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Seven Years' War (1756–1763)

In this article you will learn:

The Seven Years' War (1756-1763) is one of the largest military conflicts of the 18th century. Its participants were countries whose possessions extended to all the then known continents (Australia and Antarctica were still unknown).

Main participants:

• Habsburg Austria
• United Kingdom
• Russian empire
• Prussian kingdom
• french kingdom

Causes

The prerequisite for the conflict was the unresolved geopolitical issues of the great powers of Europe in the previous confrontation - the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). The immediate causes of the new war were the contradictions between:

1. England and France with respect to their overseas possessions, in other words, there was a sharp colonial competition.

2. Austria and Prussia over the Silesian territories. In the previous conflict, the Prussians selected Silesia, the most industrialized region of the Habsburg monarchy, as the Austrians.

Map of military operations

coalitions

As a result of the last war, two coalitions were formed:

- Habsburg (main participants: Austria, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Russia, Saxony);

- anti-Habsburg (Prussia, France, Saxony).

By the mid-1750s, the situation continued, except that the Dutch chose neutrality, and the Saxons did not want to fight anymore, but maintained close relations with the Russians and Austrians.

During 1756, the so-called. "diplomatic coup". In January, secret negotiations between Prussia and England ended, and a subsidiary treaty was signed. Prussia was supposed to protect the European possessions of the English king (Hanover) for a fee. There was only one enemy - France. As a result, coalitions completely changed over the course of the year.

Now two groups confronted each other:

• Austria, Russia, France
• England and Prussia.

Other participants did not play a significant role in the war.

The beginning of the war

Frederick II the Great of Prussia - protagonist of the Seven Years' War

The beginning of the war is considered to be the first battles in Europe. Both camps no longer concealed their intentions, so the allies of Russia discussed the fate of Prussia, its king Frederick II did not wait for the blows. In August 1756, he was the first to act: he invaded Saxony.

There were three main theaters of warfare:

• Europe
• North America
• India.

In Russian historiography, the first and the last are often considered separately from the war in Europe.

Fighting in North America

Back in January 1755, the British government decided to intercept a French convoy in the Canadian area. The attempt was unsuccessful. Versailles found out about this and broke off diplomatic relations with London. The confrontation was also on the ground - between the British and French colonists, with the involvement of the Indians. That year, an undeclared war was in full swing in North America.

The decisive battle was the Battle of Quebec (1759), after which the British captured the last French outpost in Canada.

In the same year, a powerful British landing captured Martinique, the center of French trade in the West Indies.

European theater

Here the main events of the war unfolded and all the warring parties took part in them. The stages of the war are conveniently structured by campaigns: every year there is a new campaign.

It is noteworthy that in general, military clashes were fought against Frederick II. Great Britain provided the main assistance in cash. The contribution of the army was insignificant, limited to the Hanoverian and neighboring lands. Also, Prussia was supported by small German principalities, providing their resources under the Prussian command.

Frederick II at the Battle of Kunersdorf

At the beginning of the war, there was an impression of a quick Allied victory over Prussia. However, for various reasons this did not happen. This is:

- lack of coordinated coordination between the commands of Austria, Russia and France;

- Russian commanders-in-chief did not have the right of initiative, they depended on the decisions of the so-called. Conferences at the Highest Court.

On the contrary, Frederick the Great allowed his generals, if necessary, to act at their own discretion, to negotiate a ceasefire, etc. The king himself directly commanded his army and lived in the field. He could carry out lightning marches, thanks to which he “simultaneously” fought on different fronts. In addition, in the middle of the century, the Prussian military machine was considered exemplary.

Main battles:

• under Rosbach (November 1757).
• at Zorndorf (August 1758).
• at Kunersdorf (August 1759).
• the capture of Berlin by the troops of Z.G. Chernyshev (October 1760).
• at Freiberg (October 1762).

