Reasons for participating in the Seven Years War. Seven Years War

Seven Years War 1756 - 1763 - received in historical science very different definitions. So Winston Churchill called it the forerunner of the First World War, for Austria it was the Third Silesian, the Swedes called it Pomeranian, in Canada - the Third Carnatic. It was global conflict, which covered the most different corners of the planet, in fact many European states fought in it. How Russia was drawn into this war, and what role it played, read in this article.

The reasons

In short, the reasons for this war are colonial in nature. Colonial contradictions existed between France and England mainly in North America, and because of the possessions of the English king on the continent. Also, Prussia and Austria vied for the disputed territories. So, during the first two wars for Silesia, Prussia was able to chop off these lands for itself, which practically doubled its population.

After several centuries of fragmentation, Prussia, led by King Frederick II, began to claim hegemony in Europe. Many did not like this. Nevertheless, in the forerunner of the Seven Years War, we can observe such a historical phenomenon as the coup of coalitions. This is when a seemingly understandable coalition breaks up and a new one is formed.

King of Prussia Frederick II the Great. Years of government 1740 - 1786

It all happened like this. For Russia, Austria and England were longtime allies. And Russia opposed the strengthening of Prussia. Prussia was allied with France and England against Austria. King Frederick II asked England to influence Russia, of course, so as not to fight on two fronts. For this purpose, Prussia promised that it would protect english possessions on the continent in exchange for money.

The turning point, which no one expected, was the conclusion of a non-aggression pact between England and Prussia. This caused a violent reaction in France, Austria and Russia. Ultimately, the following coalitions were formed: Austria, France, Russia and Saxony on the one hand, and with Prussia and England on the other.

Thus, Russia was dragged into the Seven Years' War due to its own aspirations to stop the growth of Prussia's influence in Europe. This can be schematically indicated as follows:

The course of battles

You should know that for the entire 18th century russian army never suffered a single defeat! In the Seven Years' War, she had no luck except with the commanders in chief. These were the main events and battles.

Field Marshal Stepan Fedorovich Apraksin

One of the key battles took place between Prussia and Russia in July 1757. The commander of the Russian troops was S.F. Apraksin, who made no secret of the fact that the Prussian king was his idol! As a result, despite the fact that the campaign began in May, the troops crossed the Prussian border only in July. The Prussians attacked overtook the Russian army right on the march! Usually attacking on the march means victory for the attacker. But it was not there. Despite the complete absence of command from Apraksin, the Russian army overthrew the Prussians. The battle ended in a decisive victory! Saltykov was tried and removed from command.

Count, General-in-Chief Willim Willimovich Fermor

The next major battle took place in 1958. The place of the commander-in-chief of the Russian army was taken by V.V. Fermor. The battle between Russian and Prussian troops took place at the village of Zorndorf. Despite the fact that the commander generally fled from the battlefield, the Russian army utterly defeated the Prussians!

Field Marshal Pyotr Semenovich Saltykov

The last serious battle between the Russian army and the Prussian army took place on August 12, 1759. The place of the commander was taken by General P.S. Saltykov. The armies marched head-on. Frederick decided to use the so-called oblique attack, when one of the attacking flanks is strongly fortified and, as it were, sweeps away the enemy's opposite flank obliquely, crashing into the main forces. The calculation is based on the fact that the overturned flank will disorient the rest of the troops and the initiative will be intercepted. But the Russian officers did not care what kind of attack Frederick was using. They broke it anyway!

Map of Russia's participation in the Seven Years War

The Miracle of the Brandenburg House - results

When the Kolberg fortress then fell, Frederick II was in real shock. He didn't know what to do. Several times the king tried to abdicate the throne, even tried to commit suicide. But at the end of 1761, the incredible happened. Elizaveta Petrovna died and ascended the throne.

The new Russian emperor signed an allied Petersburg treaty with Frederick, in which he completely renounced all Russia's conquests in Prussia, including Koenigsberg. Moreover, Prussia was provided with a Russian corps for the war with Austria, Russia's yesterday's ally!

And so it would be quite possible to count on the fact that Koenigsberg will become part of Russia in the 18th century, and not in 1945.

In fairness, it is worth saying how this war ended for the rest of the warring parties, what were its results.

The Paris Peace was concluded between England and France, according to which France ceded Canada to England and other lands in North America.

Prussia made peace with Austria and Silesia, which was called Hubertusburg. Prussia received the disputed Silesia and the county of Glatz.

