The beginning of participation in the Seven Years War. Major events of the Seven Years War

War of two coalitions for hegemony in Europe, as well as for colonial possessions in North America and India. One of the coalitions included England and Prussia, the other - France, Austria and Russia ... Between England and France there was a struggle for colonies in North America. Here, clashes began in 1754, and in 1756 England declared war on France. In January 1756 the Anglo-Prussian alliance was concluded. In response, Prussia's main rival, Austria, made peace with its longtime enemy, France. The Austrians hoped to regain Silesia, while the Prussians were about to conquer Saxony. Sweden joined the Austro-French defensive alliance, hoping to recapture Stettin and other territories lost during the Northern War from Prussia. At the end of the year, Russia joined the Anglo-French coalition, hoping to conquer East Prussia in order to later transfer it to Poland in exchange for Courland and Semigallia. Prussia was supported by Hanover and several small North German states.

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

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

On June 17, 1757, the Prussians began to bypass the right flank of the Austrian position at Colin from the north, but Down noticed this maneuver in time and turned his forces forward to the north. When the Prussians attacked the next day, delivering the main blow against the enemy's right flank, she was met with heavy fire. General Gülsen's Prussian infantry managed to occupy the village of Krzegor, but the tactically important oak grove beyond it remained in the hands of the Austrians. Down moved his reserve here. In the end, the main forces of the Prussian army, concentrated on the left flank, could not withstand the rapid fire of the enemy artillery, firing grapeshot, and fled. Here the Austrian troops of the left flag went over to the attack. Down's cavalry pursued the defeated enemy for several kilometers. The remnants of Frederick's army retreated to Nimburg.

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

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

The 45,000-strong allied army occupied a position at Mücheln. Frederick, who had only 24 thousand soldiers, with a feigned retreat to the village of Rossbach lured the enemy out of the fortifications. The French hoped to cut off the Prussians from the crossing of the Saale River and defeat them.

On the morning of November 5, 1757, the Allies marched out in three columns, bypassing the enemy's left flank. This maneuver was covered by a detachment of 8,000, which engaged in a firefight with the Prussian vanguard. Frederick guessed the enemy's plan and, at half past three in the afternoon, ordered to withdraw from the camp and simulate a retreat to Merseburg. The Soyuaniki attempted to intercept the escape routes by sending their cavalry around Janus Hill. However, she was suddenly attacked and defeated by the Prussian cavalry under the command of General Seydlitz.

Meanwhile, under cover of heavy fire from 18 artillery batteries, the Prussian infantry went on the offensive. The allied infantry was forced to line up in battle formation under the enemy's cannonballs. Soon she was under the threat of a flank attack by Seydlitz's squadrons, wavered and ran. The French and their allies lost 7 thousand killed, wounded and prisoners and all the artillery - 67 guns and a baggage train. The losses of the Prussians were insignificant - only 540 killed and wounded. Here, both the qualitative superiority of the Prussian cavalry and artillery and the mistakes of the allied command affected. The French commander-in-chief started a difficult maneuver, as a result of which most of the army was in the marching columns and was deprived of the opportunity to participate in the battle. Frederick got the opportunity to beat the enemy in parts.

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

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

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

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

Suddenly, Apraksin ordered to retreat, citing a lack of supplies and the separation of the army from its bases. The Field Marshal was accused of treason and put on trial. The only success was the capture of Memel by a 9,000th Russian landing party. This port was turned during the war into the main base of the Russian fleet.

In place of Apraksin, General-in-Chief Willim Willimovich Fermor was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian troops. An Englishman by birth, he was born in Moscow. He was a good administrator, but an indecisive person and a bad general. The soldiers and officers, mistaking Fermor for a German, expressed dissatisfaction with his appointment to the post of commander-in-chief. It was unusual for the Russian people to observe that under the commander-in-chief, instead of an Orthodox priest, there was a Protestant chaplain. Upon arrival at the troops, Fermor first of all gathered from his headquarters all the Germans - and there were quite a few of them in the Russian army at that time - and led them into a tent, where a prayer service was held with strange chants for Orthodox Christians in an unknown language.

The conference set before Fermor at the end of 1757 - the beginning of 1758 the task of conquering all of East Prussia and bringing its population to an oath of allegiance to Russia. This task was successfully accomplished by the Russian troops. In bitter frosts, getting stuck in snowdrifts, formations under the command of P.A. Rumyantsev and P.S. Saltykov.

On January 22, 1758, the Russian army occupied Konigsberg, and after that the whole of East Prussia. In these operations, Fermor did not even show signs of leadership talent. Almost all operational and tactical plans were developed and carried out independently by Rumyantsev and Saltykov, and Fermor often interfered with them with his ill-considered orders.

When the Russian troops entered Königsberg, the burgomaster of the city, members of the magistrate and other officials with swords and uniforms solemnly came out to meet. To the thunder of the timpani and the sound of drums, the Russian regiments entered the city with banners unfurled. The inhabitants looked at the Russian troops with curiosity. Fermor drove into Königsberg after the main regiments. He was handed the keys to the capital of Prussia, as well as to the Pillau fortress, which defended Konigsberg from the sea. The troops settled down to rest until morning, burned fires for heating, music thundered all night, fireworks flashed into the sky.

The next day, thanksgiving services of the Russians were held in all the churches of Prussia. The one-headed Prussian eagle was everywhere replaced by the two-headed Russian eagle. On January 24, 1758 (on the birthday of the Prussian king, one can easily imagine his state), the entire population of Prussia took the oath to Russia - to their new homeland! The story cites the following fact: putting his hand on the Bible, the great German philosopher Immanuel Kant took the oath, which was perhaps the most striking episode in his boring life.

The German historian Archengolts, who idolized the personality of Frederick II, wrote about this time: “Never before has an independent kingdom been conquered so easily as Prussia. But never did the winners, in the ecstasy of their success, behave so modestly as the Russians. "

At first glance, these events may seem incredible, some kind of historical paradox: how was this possible? After all, we are talking about the citadel of the Prussian Junkers, from where the ideas of domination over the world originated, from where the German Kaisers took cadres to implement their predatory plans.

But there is no paradox in this, if we take into account the fact that the Russian army did not capture and occupy Prussia, but attached this ancient Slavic land to Slavic Russia, to slavic land... The Prussians understood that the Russians would not leave here anymore, they would remain on this Slavic land, once captured Germanic principality of Brandenburg. The war waged by Frederick II devastated Prussia, taking people for cannon fodder, horses for cavalry, food and fodder. The Russians who entered Prussia did not touch the property of local citizens, treated the population of the occupied areas humanely and friendly, even helped the poor as much as they could.

Prussia became the Russian governor-general. It would seem that for Russia the war could be considered over. But the Russian army continued to fulfill its "duties" to the Austrian allies.

