Battles of the Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1754–1763, spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines.
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The conflict split Europe into two coalitions: Kingdom of Great Britain, Prussia, Portugal, Hanover, and other small German states on one side versus the Kingdom of France, Austria-led Holy Roman Empire, Russia, Spain, several small German states, and Sweden on the other. The coalitions represented a "revolution" in diplomatic alliances, reflected in the Diplomatic Revolution. Ultimately, the victory of the Anglo-Prussian coalition undercut the balance of power in Europe, a balance that was not reestablished until 1815.
Situation
Although Anglo-French skirmishes over their American colonies had already begun in 1754, the large-scale conflict that drew in most of the European powers was centered on Austria's desire to recover Silesia, which they had lost in 1747, from the Prussians. In India, the Mughal Empire, with the encouragement of the French, tried to crush a British attempt to conquer Bengal: these are known as the Third Carnatic War.
In the European theater, seeing the opportunity to curtail Britain's and Prussia's ever-growing power, France and Austria put aside their ancient rivalry to form a coalition of their own. Faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia; this alliance drew in not only the British king's territories in personal union, including Hanover, and also those of his relatives in the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. This series of political maneuvers became known as the Diplomatic Revolution.[1]
In the Americas, the same coalitions prevailed; both sides added a First Nation partner. Abenaki, an Algonquin linguistic tribe, joined with the French. The Iroquois, or Five Nations, joined with the British. In both cases, the war in North America in particular proved expensive. The Iroquois, who lived predominantly in lands controlled by the French, wrought havoc on the European trade routes and settlements. The Abenaki, who were also known as "People of the Dawn", lived in, or had been displaced by, English settlers in the Atlantic colonies. In the West Indies, the British and Spanish fought for control of key points in the Caribbean trade routes, particularly the Windward Passage and Havana. In West Africa, the British effort to oust France from its colonies in Gorée, Senegal, and Gambia.
After seven years of fighting (nine in North America), the Anglo-Prussian coalition prevailed. The war marked the rise of Britain as the world's predominant power; it also destroyed France's land supremacy in Europe; Prussia, due to Frederick the Great's military prowess, established itself as a dominant land-power in Europe; and the Austrian Habsburgs lost permanently their territories in Silesia. This altered the European balance of power.[2]
Theater | Abbreviation | Location |
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Baltic | BAL | Area bordering on the Baltic sea, principally disputed between Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Poland-Lithuania and Prussia |
Hereditary Habsburg lands | HHL | Lands previously part of the Habsburg inheritance but lost to Prussia in the War of Austrian Succession |
French-British coast | FBC | Attempted invasions of France and Britain, and naval battles in the coastal areas. |
Central Europe | CE | Portions of the Holy Roman Empire upon which combat occurred (such as Saxony, Prussia, Hannover) |
Rhineland | RH | Western portions of the Holy Roman Empire under contest. |
North America | NA | British colonies in North America, unsettled lands to the Mississippi River, and portions of Canada |
Iberia | IB | Predominantly coastal cities and fortresses in Portugal, Spain, and Malta. |
West Africa | WA | |
Indian Subcontinent | IS | India, Bengal, Carnatic, and Indian Ocean battles, fought between French and British East India Company |