Best regards, Andrey Puchkov

In the period after the liberation from the Tatar-Mongols, Russia at least twice faced a catastrophe, i.e. complete loss of statehood. The first time was in 1572, during the invasion of the army of the Crimean Khan Devlet-Girey. This threat was averted by an outstanding victory near the village of Molody. The second time was during the Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century. The country suffered enormous damage during this period, but survived.

The third time the catastrophe could happen in 1700, after the defeat of the Russian army near Narva at the very beginning Northern War... After that, Karl XII was going to go deep into Russia, to Novgorod, Pskov, and then to Moscow. This was undoubtedly another turning point in our history. If Karl had realized his plan, he could well have achieved success, withdrew Russia from the war, cut its territory in the northwest and replace the king on her throne. The most important thing would be the latter. What Russia would have become without Peter I is now even impossible to imagine.

Fortunately, Karl's plan, completely correct from the Swedish point of view, was not explained by strategic intentions, but, on the contrary, by youthful ardor. Therefore, the wise old generals dissuaded their king from marching on Moscow. They were convinced that from a military point of view, Russia no longer poses any danger, while it is poor and sparsely populated, the distances are huge, and there are no roads. It was much more convenient and pleasant to smash Poland than the Swedes did, thereby signing their own verdict. Just 9 years later, they received Poltava, after which Russia in one day moved to a new geopolitical quality, thanks to which it received completely new opportunities. In the middle of the same XVIII century. these newest possibilities she most annoyingly did not realize during one of many forgotten wars - Seven years old (1756-1763).

This war could quite rightly be called a world war, since it covered not only all of Europe, but was also waged in America (from Quebec to Cuba) and Asia (from India to the Philippines). On the one hand, there was a coalition of Prussia, Britain, Portugal, on the other - France, Austria, Spain and Sweden. In addition, both coalitions had several now defunct states. The general course of this war can best be described by the well-known Russian phrase "You can't figure it out without half a liter." Accordingly, there is no sense in this, we are only talking about Russia.

Almost from the very beginning of the war, Russia, in which Elizaveta Petrovna then reigned, sided with France and Austria. And this made the position of Prussia and the German states allied to it, to put it mildly, very difficult.

After all, Britain was not going to fight on the continent, for her the purpose of the war was to take overseas colonies from France and Spain. The Germans were completely surrounded by three very powerful powers, whose forces were in total almost three times their size. The only advantage of the Prussian king Frederick II (the Great) was the ability to operate along internal lines of operation, quickly transferring troops from one direction to another. In addition, Frederick had the talent of a military leader and a reputation for being invincible.

True, at the beginning of the Seven Years War, the Prussians lost a couple of battles to the Austrians, but they won much more victories. In addition, they inflicted a crushing defeat on the formally much stronger French army, after which their position ceased to seem hopeless.

But then, as the English military historian and analyst Liddell-Hart wrote, "the Russian" steam roller "finally got the couples apart and rolled forward." In the summer of 1757, Russian troops under the command of Field Marshal Apraksin invaded East Prussia. In August, the first serious battle took place between the Russian and Prussian armies near the now defunct village of Gross-Egersdorf in the territory of the modern Kaliningrad region.

By this time, everyone had almost forgotten about the victories of the Russians over the Swedes, the Russian army in Europe was not taken seriously. And the Russians themselves did not take themselves seriously either.

Those. the situation that had taken place during the Northern War before the Battle of Poltava was completely repeated. Therefore, the German corps of Field Marshal Lewald, numbering 28 thousand people. boldly attacked the twice as large army of Apraksin. And at first the attack had a chance of success, as the Russians had just crossed the Pregel River and were making their way through the wooded and swampy terrain in complete disarray. In such a situation, the numerical superiority lost all significance. However, the case was saved by the exceptional resilience of the Russian infantry, the excellent work of the Russian artillery and, finally, the sudden blow of the brigade of Major General Rumyantsev on the flank and rear of the enemy. His Prussians could not stand it and began to retreat, and soon the retreat turned into a flight. The Prussian army in this battle lost 1,818 people killed, 603 prisoners, and 303 more people. deserted. The Russians lost 1,487 people killed.

All the more surprising was the further behavior of Apraksin, who not only did not develop success, but began to retreat and left the territory of East Prussia. For this he was justly put on trial, but even before the verdict he died of a heart attack.