Of the battles of 1758, the battle of Zorndorf on August 14, 1758, when Frederick, with his maneuver, forced our army to fight on an inverted front, should be noted. The fierceness of the battle fully corresponded to the name of the place where it took place. Zorndorf in German means "angry, furious village". The bloody battle did not end with an operational victory for either side. The result was hard on both sides. Both armies simply crashed against one another. The losses of the Russians - about half of the entire army, the Prussians - more than a third. Morally, Zorndorf was a Russian victory and a cruel blow to Frederick. If earlier he thought with disdain about the Russian troops and their combat capabilities, then after Zorndorf his opinion changed. The Prussian king paid tribute to the resilience of the Russian regiments at Zorndorf, declaring after the battle: "The Russians can be killed every one of them, but they cannot be forced to retreat." http://federacia.ru/encyclopaedia/war/seven/ King Frederick II set the firmness of the Russians as an example for his own troops.

Fermor showed himself in the battle of Zorndorf ... He did not show himself in any way, and in the literal sense of the word. For two hours the Russian troops withstood the destructive fire of the Prussian artillery. The losses were great, but the Russian formation stood unbreakable, preparing for the decisive battle. And then Willim Fermor left the headquarters and, together with his retinue, rode off in an unknown direction. In the midst of the battle the Russian army was left without a commander... A unique event in the history of world wars! The battle of Zorndorf was fought by Russian officers and soldiers against the king, proceeding from the situation and showing resourcefulness and ingenuity. More than half of the Russian soldiers lay dead, but the battlefield remained with the Russians.

By the night the battle ended, Fermor had appeared from nowhere. Where he was during the battle - to this question in historical science No answer. Huge losses and the absence for the Russian army of a concrete tactical result - this is the natural result of the Battle of Zorndorf, conducted without a commander.

After the battle, Frederick retreated to Saxony, where in the fall of the same year (1758) he was defeated by the Austrians due to the fact that his best soldiers and officers were killed at Zorndorf. Fermor after unsuccessful attempt to seize the heavily fortified Kohlberg, he led the army to winter quarters in the lower reaches of the Vistula. http://www.rusempire.ru/voyny-rossiyskoy-imperii/semiletnyaya-voyna-1756-1763.html

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

Saltykov's army numbered 41 thousand people, and the Austrian army of General Down - 18.5 thousand people. On August 1, Frederick attacked the left flank of the allied forces. The Prussians managed to capture an important height here and place a battery there, which brought down fire on the center of the Russian army. Prussian troops pushed the center and right flank of the Russians. However, Saltykov managed to create a new front and launch a general counteroffensive. After a 7-hour battle, the Prussian army retreated in disarray beyond the Oder. Immediately after the battle, Frederick had only 3 thousand soldiers at hand, since the rest were scattered throughout the surrounding villages, and they had to be gathered under the banners for several days.

Kunersdorf - biggest battle Seven Years War and one of the most striking victories of Russian weapons in the 18th century. She promoted Saltykov to a number of outstanding Russian commanders. In this battle, he used traditional Russian military tactics - the transition from defense to offensive. This is how Alexander Nevsky won at Lake Peipsi, Dmitry Donskoy - at 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 winner over the Prussians".

Campaign of 1760

As Prussia weakened and the end of the war approached, the contradictions in the Allied camp also intensified. Each of them achieved their 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 as opposed to Austria. That, in turn, sought to weaken the Prussian power as much as possible, but tried to do it with the hands of the Russians. On the other hand, both Austria and France were unanimous in that Russia should not be allowed to strengthen, and strongly protested against the annexation of East Prussia. The Russians, who on the whole had fulfilled their tasks in the war, Austria now sought to use 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 unbroken 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 the region. In addition, the occupation of the Baltic coast of Prussia by the Russians sharply reduced its trade ties and increased the economic difficulties of Frederick. However, the Austrian leadership was able to convince Empress Elizabeth Petrovna to transfer the Russian army to Silesia for joint action. As a result, Russian troops were fragmented. Minor forces were sent to Pomerania, to siege Kolberg (now the Polish city of Kolobrzeg), and the main 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 the 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.

Taking Berlin (1760). On September 22, a Russian cavalry detachment under the command of General Totleben approached Berlin. According to the testimony of the prisoners, there were only three infantry battalions and several cavalry squadrons in the city. After a short artillery preparation, Totleben stormed the capital of Prussia on the night of September 23rd. At midnight the Russians broke into the Gallic Gate, but were repulsed. The next morning, a 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 thousandth corps of Austrians also approached the Russians. Then the Prince of Württemberg with his troops left the city in the evening. At 3 o'clock in the morning on September 28, envoys arrived from the city to the Russians with a message about their consent to surrender. After staying in the capital of Prussia for four days, Chernyshev destroyed the mint, arsenal, took possession of the royal treasury and took from the city authorities an indemnity of 1.5 million thalers. 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 Down, who gave the Prussian king the opportunity to "beat us as much as he pleased." The capture of Berlin had for the Russians more financial than military significance... The symbolic aspect of this operation was no less important. This was the first capture of Berlin by Russian troops in history. Interestingly, in April 1945, before the decisive assault on the German capital, Soviet soldiers received a symbolic gift - copies of the keys to Berlin, which the Germans presented to Chernyshev's soldiers in 1760.

"NOTE RUSFACT .RU: “... When Friedrich learned that Berlin was only slightly damaged by the Russians, he said:“ Thanks to the Russians, they saved Berlin from the horrors that the Austrians threatened my capital with. ”These words are recorded in history by witnesses. at the same moment, Frederick gave one of his closest writers the task of composing a detailed memoir about what “atrocities the Russian barbarians committed in Berlin.” The task was completed, and malicious lies began to spread throughout Europe. But there were people, real Germans, who wrote We know, for example, the opinion about the presence of Russian troops in Berlin, which was expressed by the great German scientist Leonard Euler, who was equally well-disposed to Russia and the King of Prussia. He wrote to one of his friends: “We had a visit here that would have been extremely gratifying under other circumstances. However, I have always wished that if Berlin were ever destined to be occupied by foreign troops, then let them be Russians ... "

Voltaire, in letters to Russian friends, admired the nobility, fortitude and discipline russian troops... He wrote: "Your troops in Berlin make a better impression than all of Metastasio's operas."

... The keys to Berlin were transferred for eternal storage to St. Petersburg, where they are still in the Kazan Cathedral. More than 180 years after these events, the ideological heir of Frederick II and his adorer Adolf Hitler tried to seize Petersburg and take the keys to his capital, but this task turned out to be too tough for the demoniac furrier ... "http: //znaniya-sila.narod. ru / solarsis / zemlya / earth_19_05_2.htm)

Campaign of 1761

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

The capture of Kohlberg (1761). The first attempts by the Russians to take Kolberg (1758 and 1760) ended in failure. In September 1761, a third attempt was made. This time, the 22,000th corps of General Pyotr Rumyantsev, the hero of Gross-Jägersdorf and Kunersdorf, was moved to Kohlberg. In August 1761, Rumyantsev, using a loose formation tactics, new for those times, broke on the approaches to the fortress russian army under the command of the Prince of Württemberg (12 thousand people). 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 a 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 out three times in favor of lifting the siege, and only Rumyantsev's unyielding will 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 did not leave and were going to continue the siege in winter, capitulated. The capture of Kohlberg allowed Russian troops to seize the Baltic coast of Prussia.

