The Seven Years' War: The First Global War

The Seven Years' War was one of the most extensive and bloodiest conflicts of the 18th century. This epic confrontation among European powers spanned across Eurasia, North America, and South America, as well as the waters of three oceans. The scale of the conflict led some historians to refer to it as the First Global War. The Seven Years' War began due to the ambitious territorial aspirations of European monarchs and their desire to redraw the results of the War of the Austrian Succession. The main adversaries were the Austrian Habsburgs and the Prussian Hohenzollerns. Austrian ruler Maria Theresa sought to regain her lost territory of Silesia. The bellicose Frederick II aimed to weaken the Habsburg influence in the Holy Roman Empire and seize the silver-rich Saxony and Bohemia. Simultaneously, tensions persisted in the rivalry between France and Great Britain, competing for colonies in America, Africa, and Asia, as well as spheres of influence in Europe. British-French armed clashes in North America began as early as 1754 and served as a prelude to the Seven Years' War. Before this confrontation, there was a diplomatic revolution, during which the old coalition of Great Britain, the Habsburgs, the Russian Empire, and the Netherlands fell apart. The first three monarchies could not agree on the financing of continental armies and the defense of Hanover and the Austrian Netherlands against potential invasion by the powerful French army. Moreover, the Habsburgs were offended by Britain, which swiftly agreed to territorial losses for its Austrian allies during the Second Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The Dutch Republic was too weakened after recent wars and was unwilling to deploy its army to defend the Habsburg Netherlands. During this time, Austria was led by Chancellor Wenzel Anton von Kornitz, who advocated for closer ties with France and maintaining the alliance with Russia. During this time, British King George II, who also ruled the Principality of Hanover, sought to secure his Hanoverian lands from potential French invasion. He saw a strengthened Prussia as a reliable guarantee of security for his German possessions. Meanwhile, the Russian Empire viewed the Kingdom of Prussia as its primary adversary in northeastern Europe. Russian authorities made plans to seize East Prussia, which they intended to exchange for the territories of Courland and Semigallia. The dissolution of the old alliance between France and Prussia was facilitated by Frederick II's dismissive attitude towards Louis XV's and mistress, Marquise de Pompadour. Ultimately, Britain initiated secret negotiations for an alliance with its recent opponent, Prussia, which culminated in the signing of the Westminster Agreement in January 1756. According to these agreements, Britain provided Frederick II with substantial annual financial assistance amounting to £670,000 in exchange for his commitment to defend Hanover against French aggression. In response, France moved closer to Austria, which resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in May of the same year. Attempts by British diplomats to sway Russia to their side failed. Thus, Britain and Prussia found themselves in a highly disadvantageous position, as their potential adversaries enjoyed a threefold numerical advantage in troops on the continent. The Prussian army numbered around 200,000, with military contingents in Hanover totaling up to 50,000. Instead, the forces of France and the Habsburgs together outnumbered the Prussians, while the Russian Empire with its 330,000-strong army significantly surpassed all future participants in the conflict. However, the combat effectiveness of the Russian army was considered low. In contrast, Prussia was extremely militarized. Compared to France, the ratio of soldiers to population in Prussia was 4.5 times higher. Frederick II relied heavily on his well-trained army when he decided to confront his opponents individually. On August 28, 1756, Prussian forces invaded the formerly neutral territory of Saxony, whose ruler maintained friendly relations with Russia and the Habsburgs. The Prussian king aimed to transform Saxony into a convenient base for continuing the war against the Habsburgs. On October 1, the Austrian army of 33,000 under Field Marshal Brown, rushing to aid the Saxons, was halted by Frederick II's 29,000-strong forces in the Battle of Lobozitz. Three weeks later, the Prussian king forced the outnumbered Saxon army to surrender, and their soldiers were forcibly conscripted into the Prussian military. In 1756, in the North American theater of the war, Britain and France both sought to enlist the support of local Native American tribes. France was somewhat more successful in this endeavor because French settlers generally had more peaceful coexistence with the indigenous populations compared to British colonists. During the