Due to the strengthening of the supreme power, the mobilization of resources, the creation of a well-organized, large army (in 100 years it has grown 25 times and reached 150 thousand people), a relatively small Prussia is turning into a strong aggressive power. The Prussian army becomes one of the best in Europe. It was distinguished by: iron discipline, high maneuverability on the battlefield, precise execution of orders. In addition, the Prussian army was led by an outstanding commander of that era - King Frederick II the Great, who made a significant contribution to the theory and practice of military affairs. By the middle of the XVIII century. Anglo-French contradictions connected with the struggle for the redistribution of the colonies are also sharply aggravated. All this led to changes in traditional ties. England makes an alliance with Prussia. This forces former adversaries - France and Austria - to rally in the face of the threat from the Anglo-Prussian alliance. The latter unleashes the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). It involved two coalitions. On the one hand, England (in union with Hanover), Prussia, Portugal and some German states. On the other hand, Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, Saxony and most of the German states. As for Russia, St. Petersburg was not satisfied with the further strengthening of Prussia, fraught with its claims to influence in Poland and the former possessions of the Livonian Order. This directly affected Russian interests. Russia joined the Austro-French coalition and, at the request of its ally, the Polish king Augustus III, in 1757 entered the Seven Years' War. First of all, Russia was interested in the territory of East Prussia, which Petersburg intended to give to the Commonwealth, receiving from it in return the region of Courland bordering Russia. In the Seven Years' War, Russian troops acted both independently (in East Prussia, Pomerania, on the Oder), and in cooperation with their Austrian allies (on the Oder, in Silesia).

Campaign of 1757

In 1757, Russian troops operated mainly in East Prussia. In May, the army under the command of Field Marshal Stepan Apraksin (55 thousand people) crossed the border of East Prussia, which was defended by troops under the command of Field Marshal Lewald (30 thousand regular troops and 10 thousand armed inhabitants). In the campaign, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, they did not go with an easy heart. Since the time of Ivan the Terrible, the Russians had not actually fought the Germans, so the enemy was known only by hearsay. The Russian army knew about the famous victories of the Prussian king Frederick II the Great and therefore they were afraid of the Prussians. According to the memoirs of a participant in the campaign, the future writer Andrei Bolotov, after the first unsuccessful border skirmish for the Russians, the army was seized by "great timidity, cowardice and fear." Apraksin avoided clashes with Lewald in every possible way. This also happened at Velau, where the Prussians occupied strong fortified positions. "Peaceful Field Marshal" did not dare to attack them, but decided to bypass them. To do this, he started a crossing across the Pregel River in the area of ​​​​the village of Gross-Egersdorf, in order to then move to Allenburg, bypassing the Prussian positions. Upon learning of this maneuver, Lewald, with an army of 24,000, hastened to meet the Russians.

Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf (1757). After the crossing, the Russian troops found themselves in an unfamiliar wooded and swampy area and lost their order of battle. Lewald took advantage of this, who on August 19, 1757 swiftly attacked the Russian units scattered near the river. The main blow fell on the 2nd division of General Vasily Lopukhin, which did not have time to finish building. She suffered heavy losses, but showed resilience and did not retreat. Lopukhin himself, wounded by bayonets, came to the Prussians, but was repulsed by his soldiers and died in their arms. The Russians could not hold back a repeated attack in the same direction and were pressed against the forest. They were threatened with complete defeat, but then the brigade of General Pyotr Rumyantsev intervened in the matter, which decided the outcome of the battle. Seeing the death of his comrades, Rumyantsev hastened to their aid. Having forced their way through the forest thickets, his brigade delivered an unexpected blow to the flank and rear of Lewald's infantry. The Prussians could not withstand the bayonet attack and began to back away. This made it possible for the Russian center to recover, form up and go on the counterattack. Meanwhile, the Don Cossacks distinguished themselves on the left flank. With a feigned retreat, they brought the Prussian cavalry under fire from infantry and artillery, and then also launched a counterattack. The Prussian army retreated everywhere. The damage of the Russians amounted to 5.4 thousand people, the Prussians - 5 thousand people.

This was the first Russian victory over the Prussian army. She greatly boosted their morale by dispelling past fears. According to the foreign volunteers who were in Apraksin's army (in particular, the Austrian Baron Andre), such a fierce battle has never happened in Europe. Gross-Jegersdorf's experience showed that the Prussian army did not like close bayonet fighting, in which the Russian soldier showed high fighting qualities. However, Apraksin did not develop success and soon withdrew the troops back to the border. According to a widespread version, the reason for his departure was not military, but internal political in nature. Apraksin was afraid that after the death of the ill Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, her nephew Peter III, an opponent of the war with Prussia, would come to power. A more prosaic reason that stopped the Russian offensive was the smallpox epidemic, which caused great devastation in the ranks of the Russian army. So, in 1757, 8.5 times more soldiers died from diseases than on the battlefields. As a result, the campaign of 1757 ended tactically for the Russians to no avail.

Campaign of 1758

Elizaveta Petrovna, who soon recovered, removed Apraksin from command and placed General William Farmer at the head of the army, demanding that he vigorously continue the campaign. In January 1758, the 30,000-strong Russian army again crossed the border of East Prussia. The second East Prussian campaign ended quickly and almost bloodlessly. Not expecting the Russians to launch a winter campaign, Frederick II sent Lewald's corps to Stettin (now Szczecin) to defend against a Swedish attack. As a result, small garrisons remained in East Prussia, which offered almost no resistance to the Russians. On January 11, Koenigsberg surrendered, and the population of East Prussia was soon sworn in to the Russian Empress. Thus fell the last stronghold left from the previous conquests of the crusaders in the Baltic, and Elizaveta Petrovna, as it were, completed the work begun by Alexander Nevsky. In fact, in the winter of 1758, Russia fulfilled its immediate goals in the Seven Years' War. Having waited out the spring thaw, the Farmer moved the army to the Oder, in the Kyustrin (Kyustshin) region, where he planned to enter into interaction with the Swedish army, which was located on the Baltic coast. The appearance of the Russians at Kustrin (75 km from Berlin) seriously alarmed Frederick II. In an effort to avert the threat from his capital, the Prussian king left a barrier against the Austrians in Silesia, and he himself moved against Farmer. The 33,000-strong army of Friedrich approached the Oder, on the other side of which stood the 42,000-strong army of Farmer. On a night march, the Prussian king ascended the river to the north, crossed the Oder and went to the rear of the Farmer, cutting off his retreat. The Russian commander accidentally learned about this from the Cossacks, one of whose patrols had a skirmish with the Prussians. The farmer immediately lifted the siege of Kustrin and placed his army in a favorable position near the village of Zorndorf.

Battled at Zorndorf (1758). On August 14, 1758, at 9 am, the Prussians attacked the right wing of the Russian army. The first blow was taken by the so-called. "Observation Corps", consisting entirely of recruits. But he did not flinch and held back the onslaught. Soon the Russian cavalry pushed back the Prussians. In turn, she was overturned by the Prussian cavalry under the command of the famous General Seydlitz. Clouds of dust from under the hooves, smoke from the shots were carried by the wind to the Russian positions and made it difficult to see. The Russian cavalry, pursued by the Prussians, galloped to their infantry, but they, without understanding, opened fire on it. The soldiers of both armies mingled in the dust and smoke, and the massacre began. Having fired their cartridges, the Russian infantry stood firm, fighting back with bayonets and cleavers. True, while some fought heroically, others got to the barrels of wine. After getting drunk, they began to beat their officers and disobeyed orders. Meanwhile, the Prussians attacked the Russian left wing, but were repulsed and put to flight. The fierce fighting continued until late in the evening. On both sides, the soldiers ran out of gunpowder, and they fought hand-to-hand with cold weapons. Andrei Bolotov describes the courage of his compatriots in the last moments of the Battle of Zorndorf in this way: “In groups, in small groups, having shot their last cartridges, they remained as hard as a rock. Many, pierced through, continued to stay on their feet and fight, others, having lost a leg or arm already lying on the ground, they tried to kill the enemy with the surviving hand. Here is the testimony from the opposite side of the Prussian cavalry captain von Kate: "The Russians lay in rows, kissed their cannons - while they themselves were cut down with sabers - and did not leave them." Exhausted, both troops spent the night on the battlefield. The Prussians lost more than 11 thousand people in the Battle of Zorndorf. Russian damage exceeded 16 thousand people. ("Observation Corps" lost 80% of its composition). In relation to the number of dead and wounded to the total number of troops participating in the battle (32%), the Battle of Zorndorf is one of the bloodiest battles of the 18th-19th centuries. The next day the Farmer retreated first. This gave Frederick a reason to attribute the victory to himself. However, having suffered heavy losses, he did not dare to pursue the Russians and withdrew his battered army to Kustrin. With the battle of Zorndorf, the Farmer actually completed the campaign of 1758. In the autumn, he retired to winter quarters in Poland. After this battle, Friedrich uttered a phrase that went down in history: "Russians are easier to kill than to defeat."

Campaign of 1759

In 1759, the Russians agreed on joint operations with the Austrians on the Oder, General Pyotr Saltykov was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian troops. Here is the impression of one of the eyewitnesses about him: "The old man is gray-haired, small, unpretentious ... without any decorations and pomp ... He seemed to us a real chicken, and no one dared to think that he could do something important." Meanwhile, the most brilliant campaign of the Russian troops in the Seven Years' War is connected with Saltykov.