The battles for Kohlberg made an important contribution to the development of Russian and world military art. Here was the beginning of a new military tactics of the loose system. It was under the walls of Kohlberg that the famous Russian light infantry - huntsmen was born, the experience of which was then used by other European armies. At Kolberg, Rumyantsev first used battalion columns in combination with loose formation. This experience was then effectively used by Suvorov. This method of fighting appeared in the West only during the wars of the Great 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 Elizaveta 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 of its territories, which by that time had been seized by the Russian army. This saved Prussia from inevitable defeat. Moreover, in 1762, with the help of Chernyshev's corps, which was now temporarily operating as part of the Prussian army, Frederick was able to oust the Austrians from Silesia. Although Peter III was overthrown in June 1762 by Catherine II and the union treaty was terminated, the war was not renewed. The death toll in the Russian army in the Seven Years War was 120 thousand people. Of these, approximately 80% fell on those who died from diseases, including from the smallpox epidemic. The excess of sanitary losses over combat ones was at that time typical for 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 mood of Peter III. It had more serious reasons. Russia achieved its main goal - weakening 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 the Russian economy with financial disaster. Another question is that the "knightly" 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 fought 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. According to the Paris Peace Treaty of 1763, Canada, Vost. Louisiana, most of the French possessions in India. The main result of the Seven Years War is the victory of Great Britain over France in the struggle for colonial and trade primacy.

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 the steppe wanderings of Minich. In the battles of this campaign, a generation of outstanding generals (Rumyantsev, Suvorov) and soldiers were born who achieved outstanding victories in the "age of Catherine". We can say 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 the impressions brought from the fields of Europe, in Russian society after the Seven Years War, ideas about agrarian innovations and the rationalization of agriculture were born. Interest in foreign culture, in particular, in literature and art, is also growing. All these sentiments developed in the next reign.

The outcome of the war for austrian inheritance (1740-1748) turned Prussia into a great European power.

The main reasons for the war:

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

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

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

Opposing sides:

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

2) supporters of Prussia - Great Britain and Portugal.

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

The main results of the war:

1. Great Britain's victory over France, tk. overseas England took possession of the richest colonies of France and became the largest colonial power.

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

Seven Years War

The rapid rise of Prussia caused general envy and alarm among the European powers. Austria, having lost Silesia in 1734, yearned for revenge. France was worried about the rapprochement of Frederick II with England. Russian Chancellor Bestuzhev considered Prussia the worst and most dangerous enemy of the Russian Empire.

Back in 1755, Bestuzhev was trying to conclude a so-called subsidized agreement with England. England was to be given gold, and Russia - to send 30-40 thousand troops. This "project" was destined to remain a "project". Bestuzhev, correctly considering the significance of the "Prussian danger" for Russia, at the same time reveals a complete lack of maturity of judgment.

He supposes to crush Frederick II's Prussia "with a corps of 30-40 thousand," and for money he turns to none other than to Prussia's ally - England. Under such circumstances, in January 1756, Prussia entered into an alliance with England, the response to which was the formation of a tripartite coalition from Austria, France and Russia, to which Sweden and Saxony joined.

Austria demanded the return of Silesia, Russia was promised East Prussia (with the right to exchange it from Poland for Courland), Sweden and Saxony were tempted by other Prussian lands: the first by Pomerania, the second by Luzia. Soon, almost all German principalities joined this coalition. The soul of the whole coalition was Austria, which fielded the largest army and had the best diplomacy. Austria very cleverly managed to force all its allies, and mainly Russia, to serve its interests.

While the allies were sharing the skin of the unkilled bear, Frederick, surrounded by enemies, decided not to wait for their blows, but to start himself. In August 1756, he first opened hostilities, taking advantage of the unpreparedness of the Allies, invaded Saxony, surrounded the Saxon army in the camp near Pirna and forced it to lay down its arms. Saxony immediately fell out of action, and its captured army almost entirely went over to Prussian service.

The Russian army announced a campaign in October 1756, and during the winter it was to concentrate in Lithuania. Field Marshal Count Apraksin was appointed commander-in-chief, placed in the closest dependence on the Conference, an institution borrowed from the Austrians and representing in Russian conditions a worsened edition of the notorious "gofkriegsrat". The members of the Conference were: Chancellor Bestuzhev, Prince Trubetskoy, Field Marshal Buturlin, the Shuvalov brothers. However, our "Austrophilism" was not limited to this alone, but went much further: the Conference immediately fell entirely under Austrian influence and, commanding an army a thousand miles away from Petersburg, was guided, it seemed, primarily by the observance of the interests of the Viennese cabinet.

In 1757, three main theaters were determined, which then existed throughout the entire Seven Years War - the Franco-Imperial, the main, or Austrian, and Russian.

Fusiler, chief officer, grenadiers of the Tenginsky infantry regiment, 1732-1756 Colored engraving

The campaign was opened by Frederick, moving at the end of April from different directions - concentrically - to Bohemia. He defeated the Austrian army of Prince Karl of Lorraine near Prague and locked it up in Prague. However, Down's second Austrian army moved to her rescue, defeating Frederick at Colin (June). Frederick retreated to Saxony, and by the end of the summer his position became critical. Prussia was surrounded by 300,000 enemies. The king entrusted the defense against Austria to the Duke of Bevern, and he himself hastened to the West. Having bribed the commander-in-chief of the northern French army, the Duke of Richelieu, and having secured his inaction, after some hesitation caused by bad news from the East, he turned to the southern Franco-imperial army. Frederick II would not have been a Prussian and a German if he had acted in honest ways.

With a twenty-one thousandth army, he utterly defeated the 64,000 Franco-Imperials of Soubise at Rosbach, and then moved to Silesia, where Bevernsky was meanwhile defeated at Breslaul. On December 5, Frederick attacked the Austrians and literally incinerated their army in the famous battle of Leuthen. This is the most brilliant of all Frederick's campaigns; according to Napoleon, for one Lieuten he deserves to be called a great commander.

The Russian army, operating in the secondary East Prussian theater of war, remained aloof from the main events of the 1757 campaign. Its concentration in Lithuania took the whole winter and spring. The troops had a large shortage, which was especially felt in the officers.

