War of the Austrian Succession

The War of the Austrian Succession was an 18th-century armed struggle in which Austria, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, and Russia fought against a coalition formed by France, Spain, Prussia, and Sweden. The war was waged in central Europe from 1740 to 1748 and they fought over the successor to the imperial throne of Austria, which was officially known as the Holy Roman Empire. The main candidate to the crown was Maria Theresa, the daughter of Charles VI, of the House of Habsburg, who had died in October 1740. Her candidacy was supported by Austria, Great Britain and Russia. However, France, Spain, and Prussia disputed her rights to the Austrian throne.

By the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, issued by Emperor Charles VI and recognized by most European states, the vast holdings of the Austrian Habsburgs  (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, the southern Netherlands, and lands in Italy) were to remain undivided and had to pass to Charles’ daughter, Maria Theresa. However, after the death of Charles VI in October 1740, Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Spain, with the support of France, began to dispute the inheritance rights of Maria Theresa. On December 16, 1740, Frederick II’s Prussian troops invaded Silesia, which belonged to the Habsburgs. This military move done by Prussia triggered the War of the Austrian Succession.

A coalition composed of France, Prussia, Spain, Bavaria, and Saxony attempted to divide Austrian holdings and to weaken the Habsburg monarchy. Great Britain, the Dutch Republic (United Provinces), which was France’s commercial rival, and Russia supported Austria. In addition to Austro-French and Anglo-French antagonisms, which had continued to intensify after the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), the main reasons for the War of the Austrian Succession included the aggressive aspirations of Prussia, which was growing in strength, and its rivalry with Austria in central Europe. The main theaters of military engagements took place in central Europe (Bohemia, Bavaria, and Saxony), the Austrian Netherlands, and northern Italy.

Summary

The War of the Austrian Succession began unsuccessfully for Austria as the Prussian Army occupied almost all of Silesia in January 1741. The Prussians inflicted a crushing defeat on the Austrian troops on April 10, 1741, at the Battle of Mollwitz. In the summer of 1741, the French Army, under Marshal C. Belle-Isle, along with Bavarian and Saxon troops, invaded Upper Austria and then Bohemia, and occupied Prague in November 1741. The Bavarian elector, Charles Albert (the protégé of France), was declared king of Bohemia in December 1741 and in January 1742 was chosen emperor of the Holy Roman Empire under the name of Charles VII (1742–45). Another French army, under Marshal Maillebois, invaded the Austrian Netherlands. In November 1741, the Spanish Army began military actions against the Austrians in northern Italy.

In the Summer of 1742, however, the military initiative passed to Austria and its allies. By the end of that year, the Austrian Army had driven the French and Bavarian forces out of Bohemia. Austrian forces also obtained victories over the Spanish in Italy. Meanwhile, a British and Dutch army defeated the French at Dettingen, on the Main River, on June 27, 1743. By 1744 the French had been cleared from the right bank of the Rhine River, as Austro-British forces entered Alsace.

In 1744, Frederick II of Prussia invaded Saxony, which had concluded a defensive alliance with Austria in 1743, and Bohemia, occupying Prague in September 1744. He defeated Austro-Saxon forces at the Battle of Hohenfriedberg on June 4, 1745, at Hennersdorf on November 23, and at Kesselsdorf near Dresden on December 15. On December 18, he invaded Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Fearing that Russia, which had concentrated forces in Courland, would enter the war, Frederick II signed the Peace of Dresden of 1745 with Austria and Saxony on December 25. By this treaty Austria agreed that Prussia would retain Silesia in exchange for the recognition of Maria Theresa.

The main military theater in the last years of the war was the Austrian Netherlands, where a French army, commanded by Maurice de Saxe, defeated Austrian and British forces at the Battle of Fontenoy (May 11, 1745), Rocour (October 11, 1746), and Laufeld (July 2, 1747) and seized a number of fortresses, including Antwerp and Mons. Russia joined the Austro-British coalition in 1746. In January 1748, Russian forces entered Germany. Fearing that Russian troops would reach the Rhine, France agreed to peace negotiations.

The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed on October 18, 1748, put an end to the War of the Austrian Succession. By this treaty, Maria Theresa rights to the throne of Austria were recognized by the signing parties, and the Habsburgs could retain a major portion of their holdings. However, the Peace Treaty of Dresden, which had been signed in 1745, granted most of Silesia to Prussia.

Above, the Prussian Army during the Battle of Mollwitz, fought in April 1741, during the War of the Austrian Succession.