With the outbreak of the war, the Prussian army proved its ability to resist the three largest states of the continent almost alone. Until the late 1750s, the French lost their American possessions, whose trade profits went to finance the war, including aid from Austria and Saxony. In general, the forces of the allies began to dwindle. Prussia was also exhausted, she held on only thanks to the financial assistance of England.

In January 1762, the situation changed: the new Russian Emperor Peter III sent Frederick II an offer of peace and alliance. Prussia took this turn as a gift of fate. The Russian Empire withdrew from the coalition, but did not break off relations with the former allies. Dialogue with Britain was also activated.

The anti-Prussian coalition began to fall apart after Russia, Sweden (in April) announced its intention to withdraw from the war. In Europe, they were afraid that Peter III would act together with Frederick the Great, but only a separate corps was transferred under the banner of the latter. However, the emperor was going to fight: with Denmark for his hereditary rights in Holstein. However, this adventure was avoided due to a palace coup, which in June 1762 brought Catherine II to power.

In the autumn, Frederick won a brilliant victory at Freiberg and used this as an important argument for making peace. By that time, the French had lost their possessions in India and were forced to sit down at the negotiating table. Austria could no longer fight on its own.

Theater of War in Asia

In India, it all started with the confrontation between the ruler of Bengal and the British in 1757. The colonial French administration declared neutrality, even after the news of the war in Europe. However, the British quickly began attacking the French outposts. Unlike the previous War of the Austrian Succession, France was unable to turn the tide in its favor, and was defeated in India.

Peace resumed after the conclusion of treaties February 10, 1762 in Paris (between England and France) February 15, 1763 in Hubertusburg (between Austria and Prussia).

War results:

• Austria received nothing.
• The UK was the winner.
• Russia pulled out of the war ahead of time, so it did not take part in the peace talks, maintained the status quo and once again demonstrated its military potential.
• Prussia finally secured Silesia and entered the family of the strongest countries in Europe.
• France lost almost all of its overseas territories and gained nothing in Europe.

Categories:// dated 13.09.2016

ON THE EVE OF THE WAR

It is a mistake to think […] that the policy of Russia does not stem from its real interests, but depends on the individual position of individuals: from the beginning of the reign at the court of Elizabeth, it was repeated that the King of Prussia is the most dangerous enemy of Russia, much more dangerous than France, and this was the conviction of the Empress herself. left Russia in the most favorable external relations: it was surrounded by weak states - Sweden, Poland; Turkey was, or at least seemed to be, stronger and more dangerous, and this stipulated an Austrian alliance for the unity of interests, for the same fear on the part of Turkey; this also led to hostile relations with France, which was in constant friendship with the Sultan. But now the circumstances have changed; near Russia is a new power; the Prussian king cuts off Austria, Russia's natural ally; he runs into Russia in Sweden, Poland; the remoteness of Turkey does not prevent him from seeking her friendship, and, of course, not for the benefit of Russia. […] They feared not only for Courland, but also for the acquisition of Peter the Great. This constant apprehension and irritation made the dominant thought about the need to surround the Prussian king with a chain of alliances and reduce his forces at the first opportunity. They accepted England's offer of a subsidized treaty, meaning to expose a large army against the Prussian king at someone else's expense, and stopped only at the thought: what if England demands this army not against the Prussian king, but against France, demands that they be sent to the Netherlands?