Battle of Palzig (1759). The path of Saltykov's troops (40 thousand people), marching to the Oder to connect with the Austrian corps of General Laudon, was blocked by the Prussian corps under the command of General Wedel (28 thousand people). In an effort to prevent a meeting of the allies, on July 12, 1759, Wedel attacked the Russian positions near Palzig (a German village southeast of Frankfurt an der Oder). Against the Prussian linear tactics, Saltykov used a defense in depth. The Prussian infantry furiously attacked the Russian positions four times. Having lost more than 4,000 men in unsuccessful attacks alone, Vedel was forced to retreat. “Thus,” Saltykov wrote in his report, “the proud enemy was completely defeated, driven away and defeated in a five-hour fierce battle. the act of the soldiery of all foreign volunteers was astonished." Russian losses amounted to 894 killed and 3897 wounded. Saltykov almost did not pursue the Prussians, which allowed them to avoid complete defeat. After the battle of Palzig, the Russians occupied Frankfurt an der Oder and joined up with the Austrians. The victory near Palzig raised the morale of the Russian troops and strengthened their faith in the new commander-in-chief.

Battle of Kunersdorf (1759). After connecting with the Laudon corps (18 thousand people), Saltykov occupied Frankfurt an der Oder. Friedrich was afraid of the Russian movement towards Berlin. At the end of July, his army crossed to the right bank of the Oder and entered the rear of the Russian-Austrian army. The Prussian king planned with his famous oblique attack to break through the left flank, where the Russian units stood, to press the allied army to the river and destroy it. On August 1, 1759, at 11 a.m. near the village of Kunersdorf, the Prussian army led by King Frederick the Great (48 thousand people) attacked the fortified position of the Russian-Austrian troops under the command of General Saltykov (41 thousand Russians and 18 thousand Austrians) . The hottest battles unfolded for the heights of Mulberg (left flank) and B. Spitz (the center of Saltykov's army). The Prussian infantry, having created a numerical superiority in this direction, managed to push the left flank of the Russians, where the units under the command of General Alexander Golitsyn were located. Having occupied Mühlberg, the Prussians installed artillery at this height, which opened longitudinal fire on the Russian positions. Frederick, who no longer doubted victory, sent a messenger to the capital with news of success. But while the good news was rushing to Berlin, Russian guns hit Mulberg. With accurate fire, they upset the ranks of the Prussian infantry, which was about to launch an attack from this height on the center of the Russian positions. Finally, the Prussians delivered the main blow to the center, to the B. Spitz height area, where the regiments under the command of General Pyotr Rumyantsev were stationed. At the cost of heavy losses, the Prussian infantry managed to reach the height at which a fierce battle broke out. Russian soldiers showed great stamina and repeatedly launched counterattacks. The Prussian king brought up more and more new forces, but in the "game of reserves" he was outplayed by the Russian commander in chief. Saltykov, who tightly controlled the course of the battle, promptly sent reinforcements to the most threatened areas. To support his tormented infantry, Frederick sent General Seydlitz's shock cavalry into battle. But she suffered heavy losses from rifle and artillery fire and retreated after a short fight. After that, Rumyantsev led his soldiers into a bayonet counterattack. They overturned the Prussian infantry and threw it from a height into a ravine. The surviving remnants of the Prussian cavalry made their way to the aid of their own, but were driven back by a blow from the right flank by the Russian-Austrian units. At this turning point in the battle, Saltykov gave the order to go on the general offensive. Despite exhaustion after many hours of battle, the Russian soldiers found the strength in themselves for a powerful attack, which turned the Prussian army into a wholesale flight. By seven in the evening it was all over. The Prussian army suffered a crushing defeat. Most of its soldiers fled, and after the battle, Frederick had only 3 thousand people under arms. The state of the king is evidenced by his letter to one of his friends the day after the battle: "Everything is running, and I no longer have power over the army ... A cruel misfortune, I will not survive it. The consequences of the battle will be worse than the battle itself: I have more there are no means and, to tell the truth, I consider everything lost. The damage of the Prussians amounted to over 7.6 thousand killed and 4.5 thousand prisoners and deserters. The Russians lost 2.6 thousand killed, 10.8 thousand wounded. Austrians - 0.89 thousand killed, 1.4 thousand wounded. Heavy losses, as well as contradictions with the Austrian command, did not allow Saltykov to use his triumph to take Berlin and defeat Prussia. At the request of the Austrian command, instead of attacking Berlin, Russian troops went to Silesia. This made it possible for Frederick to recover and recruit a new army.

Kunersdorf is the largest battle of the Seven Years' War and one of the brightest victories of Russian weapons in the 18th century. She nominated Saltykov to a number of outstanding Russian generals. In this battle, he used the traditional Russian military tactics - the transition from defense to offensive. So Alexander Nevsky won on Lake Peipsi, Dmitry Donskoy - on the Kulikovo field, Peter the Great - near Poltava, Minikh - at Stavuchany. For the victory at Kunersdorf, Saltykov received the rank of field marshal. The participants in the battle were awarded a special medal with the inscription "To the Victor over the Prussians".

Campaign of 1760

As Prussia weakened and the end of the war approached, the contradictions in the camp of the allies escalated. Each of them achieved his own goals, which did not coincide with the intentions of his partners. Thus, France did not want the complete defeat of Prussia and wanted to keep it in opposition to Austria. She, in turn, sought to weaken the Prussian power as much as possible, but sought to do it with the hands of the Russians. On the other hand, both Austria and France were unanimous that Russia should not be allowed to grow stronger, and persistently protested against East Prussia joining it. The Russians, who on the whole had fulfilled their tasks in the war, were now sought to be used by Austria to conquer Silesia. When discussing the plan for 1760, Saltykov proposed to transfer hostilities to Pomerania (an area on the Baltic coast). According to the commander, this region remained not devastated by the war and it was easy to get food there. In Pomerania, the Russian army could interact with the Baltic Fleet and receive reinforcements by sea, which strengthened its position in this region. In addition, the occupation of the Baltic coast of Prussia by the Russians sharply reduced its trade relations and increased Frederick's economic difficulties. However, the Austrian leadership managed to convince Empress Elizabeth Petrovna to transfer the Russian army to Silesia for joint operations. As a result, Russian troops were fragmented. Insignificant forces were sent to Pomerania, to the siege of Kolberg (now the Polish city of Kolobrzeg), and the main ones - to Silesia. The campaign in Silesia was characterized by inconsistency in the actions of the allies and Saltykov's unwillingness to kill his soldiers in order to protect the interests of Austria. At the end of August, Saltykov fell seriously ill, and command soon passed to Field Marshal Alexander Buturlin. The only striking episode in this campaign was the capture by the corps of General Zakhar Chernyshev (23 thousand people) of Berlin.

Capture of Berlin (1760). On September 22, a Russian cavalry detachment under the command of General Totleben approached Berlin. In the city there were, according to the testimony of the prisoners, only three battalions of infantry and several squadrons of cavalry. After a short artillery preparation, Totleben stormed the capital of Prussia on the night of September 23. At midnight, the Russians broke into the Gallic Gates, but were repulsed. The next morning, the Prussian corps headed by the Prince of Württemberg (14 thousand people) approached Berlin. But at the same time, Chernyshev's corps arrived in time for Totleben. By September 27, the 13,000th Austrian corps also approached the Russians. Then the Prince of Württemberg with his troops left the city in the evening. At 3 am on September 28, parliamentarians arrived from the city with a message of consent to surrender to the Russians. After spending four days in the capital of Prussia, Chernyshev destroyed the mint, the arsenal, took possession of the royal treasury and took an indemnity of 1.5 million thalers from the city authorities. But soon the Russians left the city at the news of the approach of the Prussian army led by King Frederick II. According to Saltykov, the abandonment of Berlin was due to the inaction of the Austrian commander-in-chief Daun, who gave the Prussian king the opportunity to "beat us as much as he pleases." The capture of Berlin was of more financial than military importance to the Russians. No less important was the symbolic side of this operation. This was the first ever capture of Berlin by Russian troops. Interestingly, in April 1945, before the decisive assault on the German capital, Soviet soldiers received a symbolic gift - copies of the keys to Berlin, handed by the Germans to Chernyshev's soldiers in 1760.

Campaign of 1761

In 1761, the Allies again failed to reach concerted action. This allowed Frederick, successfully maneuvering, to once again avoid defeat. The main Russian forces continued to act ineffectively together with the Austrians in Silesia. But the main success fell to the lot of Russian units in Pomerania. This success was the capture of Kolberg.

Capture of Kolberg (1761). The first Russian attempts to take Kolberg (1758 and 1760) ended in failure. In September 1761 a third attempt was made. This time, the 22,000-strong corps of General Pyotr Rumyantsev, the hero of Gross-Jägersdorf and Kunersdorf, was moved to Kolberg. In August 1761, Rumyantsev, using the tactics of loose formation, new for those times, defeated the Prussian army under the command of the Prince of Württemberg (12 thousand people) on the outskirts of the fortress. In this battle and in the future, the Russian ground forces were supported by the Baltic Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Polyansky. On September 3, the Rumyantsev Corps began the siege. It lasted four months and was accompanied by actions not only against the fortress, but also against the Prussian troops, who threatened the besiegers from the rear. The military council spoke three times in favor of lifting the siege, and only the unyielding will of Rumyantsev made it possible to bring the matter to a successful end. On December 5, 1761, the garrison of the fortress (4 thousand people), seeing that the Russians were not leaving and were going to continue the siege in the winter, capitulated. The capture of Kolberg allowed Russian troops to capture the Baltic coast of Prussia.