In 1758 the Russian army was led by Field Marshal Fermor. He very quickly occupied all of East Prussia and brought its population to the oath of the Russian empress. Among those sworn in was the great philosopher Immanuel Kant, who lived his entire life in Königsberg (Kaliningrad). After that, Russian troops went to Berlin. The main battle of the 1758 campaign took place, like a year ago, in August, near the village of Zorndorf (today it is western Poland). The Russian 42-thousandth army was opposed by 33 thousand Prussians under the command of Frederick the Great himself. They managed to get the Russians behind the lines and attack the Observation Corps, staffed exclusively by recruits. They, however, showed amazing resilience, enabling the entire Russian army to deploy the front and give Frederick a head-on battle. Which very quickly turned into an uncontrolled and uncontrollable hand-to-hand fight in clouds of dust.

The battle was perhaps the most brutal in the entire Seven Years War.
The Russians lost in killed and wounded 16 thousand people, the Prussians - 11 thousand.
Both armies could no longer carry on active operations.

However, the Russians won the campaign as a whole. They failed to take Berlin, but East Prussia remained behind them. The position of Prussia was facilitated only by the fact that its troops successfully crushed the French all year round.

In 1759, the Russians had a new commander again, now General-in-Chief Saltykov became him. The decisive events of the campaign took place again in August (they could have become decisive for the entire war as a whole, but, alas, they did not). On the territory of Silesia (today it is, again, Poland), the Russian army united with the Austrian and gave Frederick a general battle near the village of Kunersdorf.

In this battle, the Russians had 41 thousand people, the Austrians - 18 thousand, the Prussians - 48 thousand. As at Zorndorf, Friedrich managed to go behind the Russian lines, but they managed to deploy the front. The Prussian king used his signature invention against the weakest left flank of the Russians - an attack with an oblique formation, which had previously successfully broken the defense of any enemy. And at first, near Kunersdorf, everything also went very successfully for him. The Prussians captured one of the heights dominating the battlefield and a significant part of the Allied artillery. The victory was so obvious to Frederick that he sent a message about it to Berlin. Forgetting that "it is not enough to kill the Russians, we must also bring them down" (he himself said this after Zorndorf).

However, the assault on the second dominant height among the Prussians did not go. The Russian infantry turned out to be no worse than the Prussian, the oblique formation got stuck in their defense. Then the Prussian cavalry under the command of General Seydlitz was thrown into the attack. She was also considered the best in Europe. But it turned out that the Russian-Kalmyk cavalry, again, was no worse. Saltykov clearly monitored the course of the battle, transferring reserves to the desired directions. Not having received even 0.01% of Frederick's glory, he outright outplayed him precisely as a commander.

By evening, the Russian commander realized that the Prussians had run out of reserves,
after which he gave the order for an offensive, as a result of which the army of Frederick
instantly disintegrated and scattered. The only time in the whole war.

In the Battle of Kunersdorf, the Russians lost 5,614 killed, 703 missing, the Austrians - 1,446 and 447, respectively. The losses of the Prussians amounted to 6271 killed, 1356 missing, 4599 prisoners, 2055 deserters. In fact, however, after the battle, Frederick had no more than 3 thousand combat-ready and obeying orders of soldiers and officers at his disposal. The Russians brought back all the artillery they had lost at the beginning of the battle, taking also a number of Prussian guns.

The battle became the largest in the entire Seven Years War and one of the most outstanding victories of the Russian army in its entire history (it is doubly outstanding in that it was won not over the Turks or the Persians, but over the best European army). All surviving participants of the battle received a medal with the inscription "To the winner over the Prussians" (below in the photo).

After the war, Prussian emissaries traveled around Russia for many years and bought these medals for a lot of money in order to erase their catastrophe from history. Judging by the fact that today at least 99% of Russian citizens have no idea about the Battle of Kunersdorf, the emissaries have successfully completed their task.

However, the disappearance of the battle from the people's memory was partly facilitated by the fact that it brought us absolutely zero political results, although the Russians and Austrians could simply occupy Berlin and dictate the terms of surrender to the enemy. However, the "sworn allies" quarreled over further actions and did nothing at all, giving Frederick the opportunity to recuperate. As a result, the Kunersdorf battle actually became a turning point, only in the wrong direction.