POSITION OF RUSSIA

On March 30, the conference, in pursuance of the decree of the empress, decided the following: 1) immediately begin an agreement with the court of Vienna and persuade him to, taking advantage of the current war between England and France, attack the Prussian king together with Russia. To present to the court of Vienna that since an army of 80,000 people is sent from the Russian side to curb the Prussian king, and in case of need all forces will be used, the Empress-Queen has in her hands the most convenient opportunity to return the areas conquered by the Prussian king in the last war. If the empress-queen fears that France will divert her forces in the event of an attack on the king of Prussia, then imagine that France is busy at war with England and Austria, without interfering in their quarrel and without giving England any help, can convince France to she did not interfere in the war between Austria and Prussia, to which Russia will contribute as much as possible on her part, and in order to 2) order the ministers here at foreign courts to be more affectionate with the French ministers than before, in a word, everything leads to this, so that the court of Vienna would be given security by France and incline this court to war with Prussia. 3) Gradually prepare Poland so that it not only does not interfere with the passage of Russian troops through its possessions, but also willingly looks at it. 4) Try to keep the Turks and Swedes calm and inactive; to remain in friendship and harmony with both these powers, so that there is not the slightest obstacle on their part to the success of the local intentions regarding the reduction of the forces of the King of Prussia. 5) Following these rules, go further, namely, weakening the Prussian king, making him fearless and carefree for Russia; having strengthened the court of Vienna with the return of Silesia, to make the alliance with it against the Turks more important and real. Having loaned Poland with the delivery of royal Prussia to her, in return to receive not only Courland, but also such a rounding of the borders on the Polish side, thanks to which the current incessant worries and anxieties about them would not only be stopped, but, perhaps, a way would be obtained to connect the trade of the Baltic and Black Seas and concentrate all the Levant trade in their hands.

Soloviev S.M. History of Russia since ancient times. M., 1962. Prince. 24. Chap. 1. http://magister.msk.ru/library/history/solov/solv24p1.htm

THE SEVEN-YEAR WAR AND RUSSIA'S PARTICIPATION IN IT

TRIP TO EAST PRUSSIA

With the outbreak of the war, it became clear (as it almost always happened before and later) that the Russian army was poorly prepared for it: there were not enough soldiers and horses to complete the set. Things were not going well with sensible generals either. Field Marshal S.F. was appointed commander of the army, which moved only in the spring of 1757 to the Prussian border. Apraksin is an indecisive, idle and inexperienced person. Moreover, without special instructions from St. Petersburg, he could not take a step. In mid-July, the Russian regiments entered the territory of East Prussia and slowly moved along the road to Allenburg and further, to the capital of this part of the kingdom - Koenigsberg. Intelligence in the army did not work well, and when on August 19, 1757, the Russian avant-garde regiments went out along the forest road to the edge, they saw Field Marshal Lewald's army lined up in battle order, who immediately gave the order to advance to the cavalry. However, the 2nd Moscow Regiment, which found itself in the hottest place, managed to reorganize and hold back the first onslaught of the Prussians. Soon, the commander of the division, General V.A., came to his aid. Lopukhin brought four more regiments. These five regiments accepted the battle with the Prussian infantry - Lewald's main force. The battle turned out to be bloody. General Lopukhin was mortally wounded, captured, repulsed again. Having lost half of the soldiers, Lopukhin's regiments began to randomly roll back to the forest. The situation was saved by the young general P. A. Rumyantsev - the future field marshal. With the regiments of the reserve, he managed to literally push through the forest and hit the flank of the Prussian regiments, which were chasing the remnants of Lopukhin's division, which was the reason for the Russian victory.

Although the losses of the Russian army were twice that of the Prussians, the defeat of Lewald turned out to be crushing, and the road to Koenigsberg was open. But Apraksin did not follow it. On the contrary, unexpectedly for everyone, he gave the order to retreat, and the organized retreat from Tilsit began to look like a disorderly flight ... [...] The results of the campaign in East Prussia were deplorable: the army lost 12 thousand people. 4.5 thousand people died on the battlefield, and 9.5 thousand died from diseases!

http://storyo.ru/empire/78.htm

BATTLE OF ZORNDORF

General V.V. Fermor, appointed as the new commander-in-chief, already in January 1758 occupied Koenigsberg without hindrance and by summer moved to Brandenburg, the main territory of the Prussian kingdom, in order to unite with the Austrians for joint operations against Frederick II in Silesia. Friedrich decided not to let this happen. In his characteristic decisive manner, he moved from Silesia to Brandenburg and, having crossed the Oder, bypassed the Russian army from the rear. Thus, he cut off her retreat and did not allow her to connect with Rumyantsev's corps, which was unsuccessfully waiting for the Prussians at another crossing over the Oder. Frederick's evasive maneuver was discovered, Fermor deployed the army and took the fight.

