SEVEN YEARS' WAR, THE, was the third, last, and by far the longest (1756-63) and most terrible of the contests for the possession of Silesia (q.v.). During the two former wars, the empress Maria Theresa had plenty of other work on hand in maintaining her claims to the Austrian dominions (see SUCCESSION, WAR OF AUSTRIAN) to offer any very effective resistance to the aggression of Frederick the great of Prussia; but after emerg ing triumphantly from this contest she took advantage of the circumstance that the king of Prussia was on bad terms with all the chief continental powers except Turkey and Spain, to renew the struggle for Silesia, which had been snatched from her at the moment of her greatest straits. She found the czarina Elizabeth, the king of Poland and elector of Saxony, and Louis XV. of France (or rather madame de Pompadour), ready to enter into an offensive and defensive treaty with her. On the other hand, Britain (then at war with France) engaged to assist Prussia with an army in Hanover, and with subsidies when necessary. Resolving to anticipate his enemies, and secure a safe basis for future operations, Frederick made a sudden advance (Aug., 1756) on Dres den with 60.000 men, took,possession of the country, which he governed from this time with slight intervals to the end of the war, and cooped up the Saxon army, 18,000 strong, between Pirna and KOuigstein. On the Austrians under Browne advancing to relieve their allies, they were met by Frederick at Lobositz (Oct. 1), and after an inde cisive contest were obliged to retreat. The Saxons then surrendered (Oct. 14), and were mostly incorporated with the Prussian army, which went into winter-quarters in Saxony and Silesia.—The second campaign (1757) began under more favorable auspices for the Austrian coalition, as the rapid action of Frederick had taken it somewhat by surprise in the preceding autumn; besides, Sweden (subsidized by France) became a fourth in the coalition, in order to recover Pomerania, and the German reich or empire raised an army, 33,000 strong, to assist Austria. A combined attack was now made by a French army (100,000) on Hanover; another French army (30,000) on Hesse-Cassel' (an ally of Prussia), with a view to reach Saxony; an Austrian army from L'ohemia on Saxony and another on Silesia, both of them at first united under marshal Dann, but lat terly (1760) separated, under Dann and Loudon; the Russians (100,000) on the e. and n.e. ; and the Swedes (22,000) in Pomerania; while the imperial army sometimes joined the southern French, and sometimes the NV. Austrian armies. To oppose these armies, numbering in all 430,000, Frederick had the combined British-Hanoverian-Hessian army (60,000) in Hanover, and a Prussian army of 200.000 strong, which was distributed, as need required, over the various points attacked; but he relied much on the rapidity of his movements and the harmonious completeness of his plans. In April, Frederick, leaving a corps of 24,000 under Lewald to resist the Swedes and Russians, invaded Bohemia, droxe in the advanced corps of the Austrians upon their main army, which he then completely routed at Prague (May 6), with a loss on his side of 18,000, and of 19,000 on the part of the Austrians. Marshals Schwerin (Prussian) and Browne (Austrian) fell in this conflict. Frederick immediately invested Prague, to which prince Charles of LinTaine, with 46,000 men, had retreated; but Dann, who advanced from Moravia to its relief, inflicted on the Prussians a crushing defeat at Kolin (June 18), and forced them to retire from Bohemia. The n. French army had meanwhile, under mar shal d'Estrees, advanced into Hanover, defeated the incapable duke of Cumberland at Ilastenbeck (July 26), and compelled him to capitulate, on condition that the whole of his army, excepting the Hanoverians, should be disbanded. But the British government refused to ratify this shameful treaty, and speedily raised another army of similar corn position, was placed under the command of duke Ferdinand of Brunswick. ait able leader, who again drove back the French, and proved himself so capable to hold them in check, that Frederick ceased to have auy apprehensions from this quarter. The s. French army under Soubise had also advanced in conjunction with the imperialists under the prince of Hildburghauseu in the direction of Saxony, but Frederick was not pre pared to lose this valuable vantage-ground, and falling upon them at Rossbach (q.v.) (\ ov. 6), he put them completely to rout. During his absence, however, the Austrians had broken into Silesia, routed his armies, and compelled them to retire; so, compelled to use the utmost expedition in returning, he collected a small army, defeated a thrice as numer ous force of Austrians under prince Charles of Lorraine at Leuthen (Dec. 5), and recov ered Silesia. On thee. the Russians bad appeared in great force, captured Memel, commit ting the most horrible devastations, and had routed Lewald at Grossjhtgerndorf (Aug: 30), when the change of Russian policy due to the illness and apparently impending demise of the czarina, caused them to relinquish almost all their conquests; Lewald then attacked and defeated the Swedes, driving them under the walls of Stralsund. This chfs'ed