The battles for Kolberg made an important contribution to the development of Russian and world military art. Here the beginning of a new military tactic of loose formation was laid. It was under the walls of Kolberg that the famous Russian light infantry, the rangers, was born, the experience of which was then used by other European armies. Near Kolberg, Rumyantsev first used battalion columns in combination with loose formation. This experience was then effectively used by Suvorov. This method of combat appeared in the West only during the wars of the French Revolution.

Peace with Prussia (1762). The capture of Kolberg was the last victory of the Russian army in the Seven Years' War. The news of the surrender of the fortress found Empress Elizabeth Petrovna on her deathbed. The new Russian emperor Peter III concluded a separate peace with Prussia, then an alliance and returned to her free of charge all her territories, which by that time had been captured by the Russian army. This saved Prussia from inevitable defeat. Moreover, in 1762, Frederick managed, with the help of Chernyshev's corps, which was now temporarily operating as part of the Prussian army, to oust the Austrians from Silesia. Although Peter III was overthrown in June 1762 by Catherine II and the union treaty was annulled, the war was not resumed. The number of those killed in the Russian army in the Seven Years' War amounted to 120 thousand people. Of these, approximately 80% were those who died from diseases, including from the smallpox epidemic. The excess of sanitary losses over combat losses was at that time also characteristic of other countries participating in the war. It should be noted that the end of the war with Prussia was not only the result of the moods of Peter III. It had more serious reasons. Russia achieved its main goal - the weakening of the Prussian state. However, its complete collapse was hardly part of the plans of Russian diplomacy, since it strengthened, first of all, Austria, Russia's main competitor in the future division of the European part of the Ottoman Empire. And the war itself has long threatened a financial catastrophe for the Russian economy. Another question is that the "chivalrous" gesture of Peter III towards Frederick II did not allow Russia to take full advantage of the fruits of its victories.

Results of the war. A fierce struggle was also going on in other theaters of military operations of the Seven Years' War: in the colonies and at sea. According to the Treaty of Hubertusburg in 1763 with Austria and Saxony, Prussia secured Silesia. Under the Paris Peace Treaty of 1763, Canada, East. Louisiana, most of the French possessions in India. The main result of the Seven Years' War was the victory of Great Britain over France in the struggle for colonial and commercial superiority.

For Russia, the consequences of the Seven Years' War turned out to be much more valuable than its results. She significantly increased the combat experience, military art and authority of the Russian army in Europe, which had previously been seriously shaken by Minich's wanderings in the steppe. In the battles of this campaign, a generation of outstanding commanders (Rumyantsev, Suvorov) and soldiers were born who achieved striking victories in the "age of Catherine". It can be said that most of Catherine's successes in foreign policy were prepared by the victories of Russian weapons in the Seven Years' War. In particular, Prussia suffered huge losses in this war and could not actively interfere with Russian policy in the West in the second half of the 18th century. In addition, under the influence of impressions brought from the fields of Europe, in Russian society after the Seven Years' War, ideas about agrarian innovations, the rationalization of agriculture, are born. Interest in foreign culture is also growing, in particular, in literature and art. All these sentiments were developed in the next reign.

"From Ancient Russia to the Russian Empire". Shishkin Sergey Petrovich, Ufa.

Kingdom of Naples
Sardinian kingdom Commanders Friedrich II
F. W. Seidlitz
George II
George III
Robert Clave
Ferdinand of Brunswick Count Down
Count Lassie
Prince of Lorraine
Ernst Gideon Loudon
Louis XV
Louis Joseph de Montcalm
empress elizabeth
P. S. Saltykov
Charles III
August III Side forces

• 1756 - 250 000 soldiers: Prussia 200,000, Hanover 50,000
• 1759 - 220 000 Prussian soldiers
• 1760 - 120 000 Prussian soldiers

• 1756 - 419 000 soldier: Russian Empire 100,000 soldiers
• 1759 - 391 000 soldiers: France 125,000, Holy Roman Empire 45,000, Austria 155,000, Sweden 16,000, Russian Empire 50,000
• 1760 - 220 000 soldier

Losses see below see below

The main standoff in Europe was between Austria and Prussia over Silesia, lost by Austria in the previous Silesian Wars. Therefore, the Seven Years' War is also called Third Silesian War. The first (-) and second (-) Silesian Wars are an integral part of the War of the Austrian Succession. In Swedish historiography the war is known as Pomeranian War(Swede. Pommerska kriget), in Canada - as "War of Conquest"(English) The War of the Conquest) and in India as "Third Karnatic War"(English) The Third Carnatic War). The North American theater of war is called French and Indian War.

The designation "seven-year" war received in the eighties of the eighteenth century, before that it was spoken of as a "recent war".

Causes of the war

Opposing Coalitions in Europe 1756

The first shots of the Seven Years' War were heard long before its official announcement, and not in Europe, but across the ocean. In - gg. Anglo-French colonial rivalry in North America led to border skirmishes between English and French colonists. By the summer of 1755, the clashes turned into an open armed conflict, in which both allied Indians and regular military units began to participate (see French and Indian War). In 1756 Great Britain officially declared war on France.

"Flipping Alliances"

This conflict disrupted the system of military-political alliances that had developed in Europe and caused a reorientation of the foreign policy of a number of European powers, known as the “reversal of alliances”. The traditional rivalry between Austria and France for continental hegemony was weakened by the emergence of a third power: Prussia, after Frederick II came to power in 1740, began to claim a leading role in European politics. Having won the Silesian wars, Frederick took Silesia, one of the richest Austrian provinces, from Austria, as a result, increasing the territory of Prussia from 118.9 thousand to 194.8 thousand square kilometers, and the population - from 2,240,000 to 5,430,000 people. It is clear that Austria could not so easily come to terms with the loss of Silesia.

Having started the war with France, in January 1756, Great Britain concluded an alliance treaty with Prussia, thereby wishing to protect Hanover, the hereditary possession of the English king on the continent, from the threat of a French attack. Frederick, considering the war with Austria inevitable and aware of the limitations of his resources, relied on "English gold", as well as on the traditional influence of England on Russia, hoping to keep Russia from participating in the upcoming war and thereby avoid a war on two fronts. . Having overestimated the influence of England on Russia, he, at the same time, clearly underestimated the indignation caused by his treaty with the British in France. As a result, Frederick will have to fight with a coalition of the three strongest continental powers and their allies, which he dubbed the "Union of Three Women" (Maria Theresa, Elizabeth and Madame Pompadour). However, behind the jokes of the Prussian king regarding his opponents, there is a lack of self-confidence: the forces in the war on the continent are too unequal, England, which does not have a strong land army, except for subsidies, can do little to help him.

The conclusion of the Anglo-Prussian alliance pushed Austria, yearning for revenge, to move closer to its old enemy - France, for which Prussia has now also become an enemy (France, which supported Frederick in the first Silesian wars and saw in Prussia just an obedient tool for crushing Austrian power, was able to make sure that Friedrich does not even think to reckon with the role assigned to him). The famous Austrian diplomat of that time, Count Kaunitz, became the author of the new foreign policy. A defensive alliance was signed between France and Austria at Versailles, to which Russia joined at the end of 1756.

In Russia, the strengthening of Prussia was perceived as a real threat to its western borders and interests in the Baltic and northern Europe. Close ties with Austria, with which an alliance treaty was signed as early as 1746, also influenced the determination of Russia's position in the emerging European conflict. Traditionally close ties also existed with England. It is curious that, having broken off diplomatic relations with Prussia long before the start of the war, Russia, nevertheless, did not break off diplomatic relations with England throughout the war.

None of the countries participating in the coalition was interested in the complete destruction of Prussia, hoping to use it in the future in their own interests, however, all were interested in weakening Prussia, in returning it to the borders that existed before the Silesian wars. That. The coalition members 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. Having united against a common enemy, the members of the anti-Prussian coalition did not even think about forgetting their traditional differences. Disagreement in the camp of the enemy, caused by conflicting interests and having a detrimental effect on the conduct of the war, was, in the end, one of the main reasons that allowed Prussia to resist the confrontation.

Until the end of 1757, when the successes of the newly-minted David in the fight against the “Goliath” of the anti-Prussian coalition created a club of admirers for the king in Germany and abroad, it never occurred to anyone in Europe to seriously consider Frederick the “Great”: at that time, most Europeans saw in him a sassy upstart who should have been put in his place long ago. To achieve this goal, the Allies sent a huge army of 419,000 soldiers against Prussia. Frederick II had only 200,000 soldiers at his disposal, plus 50,000 defenders of Hanover, hired for English money.