In October 1760, small forces of the Russians and Austrians even managed to take Berlin, but not for long, when the main forces of Frederick approached, they withdrew themselves. The Prussians won several more victories over the Austrians, but their resources were rapidly depleting. Here, however, Elizaveta Petrovna died, at the beginning of 1762 an admirer of Frederick Peter III ascended the Russian throne. Who not only returned to his idol all the Russian conquests (first of all - East Prussia), but also sent the Russian corps to fight for Frederick against the Austrians.

Just six months after the coronation, Peter was overthrown and killed,
Catherine II recalled the corps, which did not have time to fight, back, but in the war already
did not join. Thanks to this, the war ended in victory for the Anglo-Prussian coalition.

First of all - due to the capture by England of most of the French colonial possessions in North America and India. But Prussia, contrary to all initial expectations, did not suffer any territorial losses in Europe.

In political terms, Russia gained nothing and did not lose anything from the war, remaining "with its own people." In military terms, the Russian army was the only one that did not suffer a single defeat, having won one truly outstanding victory and, thus, for the first time in its history, it proved itself to be unequivocally the best in Europe, and therefore, in relation to that era, in the world as a whole. However, this gave us nothing but moral satisfaction.

Long-term historical consequences Taking into account the missed opportunities, the Seven Years' War turned out to be truly tragic for us. If Prussia had been defeated (and after Kunersdorf it was a fait accompli), it would not have been able to become a "collector of German lands" and most likely a united Germany, which unleashed two world wars in the twentieth century, simply would not have arisen. And even if it did, it would be much weaker. In addition, if East Prussia remained a part of Russia, the First World War, even if it had begun at all, would have gone completely differently. If there were no disaster for Samsonov's army, a direct and short path to Berlin would immediately open for the Russian army. Therefore, it is quite possible to say that the first step towards the catastrophe of 1917 was taken the day after the Kunersdorf triumph.

By the way, after Peter III returned East Prussia to Frederick, the great philosopher Kant did not again swear allegiance to the king, saying that the oath was given only once. It can be assumed that he remained a Russian subject until the end of his life. Therefore, his current cult in the Kaliningrad region is quite logical: this is indeed our great compatriot.

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

The Seven Years War began in 1756 ... The conference at the highest court, which played the role of the Secret, or Military, council under Empress Elizabeth, set the task - "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, defeating the Austrians, captured Dresden, Leipzig. An anti-Prussian coalition is finally taking shape - Austria, France, Russia, Sweden.

In the summer of 1757, the Russian army entered East Prussia. On the way to Konigsberg near the village of Gross-Jegersdorf the army of Field Marshal S. F. Apraksin on August 19 (30), 1757 met the army of Field Marshal H. Levald.

The Prussians began the battle. They sequentially 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 during these years. Their swift and sudden attack on the flank of the Prussian infantry led to their panicky flight. The same thing happened in the disposition of the Russian avant-garde and the right flank. 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 the victory with the help of only part of his army. As a result, it turned out to be a free road to Konigsberg. But the commander took the army to Tilsit, then to Courland and Livonia for winter quarters. The reason for the withdrawal was not only a lack of provisions and mass illnesses among the soldiers, about which he wrote to Petersburg, but also in another, which he kept silent about - the empress fell ill and the accession of Prince Peter Fedorovich, her nephew and an adherent 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 30s - 40s. with Turkey and Sweden. During the Seven Years' War, his corps took Memel, Tilsit. The general showed himself well with his division in the Battle of Gross-Yegersdorf. Becoming at the head of the Russian army, in January he occupied Konigsberg, then all of East Prussia. Its inhabitants took the oath to the Russian empress.

In early June, Fermor went south-west - to Küstrin, which is east of Berlin, at the confluence of the Warta River into the Oder. Here, near the village of Zorndorf, a battle took place on August 14 (25). 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 talked about 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 engage in a new battle with those whom, as he himself admitted, “he had not been able to crush”. Moreover, he feared disaster, as his army lost the best soldiers.

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

In his place was appointed, unexpectedly for many, including himself, General Pyotr Semyonovich Saltykov. 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 at the beginning of the 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 Konigsberg, 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 the one who began military career in these years, - he loved the army and the soldiers, like them, he was a simple and modest, honest and comical person. I could not stand solemn ceremonies and receptions, splendor and pomp. This "old man, gray, small, unpretentious," as AT Bolotov attests to him, a famous memoirist, participant in the Seven Years' War, "Seemed ... like a chicken"... Capital politicians laughed at him, recommended that he consult with the Farmer and the Austrians in everything. But he, the general is experienced and decisive, despite his "Unpretentious"kind, made decisions himself, delved into everything. He did not bent 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 military operations. His independence and firmness, energy and common sense, caution and hatred of routine, quick wit and remarkable composure bribed the soldiers who truly loved him.