Seven Years' War, the French received support from the Shawnee, the majority of the Hurons, and Algonquins. On the other hand, the British were allied with the Iroquois, some smaller tribes, and a few scattered Mohican tribes. However, Britain had a significant demographic advantage, with a population of over one million across its thirteen colonies, compared to the French colonies whose population was seven times smaller. Consequently, Britain was able to muster more powerful colonial militia forces. In 1756, the French achieved significant success in the North American region by capturing Fort Oswego in August. This strategic move resulted in the British losing the northeastern lands of the New York colony and access to Lake Ontario. Simultaneously, in India, where intense competition for ports and colonies was underway, the unexpected ally of the French was the ruler of Bengal, Siraj-ud-Daulah. The Bengali Nawab besieged and captured the important British trading and military center of Calcutta. In April 1757, Frederick II renewed active military operations by leading a 70,000-strong Prussian army into Bohemia. Initially, fortune favored him as Prussian forces won victories against the Austrians at the Battles of Reichenberg and near Prague. However, reinforcements arrived swiftly for the Habsburg forces in Bohemia under the command of Leopold von Dahn. They decisively defeated Frederick II's 34,000-strong army in the bloody Battle of Cologne on June 18th. The Prussian army suffered significant losses, including half of its troops and most of its artillery. Following this defeat, the aura of invincibility surrounding the Prussian king was shattered, and he hastily retreated to Saxony. Meanwhile, through the mediation of French diplomats, Sweden joined the anti-Prussian coalition. Sweden sought to reclaim the part of Pomerania seized by Prussia. The combined Russian and Swedish fleets were able to block attempts by British ships to enter the Baltic Sea. During Frederick's Bohemian campaign, France and Russia directed their forces towards capturing Hanover and eastern Prussia, respectively. The French army under Marshal Louis d'Estrée took advantage of their numerical superiority and by the summer of 1757 seized most of the territories of Hanover and Brunswick. The Russian forces, commanded by Stepan Apraksin, enjoyed an even more significant threefold advantage. They captured substantial portions of eastern Prussia, including Memel, and defeated the Prussian army at the Battle of Großjägersdorf. However, logistical issues and strategic miscalculations led to the Russian empire withdrawing from the conquered lands due to supply shortages. In August, a second French army, led by Charles de Soubise, advanced into Thuringia, from where they could strike at the heart of Prussia. Concurrently, with pressure from allies, Habsburg forces launched an offensive into Silesia, capturing the important city of Breslau. The shortage of troops to contend with three numerically superior adversaries was so acute that on some fronts there were no units available for defense. Therefore, in October 1757, a small Austrian flying corps led by General Hadik managed to slip into the heart of Prussia and unexpectedly capture Berlin for one day. Frederick understood that only luck, maneuverability, and catastrophic mistakes by his opponents could save him from complete disaster. On November 7th, leading a 22,000-strong army, he executed a swift maneuver and delivered a flanking blow that routed the combined French-Austrian forces of 43,000 at Rossbach. The allied forces were marching, with commanders neglecting proper reconnaissance, allowing Frederick to execute a brilliant attack. After repelling the French threat, Frederick swiftly regrouped his elite troops in Silesia, where he achieved one of his most brilliant victories. On December 5th, commanding a 33,000-strong army, he engaged 80,000 troops under Charles of Lorraine near the village of Leuten. In this battle, Frederick employed his favored tactical deception, the Oblique Order. Initially feigning an attack on the right northern flank of the Austrians, the majority of the Prussian forces actually shifted south to encircle the left southern flank of the enemy. Creating a semi-envelopment of this part of the enemy, the Prussian army crushed the Austrians with intense firepower and bayonet charges. Attempts to send reinforcements and organize a counterattack failed due to panic and the excellent work of the Prussian artillery, strategically positioned on heights. The Habsburg army suffered a sensational defeat, and heavy losses forced Charles of Lorraine to retreat from Silesia. In 1757, the struggle for colonies between Great Britain and France saw varying degrees of success. Britain formed two new regiments of colonial militia in North America and directed an additional seven new regiments there. However, due to the British command's