Post by ankh on Mar 14, 2016 20:08:21 GMT
For the Want of a King TL: Prussia loses the War of Austrian Succession
Part 1: The War of Austrian Succession 1740-1742:
The War of Austrian Succession began in 1740 as Prussia objected to the Pragmatic Sanction and the succession of Maria Theresa. Austria was supported by the naval powers of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The first action of the war was the Prussian invasion of Silesia.
The Prussian forces swiftly advanced across Silesia and by winter had occupied the majority of the Silesian fortresses. The Austrian counter-offensive under General Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg relieved the siege of Neisse and marched on Brieg threatening to encircle the Prussians and cut them off from their homeland. On the 10th April 1741 the Prussian forces under Frederick II met the Austrians at the snow covered fields of Mollwitz. However, all did not go as planned. The Austrians had succeeded in capturing some of Prussia’s scouts, who gave away the Prussian position. This allowed Neipperg to draw up the Austrian forces to fight the Prussians head on. The Austrian cavalry charge decimated their Prussian counterparts and captured Frederick II. Unaware of his King’s capture General von Schwerin attempted to hold the Prussian infantry line against the General Rommer’s cavalry. They succeeded in driving the cavalry back, but suffered heavy losses which were increased by the Austrian artillery. Neipperg then ordered the Austrian infantry to advance, the Prussian infantry surrounded by the Austrians and suffering heavy losses surrendered after Schwerin was killed by an Austrian shell. The Battle of Mollwitz had ended in a resounding Austrian victory. The capture of Frederick II and death of the Prussian Chief of Staff von Schwerin would result in the defeat of the Prussian Silesia Campaign.
The Austrian forces have suffered 5300 men dead, but had destroyed the Prussian army and captured their king. After reinforcements arrived from Bohemia (freed up by the lack of France forces in Bavaria unlike OTL) Neipperg mopped up the remaining Prussian garrisons who were heavily demoralised by the capture of their king. Frederick William II had been appointed regent, but did not inspire confidence among the troops in their current state. Thus 2 of the garrisons surrendered without a fight.
Under the Treaty of Vienna:
1. The Prussian territories in western Germany are partitioned between Austria, Hanover and the Palatine. Austria received Prussian Guelders, the Palatinate received Cleves and Mark and Hanover received Ravensburg and Minden. (In exchange for Cleves and Mark, the Palatine agrees to vote for Maria Theresa/ her husband in the upcoming imperial election.)
2. Saxony awarded a strip of land to connect Saxony with Poland.
3. Prussia forced to vote for Maria Theresa/husband in the imperial election.
France was left pondering its decision to join Prussia against Austria, Germany was now dominated by Austria, who were also allied with a long time French enemy the British. What would happen next? Only time would tell.
Interlude 1: Military and Economic Reform 1742-1750:
Following the Treaty of Vienna Maria Theresa was left with a victorious but vulnerable empire. Since 1733 Austria had lost all its Italian possessions (except Lombardy and Tuscany), and all land south of the Danube (including the fortresses of Orsova and Belgrade) had been ceded to the Ottomans and Silesia had almost been lost to a minor power. This series of losses and the near loss of the nation'd most economically advanced province spurred Maria Theresa into action.. She needed to create an adequate economic basis to underpin her nation's status as a great power. Her Secretary of the State Conference Bartenstein realized that the key issue was the unwillingness and inability of the Estates to provide adequately for the payment and supplies of the army. This was due to the Estates being principally concerned with minimizing the burden on their province. In response Maria Theresa decided to raise the subsidy demanded from each province to the level required to support a standing army of 108,000. This additional burden was to be met by taxing seigniorial land, which had previously been exempt from taxation. This plan was met with resistance from the nobility, particularly the Supreme Chancellor Count Friedrich Harrach, who attempted to get the power of the Estates increased in return for the demanded subsidy. However, such plans were rejected.
Count Friedrich Haugwitz, along with Bartenstein and the Cabinet Secretary Koch, was the chief architect of the reforms and almost single-handedly steered them through the State Conference and the Estates. His principal argument was that the ease that Prussia had occupied Silesia, showed that any of the old enemies of Austria could do the same and not be driven out again. He demonstrated the need to tax seigniorial land by reference to the 'self-evident' inability of the peasantry to pay any more than they were already paying. He also reinforced these arguments with the invocation of a general principle of equity. "As it is self-evident that the resources of the peasants do not suffice without the addition of the seigniorial land, which is normally exempt from taxation, to defray the cost of the defence required for the security of the Crown and of the privileges of the Estates, both God-pleasing justice and natural equity demand that the nobility should contribute to this necessary defence in proportion to the full extent of their resources."