They went on a campaign not with a light heart. We were afraid of the Prussians. Since the time of Peter I, and especially Anna, the German has been a reserved being for us - of a different, higher order, a teacher and a boss. The Prussian was directly German to all Germans. “Frederick, they say, beat the Frenchman himself, and even more so - where can we, who are sinful against him, stand against him! ..” So the future winners at Palzig and Kunersdorf reasoned, shaking the Lithuanian dirt with their shoes. The nasty Russian habit of always belittling itself in comparison with a foreigner ... After the first skirmish at the border, where three of our dragoon regiments were overturned by the Prussian hussars, the whole army was seized by "great timidity, cowardice and fear" lower ranks.

By May, the concentration of our army on the Neman was over. It numbered 89,000 people, of whom no more than 50-55,000 were fit for battle - “really fighting”, the rest were non-combatants of any kind, or disorganized Kalmyks armed with bows and arrows.

Prussia was defended by the army of Field Marshal Lewald (30,500 regular and up to 10,000 armed residents). Frederick, busy with the struggle with Austria and France, treated the Russians with disdain:

“Russian barbarians do not deserve to be mentioned here,” he once remarked in one of his letters.

The Russian commander-in-chief depended entirely on the St. Petersburg Conference. He had no right to dispose of the troops without the formal “approbation” of the cabinet every time, he had no right to take the initiative in the event of a change in the situation, and had to deal with St. Petersburg for every little detail. In the campaign of 1757, the Conference ordered him to maneuver so that for him "it was all the same to march straight to Prussia or to the left across Poland to Silesia." The goal of the campaign was to capture East Prussia, but Apraksin was not sure until June that part of his army would not be sent to Silesia to reinforce the Austrians.

S. F. Apraksin. Unknown artist

On June 25, Farmer's vanguard captured Memel, signaling a campaign. Apraksin went with the main forces to Verzhbolovo and Gumbinen, sending the vanguard of General Sibilsky - 6,000 horses, to Friedland for action in the rear of the Prussians. The movement of our army was notable for its slowness, which is explained by administrative turmoil, an abundance of artillery and the fear of the Prussian troops, about whom there were whole legends. On July 10, the main forces crossed the border, on the 15th they passed Gumbinen and on the 18th occupied Insterburg. The Sibilsky cavalry did not justify the hopes placed on it, as a hundred and fifty years later - in the same places, the detachment of the Nakhichevan Khan will not justify them ... Lewald was waiting for the Russians in a strong position across the Alla River, near Velau. Having united with the vanguard - Farmer and Sibilsky, Apraksin on August 12 moved to Allenburg, deeply bypassing the position of the Prussians. Learning of this movement, Lewald hastened to meet the Russians and on August 19 attacked them at Gross-Jägernsdorf, but was repulsed. Lewald had 22,000 men in this battle, Apraksin had up to 57,000, of which, however, half did not take part in the case. The fate of the battle was decided by Rumyantsev, who seized the infantry of the vanguard and went with it through the forest with bayonets. The Prussians could not stand this attack. Victory trophies were 29 guns and 600 prisoners. The damage of the Prussians - up to 4000, ours - over 6000. This first victory had the most beneficial effect on the troops, showing them that the Prussians are no worse than the Swedes and the Turks running from the Russian bayonet. She also made the Prussians think about it.

After the Jägernsdorf battle, the Prussians retreated to Weslau. Apraksin moved after them and on August 25 began to bypass their right flank. Lewald did not accept the battle and retreated. The military council assembled by Apraksin decided, in view of the difficulty of the army's food, to retreat to Tilsit, where to put in order the economic part. On August 27, a retreat began, made very secretly (the Prussians learned about this only on September 4). On the march it became clear that due to complete disorder it was impossible to go over to the offensive in the same autumn and it was decided to retreat to Courland. On September 13, Tilsit will be abandoned, and the Russian military council decided to evade the battle with Lewald's vanguard, despite all our superiority in strength; Of course, there was no trace of "cowardice and fear", but the notorious "timidity" apparently did not have time to finally leave our senior bosses. On September 16, the entire army was withdrawn beyond the Neman. The campaign of 1757 ended unsuccessfully due to the extraordinary constraint on the actions of the commander-in-chief by the armchair strategists and the disruption of the economic unit.

Musketeer headquarters and chief officers of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, 1762. Painted engraving

Chief Officer and Reiter of the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment, 1732-1742 Colored engraving

Chief Officer of the Cavalry Regiment, 1742-1762 Colored engraving

The conference demanded an immediate transition to the offensive, as our diplomacy had promised the allies. Apraksin refused, was dismissed from office and put on trial, died of a stroke, without waiting for the trial. They treated him unfairly, Apraksin did everything that any chief of average talents and abilities could do in his place, put in a really impossible position and bound hand and foot by the Conference.

Instead of Apraksin, General Farmer was appointed commander-in-chief - an excellent administrator, a caring boss (Suvorov remembered him as a "second father"), but at the same time fussy and indecisive. The farmer took up the organization of troops and the establishment of the economic part.

Frederick II, scornfully referring to the Russians, did not even admit the thought that the Russian army would be able to make a winter campaign. He sent the entire army of Lewald to Pomerania against the Swedes, leaving only 6 garrison companies in East Prussia. The farmer knew this, but, without receiving orders, he did not budge.

Meanwhile, the Conference, in order to refute the reprehensible opinions about the fighting qualities of the Russian troops that were circulating in Europe through the efforts of the Prussian "gazetteers", ordered the Farmer to move to East Prussia through the first snow.

On the first day of January 1758, the columns of Saltykov and Rumyantsev (30,000) crossed the border. On January 11, Konigsberg was occupied, and then the whole of East Prussia, turned into the Russian governorship-general. We acquired a valuable base for further operations and, in fact, achieved our goal of the war. The Prussian population, sworn into Russian citizenship by the Apraksins, did not oppose our troops, while the local authorities were well disposed towards Russia. Having taken possession of East Prussia, the Farmer wanted to move to Danzig, but was stopped by the Conference, which ordered him to wait for the arrival of the Observation Corps, to demonstrate together with the Swedes at Küstrin, and then go with the army to Frankfurt. In anticipation of summer time, the Farmer stationed most of the army at Thorn and Poznan, not particularly concerned about maintaining the neutrality of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

On July 2 the army moved towards the Franfor as directed. She numbered 55,000 fighters. The disruption of the Observatory Corps, lack of knowledge of the terrain, food difficulties and constant interference from the Conference resulted in wasted time, lengthy halts and counter-marches. All maneuvers were carried out under the cover of Rumyantsev's cavalry of 4000 sabers, whose actions can be called exemplary.

The Council of War decided not to get involved in the battle with the Don corps, which had warned us in Frankfurt, and to go to Kustrin to communicate with the Swedes. On August 3, our army approached Kustrin and on the 4th began to bombard him.

Friedrich P. himself hastened to the rescue of the threatened Brandenburg. Leaving 40,000 men against the Austrians, he moved with 15,000 to the Oder, joined the Don's corps and went down the Oder on the Russians. The farmer lifted the siege of Kustrin and on August 11 retreated to Zorndorf, where he took a strong position. For the expulsion of Rumyantsev's divisions to crossings across the Oder, the Russian army had 42,000 men with 240 guns. The Prussians had 33,000 and 116 guns.