Characters

Russian autocrat Elizaveta Petrovna

Austrian Empress Maria Theresa

Prussian King Frederick II

Louis XV, King of France

George II, King of England

European theater of war

Eastern European theater of operations Seven Years' War

Lobositz - Reichenberg - Prague - Kolin - Hastenbeck - Gross-Jägersdorf - Berlin (1757) - Moiss - Rossbach - Breslau - Leuten - Olmütz - Krefeld - Domstadl - Küstrin - Zorndorf - Tarmov - Lutherberg (1758) -Verbellin - Hochkirch - Bergen - Palzig - Minden - Kunersdorf - Hoyerswerda - Maxsen - Meissen - Landesshut - Emsdorf - Warburg - Liegnitz - Klosterkampen - Berlin (1760) - Torgau - Fehlinghausen - Kolberg - Wilhelmsthal - Burkersdorf - Lutherberg (1762) - Reichenbach - Freiberg

1756 attack on Saxony

Military operations in Europe in 1756

Without waiting for the opponents of Prussia to deploy their forces, Frederick II on August 28, 1756 was the first to start hostilities, suddenly invading Saxony, allied with Austria, and occupying it. On September 1, 1756, Elizaveta Petrovna declared war on Prussia. On September 9, the Prussians surrounded the Saxon army encamped near Pirna. October 1, going to the rescue of the Saxons, the 33.5 thousandth army of the Austrian Field Marshal Brown was defeated at Lobozitz. Caught in a hopeless situation, the eighteen thousandth army of Saxony capitulated on October 16. Captured, the Saxon soldiers were driven by force into the Prussian army. Later, they would “thank” Friedrich by running across to the enemy in whole battalions.

Seven Years' War in Europe

Saxony, which had armed forces the size of an average army corps and, moreover, was bound by eternal turmoil in Poland (the Saxon elector was, concurrently, the Polish king), did not pose, of course, any military threat to Prussia. Aggression against Saxony was caused by Frederick's intentions:

• use Saxony as a convenient base of operations for the invasion of Austrian Bohemia and Moravia, the supply of Prussian troops here could be organized by waterways, along the Elbe and Oder, while the Austrians would have to use inconvenient mountain roads;
• transfer the war to the territory of the enemy, thus forcing him to pay for it, and, finally,
• to use the human and material resources of prosperous Saxony for their own strengthening. Subsequently, he carried out his plan to rob this country so successfully that some Saxons still dislike the inhabitants of Berlin and Brandenburg.

Despite this, in German (not Austrian!) historiography, it is still customary to consider the war, on the part of Prussia, as a defensive war. The argument is that the war would still have been started by Austria and its allies, regardless of whether Frederick had attacked Saxony or not. Opponents of this point of view object: the war began, not least because of the Prussian conquests, and its first act was aggression against a defenseless neighbor.

1757: Battles of Kolin, Rosbach and Leuthen, Russia begins hostilities

Bohemia, Silesia

Operations in Saxony and in Silesia in 1757

Strengthening himself by absorbing Saxony, Frederick, at the same time, achieved the opposite effect, spurring his opponents to active offensive actions. Now he had no choice but, to use the German expression, "running forward" (German. Flucht nach vorne). Counting on the fact that France and Russia will not be able to enter the war before the summer, Frederick intends to defeat Austria before that time. At the beginning of 1757, the Prussian army, moving in four columns, entered Austrian territory in Bohemia. The Austrian army under the Prince of Lorraine consisted of 60,000 soldiers. On May 6, the Prussians defeated the Austrians and blockaded them in Prague. Having taken Prague, Frederick is going to go to Vienna without delay. However, the blitzkrieg plans were dealt a blow: the 54,000th Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal L. Daun came to the aid of the besieged. On June 18, 1757, in the vicinity of the city of Kolin, the 34,000-strong Prussian army entered into battle with the Austrians. Frederick II lost this battle, losing 14,000 men and 45 guns. The heavy defeat not only destroyed the myth of the invincibility of the Prussian commander, but, more importantly, forced Frederick II to lift the blockade of Prague and hastily retreat to Saxony. Soon, a threat that arose in Thuringia, from the French and the Imperial army ("Caesars"), forced him to leave there with the main forces. Having from this moment a significant numerical superiority, the Austrians win a series of victories over the generals of Friedrich (at Moise on September 7, at Breslau on November 22), the key Silesian fortresses of Schweidnitz (now Swidnica, Poland) and Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) are in their hands. In October 1757, the Austrian general Hadik managed to capture the capital of Prussia, the city of Berlin, for a short time with a sudden raid by a flying detachment. Having averted the threat from the French and the "Caesars", Frederick II transferred an army of forty thousand to Silesia and on December 5 won a decisive victory over the Austrian army at Leuthen. As a result of this victory, the situation that existed at the beginning of the year was restored. Thus, the result of the campaign was a "combat draw".

Middle Germany

1758: The battles of Zorndorf and Hochkirch do not bring decisive success to either side

The new commander-in-chief of the Russians was general-in-chief Willim Fermor, who became famous for taking Memel in the previous campaign. At the beginning of 1758, he occupied, without meeting resistance, all of East Prussia, including its capital, the city of Koenigsberg, then heading towards Brandenburg. In August he laid siege to Küstrin, a key fortress on the way to Berlin. Friedrich immediately moved towards him. The battle took place on August 14 near the village of Zorndorf and was distinguished by tremendous bloodshed. The Russians had 42,000 soldiers in the army with 240 guns, while Frederick had 33,000 soldiers with 116 guns. The battle revealed several big problems in the Russian army - the insufficient interaction of individual units, the poor moral preparation of the observation corps (the so-called "Shuvalovites"), and finally called into question the competence of the commander in chief himself. At the critical moment of the battle, Fermor left the army, did not direct the course of the battle for some time, and appeared only towards the end. Clausewitz later called the battle of Zorndorf the strangest battle of the Seven Years' War, referring to its chaotic, unpredictable course. Having started “according to the rules”, it eventually resulted in a great massacre, breaking up into many separate battles, in which the Russian soldiers showed unsurpassed tenacity, according to Friedrich, it was not enough to kill them, they also had to be knocked down. Both sides fought to the point of exhaustion and suffered huge losses. The Russian army lost 16,000 people, the Prussians 11,000. The opponents spent the night on the battlefield, the next day Fermor was the first to withdraw his troops, thus giving Frederick a reason to attribute the victory to himself. However, he did not dare to pursue the Russians. Russian troops withdrew to the Vistula. General Palmbach, sent by Fermor to besiege Kolberg, stood for a long time under the walls of the fortress, without doing anything.

On October 14, the Austrians operating in South Saxony managed to defeat Frederick at Hochkirch, however, without much consequences. Having won the battle, the Austrian commander Daun led his troops back to Bohemia.

The war with the French was more successful for the Prussians, they beat them three times in a year: at Rheinberg, at Krefeld and at Mer. In general, although the 1758 campaign of the year ended more or less successfully for the Prussians, it additionally weakened the Prussian troops, who suffered significant, irreplaceable losses for Frederick during the three years of the war: from 1756 to 1758, he lost, not counting those who were captured, 43 general killed or died from wounds received in battles, among them, their best military leaders, such as Keith, Winterfeld, Schwerin, Moritz von Dessau and others.

1759: Defeat of the Prussians at Kunersdorf, "the miracle of the House of Brandenburg"

On May 8 (19), 1759, General-in-Chief P. S. Saltykov was unexpectedly appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army, concentrated at that time in Poznan, instead of V. V. Fermor. (The reasons for Fermor's resignation are not entirely clear, however, it is known that the St. the outcome of the battle of Zorndorf and the unsuccessful sieges of Küstrin and Kolberg). On July 7, 1759, the forty-thousandth Russian army marched west to the Oder River, in the direction of the city of Krosen, intending to join the Austrian troops there. The debut of the new commander-in-chief was successful: on July 23, in the battle of Palzig (Kai), he utterly defeated the twenty-eight thousandth corps of the Prussian General Wedel. On August 3, 1759, the allies met in the city of Frankfurt an der Oder, three days before that occupied by Russian troops.

At this time, the Prussian king with an army of 48,000 people, with 200 guns, was moving towards the enemy from the south. On August 10, he crossed to the right bank of the Oder River and took up a position east of the village of Kunersdorf. On August 12, 1759, the famous battle of the Seven Years' War took place - the Battle of Kunersdorf. Frederick was utterly defeated, out of the 48,000th army, he, by his own admission, did not even have 3,000 soldiers left. “In truth,” he wrote to his minister after the battle, “I believe that all is lost. I will not survive the death of my Fatherland. Goodbye forever". After the victory at Kunersdorf, the allies had only to strike the last blow, take Berlin, the road to which was free, and thereby force Prussia to surrender, however, disagreements in their camp did not allow them to use the victory and end the war. Instead of advancing on Berlin, they pulled their troops away, accusing each other of violating allied obligations. Friedrich himself called his unexpected salvation "the miracle of the House of Brandenburg." Friedrich escaped, but failures continued to haunt him until the end of the year: on November 20, the Austrians, together with imperial troops, managed to encircle and force the 15,000-strong corps of the Prussian general Fink at Maxen to surrender, shamefully, without a fight.

The heavy defeats of 1759 prompted Frederick to turn to England with the initiative to convene a peace congress. The British supported it all the more willingly because they, for their part, considered the main goals in this war achieved. On November 25, 1759, 5 days after Maxen, an invitation to a peace congress was handed over to representatives of Russia, Austria and France in Rysvik. France signaled its participation, however, the matter ended in nothing because of the intransigent position taken by Russia and Austria, who hoped to use the victories of 1759 to deliver the final blow to Prussia in the next year's campaign.

Nicholas Pocock. "The Battle of Quiberon Bay" (1812)

Meanwhile, England at sea defeated the French fleet at Quiberon Bay.

