian army retreated to Nimburg.

Down's victory was the result of a one-and-a-half superiority of the Austrians in people and a twofold advantage in artillery. Frederick's army lost 14 thousand killed, wounded and captured and almost all artillery, and the Austrians - 8 thousand people. The Prussian king was forced to lift the siege of Prague and retreat to the border of Prussia.

Clockwise from top left: Battle of Plasse (June 23, 1757); Battle of Carillon (July 6-8, 1758); Battle of Zorndorf (August 25, 1758); Battle of Kunersdorf (August 12, 1759)

The strategic position of Prussia seemed critical. Allied forces numbering up to 300 thousand people were deployed against the Prussian army. Frederick 2 decided to first defeat the French army, reinforced by the troops of the principalities allied with Austria, and then again invade Silesia.

The 45,000-strong allied army took up a position near Müheln. Frederick, who had only 24 thousand soldiers, was able to lure the enemy out of the fortifications with a false retreat to the village of Rossbach. The French hoped to cut off the Prussian army from crossings over the Saale River and defeat it.

November 5, 1757, in the morning - the allies marched in three columns around the enemy left flank. This maneuver was covered by an 8,000-strong detachment, which started a skirmish with the Prussian vanguard. Friedrich was able to unravel the enemy's plan and at half past three in the afternoon he ordered to withdraw from the camp and simulate a withdrawal to Merseburg. The Allies attempted to intercept the escape route by sending their cavalry around Janus Hill. But she was unexpectedly attacked and defeated by the Prussian cavalry under the command of General Seidlitz.

At this time, under the cover of heavy fire from 18 artillery batteries, the Prussian infantry went on the offensive. The allied infantry had to line up in battle formation under enemy nuclei. Soon she was under the threat of a flank attack by the Seidlitz squadrons, faltered and ran. The French and their allies lost 7,000 killed, wounded and captured, and all their artillery - 67 guns and a convoy. The losses of the Prussian army were insignificant - only 540 killed and wounded. Here, both the qualitative superiority of the Prussian cavalry and artillery, and the mistakes of the allied command, affected. The French commander-in-chief started a complex maneuver, as a result, most of the army was in marching columns and was not able to take part in the battle. Friedrich got the opportunity to beat the enemy in parts.

Meanwhile, the Prussian army in Silesia was defeated. Frederick rushed to their aid with 21,000 infantry, 11,000 cavalry, and 167 guns. The Austrians settled down near the village of Leiten on the banks of the Weistritsa River. They had 59 thousand infantry, 15 thousand cavalry and 300 guns. 1757, December 5, morning - the Prussian cavalry threw back the Austrian vanguard, depriving the enemy of the opportunity to observe Frederick's army. Therefore, the attack of the main forces of the Prussian army was a complete surprise for the Austrian commander-in-chief, Duke Charles of Lorraine.

The Prussian king, as always, delivered the main blow on his right flank, but by the actions of the avant-garde he drew the attention of the enemy to the opposite wing. When Karl realized the true intentions and began to rebuild his army, the Austrians' order of battle was broken. Frederick took advantage of this for a flank attack. The Prussian cavalry routed the Austrian cavalry on the right flank and put them to flight. Then Seydlitz also attacked the Austrian infantry, which had previously been pushed back behind Leithen by the Prussian infantry. Only darkness saved the remnants of the Austrian army from complete annihilation. The Austrians lost 6.5 thousand people killed and wounded and 21.5 thousand prisoners, as well as all artillery and convoy. The losses of the Prussian army did not exceed 6 thousand people. Silesia was again under Prussian control.

Frederick II the Great

East Prussia

Meanwhile, Russian troops began active hostilities. Back in the summer of 1757, the 65,000-strong Russian army under the command of Field Marshal S.F. Apraksin moved to Lithuania, intending to capture East Prussia. In August, the Russian army approached Koenigsberg.

On August 19, the 22,000th detachment of the Prussian General Lewald attacked the Russian army near the village of Gross-Egersdorf, having no idea either about the true number of the enemy, who was almost three times superior to him, or about his location. Instead of the left flank, Levald found himself in front of the center of the Russian position. The regrouping of the Prussian forces during the battle only exacerbated the situation. The right flank of Lewald turned out to be overturned, which could not be compensated for by the success of the left-flank Prussian troops, who captured the enemy battery, but did not have the opportunity to develop success. The losses of the Prussians amounted to 5 thousand killed and wounded and 29 guns, the losses of the Russians reached 5.5 thousand people. The Russian troops did not pursue the retreating enemy, and the battle at Gross-Egersdorf had no decisive significance.