Frederick bypassed the Russian position from the rear and forced our army to give him a battle with an inverted front. The bloody massacre of Zorndorf on August 14 had no tactical consequences. Both armies "crashed against one another." Morally, Zorndorf is a Russian victory and a cruel blow to Frederick. Here, as they say, “I found a scythe on a stone” - and the Prussian king saw that “these people could be killed rather than defeated”.

Here he experienced his first disappointment: the vaunted Prussian infantry, having tasted the Russian bayonet, refused to attack again. The honor of this bloody day belongs to Seydlitz's men at arms and those old regiments of the Russian iron infantry, about which the rush of their avalanches crashed ... The Russian army had to rebuild the front already under fire. Its right and left flanks were divided by a ravine. Frederick's bypass maneuver pinned our army to the Mitchell River and turned the main advantage of our position in Zorndorf into an extreme disadvantage, the river ended up in the rear. Farmer, who did not control the battle at all, did not make the slightest attempt to coordinate the actions of the two disunited masses, and this allowed Frederick to fall first on our right flank, then on our left. In both cases, the Prussian infantry was repulsed and overturned, but, pursuing it, the Russians were upset and came under attack from the Prussian horse masses. We had almost no cavalry, only 2,700, the rest under Rumyantsev. By the end of the battle, the front of the armies made a right angle with the original front, the battlefield and the trophies on it were, as it were, divided in half.

Our damage - 19,500 killed and wounded, 3,000 prisoners, 11 banners, 85 guns - 54 percent of the entire army. Out of 9143 people, only 1687 remained in the ranks of the Observation Corps.

The Prussians have 10,000 killed and wounded, 1,500 prisoners, 10 banners and 26 guns - up to 35 percent of the total. Frederick II set the fortitude of the Russians as an example for his own troops, especially the infantry.

Having drawn Rumyantsev to him, the Farmer could have resumed the battle with great chances of success, but he missed this opportunity. Frederick retreated to Silesia - the Farmer set himself the goal of capturing the heavily fortified Kohlberg in Pomerania. He acted hesitantly and at the end of October withdrew the army to winter quarters along the Lower Vistula. The campaign of 1758 - a successful winter and fruitless summer campaign - was generally favorable for Russian weapons.

On the remaining fronts, Frederick continued active defense, operating along the internal lines of operations. Under Gochkirch, he was defeated, Down attacked him at night, but the indecision of Down, who did not dare to take advantage of his victory, despite the double superiority in forces, rescued the Prussians.

V.V. Farmer. Artist A.P. Antropov

By the opening of the 1759 campaign, the quality of the Prussian army was no longer what it had been in previous years. Many military generals and officers, old and tried soldiers perished. The ranks had to put prisoners and defectors on a par with untrained recruits. Not already having those forces, Frederick decided to abandon his usual initiative in opening the campaign and wait first for the actions of the allies, in order to then maneuver to their messages. Interested in the short duration of the campaign due to the scarcity of his funds, the Prussian king sought to slow down the start of allied operations, and to this end, he launched cavalry raids on their rear to destroy stores. In that era of armies' grocery rations and the "Five Transition System," the destruction of stores led to the disruption of the campaign plan. The first raid, carried out on the Russian rear in Poznan with small forces in February, fell off the Prussians in general safely, although it did not cause much harm to the Russian army. Rumyantsev in vain pointed out to the Farmer, when occupying apartments, all the disadvantages and danger of cordon location. This was even the reason for their disagreement. In 1759, Rumyantsev did not receive a position in the active army, but was appointed an inspector of the rear, from where Saltykov was already recruited into the army. Another foray into the rear of the Austrians in April was much more successful, and the Austrian headquarters were so frightened by them that they abandoned all active actions during the spring and early summer.

Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Conference, finally falling under the influence of Austria, worked out a plan of operations for 1759, according to which the Russian army became auxiliary to the Austrian one. It was supposed to bring it to 120,000, of which 90,000 should be moved to join the Caesars, and 30,000 left on the Lower Vistula.

At the same time, the commander-in-chief was not at all indicated where exactly to connect with the Austrians and what to be guided by when performing operations "upstream or downstream of the Oder."

It was not possible to staff the army even up to half of the expected - due to the persistent demands of the Austrians, they had to go on a campaign before the arrival of reinforcements. At the end of May, the army set out from Bromberg to Poznan and, moving slowly, arrived there only in the 20th of June. Here a rescript of the Conference was received, appointing Count Saltykov as commander-in-chief, the Farmer received one of 3 divisions. Saltykov was instructed to unite with the Austrians at the point where these latter so wish, then he was ordered, "not obeying Daun, to listen to his advice" - by no means sacrificing the army for the sake of Austrian interests - and, to top it all off, not to engage in battle with superior forces.

Frederick II, convinced of Down's passivity, transferred 30,000 from the "Austrian" front to the "Russian" - and decided to defeat the Russians before joining them with the Austrians. The Prussians acted sluggishly and missed an opportunity to smash the Russian army piece by piece.

Not embarrassed by the presence of this strong enemy mass on his left flank, Saltykov moved on July 6 from Poznan in a southern direction - to Karolat and Krossen to join the Austrians there. He had up to 40,000 combatants under his command. The Russian army brilliantly made an extremely risky and daring flank march, and Saltykov took measures in case the army was cut off from its base - Poznan.

P.S. Saltykov. Engraving

The Prussians hurried after Saltykov to get ahead of him at Crosssen. On July 12, in the battle of Palzig, they were defeated and driven back beyond the Oder - under the walls of the Krossene fortress. In the Palzig battle, 40,000 Russians with 186 guns fought against 28,000 Prussians. Against the linear battle formation of the latter, Saltykov used echeloning in depth and playing with reserves, which gave us a victory, unfortunately, not brought by a sufficiently energetic pursuit of the enemy to the complete destruction of the Prussians.

Our damage - 894 killed, 3897 wounded The Prussians had losses of 9000 people: 7,500 dropped out in battle and 1,500 deserted In fact, their damage was much more significant, and it can be assumed not less than 12,000, some killed Prussians were buried by the Russians 4228 bodies. 600 prisoners were taken, 7 banners and standards, 14 guns.

All this time Down was inactive. The Austrian commander-in-chief based his plans on Russian blood. Fearing to engage in a battle with Frederick, despite his double superiority in forces, Down sought to bring the Russians under the first fire and draw them to him - into the depths of Silesia. But Saltykov, who managed to "see through" his Austrian colleague, did not succumb to this "stratagem", but decided after the Palzig victory to move to Frankfurt and threaten Berlin.