1760: Frederick's Pyrrhic victory at Torgau

The war thus continued. In 1760, Frederick with difficulty brought the size of his army to 120,000 soldiers. The Franco-Austrian-Russian troops by this time numbered up to 220,000 soldiers. However, as in previous years, the numerical superiority of the Allies was nullified by the lack of a unified plan and inconsistency in actions. The Prussian king, trying to prevent the actions of the Austrians in Silesia, on August 1, 1760, sent his thirty thousandth army across the Elbe and, with the passive pursuit of the Austrians, arrived in the Liegnitz region by August 7. Misleading a stronger enemy (Field Marshal Daun by this time had about 90,000 soldiers), Frederick II actively maneuvered at first, and then decided to break through to Breslau. While Friedrich and Down mutually exhausted the troops with their marches and countermarches, the Austrian corps of General Laudon on August 15 in the Liegnitz region suddenly collided with the Prussian troops. Frederick II unexpectedly attacked and defeated Laudon's corps. The Austrians lost up to 10,000 killed and 6,000 captured. Friedrich, who lost about 2,000 men killed and wounded in this battle, managed to break out of the encirclement.

Barely escaping encirclement, the Prussian king almost lost his own capital. On October 3 (September 22), 1760, the detachment of Major General Totleben stormed Berlin. The assault was repulsed and Totleben had to retreat to Köpenick, where he waited for the corps of Lieutenant General Z. G. Chernyshev (reinforced by Panin's 8,000th corps) and the Austrian corps of General Lassi, assigned to reinforce the corps. On the evening of October 8, at a military council in Berlin, due to the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy, a decision was made to retreat, and on the same night the Prussian troops defending the city leave for Spandau, leaving the garrison in the city as an "object" of surrender. The garrison brings surrender to Totleben, as the general who first laid siege to Berlin. The pursuit of the enemy is taken over by Panin's corps and Krasnoshchekov's Cossacks, they manage to defeat the Prussian rearguard and capture more than a thousand prisoners. On the morning of October 9, 1760, the Russian detachment of Totleben and the Austrians (the latter in violation of the terms of surrender) enter Berlin. Guns and guns were seized in the city, gunpowder and armory depots were blown up. An indemnity was imposed on the population. With the news of the approach of Frederick with the main forces of the Prussians, the allies, by order of the command, leave the capital of Prussia.

Having received news on the way that the Russians had abandoned Berlin, Friedrich turns to Saxony. While he was conducting military operations in Silesia, the Imperial Army ("Caesars") managed to oust the weak Prussian forces left in Saxony for screening, Saxony was lost to Frederick. He cannot allow this in any way: the human and material resources of Saxony are desperately needed for him to continue the war. November 3, 1760 at Torgau will be the last major battle of the Seven Years' War. He is distinguished by incredible bitterness, victory tends to one side or the other several times during the day. The Austrian commander Daun manages to send a messenger to Vienna with the news of the defeat of the Prussians, and only by 9 pm it becomes clear that he was in a hurry. Frederick comes out victorious, however, this is a Pyrrhic victory: in one day he loses 40% of his army. He is no longer able to make up for such losses; in the last period of the war, he is forced to abandon offensive operations and give the initiative to his opponents in the hope that they, due to their indecision and slowness, will not be able to use it properly.

In the secondary theaters of the war, Frederick's opponents are accompanied by some successes: the Swedes manage to establish themselves in Pomerania, the French in Hesse.

1761-1763: The second "miracle of the House of Brandenburg"

In 1761, there were no significant clashes: the war was waged mainly by maneuvering. The Austrians manage to capture Schweidnitz again, Russian troops under the command of General Rumyantsev take Kolberg (now Kolobrzeg). The capture of Kolberg would be the only major event of the 1761 campaign in Europe.

No one in Europe, not excluding Frederick himself, at this time believes that Prussia will be able to avoid defeat: the resources of a small country are incommensurable with the power of its opponents, and the longer the war continues, the more important this factor becomes. And then, when Frederick was already actively probing through intermediaries the possibility of starting peace negotiations, his implacable opponent, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who once declared her determination to continue the war to a victorious end, dies, even if she had to sell half of her dresses for this. On January 5, 1762, Peter III ascended the Russian throne, who saved Prussia from defeat by concluding the Petersburg Peace with Frederick, his old idol. As a result, Russia voluntarily abandoned all its acquisitions in this war (East Prussia with Koenigsberg, whose inhabitants, including Immanuel Kant, had already sworn allegiance to the Russian crown) and provided Friedrich with a corps under the command of Count Z. G. Chernyshev for the war against Austrians, their recent allies. It is understandable why Friedrich fawned over his Russian admirer like never before before anyone else in his life. The latter, however, needed little: the rank of Prussian colonel, granted to them by Frederick, the eccentric Peter was more proud than the Russian imperial crown.

Asian theater of war

Indian campaign

Main article: Indian Campaign of the Seven Years' War

English landing in the Philippines

Main article: Philippine campaign

Central American Theater of War

Main articles: Guadalupe campaign , Dominican campaign , Martinique campaign , Cuban campaign

South American theater of war

European Politics and the Seven Years' War. Chronological table

Year, date	Event
June 2, 1746
October 18, 1748	Aachen world. End of the War of the Austrian Succession
January 16, 1756	Westminster Convention between Prussia and England
May 1, 1756	Defensive alliance between France and Austria at Versailles
May 17, 1756	England declares war on France
January 11, 1757	Russia joins the Treaty of Versailles
January 22, 1757	Union treaty between Russia and Austria
January 29, 1757	Holy Roman Empire declares war on Prussia
May 1, 1757	Offensive alliance between France and Austria at Versailles
January 22, 1758	Estates of East Prussia swear allegiance to the Russian crown
April 11, 1758	Treaty of subsidies between Prussia and England
April 13, 1758	Subsidy agreement between Sweden and France
May 4, 1758	Treaty of Alliance between France and Denmark
January 7, 1758	Extension of the agreement on subsidies between Prussia and England
January 30-31, 1758	Subsidy agreement between France and Austria
November 25, 1759	Declaration of Prussia and England on the Convocation of a Peace Congress
April 1, 1760	Extension of the union treaty between Russia and Austria
January 12, 1760	Last extension of the subsidy treaty between Prussia and England
April 2, 1761	Treaty of Friendship and Trade between Prussia and Turkey
June-July 1761	Separate peace negotiations between France and England
August 8, 1761	Convention between France and Spain concerning the war with England
January 4, 1762	England declares war on Spain
January 5, 1762	Death of Elizabeth Petrovna
February 4, 1762	Alliance pact between France and Spain
May 5, 1762

In the 50s. Prussia becomes the main enemy of Russia. The reason for this is the aggressive policy of its king, aimed at the east of Europe.

In 1756 the Seven Years' War began . The conference at the highest court, which under the Empress Elizabeth played the role of the Secret, or Military, Council, set the task - "by weakening the king of Prussia, to make him fearless and carefree for the local side (for Russia)."

Frederick II in August 1756, without declaring war, attacked Saxony. His army, having defeated the Austrians, captured Dresden, Leipzig. An anti-Prussian coalition is finally formed - Austria, France, Russia, Sweden.

In the summer of 1757 the Russian army entered East Prussia. On the way to Koenigsberg, near the village of Gross-Egersdorf, the army of Field Marshal S. F. Apraksin on August 19 (30), 1757 met with the army of Field Marshal X. Lewald.

The battle was started by the Prussians. They successively attacked the left flank and center, then the right flank of the Russians. They broke through the center, and a critical situation arose here. The regiments of the division of General Lopukhin, who was killed during the battle, suffered heavy losses and began to retreat. The enemy could break into the rear of the Russian army. But the situation was saved by four reserve regiments of P. A. Rumyantsev, a young general whose star began to rise in those years. Their swift and sudden attack on the flank of the Prussian infantry led to its stampede. The same thing happened in the disposition of the Russian avant-garde and the right flank. The fire from guns and rifles mowed down the ranks of the Prussians. They fled along the entire front, losing more than 3,000 killed and 5,000 wounded; Russians - 1.4 thousand killed and more than 5 thousand wounded.

Apraksin won with the help of only part of his army. As a result, the road to Koenigsberg turned out to be free. But the commander took the army to Tilsit, then to Courland and Livonia for winter quarters. The reason for the departure was not only a lack of provisions and mass illnesses among the soldiers, about which he wrote to St. Petersburg, but also something else, which he was silent about - the empress fell ill and the accession of Prince Peter Fedorovich, her nephew and supporter of the Prussian king, was expected.

Elizabeth soon recovered, and Apraksin was put on trial. General V. V. Farmer, an Englishman by birth, is appointed commander. He distinguished himself in the wars of the 1930s and 1940s. with Turkey and Sweden. During the Seven Years' War, his corps was taken by Memel, Tilsit. The general showed himself well with his division in the Gross-Egersdorf battle. Becoming at the head of the Russian army, in January he occupied Koenigsberg, then all of East Prussia. Its inhabitants took an oath to the Russian Empress.

In early June, Fermor went to the southwest - to Kustrin, which is eastern Berlin, at the confluence of the Warta River with the Oder. Here, near the village of Zorndorf, on August 14 (25), a battle took place. The Russian army numbered 42.5 thousand people, the army of Frederick II - 32.7 thousand. The battle lasted all day and was fierce. Both sides suffered heavy losses. Both the Prussian king and Fermor spoke of their victory, and both withdrew their armies from Zorndorf. The outcome of the battle was uncertain. The indecisiveness of the Russian commander, his distrust of the soldiers did not allow him to finish the job, to win. But the Russian army showed its strength, and Frederick withdrew, not daring to fight again with those whom, as he himself admitted, "he could not crush." Moreover, he feared disaster, as his army had lost its best soldiers.