Taking command of the army, Saltykov leads it to Frankfurt an der Oder. On July 12 (23), 1759, he defeats the army of General Wedel at Palzig. Then it 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 the army of Saltykov 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 was accompanied by one side, then the other. Saltykov skillfully maneuvered the shelves, moved them to the right places and in the right time... Artillery, Russian infantry, Austrian and Russian cavalry performed excellently. At the beginning of the battle, the Prussians pushed the Russians on the left flank. However, the attack of the Prussian infantry in the center was repulsed. Here Frederick twice threw his main force into battle - the cavalry of General Seydlitz. But it was destroyed by Russian soldiers. Then, on the left flank, the Russians launched a counterattack and threw the enemy back. The transition of the entire Allied army to the offensive ended with the complete defeat of Frederick. He himself and the remnants of his army fled in terrible panic from the battlefield. The king was nearly captured by the Cossacks. He lost more than 18.5 thousand people, Russians - more than 13 thousand, 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 title of field marshal. In the future, the intrigues of the Austrians, the distrust of the Conference unsettled him. He fell ill and was replaced by the same Fermor.

In the campaign of 1760, the detachment of General Z. G. Chernyshev occupied Berlin on September 28 (October 9). But the lack of coordination between the actions of the Austrian and Russian armies again and strongly interferes with the matter. Berlin had to be abandoned, but the fact of its capture made a strong impression on Europe. At the end of the next year, the 16,000-strong corps under the skillful command of Rumyantsev, supported by a landing 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 verge of death.

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

THE SEVEN YEAR WAR(1756-1763), a war of the coalition of Austria, Russia, France, Saxony, Sweden and Spain against Prussia and Great Britain.

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

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

In an effort to prevent the advance of his opponents, Frederick II decided with one surprise blow to end his main enemy - Austria. On August 29, 1756, he invaded the kingdom of Saxony, allied with Austria, in order to break through to Bohemia (Bohemia) through its territory. On September 10, the capital of the Kingdom of Dresden fell. On October 1, at Lobozits (North Bohemia), an attempt by the Austrian Field Marshal Brown to help the allies was thwarted. On October 15, the Saxon army blocked in the Pirne camp surrendered. Nevertheless, the resistance of the Saxons delayed the Prussian offensive and enabled the Austrians to complete their military preparations. The approach of winter forced Frederick II to end the campaign.

In the spring of the next 1757, Prussian troops from three sides - from Saxony (Frederick II), Silesia (Field Marshal Schwerin) and Lausitz (Duke of Braunschweig-Bevern) - invaded Bohemia. The Austrians, under the command of Brown and Duke Charles of Lorraine, withdrew to Prague. On May 6, Frederick II defeated them at Mount Zizki and laid siege to Prague. However, on June 18, he was defeated by Austrian Field Marshal Down at Colin; he had to lift the siege of Prague and retreat to Leitmeritz in North Bohemia. The failure of Frederick II meant the collapse of the plan for the swift defeat of Austria.

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

In the west, the French army under the command of Marshal d'Estre in April 1757 occupied Hesse-Kassel and defeated the Anglo-Prussian-Hanoverian army of the Duke of Cumberland on July 26 at Hastenbeck (on the right bank of the Weser). On September 8, the Duke of Cumberland, with the mediation of Denmark, concluded a new Kloster convention French commander, Duke de Richelieu, under which he pledged to disband his army.But the English government, which was headed by the energetic W. Pitt the Elder on June 29, annulled the Klostertseven Convention; Duke of Cumberland was replaced by Duke Ferdinand of Braunschweig. On December 13, he ousted the Allers of the French. gave up his post to the Count of Clermont, and he led the French army over the Rhine.

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

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

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

In the west, in early 1759, Soubise captured Frankfurt am Main and made it the main southern base of the French. The attempt of the Duke of Braunschweig to return the city ended in his defeat on April 13 at Bergen. However, on August 1, he defeated Marshal de Contada's army that was besieging Minden and thwarted the French invasion of Hanover. An attempt by the French to land in England ended in failure: on November 20, Admiral Howe destroyed the French flotilla off Bel-Ile.