This movement of Saltykov alarmed Friedrich and Down alike. The Prussian king feared for his capital, the Austrian commander-in-chief did not want a victory won by the Russians alone without the participation of the Austrians (which could have important political consequences). Therefore, while Frederick was concentrating his army in the Berlin area, Down, "carefully guarding" the weak Prussian barrier left against him, moved Loudon's corps to Frankfurt, ordering him to warn the Russians there and profit from indemnity. This clever calculation did not come true: "Franfort" was already occupied by the Russians on July 19.

Having captured Frankfurt, Saltykov intended to move Rumyantsev with his cavalry to Berlin, but Friedrich's appearance there forced him to abandon this plan. Upon joining Loudon, he had 58,000 men, with whom he took a strong position at Kunersdorf.

Three masses of allies were thus concentrated in the Berlin area against Friedrich's 50,000 Prussians: from the east, 58,000 Saltykov's soldiers, 80 versts from Berlin; from the south 65,000 Down, 150 versts; 30,000 imperials from the west, at 100 versts Frederick decided to get out of this intolerable situation by attacking with all his forces the most dangerous enemy, the enemy most advanced forward, the most brave and skillful, moreover, who did not have the habit of evading battle, in short - the Russians.

Reitar of the Cavalry Regiment, 1742–1762 Colored engraving

On August 1, he attacked Saltykov, and in the fierce battle that took place at the Kunersdorf position - the famous "Battle of France" - he was utterly defeated, losing two-thirds of his army and all the artillery. Friedrich intended to outflank the Russian army from the rear, as at Zorndorf, but Saltykov was not a Farmer: he immediately turned the front around. The Russian army was heavily echeloned in depth on a relatively narrow front. Frederick shot down the first two lines, capturing up to 70 guns, but his attack was choked, and Seydlitz's cavalry died, untimely rushing to the unsettled Russian infantry. Going over to a crushing counteroffensive to the front and flank, the Russians overturned Frederick's army, and Rumyantsev's cavalry completely finished off the Prussians, who fled wherever they could. Out of 48,000 people, the king did not manage to collect a tenth immediately after the battle! The Prussians show their final damage at 20,000 in the battle itself and over 2,000 deserters in flight. In fact, their loss should be at least 30,000. We buried 7,627 Prussian corpses on the spot, took over 4,500 prisoners, 29 banners and standards and all 172 guns that were in the Prussian army. Russian damage - up to 13,500 people (one third of the army): 2,614 killed, 10,863 wounded. In the Austrian corps of Laudon, about 2,500 left. In total, the Allies lost 16,000 people. The despair of Frederick II is best expressed in his letter to one of his childhood friends, written the next day: “At this moment I don't have even 3000 of the army of 48,000. Everything is running away, and I no longer have power over the army ... In Berlin they will do well if they think about their safety. A cruel misfortune, I will not survive it. The consequences of the battle will be even worse than the battle itself: I no longer have any means, and, to tell the truth, I consider everything lost. I will not survive the loss of my homeland. Do not see you again". The pursuit was short-lived; after the battle, Saltykov had no more than 23,000 men, and he could not reap the fruits of his brilliant victory.

Down, consumed with envy of Saltykov, did nothing on his part to ease him, and with idle "advice" only annoyed the Russian commander-in-chief.

Frederick II came to his senses after Kunersdorf, gave up thoughts of suicide and again accepted the rank of commander-in-chief (which he resigned on the evening of the "Battle of France"); On August 18, near Berlin, Friedrich already had 33,000 people and he could calmly look to the future. Down's inaction saved Prussia.

The Austrian commander-in-chief persuaded Saltykov to move to Silesia for a joint attack on Berlin, but one raid of the Prussian hussars to the rear was enough for Down's hasty retreat to the starting position ... He did not prepare the promised allowance for the Russians.

The indignant Saltykov decided to act independently and went to the Glogau fortress, but Frederick, foreseeing his intention, moved parallel to Saltykov in order to warn him. Both had 24,000 soldiers each, and Saltykov decided this time not to get involved in the battle: he considered it inexpedient to risk these troops 500 miles from his base. Friedrich, remembering Kunersdorf, did not insist on fighting. On September 14, the opponents dispersed, and on the 19th Saltykov withdrew to winter quarters by the Warta River. The victor at Kunersdorf, who received the field marshal's baton, had the civic courage to prefer the interests of Russia to the interests of Austria and reject the demand of the Conference, which insisted on wintering in Silesia together with the Austrians and the outfit of 20-30 thousand Russian infantry in the Laudon corps. Having already arrived at Warta, Saltykov, at the insistence of the Austrians, showed the appearance that he was returning to Prussia. By this he saved the valiant Down and his eighty thousandth army from the Prussians' offensive, which the Caesar commander imagined.

Officer and sergeant of the Life Company, 1742–1762 Colored engraving

The campaign of 1759 could decide the fate of the Seven Years War, and with it the fate of Prussia. Fortunately for Frederick, he had, in addition to the Russians, the Austrians as opponents.

In the campaign of 1760, Saltykov believed to take possession of Danzig, Kohlberg and Pomerania, and from there act on Berlin. But the "homegrown Austrians" decided otherwise at their Conference and again sent the Russian army "to run errands" to the Austrians in Silesia - the winners at Kunersdorf were all equated to the defeated at Leuthen! At the same time, Saltykov was also instructed to "make an attempt" to seize Kohlberg - to act in two diametrically opposite operational directions. Saltykov's position was further complicated by the fact that the Austrians did not inform him about either Frederick's movements or their own. At the end of June, Saltykov, with 60,000 and a supply of provisions for 2 months, set out from Poznan and slowly moved towards Breslavl, where the Austrians of Laudon, meanwhile, were heading. However, the Prussians forced Laudon to retreat from Breslavl, and Frederick II, who arrived in Silesia, defeated him (August 4) at Lygnitz. Frederick II with 30,000 arrived from Saxony on a forced march, having covered 280 versts in 5 days (an army crossing - 56 versts). The Austrians demanded the transfer of Chernyshev's corps to the left bank of the Oder - into the mouth of the enemy, but Saltykov opposed this and retreated to Gernstadt, where the army remained until September 2. At the end of August, Saltykov fell dangerously ill and surrendered his command to the Farmer, who at first tried to besiege Glogau, and then on September 10 withdrew the army under Crossen, deciding to act according to circumstances. The following fact perfectly characterizes the Farmer. Loudon asked for his help in the proposed siege of Glogau.

The farmer, who did not take a step without the permission of the Conference, notified St. Petersburg about this. While communications and relations were written back and forth for 1500 versts, Laudon changed his mind and decided to besiege not Glogau, but Kempen, about which he informed the Farmer. In the meantime, a rescript of the Conference was obtained, allowing movement to Glogau. The farmer, too well disciplined commander, moved on Glogau, despite the fact that this movement, due to the changed situation, lost all meaning. Having passed to the fortress, the Farmer saw that it was impossible to take it without siege artillery. Chernyshev's corps with Totleben's cavalry and Krasnoshchekov's Cossacks, a total of 23,000, half cavalry, was sent on a raid on Berlin.