Fermor was retired on May 8, 1758, but served in the army until the end of the war, showed himself well, commanding corps. He left a memory of himself as an executive, but little initiative, indecisive commander in chief. Being a commander of a lower rank, showing courage and diligence, he distinguished himself in a number of battles.

In his place, unexpectedly for many, including himself, General Pyotr Semenovich Saltykov was appointed. A representative of an old family of Moscow boyars, a relative of the Empress (her mother is from the Saltykov family), he began serving as a soldier of the Peter's Guard in 1714. He lived in France for two decades, studied maritime affairs. But, having returned to Russia in the early 30s, he served in the guards and at the court. Then he takes part in the Polish campaign (1733) and the Russian-Swedish war; later, during the Seven Years' War, in the capture of Koenigsberg, the Battle of Zorndorf. He became commander-in-chief when he was 61 years old - for that time he was already an old man.

Saltykov was distinguished by an eccentric, peculiar character. He was somewhat reminiscent of someone who had begun his military career during these years - he loved the army and the soldier, like they did him, he was a simple and modest, honest and comical person. He could not stand solemn ceremonies and receptions, splendor and pomp. This “gray-haired, small, unpretentious old man”, as A. T. Bolotov, a famous memoirist, participant in the Seven Years War, certifies him, “seemed ... like a real chicken”. Politicians in the capital laughed at him and recommended that he consult with the Farmer and the Austrians in everything. But he, an experienced and decisive general, despite his “simple” kind, made decisions himself, delved into everything. He did not bend his back before the Conference, which constantly interfered in the affairs of the army, believing that it could be controlled from Petersburg, thousands of miles from the theater of operations. His independence and firmness, energy and common sense, caution and hatred of routine, quick wits and remarkable composure bribed the soldiers who sincerely loved him.

Having taken command of the army, Saltykov leads it to Frankfurt an der Oder. On July 12 (23), 1759, he crushes the army of General Wedel at Palzig. Then captures Frankfurt. Here, near the village of Kunersdorf, on the right bank of the Oder, opposite Frankfurt, on August 1 (12), 1759, a general battle took place. In Saltykov's army there were about 41 thousand Russian soldiers with 200 guns and 18.5 thousand Austrians with 48 guns; in the army of Frederick - 48 thousand, 114 heavy guns, regimental artillery. In the course of a fierce battle, success accompanied one side, then the other. Saltykov skillfully maneuvered the regiments, moved them to the right places and at the right time. Artillery, Russian infantry, Austrian and Russian cavalry performed excellently. At the beginning of the battle, the Prussians pressed the Russians on the left flank. However, the attack of the Prussian infantry in the center was repulsed. Here Friedrich twice threw into battle his main force - the cavalry of General Seydlitz. But it was destroyed by Russian soldiers. Then, on the left flank, the Russians launched a counterattack and drove the enemy back. The transition of the entire Allied army to the offensive ended in the complete defeat of Frederick. He himself and the remnants of his army fled in a terrible panic from the battlefield. The king was almost captured by the Cossacks. He lost more than 18.5 thousand people, the Russians - more than 13 thousand, the Austrians - about 2 thousand. Berlin was preparing for surrender, the archives, the king's family were taken out of it, and he himself, according to rumors, was thinking about suicide.

Saltykov, after brilliant victories, received the rank of field marshal. In the future, the intrigues of the Austrians, the distrust of the Conference unsettle him. He fell ill and is replaced by the same Fermor.

In the campaign of 1760, the detachment of General 3. G. Chernyshev occupied Berlin on September 28 (October 9). But the inconsistency in the actions of the Austrian and Russian armies again and strongly interferes with the matter. Berlin had to be left, but the fact of its capture made a strong impression on Europe. At the end of the following year, a 16,000-strong corps under the skillful command of Rumyantsev, supported by a landing force of sailors led by G. A. Spiridov, captured the Kolberg fortress on the Baltic coast. The way to Stettin and Berlin was opened. Prussia was on the brink of ruin.

Salvation for Frederick came from St. Petersburg - she died on December 25, 1761, and her nephew (son of the Duke of Goshtinsky and Anna, daughter) who replaced her on the throne, Peter III Fedorovich, on March 5 (16), 1762, concluded a truce with the Prussian monarch he adored. A month and a half later, he concludes a peace treaty with him - Prussia gets back all its lands. Russia's sacrifices in the seven-year war were in vain.

The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) was not a surprise for any of the parties involved in it. This conflict has been slowly brewing for decades. Its key reason was the struggle for European hegemony and colonial possessions.

Background to the conflict

Shortly before the start of the war, a complex international situation developed in Europe. Since 1741, Elizaveta Petrovna has been the Russian Empress. She, both in the eyes of the people and in her own eyes, was the personification of her father, Peter I. Therefore, Elizabeth saw her main task as a return to Peter's politics. Although the empress often lacked the foresight and education to implement her plans, she still managed to do a lot. Peter I considered France a potential ally of Russia and tried to achieve friendship and cooperation between St. Petersburg and Versailles. Under Catherine I, the same policy was pursued. But the accession in 1731 of Anna Ioannovna destroyed the emerging union. The era of the reign of Anna Ioannovna entered Russian history under the name "Bironism" - after the favorite of the Empress Ernst Biron. During this period, almost all key posts in the Russian state were occupied by the Germans. The situation did not change even after the death of Anna Ioannovna, when the "Brunswick family" turned out to be at the head of Russia.

The dominance of the Germans at court irritated the Russian people. Therefore, when Elizabeth organized a coup, seized the throne and began to expel the Germans, the Russian public rejoiced. The new empress, who had sympathy for everything French, wanted to restore good relations with France at all costs. However, circumstances were different. After high-profile diplomatic scandals, relations between the two powers cooled. Perhaps mutual contradictions would sooner or later result in a serious conflict, but both countries were forced to unite again in the face of a common threat - Prussia.

In 1740, Frederick II became the king of Prussia - a skilled commander and master of intrigue. The appearance of Prussia on the international scene caused an "alliance reversal": a political reorientation of the strongest European powers. There was a rapprochement between two old enemies - Austria and France. England, fearing the growing power of Prussia, chose to ally with Frederick II. And Russia, often oriented in foreign policy to England, this time did not support London.

Each of the countries that entered the war had its own reasons for unleashing the conflict. These include:

• the constant competition of England and France for the possession of Indian and American colonies;
• the struggle of Prussia for influence and power in Europe;
• the desire of Austria to regain Silesia, which became part of Prussia after the Silesian Wars;
• the desire of Russia to stop the growth of the power of Prussia and get the eastern part of the Prussian lands.

The harsh words of Frederick II and his aggressive foreign policy contributed to the emergence of an anti-Prussian alliance of three women:

• Elizabeth Petrovna;
• Austrian Empress Maria Theresa;
• and the all-powerful mistress of the French king - the Marquise de Pompadour.

The three powers were also supported by Sweden and some German principalities. This political union was rather shaky and contradictory. Each of the parties did not forget about the previous rivalry and sought to defend, first of all, their own interests.

The second alliance was represented by Prussia, England and also part of the German principalities, for example, Hanover. Prussia was small and not rich, but had a well-trained army and a talented leader. England, on the other hand, could provide Frederick II with everything he lacked: money and a fleet.

The course of hostilities

1756: Frederick II attacks Saxony. Russia's entry into the war.

Frederick II prudently decided that the first blow should be delivered with lightning speed, until the opponents deployed their armies. At the end of August 1756, Prussian troops invaded Saxony, a former ally of Austria, and occupied it. The Austrian command immediately sent a large detachment to the aid of Saxony, but it was defeated by the Prussian army, never reaching its destination.

Immediately after the news of the invasion of Saxony came to St. Petersburg, Elizaveta Petrovna announced her entry into the war. To a certain extent, the outbreak of the war took the Russians by surprise. In St. Petersburg, they believed to the last that England would not support Prussia, so preparations for the conflict were rather sluggish until early September. Now the country is in turmoil.

In mid-October, Russian troops, led by Field Marshal Stepan Apraksin, advanced to the border. Russia and Prussia did not have common borders, but were separated by the territories of Polish vassals - Courland and Semigallia. From both countries, as if stretched out towards each other, two long tongues, sandwiched between the Baltic Sea and the Commonwealth. In St. Petersburg, it was decided to give battle here and occupy East Prussia. According to the plan, the troops were supposed to collide on a very narrow front, but in order to make a full-fledged maneuver and hit the enemy on the flank, the Russian army had to go through the swampy and wooded northern parts of the Commonwealth.

Friedrich, unlike the Russian command, believed that the main battles should have unfolded in the center of Germany - on the territory of Silesia, Saxony and other principalities. He had outdated data on the state of the Russian army and did not know about the military reforms carried out by St. Petersburg, during which the combat effectiveness of the Russian troops was significantly improved. Therefore, the Prussian king left East Prussia, leaving a small army there under the command of General Lewald. Apraksin, having arrived at the place, sensibly assessed the situation: he understood that Frederick was not particularly interested in protecting this land, and that the Russian army was poorly prepared for the winter campaign (there were not enough warm clothes, horses, ammunition, many detachments had not yet had time to approach the appointed paragraph). In addition, news came from St. Petersburg to Apraksin's headquarters that the childless Empress Elizabeth was not very healthy and would probably die soon.