passivity, French actions proved to be successful once again. During the summer of that year, French forces of 8,000, along with Native Americans under Marquis de Montcalm, captured Fort William Henry. Britain lost another strategic position, and approximately 2,000 of its soldiers became prisoners. In India, the forces of the British East India Company, consisting of local Sepoy soldiers and a few colonial troops, advanced against French territories. Initially, the British captured the French settlement of Chandanagar. Then, in June 1757, a 4,000-strong army led by Robert Clive defeated a nearly 50,000-strong army of Bengali Nawab at the Battle of Plassey. However, the actual engagement involved no more than 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers of the Bengali army, as a significant portion of their forces remained inactive due to the bribery of British commanders. At the beginning of 1758, there were changes in leadership in many armies. The French armies were commanded by Count Clermont, the Russian armies by Wilhelm Fairmoor, and the Austrian armies by Leopold von Dahn. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick took command of the Anglo-Hannoverian forces, which also included troops from Brunswick and Hesse. Ferdinand's successful actions initially recaptured Bremen and pushed the French back beyond the Rhine by April. Russian forces occupied a large part of East Prussia and seized the well-fortified city of Königsberg between January and March. Meanwhile, Frederick II of Prussia planned an advance into Bohemia and Moravia, managing to lay siege to Olomouc in May. However, all his plans were disrupted when Russian armies moved towards Brandenburg in the summer. To defend his capital, Frederick withdrew with part of his forces to the north, leaving other units in Silesia and Saxony to defend against the forces of the Habsburgs. At the end of June 1758, Prussian and Allied forces led by Ferdinand of Brunswick achieved victory over a 45,000-strong French army in the Battle of Krefeld. This success was attributed to skillful flanking maneuvers, temporarily reducing the threat of French invasion into Hanover. On August 14 in the region of Brandenburg, Frederick II's 33,000-strong army engaged in a fierce battle with a 42,000-strong Russian force at Zorndorf. This battle turned out to be one of the bloodiest of the Seven Years' War. Prussia suffered approximately 11,000 casualties, including killed and severely wounded, while the Russians lost around 16,000 men. Despite the heavy losses on both sides, neither gained a clear advantage during the battle. Ultimately, the Prussian army under the command of William Fermor organized a retreat to regroup with auxiliary forces. Frederick the Great, despite the Russian claims of victory, viewed the outcome as advantageous due to the significant Russian casualties and their retreat. Later, Frederick II with his army totaling 60,000 soldiers again moved towards Bohemia by two routes. However, near the village of Hotchkirch in southern Saxony, he encountered Ludwig von Dahn's force of 77,000 troops. Despite having only 33,000 soldiers at his disposal, the Prussian king decided to engage in battle. However, his old tactical tricks proved ineffective against such a large and well-prepared enemy army. Consequently, on October 14, Frederick II suffered a painful defeat, losing nearly 10,000 soldiers killed or wounded. Yet, von Dahn did not immediately advance on Berlin. Instead, he settled for a failed siege of Dresden. This allowed Prussia to regroup its forces and eventually drive the Austrians out of Silesia. After three years of war, Prussia continued to struggle against its three numerically and financially superior enemies. However, Prussia's already critically low mobilization reserves had been exhausted, and a significant portion of its best soldiers had perished in battles or succumbed to diseases. Additionally, the country's economy could not sustain the increasing costs of war, and Frederick II avoided bankruptcy solely due to financial aid from Britain. To compensate for these losses, the Prussian king implemented new forced mobilizations, including among the lands he had conquered and among prisoners from enemy armies. However, the combat readiness and morale of these conscripted forces were extremely low, and they often deserted or switched sides to the enemy given favorable opportunities. During the Seven Years' War, most armies employed scorched-earth tactics. Civilian populations suffered from widespread looting, violence, and requisitions. During the spring and June of 1759, both sides exchanged blows targeting depots and bases in Silesia, western Poland, and Saxony. In the course of these maneuvers, the Russian army joined forces with the Austrians and moved towards Berlin. Frederick II, leading a 49,000-strong army, attempted to halt the 60,000-strong enemy forces near Kunersdorf. On August 