Officer of the Musketeer Prince William Regiment, 1762. Painted engraving

Guards Grenadier Officer. Engraving

Oboist, flayer and drummer of the Musketeer Regiment, 1756–1761 Colored engraving

The capture of the Kolberg fortress during the Seven Years War. Artist A. Kotzebue

Flayer of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, 1763–1786 Engraving

On September 23, Totleben attacked Berlin, but was repulsed, and on the 28th Berlin surrendered. In addition to 23,000 Russians, 14,000 Austrians from Lassi participated in the raid on Berlin. The capital was defended by 14,000 Prussians, of whom 4,000 were taken prisoner. The mint and arsenal were destroyed and an indemnity was taken. The Prussian "gazeteers", who, as we have seen, wrote all sorts of libels and fables about Russia and the Russian army, are properly reversed. This event hardly made them special Russophiles, but it is one of the most consoling episodes in our history. After staying in the enemy capital for four days, Chernyshev and Totleben withdrew from there when Frederick approached. The raid had no important results.

When the impossibility of any kind of productive cooperation with the Austrians became clear, the Conference returned to Saltykov's original plan and ordered the Farmer to seize Kohlberg in Pomerania. Busy organizing a raid on Berlin, the Farmer moved Olitz's division under Kolberg. The new commander-in-chief, Field Marshal Buturlin (Saltykov was all sick), who arrived in the army, took off the siege of Kolberg due to the late season and in October took the entire army to winter quarters along the Lower Vistula. The campaign of 1760 brought no results ...

In 1761, following the example of a number of previous campaigns, the Russian army was moved to Silesia by the Austrians.

From Thorn she went her usual way to Poznan and to Breslau, but at this last point she was forestalled by Frederick. Passing Breslavl, Buturlin contacted Laudon. The entire campaign took place in marches and maneuvers. On the night of August 29, Buturlin decided to attack Frederick at Gochkirchen, but the Prussian king, not relying on his own strength, avoided the battle. In September, Frederick II moved on to the messages of the Austrians, but the Russians, quickly linking up with these latter, prevented this and forced Frederick to retreat to the fortified camp at Bunzelwitz. Then Buturlin, reinforcing Laudon with Chernyshev's corps, withdrew to Pomerania. On September 21, Loudon took Schweidnitz by storm, and the Russians were particularly distinguished, and soon after, both sides took up winter quarters. During the assault on Schweidnitz, 2 Russian battalions were the first to climb the ramparts, then they opened the gates to the Austrians and stood in perfect order with a gun at their feet on the ramparts, while at their feet the Austrians indulged in revelry and plunder. The allies lost 1,400 people. The Prussians surrendered 2600 with 240 guns, 1400 killed.

Operating separately from the main army, Rumyantsev's corps on August 5 approached Kohlberg and laid siege to it. The fortress proved to be strong, and the siege, carried out with the help of the fleet, lasted four months, accompanied at the same time by actions against the Prussian partisans in the rear of the siege corps. Only the unyielding energy of Rumyantsev made it possible to bring the siege to an end - three times a military council convened spoke in favor of retreat. Finally, on December 5, Kohlberg surrendered, 5,000 prisoners were taken, 20 banners, 173 guns, and this was the last feat of the Russian army in the Seven Years War.

The report of Kolberg's surrender found Empress Elizabeth on her deathbed ... Emperor Peter III, who came to the throne - an ardent admirer of Frederick - immediately ceased hostilities with Prussia, returned all the conquered regions to it (East Prussia had been in Russian citizenship for 4 years) and ordered Chernyshev's corps to be with the Prussian army. During the campaign of 1762, in the spring, Chernyshev's corps raided Bohemia and regularly chopped down yesterday's Austrian allies, for whom the Russians at all times - and then in particular - had contempt. When in early July Chernyshev received an order to return to Russia, where a coup had taken place at that time, Friedrich begged him to stay for another "three days" - until the battle he gave on July 10 at Burkersdorf. The Russians did not participate in this battle, but by their mere presence they greatly frightened the Austrians, who still did not know anything about the events in St. Petersburg.

So sadly and unexpectedly the Seven Years' War, which glorified Russian weapons, ended for us.

Officer of the Prince William's Grenadier Regiment, 1762. Painted engraving author Vitkovsky Alexander Dmitrievich

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In the 18th century, a serious military conflict broke out, called the Seven Years War. The largest European states, including Russia, were involved in it. You can learn about the reasons and consequences of this war from our article.

Decisive reasons

The military conflict that turned into the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 was not unexpected. It has been brewing for a long time. On the one hand, it was intensified by the constant clashes of interests of England and France, and on the other, by Austria, which did not want to come to terms with the victory of Prussia in the Silesian Wars. But the confrontation might not have become so large-scale if two new political alliances had not developed in Europe - the Anglo-Prussian and the Franco-Austrian. England feared that Prussia would seize Hanover, which belonged to the English king, so she decided on an agreement. The second alliance was the result of the conclusion of the first. Other countries took part in the war under the influence of these states, also pursuing their own goals.

There are such significant reasons for the Seven Years War:

• Constant competition between England and France, especially for the possession of the Indian and American colonies, intensified in 1755;
• Prussia's desire to seize new territories and significantly influence European politics;
• Austria's desire to regain Silesia, lost in the last war;
• Russia's dissatisfaction with the increased influence of Prussia and planning to take possession of the eastern part of the Prussian lands;
• Sweden's desire to take Pomerania from Prussia.

Figure: 1. Map of the Seven Years War.

Important events

England was the first to officially announce the beginning of hostilities against France in May 1756. In August of the same year, Prussia, without warning, attacked Saxony, allied with Austria and belonging to Poland. The battles unfolded swiftly. Spain joined France, and Austria won over not only France itself, but also Russia, Poland, and Sweden. Thus, France fought on two fronts at once. The battles took place actively both on land and on water. The course of events is reflected in the chronological table on the history of the Seven Years War:

date	Occurred event
	England declares war on France
	British and French naval battles off Menorca
	France invaded Menorca
august 1756	Prussian attack on Saxony
	Saxon army surrendered to Prussia
november 1756	France invaded Corsica
january 1757	Union Treaty of Russia and Austria
	Friedrich's loss ΙΙ in Bohemia
	Treaty of France with Austria at Versailles
	Russia officially entered the war
	Russian victory at Groß-Jägersdorf
october 1757	Defeat of France at Rosbach
december 1757	Prussia completely occupied Silesia
early 1758	Russia occupied East Prussia, incl. Koenigsberg
august 1758	Bloody Battle of Zorndorf
	Russian victory at Palzig
august 1759	Battle of Kunersdorf won by Russia
september 1760	England invaded Montreal - France completely lost Canada
august 1761	Convention of France with Spain on the entry of the second into the war
early December 1761	Russian troops captured the Prussian fortress Kolberg
	Died Empress of Russia Elizabeth Petrovna
	England declared war on Spain
	Treaty of Peter ascended to the Russian throne ΙΙΙ with Frederick ΙΙ; Sweden in Hamburg signed an agreement with Prussia
	Overthrow of Peter ΙΙΙ. Catherine began to rule ΙΙ, breaking the contract with Prussia
february 1763	The signing of the Paris and Hubertusburg peace treaties

After the death of Empress Elizabeth new emperor Peter ΙΙΙ, who supported the policy of the Prussian king, concluded with Prussia in 1762 the Petersburg Peace and the Treaty of Alliance. According to the first, Russia ceased hostilities and abandoned all the occupied lands, and according to the second, it had to provide military support to the Prussian army.

