Home > War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession ( 1740- 1748). When Maria Theresa of Austria succeeded her father Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor in his Hapsburg dominions in 1740 in accordance with the pragmaticae sanctiones ( Pragmatic Sanction), she, as a woman, was seen as weak, and some other princes (such as Charles Albert of Bavaria) alleged rights to the crown.In this unsettled dynastic environment hostilities began with the invasion of Silesia by King Frederick II of Prussia in 1740, and only ended with the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) in 1748. After 1741 nearly all the powers of Europe were involved in the struggle, but the most enduring military interest of the war lies in the struggle of Prussia and Austria for Silesia. Southwest Germany, the Low Countries and Italy were, as usual, the battle-grounds of France and Austria. The constant allies of France and Prussia were Spain and Bavaria; various other powers at intervals joined them. The cause of Austria was supported almost as a matter of course by the United Kingdom and by the NetherlandsDutch redirects here. For other uses, see Dutch (disambiguation). The Netherlands ( Dutch: Nederland is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a constitutional monarchy. It is located in northwestern Europe and borders the North Sea, Belgium, the traditional enemies of France. Of Austria's allies from time-to-time, SardiniaSardinia Sardigna Sardinna or Sardinnia in the Sardinian language, Sardegna in Italian, Sardenya in Catalan), is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy, France and Tunisia, south of Corsica. Sardinia has an area of 24,090 km2 an and SaxonyState Service Flag Civil Flag Statistics Capital: Dresden Area:18,338 kmē Inhabitants:4,600,000 2000 pop. density:251 inh. kmē Homepage: ISO 3166-2:DE-SN Politics Minister-President: Georg Milbradt ( CDU) Ruling party: CDU/ SPD Map With an area of 18,400 were the most important.
1 Frederick Invades Silesia: 1740
Prussia in 1740 was a small, compact and thoroughly organised powerSociologists usually define power as the ability to impose one's will on others, even if those others resist in some way. By power is meant that opportunity existing within a social relationship which permits one to carry out one's own will even against r. The only recent war service of its army had been in the desultory Rhine campaign of 1733 - 1735. It therefore had a reputation as one of the minor armies of Europe, and few thought that it could rival the forces of Austria and France. But King Frederick William I had drilled it to a perfection previously unknown, and the Prussian infantryInfantry (or Infantrymen are soldiers who fight primarily on foot, using personal weapons. They may arrive on scene in various ways, and are deployed either in formations or as skirmishers and guerillas. In the modern period, the term "infantryman" is res soldier was so well-trained and well-equipped that he could fire five shots to an Austrian's three, though Prussian cavalryAn army unit consisting of mounted soldiers are commonly known as cavalry . Cavalry fight from the backs of their mounts, which most often are horses or camels. Infantry travelling by horse and fighting on foot are instead known as dragoons. Modern cavalr and artilleryFor the thrash metal band, see Artillery (band Historically, artillery refers to any engine used for the discharge of projectiles during war. The term also describes ground-based troops with the primary function of manning such weapons. The word as used i were less efficient.
But the initial advantage of Frederick's army was that it had, undisturbed by wars, developed the standing-army concept to full effect. While the Austrians had to wait for drafts to complete the field forces, Prussian regiments could take the field at once, and thus Frederick was able to overrun Silesia almost unopposed. His army massed quietly on the Oder, and without declaration of war, on 16 December 1740, it crossed the frontier into Silesia. The Austrian generals could do no more than garrison a few fortresses, and with the small remnant of their available forces fell back to the mountain frontier of Bohemia and Moravia. The Prussian army was soon able to go into winter quarters, holding all Silesia and investing the strong places of Glogow, Brzeg and Neisse. By effect, Prussia had doubled its population and made huge gains in its industrial productivity.