12, the armies clashed in a fierce battle. Initially, the Prussian forces displaced the Russians from several crucial heights and decisively won the artillery duel. However, fresh reserves from the Austrian and Russian armies later pushed back the weary Prussian army and inflicted severe losses. Frederick II attempted to regain the initiative with a swift strike of Prussian cavalry, considered the best in Europe at the time. However, the attack failed due to the hilly terrain with bushes, and the Prussian hussars were mowed down by dense gunfire from rifles and cannons. The Allies then launched a decisive counterattack, forcing Frederick with the remnants of his forces to escape. Prussia lost 18,000 soldiers and nearly all of its artillery, while the Allied, Austrian, and Russian armies lost about 15,000 warriors. Frederick had no reserves left to defend the Prussian capital, so the Allied army could easily have captured Berlin. The Prussian king was in despair and prepared to commit suicide. However, disputes among the Allies prevented them from agreeing on plans for further offensive. This stroke of luck was dubbed the first miracle of the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg. On August 1, a coalition army consisting of 40,000 Prussian, British, and Allied forces successfully defeated a 60,000-strong French army in the Battle of Minden. This victory marked another failure for France in its attempt to capture Hanover. However, on other fronts, Prussia faced much tougher challenges. A notable example was the Battle of Maxen, where during the battle, 6,000 Prussian infantrymen switched sides and joined the Austrians, while another 12,000 surrendered as prisoners of war. These defectors included former prisoners of war from Prussia's enemy armies. Despite this setback, Frederick II continued to enforce harsh mobilization measures on his citizens, inhabitants of the territories he had conquered, and prisoners of war. At the same time, the situation in other theaters of war differed. In 1759, the balance of power and the struggle for colonies tilted in favor of London. With the help of a 44,000-strong army of regular troops and colonial regiments, Britain managed to break French resistance in North America. The French forces were outnumbered threefold, which inevitably led to the British capture of Quebec City and the forts of Niagara and Ticonderoga. Meanwhile, in India, the French army suffered a setback in their attempt to besiege British-held Madras, undermining all further plans of the French command. In the first half of 1760, the Prussian armies maneuvered desperately through the territories of Saxony, Silesia, and western Poland, trying to avoid encounters with numerically superior allies while seizing opportunities to crush isolated parts of the Habsburg and Russian forces. A somewhat curious situation unfolded on August 15th of that year near Liegnitz. A portion of the Austrian 100,000-strong army pursued Frederick the Great's 27,000-strong force. However, the Prussian king thoroughly rooted a 30,000-strong corps that had engaged in pursuit. Other parts of the Austrian army did not arrive in time to assist and subsequently refrained from risking engagement with the Prussian forces. For his outstanding victories in this war against more numerous opponents, Frederick earned his epithet, The Great. In October 1760, the Russian-Austrian army under Tottleben managed to capture the lightly-defended Berlin for a few days. However, news of approaching reinforcements prompted the Allied forces to quickly withdraw. On November 12th, after numerous maneuvers and local battles, Frederick the Great, leading a 44,000-strong army, finally encountered Fondon's 53,000-strong Habsburg army near the town of Torgau. The Austrians occupied strategically advantageous heights, so the Prussian king decided to attack them from two wooded flanks on different sides. Thanks to these bold and unconventional flanking maneuvers from the south and north, the Prussian army achieved victory. However, this victory came at a high cost, as Prussian losses in killed, wounded, and captured amounted to about 17,000 soldiers. In 1760, Britain achieved decisive victories over the French in North America and India. In North America, they captured Montreal and finally subdued all of French Canada. In India, the British triumphed in the Battle of Wandiwash and successfully besieged the capital of French India, Pondicherry, in the fall. The capture of this city in January of the following year symbolized Britain's victory and France's defeat in the struggle for colonies. As of the beginning of 1761, the Prussian army, including garrisons of sick and wounded, numbered approximately 100,000. Their opponents on the continent had a four-fold numerical advantage. Therefore, throughout the year, the weakened Prussian armies on the eastern front continued maneuvering and carefully avoiding direct