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

On June 7, 1761, the British captured Bel-Ile Island off the western coast of France. In July, the Duke of Braunschweig repelled another French invasion of Westphalia, defeating Marshal Broglie at Bellinghausen near Paderborn. Disagreements between the new Russian commander A.B. Buturlin and Laudon prevented the implementation of the plan for joint Russian-Austrian operations; On September 13, Buturlin retreated to the east, leaving only the corps of ZG Chernyshev with Laudon. However, an attempt by Frederick II to force Laudon to leave Silesia failed; the Austrians took possession of Schweidnitz. In the north, on December 16, Russian-Swedish troops took the strategically important fortress Kolberg. To complete all these failures of Frederick II, Spain entered into a Family Pact with France on August 15, 1761, pledging to enter the war on the side of the Allies, and in England the cabinet of Pitt the Elder fell; the new government of Lord Bute refused to renew the treaty on financial aid Prussia.

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

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

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

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

After Spain entered the war, the British struck a blow on her possessions in Pacific, capturing the Philippine Islands, and in the West Indies, seizing on August 13, 1762 the fortress of Havana on the island of Cuba.

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

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

Ivan Krivushin

The Seven Years War is an all-European war between Prussia and England on the one hand and the coalition of France, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Russia, Spain on the other. It ended with the Paris Peace Treaty and the Hubertsburg Peace Treaty. It lasted from 1756 to 1763. The battles of the war took place both on land - in Europe, India and North America, and in the oceans: the Atlantic and Indian.

Causes of the war

• Unresolved issues of European politics by the previous war - For the Austrian legacy of 1740-1748
• Lack of freedom of navigation in the seas of the East Indies
• Struggle for colonies between France and England
• The emergence of a new serious rival in the European arena - Prussia
• Capture of Silesia by Prussia
• England's desire to protect its European possessions - Hanover
• Russia's desire to dismember Prussia and annex its eastern region to itself
• Sweden's quest for Pomerania
• Mercantile considerations of the parties: France and England hired allies for money

The main reason for the Seven Years' War is the struggle between Angiiia and France for primacy in Europe and, therefore, the world. France, which by that time was already a great power, thanks to the policy of Louis XIV, tried to preserve this title, England, whose socio-political system was the most advanced at that time, - to take it away. The rest of the participants, taking advantage of the moment, the wars decided their narrowly national-egoistic issues

« But instead of focusing on England, France began another continental war, this time with a new and unusual ally for her. The Empress of Austria, playing on the king's religious prejudices and on the irritation of his mistress, who was offended by Frederick the Great's mockery of her, drew France into an alliance with Austria against Prussia. This union was subsequently joined by Russia, Sweden and Poland. The Empress insisted that both Roman Catholic powers should unite to seize Silesia from the Protestant king and expressed her readiness to cede part of her possessions in the Netherlands to France, according to her everlasting desire.
Frederick the Great, learning about this combination, instead of waiting for its development, moved his armies and invaded Saxony, whose ruler was also the king of Poland. This march-maneuver in October 1756 began the Seven Years' War " (A. T. Mahan "Influence sea \u200b\u200bpower on history " )

The course of the Seven Years War

• 1748, April 30 - Aachen Peace Treaty, crowning the War of Austrian Succession
• 1755, June 8 - Sea battle fleets of England and France at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in Canada
• 1755 July-August - British warships begin a privateer operation against French ships off the coast of Canada
• 1756, March 25 - Russian-Austrian union treaty
• 1756, April 17 - Blockade by the French army and navy of the English island of Menorca in the Mediterranean
• 1756, May 1 - Treaty of Versailles of Austria and France
• 1756, May 17 - England declares war on France
• 1756, May 20 - Naval battle between the British and French near the island of Menorca
• 1756, June 20 - France declared war on England
• 1756, June 28 - Menorca passed into the possession of France
• 1756, October - The invasion of the Prussian army of Frederick the Great into Saxony, which belongs to Poland. The beginning of the Seven Years War
• 1756, October 4 - Surrender of the Saxon army
• 1756 Nov - France conquered Corsica
• 1757, January 11 - Austro-Russian treaty on the deployment of an 80-thousandth army by each side against Prussia
• 1757, February 2 - Treaty between Austria and Russia, according to which Russia received 1 million rubles annually for participation in the war
• 1757, 25 April-7 June - Frederick's unsuccessful company in Bohemia
• 1757, May 1 - versailles treaty France and Austria, under which France pledged to pay Austria 12 million florins annually