This factor seriously affected all further actions of the commander in chief. The courtiers thought about who would become the future heir to the throne, what foreign policy the new emperor would pursue, and what position to take based on this. In Russia at that time there were 4 parties:

• several noble clans that supported the empress (Shuvalovs, Vorontsovs, Razumovskys);
• supporters of the "Brunswick family";
• supporters of the Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich (nephew of Elizabeth Petrovna - the future Emperor Peter III);
• party of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna (future Empress Catherine II).

Pyotr Fedorovich was summoned to Russia by his crowned aunt from Holstein, where he was born and raised. Since childhood, he felt like a German and in St. Petersburg he missed his homeland very much. Although he was to become the head of the Russian Empire, he did not like Russia and considered it a barbaric country. Frederick II was for the Grand Duke the personification of German ideals and foundations. Therefore, many courtiers quite reasonably believed that, having become emperor, Pyotr Fedorovich could make peace with Prussia, and then the current supporters of the war would find themselves in a very delicate position.

Apraksin understood this too. Therefore, despite the resistance of the empress's favorites, he tried his best to convince Elizabeth that the start of the campaign should be postponed.

Only in June 1757, Apraksin finally decided to cross the Russian border. In many ways, his decisiveness was facilitated by the defeat of the Hanoverian army by the French and the heavy defeat of the Prussian troops inflicted on them by the Austrians near Kolin. The original plans of Frederick II were destroyed. In July, Russian troops managed to take one of the three large fortresses of East Prussia - Memel. And soon Tilsit surrendered to the mercy of the Russian army.

Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf (August 30, 1757)

The Russian army confidently moved forward through the territory of the enemy. Only then did Lewald realize in what a difficult situation Frederick II left him, reflecting at that time the onslaught of French troops in Germany. A huge Russian army was approaching his tiny detachment, and there was nowhere to wait for help. The Russians, meanwhile, were determined to fight as soon as possible: provisions were running out and there was not enough fodder for horses.

On the night of August 29-30, two armies converged on a field near the village of Gross-Egersdorf. Lewald, under the cover of a veil of fog, managed to quickly build an army and take the Russians by surprise. Because of the fog, the shots were fired almost close. The Prussians managed to mortally wound one of the most important Russian commanders - Lopukhin and almost upset the Russian order, but, thanks to the decisive actions of Rumyantsev, who brought forward several of the strongest corps, the army managed to go on the offensive and restore morale.

At 9 am, Lewald was forced to throw his last reserve into battle. And already at 10 - to begin a rapid retreat, leaving heavy artillery pieces on the battlefield. Although the victory remained with the Russian side, Russian losses were greater than those of the Prussians due to an unexpected morning attack. In St. Petersburg, the news of the success near Gross-Jegersdorf was received without much joy. Many accused Apraksin of slowness and thoughtlessness of actions.

The battle ended early enough, the Russian army could well start pursuing Lewald and destroy his units. But Apraksin insisted not only not to follow the enemy, but to turn back altogether. According to him, the soldiers and horses needed provisions and rest. But evil tongues said that the field marshal was forced to make such a decision about the critical state of Elizabeth's health. Many expected that the empress would soon be gone, but she got better. In France and Austria, the retreat of the Russian army was perceived as a betrayal, while in Prussia, on the contrary, they rejoiced. Having retained the core of his army, Lewald managed to stop the Swedish invasion of Prussia in the autumn, successfully operating in the north of the country.

Upon learning of the slowness of Apraksin, Elizabeth became angry, removed him from his post and put General Willim Fermor at the head of the troops. A year later, Apraksin died in prison, where he ended up at the behest of the Empress.

Campaign of 1758. Battle of Zorndorf.

At the end of 1757, Frederick fought fierce battles in Germany and needed every corps, so he ordered Lewald to leave East Prussia, leaving the province to its fate. In November, the Prussian army defeated the French at Rossbach, which was a resounding success, but East Prussia was lost.

At the beginning of 1758, Fermor carried out some transformations in the army and again advanced to East Prussia. This time, Russia managed to realize its plans: to reach Koninsberg practically without losses and to swear allegiance to St. Petersburg by the Prussian population.

The successes of the Russian army caused concern among the allies. Austria and France demanded that the Russians unite with the Austrian army and start fighting in Central Germany, but Elizabeth evaded this under the pretext of protecting the conquered territories. Meanwhile, the headquarters did not know how to properly dispose of the fruits of victory:

• go along the coast of the Baltic Sea, occupy Prussian Pomerania, unite with the Swedish army and cut off Frederick from the sea;
• go to Berlin;
• or help the Austrians in Silesia?

As a result, the second direction was chosen, but due to constant diplomatic intrigues, conflicting instructions and pressure from France, Austria and St. Petersburg, the army moved in zigzags. People and horses got tired in constant useless movements, and the path to the goal became more and more complicated.

In August, Fermor led an army to the Kustrin fortress, which protected the road to Berlin. The city was besieged, both sides began to conduct fierce artillery fire. Messages came from the headquarters of the Prussian king to Kustrin with calls to hold on at all costs. Frederick II immediately moved to the besieged fortress in order to push the Russian army back. Fermor received the most conflicting information about the size of the Prussian army and feverishly prepared for battle.

Since so far Frederick II had not encountered Russian soldiers, he still considered the Russian army undisciplined and poorly trained, and was not particularly worried about the coming battle.

On August 14, the two armies converged near the village of Zorndorf, where the bloodiest battle in the history of European wars was to break out. Frederick succeeded in taking Fermor by surprise. He came out from a completely unexpected side for the Russians and cut off their retreat. Due to the fact that a deep ravine turned out to be in the center of the Russian positions, the army was divided into two flanks under the command of Fermor and General Brown, moreover, the commanders could hardly keep up the message. Their positions were very uncomfortable, completely open to the enemy, and there was barely enough space for the simplest maneuvers. The Prussian army, on the other hand, managed to take an advantageous position from which it was convenient to fire.

The battle began with an artillery duel. The Prussian army opened fire on the Russian infantry, which stood on the right flank of Fermor, almost every core claimed the lives of several soldiers. Russian artillery also responded with blows, but they did less damage to the Prussians. Despite the huge losses, the infantry remained in their places, but Fermor disappeared from the battlefield and did not appear there almost until the very end of the battle.

When Frederick decided that the enemy's infantry was sufficiently demoralized, he proceeded to his usual plan of action - he sent the cavalry forward, which was supposed to break through the loose ranks of the infantry, breaking the enemy's formation and destroying the entire flank. But the Russians showed unexpected resilience. The infantry desperately resisted, the grenadier regiments came forward, also bravely repulsing the attacks. The Prussian army had to retreat behind Zorndorf for a while to rest. The original Prussian plan was destroyed.

After a respite, Friedrich ordered the gunners to attack the Russian left flank, where Brown commanded. Brown decided on a desperate act, realizing that the Russian artillery was of little use because of its unfortunate location, and the cavalry and infantry were quite combat-ready, he ordered the troops to attack. The attack was surprisingly successful: the Prussian resistance was almost crushed, and Frederick himself was almost taken prisoner. But due to the unexpected confusion of Brown's infantry and the decisive attack of the Prussian cavalry, Frederick again seized the strategic initiative. The results of the attack were catastrophic - Brown received many wounds, many Russian generals were captured, many artillery pieces were lost. However, the Prussian army also suffered greatly: no matter how Frederick tried to bring the soldiers into battle again, they stubbornly backed away.

At the end of the day, Frederick sent boastful letters to Berlin and London announcing the victory. However, this was not the case. The losses of both armies were huge:

• Prussia has about 13,000 people;
• Russia has about 16,000.

Both troops were bled. But Fermor, who maintained his positions and battle formation, and also expected the imminent arrival of reinforcements, was ready to continue the battle the next day. While Frederick understood that his army would not survive the second such day. The Russians periodically opened fire, and the Cossacks made unexpected sorties behind enemy lines. However, the battle was not to continue, Fermor did not wait for reinforcements and preferred to retreat. Frederick II, although he did not dare to pursue the Russian army, regarded this act as Fermor's recognition of defeat and leaving the battlefield. In fact, Frederick failed to achieve his goal, to destroy the enemy army and maintain the combat effectiveness of his army, so his boasting was somewhat inappropriate.

From St. Petersburg, instead of gratitude, a letter full of anger came to the headquarters of the Russian army. Russian soldiers were accused of disobedience, outrage and loss of the regimental treasury. All their exploits were simply ignored by Elizabeth and her court. Petersburg preferred to listen to Friedrich and believed in his victory.

In the autumn, the main battles were fought in Germany, Fermor considered the campaign of 1758 completed for the Russian army, therefore he ignored the requirements of the Austrian military leaders. The actions of the Russian commander in chief were fully justified: the army was not replenished, the losses were heavy, there were not enough guns and horses. Meanwhile, the Austrians managed to defeat the Prussian army at Gochkirchen. In turn, the Prussians successfully acted against the French. Mutual accusations of inaction and betrayal began in the anti-Prussian coalition. Only at the end of 1758 - beginning of 1759 did the allied countries manage to come to a certain consensus. Petersburg and Vienna were extremely dissatisfied with Fermor, so in the spring of 1759 the commander was replaced as commander-in-chief by Peter Saltykov, receiving in return the command of only one corps.