The battle began with the Prussian infantry attacking the right flank of Fermor's army positions with superior forces in accordance with Frederick's favorite "oblique battle formation". The infantry battalions did not march in a continuous mass, but in ledges, entered the battle one at a time, increasing pressure on the enemy in a narrow space. But this time, part of the battalions of the main forces failed to maintain the oblique order of their vanguard, as they had to go around the burning village of Zorndorf along the way. Noticing a gap in the formation of the Prussians, Fermor ordered his infantry to advance. As a result of the counterattack, the vanguard and the main forces of Frederick, who soon approached, were driven back. But Fermor miscalculated. He did not notice that the entire Prussian cavalry of General Seydlitz had not yet entered the battle and was only waiting for the moment to attack. It came when the Russian regiments pursuing the Prussian infantry exposed their flank and rear. With the forces of 46 squadrons of selected black hussars, Seydlitz dealt a blow to the Russian infantry. It was a terrible attack. Well-trained horses accelerated and moved to a full quarry from a distance of more than half a kilometer. The squadrons marched without intervals, in close formation, stirrup to stirrup, knee to knee. Only a man with strong nerves could withstand this attack. From the frantic clatter of thousands of hooves, the earth trembled and hummed, and a high black wave rushed at you inexorably and swiftly, accelerating and accelerating, ready to crush and trample all living things in its path. One must appreciate the courage of the Russian grenadiers in the face of such a terrifying attack. They did not have time to line up in a square - defensive battle squares, but only managed to stand in groups back to back and took the blow of Seydlitz's cavalry. The solid formation disintegrated, the force of the blow weakened, Seydlitz led the frustrated squadrons to the rear. From that moment Fermor abandoned the troops and left the command post. He probably thought the battle was lost. However, the Russian regiments, despite serious losses and the panic of some of the soldiers who began to break barrels of wine and rob regimental cash desks, held their positions. By evening, the battle began to subside.

For the first time in the 18th century, the losses of Russian troops were so great: they made up half of the personnel, and more were killed than wounded - 13 thousand out of 22.6 thousand people. This speaks of the terrible bloodshed and fierceness of the battle. The usual ratio of killed and wounded was 1 to 3. Of the 21 Russian generals, 5 were taken prisoner, 10 were killed. Only 6 left in service! The enemy got 85 guns, 11 banners, military treasury. But the losses of the Prussians were great - over 11 thousand people. Therefore, a day later, they did not prevent the Russians from leaving the field of an unparalleled fierce battle, covered in blood and littered with thousands of corpses of people and horses. Having built two marching columns, between which the wounded were placed, 26 captured cannons and 10 banners, the Russian army, stretching for 7 miles, walked in front of the positions of the Prussians for several hours, but the great commander did not dare to attack it. The battle of Zorndorf was not a victory for the Russians - the battlefield was left to Frederick II (and in the old days this was the main criterion for victory on the battlefield), but Zorndorf is not a defeat either. Empress Elizabeth appreciated what happened: in the middle of an enemy country, far from Russia, in a bloody battle with the then greatest commander, the Russian army managed to survive. This, as stated in the rescript of the empress, "the essence of such great deeds that the whole world will remain in eternal memory to the glory of our weapons."

Anisimov E.V. Imperial Russia. St. Petersburg, 2008 http://storyo.ru/empire/78.htm

EYEWITNESS ABOUT THE BATTLE OF ZORNDORF

I will never forget the quiet, majestic approach of the Prussian army. I would like the reader to vividly imagine that beautiful but terrible moment when the Prussian formation suddenly turned into a long, crooked line of battle order. Even the Russians were surprised at this unprecedented spectacle, which, by all accounts, was a triumph of the then tactics of the great Frederick. The terrible beat of the Prussian drums reached us, but the music was not yet heard. When the Prussians began to come closer, we heard the sounds of oboes playing the famous hymn: Ich bin ja, Herr, in deiner Macht (Lord, I am in Your power). Not a word about what I felt then; but I think it will not seem strange to anyone if I say that this music subsequently, during my long life, always aroused the most intense grief in me.