  1757, May - Russia's entry into the war. For the first time, Russia has become an active participant in European politics

• 1757 - Prussian troops are defeated by the Russian army at Groß-Jägersdorf
• 1757, October 25 - The defeat of the French at the Battle of Rosbach
• 1757, December - Russian offensive in East Prussia
• 1757, December 30 - Fall of Königsberg
• December 1757 - Prussia conquered all of Silesia
• 1758, July - Siege of the Küstrin fortress by the Russian army, Klua to Brandenburg
• 1758, August 1 - Victory of the Russian army at the battle of Kunersdorf
• 1758, August 14 - The defeat of the Russian army at Zorndorf
• 1759, July - Victory of the Russian army at Palzig
• 1759, August 20 - Destruction of the French fleet of Toulon by the English fleet
• 1759, November 20 - Destruction of the Brest fleet of France by the English fleet
• 1760, March 12 - negotiations between Austria and Russia on the acquisition by Russia of the right bank of the Dnieper, which then belonged to Poland, and East Prussia

  1760 September 8 - France lost Montreal, ending French possession of Canada

• 1760 -28 September - Russian army entered Berlin
• 1760 Feb 12 - France lost the island of Martinique in the West Indies
• 1761, January 16 - Fall of the French fortress of Pondicherry in India
• 1761, August 15 - Treaty of friendship between France and Spain with a secret protocol of Spain's entry into the Seven Years War
• 1761, September 21 - Spain receives a shipment of colonial American gold, allowing it to start a war with England
• 1761, December - The Russian army took the Prussian fortress Kolberg (today the city of Kolobrzeg)
• 1761, December 25 - Death of the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna
• 1762 January 4 - England declares war on Spain
• 1762, May 5 - The new Russian emperor concluded an alliance treaty with Frederick, which changed the balance of forces in Europe

  Peter III was an ardent admirer of Frederick. He not only abandoned all the conquests in Prussia, but also expressed a desire to help Frederick. Chernyshev's corps was ordered to link up with Frederick for joint offensive operations against Austria

• 1762, June 8 - Palace coup in Russia. Catherine II ascended the throne, the treaty with Prussia was terminated
• 1762, August 10 - Spain lost Cuba
• 1763, February 10 - Paris Peace Treaty of France and England
• 1763, February 15 - Treaty of Hubertusburg between Austria, Saxony and Prussia

Results of the Seven Years War

France lost Canada with all the regions belonging to it, that is, the Ohio Valley and the entire left bank of the Mississippi River, with the exception of New Orleans. In addition, she had to give Spain the right bank of the same river and pay a reward for Florida ceded to England by the Spaniards. France was forced to abandon Hindustan as well, retaining only five cities. Austria lost Silesia forever. Thus, the Seven Years' War in the west put an end to the overseas possessions of France, ensured the complete hegemony of England over the seas, and in the east marked the beginning of the hegemony of Prussia in Germany. This predetermined the future unification of Germany under the auspices of Prussia.

“Under the terms of the Paris Peace, France renounced all claims to Canada, Nova Scotia and all the islands of the Gulf of St. Lawrence; together with Canada, it ceded the Ohio Valley and all of its territory on the east coast of the Mississippi, with the exception of the city of New Orleans. At the same time Spain, in exchange for Havana, which England returned to her, ceded Florida, which was the name of all its continental possessions east of the Mississippi. Thus, England acquired a colonial state that included Canada from Hudson's Bay and all of the present United States east of the Mississippi. The possible benefits of the possession of this vast area were foreseen then only in part, and then nothing yet predicted the indignation of the thirteen colonies. In the West Indies, England gave back to France the important islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe. Four islands from the Lesser Antilles group, called neutral, were divided between two powers: Santa Lucia passed to France, and Saint Vincent, Tobago and Dominica - to England, which also held Grenada. Menorca was returned to England, and since the return of this island to Spain was one of the conditions for its alliance with France, the latter, unable to fulfill this condition now, ceded to Spain to Louisiana, west of the Mississippi. In India, France restored the possessions that it had before, but lost the right to erect fortifications or keep troops in Bengal and thus left the station in Chander Nagor defenseless. In a word, France again got the opportunity to trade in India, but practically abandoned its claims to political influence there. This implied that the English company retained all its gains. The right to fish off the coast of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which was previously enjoyed by France, was reserved for her by treatise; but it was not given to Spain, which demanded it for their fishermen "( In the same place)