Battles
Name | Theater | Date | Year | Combatant | Combatant2 | State/Location of Action | Outcome |
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Siege of Pirna | CE | 11 September – 14 October | 1756 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | Siege and blockage of Saxon army began in early September and ended with surrender of the Saxon Army on 14 October to Hans Karl von Winterfeldt |
Battle of Lobositz | CE | 1 October | 1756 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | Prussian tactical victory; Austrian strategic victory. Prussians won the battle but Austrians forced them to retreat. |
Battle of Reichenberg | CE | 20 April | 1757 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | |
Battle of Prague (1757) | HHL | 5 May | 1757 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | |
Prussian Bohemia Incursion | HHL | 14 April - 20 April | 1759 | Prussia | Austria | Bohemia | Six-day raid into Bohemia by Prussia to destroy Austrian magazines and disrupt troop movements. Austrian summer campaign delayed. |
Battle of Prague (1757) (conclusion) | HHL | 20 June | 1757 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | |
Battle of Kolín | HHL | 18 June | 1757 | Prussia | Austria | Bohemia | Austrian victory; Frederick's first defeat in this war forced him to abandon a march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Litoměřice/Leitmeritz. |
Siege of Olomouc (start) | HHL | 1 May | 1758 | Prussia | Austria | Bohemia | |
Siege of Olomouc (conclusion) | HHL | 2 July | 1758 | Prussia | Austria | Bohemia | |
Battle of Domstadtl | HHL | 30 June | 1758 | Prussia | Austria | Bohemia | |
Battle of Hastenbeck | RH | 26 July | 1757 | Hanover Britain Hesse-Cassel Brunswick |
France | Hanover | |
Battle of Rheinberg | RH | 12 June | 1758 | Hanover Britain Hesse-Cassel Brunswick |
France | Hanover | |
Battle of Krefeld | RH | 23 June | 1758 | Great Britain Hesse-Cassel Brunswick Hanover |
France | North Rhine-Westphalia | |
Battle of Bergen (1759) | RH | 13 April | 1759 | Great Britain Hesse-Cassel Brunswick Hanover |
France | Near Frankfurt | |
Battle of Minden | RH | 1 August | 1759 | Great Britain Hesse-Cassel Brunswick Hanover Schaum-Lippe, |
France | formerly West Prussia, now North Rhine-Westphalia | |
Battle of Emsdorf | RH | 14 July | 1760 | Britain Hanover |
France | Hesse | |
Battle of Warburg | RH | 31 July | 1760 | Britain Hanover |
France Saxony |
Hesse | |
Battle of Kloster Kampen | RH | 15 October | 1760 | Britain Brunswick Prussia Hanover |
France | North Rhine Westphalia | |
Battle of Langensalza (1761) | HRE | 10 February | 1761 | Prussia Britain |
France | Thuringia | |
Siege of Cassel (1761) | RH | 30 April | 1761 | Brunswick | France | Hesse-Cassel | |
Battle of Grünberg | RH | 21 March | 1761 | Hanover Hesse-Cassel Brunswick |
France | Hesse-Cassel | |
Battle of Corbach | RH | 10 July | 1760 | Britain Hanover Prussia Hesse-Cassel |
France | Hesse Cassel | |
Battle of Villinghausen | RH | 16 July | 1761 | Prussia Hanover Great Britain |
France | Hesse Cassel | |
Battle of Ölper (1761) | RH | 13 October | 1761 | Brunswick | France Saxony |
Duchy of Brunswick | |
Battle of Wilhelmsthal | RH | 24 June | 1762 | Brunswick Britain Hesse Cassel |
France | Castle of Wilhelmsthal near Calden, northwestern Germany | |
Battle of Nauheim | RH | 30 August | 1762 | Hesse Cassel Hanover Britain |
France | Hesse Cassel | |
2nd Siege of Cassel | RH | 30 November | 1762 | Britain Hanover Hesse-Cassel |
France | Hesse-Cassel | |
Battle of Rossbach | HRE | 5 November | 1757 | Prussia | France Austria |
Saxony-Anhalt | Prussian victory over the largely French army |
1st Battle of Lutterberg | RH | 10 October | 1758 | Britain Hanover |
Austria | Saxony | |
Battle of Hochkirch | HHL | 14 October | 1758 | Prussia | Austria | Silesia | Austrian victory over Frederick's army |
Battle of Hoyerswerda | HRE | 25 September | 1759 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | |
Battle of Maxen | HRE | 20 November | 1759 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | |
Battle of Meissen | HRE | 4 December | 1759 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | |
Battle of Torgau | HRE | 3 November | 1760 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | |
Siege of Dresden | HRE | 22 July | 1760 | Prussia | Austria, Saxony | Saxony | |
2nd Battle of Lutterberg | HRE | 23 July | 1762 | Britain Brunswick Hanover |
France | Lower Saxony | |
Battle of Freiberg | HRE | 29 October | 1762 | Prussia | Austria | Saxony | |
Battle of Zorndorf | HRE | 25 August | 1758 | Prussia | Russia | Brandenburg | |
Battle of Kay | HRE | 23 July | 1759 | Prussia | Russia | Brandenburg | Russian victory |
Battle of Kunersdorf | HRE | 12 August | 1759 | Prussia | Russia | Brandenburg | Russian and Austrian victory |
Battle of Moys | HHL | 7 September | 1757 | Prussia | Austria | Upper Lusatia | |
Battle of Breslau | HHL | 22 November | 1757 | Prussia | Austria | Silesia | Austrian victory; forced Frederick to return to Breslau. |
Battle of Leuthen | HHL | 5 December | 1757 | Prussia | Austria | Silesia | Decisive Prussian victory over Austrian army |
Breslau siege | HHL | 19 December | 1757[3] | Prussia | Austria | Silesia | Decisive Prussian victory |
Battle of Landeshut | HHL | 23 June | 1760 | Prussia | Austria | Silesia | |
Siege of Glatz | HHL | 26 July | 1760 | Prussia | Austria | Silesia | |
Battle of Liegnitz | HHL | 15 August | 1760 | Prussia | Austria | Silesia | |
Raid on Berlin | HRE | 12 October | 1760 | Prussia | Russia Austria |
Brandenburg | Russian and Austrian victory |
Battle of Burkersdorf | HHL | 21 July | 1762 | Prussia | Russia | Silesia | |
Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf | BAL | 30 August | 1757 | Prussia | Russia | East Prussia | |
Blockade of Stralsund (start) | BAL | December | 1757 | Prussia | Sweden | Stralsund, Swedish Pomerania | Prussians blockaded the Swedes in their fortress but couldn't take it because they lacked naval support |
Blockade of Stralsund (conclusion) | BAL | June | 1758 | Prussia | Sweden Russia |
Stralsund, Swedish Pomerania | Prussians withdrew blockade due to lack of British naval support |
Tornow | BAL | 26 September | 1758 | Prussia | Sweden | Tornow (Fürstenberg/Havel) in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Prussian victory |
Battle of Fehrbellin | BAL | 28 September | 1758 | Prussia | Sweden | Fehrbellin, located 60 kilometers (37 mi) NW of Berlin | |
Battle of Güstow | BAL | 18 November | 1758 | Prussia | Sweden | Güstow Pomerania | Prussian victory |
Battle of Frisches Haff | BAL | 10 September | 1759 | Prussia | Sweden | Oder Lagoon | Swedish victory; Prussia lost its small fleet |
Battle of Pasewalk | BAL | 3 October | 1760 | Prussia | Sweden | Draw | Paul von Werner's troops took many prisoners, but abandoned the effort as too costly. |
Siege of Kolberg | BAL | 4 October | 1759 | Prussia | Russia | Kolberg, in the Duchy of Brandenburg, on the Baltic Sea. | Prussian victory. First of three sieges. |
Battle of Neuensund | BAL | 18 September | 1761 | Prussia | Sweden | Neuensund, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Minor skirmish resulting in a Swedish rout of the Prussian force commanded by Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling |
Battle of Neukalen | BAL | 2 January | 1762 | Prussia | Sweden | Swedes surprised von Belling's troops near Neukalen. Last battle between Sweden and Prussia | |
Siege of Almeida | IB | August | 1762 | Portugal | Spain | Almeida, Portugal | Spanish victory |
Battle of Valencia de Alcántara | IB | 27 August | 1762 | Britain Portugal |
Spain | Valencia de Alcántara, near the Portuguese border | Decisive British-Portuguese victory, with negligible losses |
Battle of Vila Velha de Ródão | IB | 5 October | 1762 | Britain Portugal |