Interlude 2: Changes in Prussia 1742-1750:
Under Frederick William II the Kingdom of Prussia underwent dramatic changes. The nation’s aim shifted once more, this time reverting back to the arts. Frederick William II slashed the military budget, preferring to spend money providing patronage to composers, architects and more. Prussia would become a shining light in Europe for the arts. The city of Berlin grew dramatically between the end of the War of Austrian Succession and the War of Sardinian Succession, as Frederick William II brought in leading architects from across Europe to build grand new projects in the city. His aim was for Berlin to stand alongside the great capitals of Europe as a city of learning and beauty. The Frederick William II University of Berlin was established in 1746 to rival the famed universities of Vienna, Paris and Britain. All of this came at a cost. Between 1742 and 1750 the Prussian army stagnated. The crushing defeat by Austria and the slashing of the budget sent the army’s standard’s into a nose dive, made even worse by the decision in 1747 to further cut the army’s budget and invest in strengthening the navy. Most historians agree that Frederick William II’s ultimate aim was a nation like Holland, a nation with a strong navy, a nation that tended to keep out of major land conflicts and had an over-seas ‘empire’. By 1750 a new era in Prussian history was beginning, the Naval Era. For years to come the Prussians would remain involved in European conflict on land but there focus was always on the sea, however their position in Europe, surrounded by potential enemies, necessitated a serious army and thus the Prussians maintained a standing army capable of defending the nation, but far smaller than the army of Frederick II.
Interlude 3: The Ohio Valley Indian War 1742-1746:
In 1742 British and French colonial tensions flared up in the Americas. A Native American attack on a British outpost had gone badly and several Indians were captured, as they were searched French made gear was found on them. The British Governor (OOC: not sure if there were governors at this point, please point out if there weren’t) accused the French of arming the Native Americans and inciting them to attack British outposts. Understandably the French were not happy and denied all accusations. However Native American attacks continued and more French-made gear was discovered. Anti-French and Anti-Native American sentiment grew among colonials and some began to attack Native Americans within the French claims in the Ohio River Valley. As tensions escalated, Britain began a guerrilla campaign using their Native American allies. They clearly hadn’t learnt from France’s attempt at this and armed the Native Americans with British guns. Just like the British had done before hand, the French discovered British guns on Native American attacks. This obvious anti-French move further antagonised the French and on 2nd November 1742. France declared war on Britain, officially over the Ohio River Valley dispute. Because of this the war was sorely fought in the Americas. Britain’s first move was to invade New France and attempt to capture Loiusbourg and Quebec. The French meanwhile were gathering a force to invade the Thirteen Colonies and seize Halifax, Boston and the rest of the colony. The British army, under the command of General Forbes, entered New France, defeating a small French army on the border and marching towards Louisbourg. The French army seized British outposts in Ohio and assumed total control of the Ohio valley area. By this point, however, each nation had realised that that they were being invaded. The French army (which was smaller, 14 000 men, compared to 20 000 men in the British force) continued its invasion in an attempt to gain more than the British and hold a stronger negotiating positon, whilst the British army split into 2 armies numbering 10 000 each. One under Forbes pressed on towards Louisbourg, the other turned around and marched back where they had come from to fight the French. Despite this the British army reached and besieged the fort of Louisbourg, before capturing it on the 22nd December, before famously holding a Christmas banquet in the courtyard that would become known as the Louisbourg Christmas. The French forces captured Fort Necessity and were marching north to Philadelphia. The British army of 10 000 met the French army of 12 000 (2 000 men having been lost or assigned to garrison captured forts). The British were routed following several mistakes by their in-experienced commander, but managed to inflict massive losses on the French army, leaving a French army of 7 000 and a tiny British force of 2 500. The city surrendered 3 days later on the 12th January. Britain offered a status quo ante bellum peace treaty to the French, but it was rejected the French counter-offered with a treaty which would end British claims over the Ohio River Valley. Britain rejected this treaty, however, and the war eventually just ended with a white peace on the 3rd April 1745. The war didn’t officially end until May 1746 when the various Native American tribes that were being influenced by France and Britain finally agreed to a truce.
To be continued...