Figure: 2. Russia's participation in the Seven Years War.

Aftermath of the war

The war was over due to the depletion of military resources from both allied armies, but the preponderance was on the side of the Anglo-Prussian coalition. The result of this in 1763 was the signing of the Paris Peace Treaty of England and Portugal with France and Spain, as well as the Treaty of Hubertusburg - Austria and Saxony with Prussia. The concluded agreements summed up the results of hostilities:

TOP-5 articleswho read along with this

• France lost a large number of colonies, giving England Canada, part of Indian lands, East Louisiana, islands in the Caribbean. West Louisiana had to be surrendered to Spain, in return for what was promised at the conclusion of the union of Menorca;
• Spain returned Florida to England and ceded Menorca;
• England gave Havana to Spain and several important islands to France;
• Austria lost its rights to Silesia and neighboring lands. They became part of Prussia;
• Russia did not lose or gain land, but showed Europe its military capabilities, increasing its influence there.

So Prussia became one of the leading European states. England, displacing France, turned into the largest colonial empire.

King of Prussia Frederick ΙΙ proved himself to be a competent military leader. Unlike other rulers, he personally led the command of the army. In other states, the commanders changed quite often and did not have the opportunity to make completely independent decisions.

Figure: 3. King of Prussia Frederick ΙΙ the Great.

What have we learned?

After reading the 7th grade history article that briefly describes the Seven Years' War, which lasted from 1756 to 1763, we learned the main facts. We got acquainted with the main participants: England, Prussia, France, Austria, Russia, considered important dates, causes and results of the war. We remember under which ruler Russia gave up its positions in the war.

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Assessment of the report

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

General political situation. The reasons

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

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

The course of hostilities

1756 - invasion of Saxony

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

Attack on Bohemia, Silesia

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

Battles of Colin, Rosbach and Leuthen

1757, June 17 - Prussian troops began to bypass the right flank of the Austrian position at Colin from the north, but Down was able to notice this maneuver in time and deployed his forces to the north. When the next day the Prussians launched an attack, delivering the main blow against the enemy's right flank, they were met with heavy fire. General Gülsen's Prussian infantry was able to occupy the village of Křegory, but the tactically important oak grove beyond it remained in the hands of the Austrians.

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

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

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

The strategic position of Prussia seemed critical. Allied forces of up to 300,000 men were deployed against the Prussian army. Frederick II decided to first defeat the French army, reinforced by the troops of the principalities allied with Austria, and then again invade Silesia.

The 45 thousandth allied army took up a position at Mücheln. Frederick, who had only 24 thousand soldiers, with a false retreat to the village of Rosbach was able to lure the enemy out of the fortifications. The French hoped to cut off the Prussian army from the crossings across the Saale River and defeat them.

1757, November 5, morning - the allies marched in three columns, bypassing the enemy's left flank. This maneuver was covered by a detachment of 8,000, which began a firefight with the Prussian vanguard. Frederick was able to unravel the enemy's plan and at half past three in the afternoon ordered them to leave the camp and simulate a retreat to Merseburg. The Allies attempted to intercept the escape routes by sending their cavalry around Janus Hill. But she was unexpectedly attacked and defeated by the Prussian cavalry under the command of General Seydlitz.

At this time, under the cover of strong fire from 18 artillery batteries, the Prussian infantry went on the offensive. The allied infantry had to line up in battle formation under enemy cannonballs. Soon she was under the threat of a flank attack by Seydlitz's squadrons, wavered and fled. The French with their allies lost 7 thousand killed, wounded and prisoners and all the artillery - 67 guns and a baggage train. The losses of the Prussian army were insignificant - only 540 killed and wounded. Here, both the qualitative superiority of the Prussian cavalry and artillery and the mistakes of the allied command affected. The French commander-in-chief started a difficult maneuver, as a result, most of the army was in the marching columns and was unable to take part in the battle. Frederick got the opportunity to beat the enemy in parts.

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

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

Frederick II the Great

East Prussia

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

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

Suddenly Apraksin gave the order to retreat, citing the lack of supplies and the separation of the army from its bases. The Field Marshal was charged with treason and put on trial. The only success was the capture of Memel by a 9 thousandth Russian landing party. This port was turned during the war into the main base of the Russian fleet.

1758 - the new commander-in-chief, General-in-Chief, Count V.V. Fermor with a 70 thousandth army with 245 guns could easily occupy East Prussia, captured Konigsberg and continued the offensive to the west.

Battle of Zorndorf

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

Seven Years War Map

1759 - Battle of Kunersdorf

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

Saltykov's army numbered 41 thousand people, and the Austrian army of General Down - 18.5 thousand people. On August 1, the Prussians attacked the left flank of the allied forces. The Prussian troops managed to capture an important height here and place a battery there, which brought fire to the center of the Russian army. The Prussians pressed the center and the right flank of the Russians. But Saltykov was able to create a new front and launch a general counteroffensive. After a 7-hour battle, the Prussian army retreated in disarray beyond the Oder. Immediately after the battle, Frederick had only 3 thousand soldiers at hand, since the others were scattered throughout the surrounding villages, and they had to be gathered under the banner for several days.

Frederick's army lost 18 thousand people killed and wounded, the Russians - 13 thousand, and the Austrians - 2 thousand. Due to heavy losses and fatigue of soldiers, the Allies could not organize a pursuit, which saved the Prussians from the final defeat. After Kunersdorf, the Russian army, at the request of the Austrian emperor, was transferred to Silesia, where the Prussian army also suffered a number of defeats.

1760-1761 years

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

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

The final stage. Outcome

The position of the Prussian king seemed hopeless, but the emperor who replaced the Russian throne at the beginning of 1762, who bowed before the military genius of Frederick II, stopped the war and even concluded an alliance with Prussia on May 5. Along with this, after the destruction of its fleet by the British, France withdrew from the war, having suffered a series of defeats from the British in North America and India. True, in July 1762 Peter was overthrown by order of his wife. She dissolved the Russian-Prussian alliance, but did not continue the war. An excessive weakening of Prussia was not in Russia's interests, as it could lead to Austrian hegemony in Central Europe.

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