Spain | Vila Velha de Ródão, Portugal | On 22 November, a truce withdrew Spain from the war. |
Battle of Marvão | IB | 9–10 November | 1761 | Great Britain Portugal |
Spain | Marvão, Portugal | British-Portuguese victory. By 22 November, Spain was out of the war. |
Siege of Fort St Philip | IB | April – 29 June | 1756 | Britain | France | Principle British garrison at Fort St. Philip | British sent a relief force commanded by Admiral John Byng; after relief failed, the garrison eventually surrendered |
Battle of Minorca | IB | 20 May | 1756 | Britain | France | Mediterranean island of Menorca | British withdrew to Gibraltar; commander was court-martialed and executed. |
Raid on Rochefort | FBC | September | 1757 | Britain | France | Rochefort, a port on the Charente estuary, where it joins the Atlantic. | French victory. British withdraw without capturing Rochefort. |
Battle of Cartagena | IB | 28 February | 1758 | Britain | France | Cartagena, Spain | |
Action of 29 April 1758 | FBC | 29 April | 1758 | Britain | France | naval Bay of Biscay | British victory |
Raid on St Malo | FBC | 5–12 June | 1758 | Britain | France | Amphibious assault on Brittany | British tactical victory |
Raid on Cherbourg | FBC | 7–16 August | 1758 | Britain | France | northern France | British landed troops in Cherbourg. Withdrew them again |
Battle of Saint Cast | FBC | 11 September | 1758 | Britain | France | France | Last of the British amphibious assaults on northern France |
Planned invasion of Britain | FBC | October | 1760 | Britain | France | scrapped | Plan to invade Britain via Portsmouth. |
Battle of Quiberon Bay | FBC | 20 November | 1759 | Great Britain | France | naval | British victory |
Capture of Belle Île | FBC | 7 April – 8 June | 1761 | Britain | France | Belle Île, off the Brittany coast. | |
Action of 17 July 1761 | FBC | 17 July | 1761 | Britain | France | naval action near Cádiz | British victory |
Battle of Chandannagar | IS | 23 March | 1757 | Britain British East India Company |
France | Chandannagar, Bengal | |
Battle of Plassey | IS | 23 June | 1757 | British East India Company | France | Plassey, Bengal | |
Battle of Cuddalore (1758) | IS | 29 April | 1758 | British East India Company | France | Cuddalore | |
Battle of Negapatam (1758) | IS | 3 August | 1758 | British East India Company | France | Naval battle off the Carnatic coast near Negapatam | Indecisive. |
Battle of Condore | IS | 9 December | 1758 | British East India Company | France | Condore | |
Siege of Madras | IS | 14 December | 1758 | British East India Company | France | Madras | Annus Mirabilis of 1759 |
Siege of Pondicherry (1760) | IS | 4 September | 1759 | British East India Company | France | Pondicherry | |
Siege of Pondicherry (1760-61) | IS | 15 January | 1761 | British East India Company | France | Pondicherry | British successfully captured Pondicherry |
Battle of Wandiwash | IS | 22 January | 1760 | British East India Company | France | Vandavasi, Tamil Nadu | |
Battle of Chinsurah | IS | 24–25 September | 1759 | British East India Company | Dutch East India Company | Chinsurah, Bengal | |
Battle of Pondicherry | IS | 10 September | 1759 | British East India Company | France | Pondicherry | indecisive battle |
Siege of Masulipatam | IS | 6 March–7 April | 1759 | British East India Company | France | Masulipatam | |
Siege of Masulipatam (conclusion) | IS | 7 April | 1759 | British East India Company | France | Masulipatam | Siege ended when British stormed the town |
Battle of Cape Finisterre | FBC | 13–14 August | 1761 | British | French | naval | British victory |
Notes
- D.B. Horn, "The Diplomatic Revolution" in J.O. Lindsay, ed., The New Cambridge Modern History vol. 7, The Old Regime: 1713–63 (1957): pp 449–64.
- Jeremy Black, "Essay and Reflection: On the 'Old System' and the Diplomatic Revolution' of the Eighteenth Century", International History Review (1990) 12#2 pp. 301–323
- Siege began on 7 December 1757 and ended on 19 December 1757.