Campaign of 1759. Battle of Kunersdorf.

At the beginning of the year, the allies discussed a plan for future actions. The Austrian and Russian armies were to link up at Crossen (Silesia). At the same time, the Russian commanders received secret instructions in St. Petersburg: to act prudently, to protect the army and not to trust the Austrians too much.

When a new commander-in-chief arrived in the Russian army in the summer, many were disappointed. Saltykov was a modest and good-natured elderly man who had previously commanded the Land Militia in Ukraine and was little known at court. However, it was he who had to lead the Russian army to the trumf. Saltykov managed to organize the work of intelligence and began to actively use the Cossacks. Many Russian generals looked at the Cossacks as a rabble devoid of any discipline, which only got in the way, although the Cossacks more than once rescued the main army on the battlefield, did excellent reconnaissance and sabotage unexpected for the enemy. Their tactics were simply very different from the usual actions of European cavalry. Saltykov, on the other hand, appreciated the irregular cavalry and began to use the Cossack detachments for daring sorties, exhausting the enemy.

In early July, Saltykov led an army to join the Austrian army. The Prussians did their best to thwart this plan. On July 23, the Russian army met on the battlefield near Palzig with the corps of the Prussian General Wedel, who was supposed to prevent the merging of the two armies. Thanks to the excellent work of intelligence and the chaotic actions of the Prussian command, on the eve of Saltykov, he managed to take the most advantageous position for conducting artillery fire. All Vedel's attempts to stop the Russians failed, and by the evening of the same day his corps was completely defeated. The Russians were able to calmly move on, on August 1 they entered Frankfurt, and a few days later, finally, a meeting of the two troops took place.

Saltykov was set for a quick victory, but the meeting with the Austrian military leaders disappointed him: the Austrians were slow, timid and indecisive. They suggested that Saltykov withdraw to Crossen, divide the army into several parts and guard Silesia until the next summer. This plan was thwarted by Frederick II, who was rapidly approaching Frankfurt. Frederick had already encountered the Austrian army more than once and did not appreciate it highly. He was more worried about the Russians, it was the victory over Saltykov that he considered the key to victory in this war.

The Prussian king took up positions near the village of Kunersdorf. On August 12, one of the most brilliant victories in the history of the Russian army took place here. The battle began successfully for Frederick. Saltykov did not have time to properly strengthen his left flank, so the Prussian troops quickly crushed him, captured many artillery pieces and occupied more than half of the territory where the Austro-Russian forces stood in the morning. The Prussians were already celebrating their victory. The king prepared for the last push to finally defeat the enemy, but by that time Saltykov had pulled the fighters of the center and the right flank to the most convenient positions, protected from the cavalry by a series of fortifications and "wolf pits" and equipped with heavy guns. The Prussian cavalry - the main striking force of the king - failed to take the heights where the Russians were, and began to retreat under enemy fire. Saltykov gave the order to go on the attack, the Prussian army faltered and fled. To escape, the Prussian soldiers had to cross the Oder. There was a stampede and panic on the bridges. Russian fighters took the Prussians prisoner in whole detachments. Of the 48 thousand soldiers of Frederick, only 3 thousand remained, those who were not killed, wounded or captured fled from the army and never returned under the royal banners.

The war could have ended already then, in August 1759: the way to Berlin was open, Frederick II was in despair and was preparing for suicide. He not only lost an army, but also did not receive the expected help from his ally England. London, of course, lent money to Prussia, but did not send its fleet to help her. Instead, the British, more interested in the American and Indian colonies, preferred to fight their longtime enemies, the French, away from Frederick's forces and the European front.

But the success of the Battle of Kunersdorf was nullified by disputes between the Austrian and Russian commanders. Saltykov did not have enough strength to go to Berlin alone, and the Austrians delayed this campaign under any, even the most trifling pretexts. Saltykov was furious, but the instructions he received from St. Petersburg ordered him to stay where he was. As a result, after a month of inactivity of the Russians and Austrians, Frederick II managed to re-assemble the army. This unprecedented situation has gone down in history as "the first miracle of the House of Brandenburg".

In mid-September, Saltykov could not stand it and withdrew his army from Silesia. Allied indecision prevented the Russian commander from capturing Frederick and his army at Glogau, and the 1759 campaign ended.

Military operations in 1760-61

Saltykov was of the opinion that the Russians should not go further than East Prussia and Pomerania, protecting the conquered territories and not allowing the enemy to exhaust themselves too much. But under pressure from Austria in St. Petersburg, the commander-in-chief was given instructions to support the Austrian army in its actions in Silesia. In fact, this meant a heavy siege war for the lands that meant nothing to the Russians.

In the summer of 1760, the Russian army returned to Silesia. The Austrians behaved extremely sluggishly, gave conflicting instructions to the Russian commander-in-chief, in every possible way avoided clashes with the Prussian army and tried to put Saltykov's people under attack. More than a month passed in stupid marches and counter-marches. Only in September, Saltykov and Fermor managed to convince Petersburg of the need to urgently advance to Berlin.

According to Saltykov's plan, it was necessary to deliver three blows to the capital of Prussia:

• first by cavalry under the leadership of Totleben;
• then the corps of lieutenant Chernyshev with a specially trained infantry brigade was to go into action;
• in the rearguard, Fermor was to go with the main forces.

Totleben led his men quickly and almost silently. In early October, the Russian army approached the city, where there was only a small garrison and a few retired generals. General Rokhov, who led the defense of the city, rejected Chernyshev's proposal to surrender the city. On October 3, the siege began. The defenders and the besiegers fired artillery for two days. On the evening of October 4, an ally of Frederick II, the Prince of Württemberg, approached the city with a 5,000-strong detachment. Due to the too hasty actions of Totleben, the Prince of Württemberg managed to push the Russians back from the city walls. The overall command of the operation passed to Chernyshev, from Fermor he received an order not to do anything until the approach of the main forces and the Austrian corps of General Lacy. At the same time, reinforcements arrived in Berlin. The situation for the Russian-Austrian army became more complicated.

However, the decisive battle never happened. The Prince of Württemberg left the city, not wanting to risk his people. The wealthy merchant Gotzkovsky, who lived in Berlin and was friends with Totleben, convinced his countrymen to surrender the city to the Russians. So, thanks to intrigue, Totleben entered Berlin on October 9 as a winner, while his compatriots and allies, who knew nothing of his cunning, were preparing for battle. The general's act caused bewilderment not only among the Austrians, but also among the Russian command, dissatisfied with the fact that Totleben did not adhere to the diplomatic procedures necessary to take the enemy's capital and missed the Prussian army that had retreated from the city.

Despite the triumph and rich trophies, the Russian army was very exhausted, and in mid-October Saltykov took her to winter quarters. Contradictory orders and the impudence of the Austrians tired the Russian commander in chief and he asked for his resignation under the pretext of illness. From the end of 1760, the army was headed by Alexander Buturlin. In November, Frederick II attacked the Austrians at Torgau. The bloody battle ended with the victory of the Prussian army, but the losses were huge. One of the main strongholds of Friedrich - Saxony - so far remained behind him, but every day it became more and more difficult to keep the principality. The war exhausted not only the Russians and Prussians: France lost a huge part of its overseas colonies and was ready to withdraw from the conflict at any moment.

At the beginning of 1761, Elizabeth once again rejected Saltykov's plan to defend East Prussia and demanded a toughening of hostilities in Europe. The war took on a protracted character. No major battles took place in 1761: all sides simply made fruitless maneuvers. The only significant event of this campaign was the capture by Rumyantsev of Kolberg, a fortress that would allow Russian troops to approach Berlin again the following year.

"The Second Miracle of the House of Brandenburg"

But the second capture of Berlin did not happen. In January 1762, Elizabeth died and Peter III ascended the throne - a man who was rightly accused of passing secret information to the enemy. Immediately after the death of the Empress, her successor sent messengers to the army with an order to stop any offensive actions.

The new emperor promised Frederick II peace and friendship. The Prussian king was invited to draw up the text of the peace treaty himself: Peter III was ready to sign it without any revisions.

In May, the peace treaty entered into force. He stated that:

• Russia renounces all conquests, including East Prussia;
• Both states begin joint military operations against Denmark and Austria.

The actions of Peter III shocked the allies and the Russian public. The enormous efforts and sacrifices of the Russian soldiers were regarded by the emperor as stupidity and nonsense. Bloodless Russia was threatened with a new war - this time with Denmark, with which there had been absolutely no disagreements before, and with former allies. The emperor's hatred for everything Russian, his tactlessness and inconsistency soon led to another palace coup. Already in June, his wife, Catherine II, ascended the throne, and Peter III himself was imprisoned in the Ropsha Palace. He soon died under mysterious circumstances.

Catherine ordered the return of the army, which had already set off for Denmark, back to Russia, but she did not dare to continue military operations against Prussia: the position of the new empress was too precarious. Meanwhile, the former allies also lost morale. Sweden withdrew from the war, Austria accepted the loss of Silesia, and the French suffered setbacks at the front.

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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
• United Kingdom
• Russian empire
• Prussian kingdom
• french kingdom

Causes

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). The immediate causes of the new war were the contradictions 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 - the protagonist of the 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, for various reasons this did not happen. This is:

- 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. Prussia was also exhausted, she held on only thanks to the financial assistance of 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 started 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 the peace talks, 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.

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