Unexpectedly, Apraksin gave the order to retreat, citing the lack of supplies and the separation of the army from their bases. The field marshal was accused of treason and put on trial. The only success was the capture of Memel by 9,000 Russian troops. This port was turned into the main base of the Russian fleet for the duration of the war.

1758 - the new commander-in-chief, General-in-Chief Count V.V. Fermor, with a 70,000th army with 245 guns, was able to easily occupy East Prussia, captured Koenigsberg and continued the offensive to the west.

Battle of Zorndorf

In August, a general battle took place between the Russian and Prussian troops near the village of Zorndorf. On the 14th, the Prussian king, who had 32,000 soldiers and 116 guns, attacked Fermor's army here, in which there were 42,000 people and 240 guns. The Prussians managed to press the Russian army, which had retreated to Kalisz. Fermor lost 7,000 killed, 10,000 wounded, 2,000 prisoners, and 60 guns. Friedrich's losses reached 4 thousand killed, more than 6 thousand wounded, 1.5 thousand prisoners. Frederick did not pursue the defeated army of Fermor, but headed for Saxony.

Map of the Seven Years' War

1759 - Battle of Kunersdorf

1759 - Fermor was replaced by Field Marshal Count P.S. Saltykov. By this time, the Allies had put up 440 thousand people against Prussia, whom the Prussian king could only oppose with 220 thousand. On June 26, the Russian army set out from Poznan to the Oder River. On July 23, at Frankfurt an der Oder, she joined the Austrian army. On July 31, the king of Prussia with a 48,000th army took up a position near the village of Kunersdorf, hoping to meet here the combined Austro-Russian forces, which largely outnumbered his troops.

Saltykov's army numbered 41 thousand people, and the Austrian army of General Down - 18.5 thousand people. On August 1, the Prussians attacked the left flank of the allied forces. The Prussian troops succeeded in capturing an important height here and placing a battery there, which brought down fire on the center of the Russian army. The Prussians pressed the center and the right flank of the Russians. But Saltykov was able to create a new front and go on a general counteroffensive. After a 7-hour battle, the Prussian army retreated behind the Oder in disarray. Immediately after the battle, Frederick had only 3,000 soldiers at hand, as the rest scattered around the surrounding villages, and they had to be gathered under the banners for several days.

Frederick's army lost 18 thousand people killed and wounded, the Russians - 13 thousand, and the Austrians - 2 thousand. Due to the heavy losses and fatigue of the soldiers, the Allies were unable to organize the pursuit, which saved the Prussians from the final defeat. After Kunersdorf, the Russian army, at the request of the Austrian emperor, was transferred to Silesia, where the Prussian army also suffered a number of defeats.

1760-1761

The campaign of 1760 proceeded sluggishly. Only at the end of September was a raid on Berlin undertaken. The first assault on the city, undertaken on the 22-23rd of the 5th thousand. detachment of General Totleben, ended in failure. Only with the approach of the 12,000th corps of General Chernyshev and the detachment of the Austrian General Lassi, the Prussian capital was besieged by the 38,000th allied army (of which 24,000 were Russians), 2.5 times greater than the number of the Prussian army concentrated near Berlin. The Prussians chose to leave the city without a fight. On September 28, the 4,000-strong garrison that covered the retreat capitulated. In the city, 57 guns were captured and gunpowder factories and an arsenal were blown up. Because Friedrich hurried to Berlin with the main forces of the army, Field Marshal Saltykov ordered Chernyshev's corps and other detachments to retreat. Berlin itself was not of strategic importance.

The campaign of 1761 proceeded as sluggishly as the previous one. In December, Rumyantsev's corps was taken by Kolberg.

The final stage. Results

The position of the Prussian king seemed hopeless, but the emperor, who replaced the Russian throne in early 1762, bowed to the military genius of Frederick II, stopped the war and even concluded an alliance with Prussia on May 5. At the same time, after the destruction of its fleet by the British, France withdrew from the war, having suffered a number of defeats from the British in North America and India. True, in July 1762, Peter was deposed on the orders of his wife. She terminated the Russo-Prussian alliance, but did not continue the war. An excessive weakening of Prussia was not in the interests of Russia, as it could lead to Austrian hegemony in Central Europe.

Austria was forced to make peace with Prussia on February 15, 1763. The King of Prussia was forced to renounce his claims to Saxony, but retained Silesia. Five days earlier, peace had been concluded in Paris between England and France. The French lost their possessions in Canada and India, retaining only 5 Indian cities in their hands. The left bank of the Mississippi also passed from France to England, and the French were forced to cede the right bank of this river to the Spaniards, and they also had to pay compensation to the latter for Florida ceded to the British.

Seven Years' War 1756-1763

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- corresponded to the 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.