the second campaign, leaving matters very much as they were at the commencement.— Duke Ferdinand opened the third campaign (1758) by driving the French from lower Saxony, pursued them across the Rhine, and defeated them near Krefeld (June 23); but Contades, the new French commander, having obtained the co-operation of Soubise, compelled him to retrace his steps, till, receiving a re-enforcement of 12,000 British, Ferdinand again advanced, throwing Contades between the Rhine and Meuse, and Soubise between the Rhine and Main. Meanwhile Frederick had not been idle, for after being driven out of Moravia (which he had invaded in spring) by Daum he marched northward with a portion of his army to meet the Russians, who, the czarina having recovered, had again invaded Brandenburg, and defeated them in a desperate battle at Zorndorf (Aug. 25), compelling them to retreat into Poland. Frederick's pres ence was next needed in Saxony, where his brother, prince Henry, was beans: hard pressed by Daun with superior forces; but on his arrival the Austrians retreated east ward till Oct. 14, when Daun turned, took Frederick completely by surprise, and gave him a severe defeat at Hoclikirch (q.v.), though before the end of the year the Prussians were again in possession of Saxony. Thus passed another campaign with 'a slight advantage to the Prussians.—The fourth campaign (1759) (preceded by fruitless attenipts at negotiation with France, on the part of Frederick), though signalized by only two "great actions, Was more unfortunate for Prussia. The French under Soubise had cap tured Frankfurt during the winter, and theiluke of Brunswick, in attempting to recover it, was defeated at Bergen (April 13), by Broglie (the successor of Soubise), and com pelled to resign the Hesse to the French; but later in the year, his signal vic tory at Minden (Aug. 1) over Contades and Broglie, and that of his relative, the heredi tary prince of Brunswick, at Gohfeld on the same day, recovered most of Westphalia, and drove the southern French beyond the Lahn and Rhine. But in the Saxon dis trict, although prince Henry invaded Bohemia (April), capturing immense supplies, and cleared Franconia (May) of Austrians and imperialists, he subsequently evacuated Saxony, which was then occupied by the imperialists, and Loudon's Austrians advanced into Lusatia. In Silesia Fouque gallantly kept the Austrians at bay; and Dohna con tinued to coop up the Swedes about Stralsund, keeping at the same time an eye on the Russians; but the latter soon gathered in such force that lie was compelled to retreat. His successor, Wedel. in attempting to bar their advance, was routed near (July 23), and though Frederick hastened to his assistance, attacked them at Kunersdorf (q.v.) (Aug. 12), and had almost gained the day,- the arrival of Marshal Loudon with an Austrian force turned the tide, and converted this almost victory into the most signal defeat suffered by the .Prussians during the whole war. On the following morning he could hardly muster 5,000 men; hut, luckily, the Russians showed no inclination to follow up their victory, and by untiring perseverance, the Prussian monarch succeeded in raising another army 28,000 strong. Though it seemed almost impossible for him to prevent the meditated junction of the Russians and Austrians in Brandenburg; vet, by of skillful maneuvering, he succeeded in compelling the Russians to retire to Poland; and prince Henry, by cutting off their supplies, forced the Austrians into Saxony. On Nov. 21, however, he suffered a severe blow in the capture of Finck with 11,000 Prus sians, at ?Waxen in Saxony. With greatly diminished strength, an exhausted treasury (chiefly supplied by the English subsidy, the taxes of Saxony, and forced contributions on Mecklenburg, Saxony, and Anbalt), a desolated territory incapable of affording either men or supplies, and gloomy forebodings of the final issue, though with unfaltering resolution never to yield, Frederick prepared for his fifth campaign (1760).—His army in Prussia, now reduced to 90,000 men, mostly foreigners and raw recruits, was still further diminished by the capture of Fouqu6 with 8,000 men in Silesia. followed by Marshal Loudon's conquest of that province, though the brilliant victory of Liegnitz (Aug. 15) subsequently restored him the north-western division of it; he then joined his brother, prince Henry, drove the Russians across the Oder, and Dann into Bohemia; but his strength was now becoming glaringly insufficient for the task to which lie had set him self; the Russians and Austrians captured and plundered Berlin (Oct. 3); the Swedes came down from the north, and London's Austrians upward through Silesia. so that he was now fairly in the toils. But, like a lion in the midst of the hunters, he turned upon.