engagements. They also focused on diversions against the bases and supply lines of their allies. Meanwhile, the Russians and Austrians captured several fortresses in Silesia and eastern Pomerania, including Schweidnitz and Kolberg. More active battles were fought in modern-day western Germany. Ferdinand of Brunswick failed to capture Kassel and French forces achieved victory at Grunberg. However, the French were unable to achieve complete success in this direction due to a thorough defeat at Fellinghausen. On July 15 and 16, 1761, an attempt by a 90,000-strong French army to dislodge their opponents from dominant heights ended in complete failure against the skilled resistance of a 65,000-strong British-Prussian Hanoverian army. For all of Europe, Prussia's defeat seemed inevitable due to its limited resources. However, Frederick II was fortunate once again. In January 1762, the death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia led to her successor, Peter III, a fervent admirer of the Prussian king and a German by birth, forming an alliance with Prussia after initially declaring a ceasefire out of respect for Frederick's persona. This event was termed the Second Miracle of the House of Brandenburgs. All the Prussian territories conquered by Russia were returned to Prussia. Most of the Russian troops were supposed to return home, with 18,000 of them slated to fight against their recent allies if they did not agree to Frederick II's peace terms. However, the Russian forces behaved extremely passively, particularly by not engaging in the attack during the Battle of Berkersdorf in July 1762. In this battle, Frederick managed to push back the Austrian army of 75,000 under Leopold von Dahn and buried the Habsburg hopes of reclaiming Silesia. Earlier on June 24, British, Prussian, and their allied forces defeated the Franco-Saxon army at the Battle of Wilhelmsthal. Thus, French attempts to advance into Prussia failed. During this period, a coup took place in the Russian Empire, bringing Catherine II to power, the wife of Peter III. She cancelled the alliance with Prussia, but also chose not to support her former allies. Therefore, the Russian Empire withdrew from the war. The British-Spanish confrontation flared up with renewed vigor. At the outset of the Seven Years' War, Spain sought to maintain neutrality. However, after Charles III ascended to the throne, the situation changed. He grew weary of constant attacks by English privateers on Spanish ships and feared Britain's excessive strengthening in all oceans. The new Spanish king moved closer to France and entered into a defensive-offensive alliance. On January 4, 1762, Britain officially declared war on Spain. In response, in the spring of 1762, the Spanish army invaded Portugal, a long-standing ally of England. The forces previously engaged in conquering French colonies in the Caribbean and India were utilized for attacks on Spanish ships and colonies. Initially, from April to August, British forces captured Cuba and Havana, and in October 1762, they took Manila. However, British attempts to establish control over all of the Philippines failed, as did efforts to capture Spanish colonies in South America. Gradually, most nations began to realize the futility of continuing the war and the exhaustion of their own resources. Initially, a preliminary ceasefire was signed between Prussia and France. The final major battle of the Seven Years' War was the Battle of Freiburg, which took place on October 29, 1762. Prussian forces, led by Prince Henry, younger brother of Frederick the Great, defeated 30,000 Austrian troops under General Haddock's command. However, naval and oceanic conflicts continued, with the most active confrontation between Spain and Britain. By the end of the war, losses from military actions outweighed gains from minor conquests, prompting hostile states to seek pathways to peace on terms acceptable to themselves. The 10th of February 1763 marked the signing of the Treaty of Paris, a pivotal peace agreement between Britain and Portugal on one side and France and Spain on the other. According to its terms, France ceded East Louisiana, Canada, some Caribbean islands, and most of its colonial possessions in India to Britain. Spain lost Florida to Britain but gained West Louisiana as compensation. Just five days later, the Treaty of Habsburg was signed between Prussia and the Habsburg Monarchy. This treaty recognized Prussia's possession of Silesia, solidifying its control under the Hohenzollern dynasty. Thus, the Seven Years' War ended, with a victory for the British-Prussian coalition, leading to the strengthening and expansion of the British colonial empire. However, Britain's national debt doubled as a result of the war, prompting King George III to increase taxation in the American colonies. This policy eventually contributed to the American War of Independence and the formation of the United States.