While the enemy was approaching noisily and solemnly, the Russians stood so still and quiet that it seemed that there was no living soul between them. But then the thunder of the Prussian cannons was heard, and I rode inside the quadrangle, into my recess.

It seemed that heaven and earth were being destroyed. The terrible roar of cannons and the firing of guns intensified terribly. Thick smoke spread throughout the space of the quadrangle, from the place where the attack was carried out. After a few hours it became dangerous to remain in our recess. Bullets screeched incessantly in the air, and soon began to hit the trees that surrounded us; many of our people climbed on them in order to better see the battle, and the dead and wounded fell from there at my feet. One young man, a native of Konigsberg - I do not know his name or rank - spoke to me, walked four steps away, and was immediately killed by a bullet in my eyes. At the same moment the Cossack fell off his horse, next to me. I stood neither alive nor dead, holding my horse by the bridle, and did not know what to decide; but soon I was brought out of this state. The Prussians broke through our square, and the Prussian hussars, the Malakhov regiment, were already in the rear of the Russians.

RELATION S.F. APRAKSINA TO EMPRESS ELIZABETH PETROVNA ABOUT THE BATTLE AT GROSS-JEGERSDORF AUGUST 20, 1757

I must confess that at all that time, despite the courage and bravery of both the generals, the headquarters and chief officers, and all the soldiers, and the great action of the secret howitzers newly invented by the Feltzeugmeister General Count Shuvalov, which bring so much benefit, which, of course , for such work of his, he deserves the highest mercy and rewards of your imperial majesty. It was impossible to foresee anything decisive about victory, all the more so that your Imperial Majesty’s glorious army, being on the march behind a multitude of wagon trains, could not be built and used with such ability, as it was desired and delivered, but the justice of the case, and especially your zealous Imperial Majesty hastened to the Almighty prayers, betrayed the proud enemy to your victorious weapons. So, most merciful empress, he was completely defeated, dispersed and driven by light troops across the Pregel River to his former camp near Velava.

Relation S.F. Apraksin to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna about the battle of Gross-Jegersdorf on August 20, 1757

BATTLE AT PALZIG AND KUNERSDORF

The campaign of 1759 is notable for two battles of the Russian army, led by 60-year-old General Count P.S. Saltykov. On July 10, the Prussian army under the command of the Don cut off the Russians' path near the village of Palzig, on the right bank of the Oder. The fast attack of the Prussians was beaten off by the infantry, and the counterattack of the Russian cuirassiers - heavy cavalry - completed the job: the Prussians fled, the losses of the Russians were for the first time less than those of the enemy - 5 thousand against 7 thousand people.

The battle with Friedrich took place on August 1 near the village of Kunersdorf near Frankfurt an der Oder. Zorndorf's situation was repeated: Friedrich again went to the rear of the Russian army, cutting off all the ways to retreat. And again the Prussians swiftly attacked the Russians in the flank. But this time the position of the combatants was somewhat different. Russian troops occupied positions on three hill heights: Muhlberg (left flank), Big Spitz (center) and Judenberg (right flank). On the right, the allied troops of the Austrians stood in reserve. Friedrich attacked the left flank of the Russians, and very successfully: the corps of Prince A.M. Golitsyn was shot down from the height of Mulberg, and the Prussian infantry rushed through the Kungrud ravine to the Bolshoi Spitz hill. A deadly threat hung over the Russian army. The loss of the central position led to inevitable defeat. Pressed against the banks of the Oder, the Russian army would be doomed to capitulation or extermination.

The commander of the troops Saltykov in time gave the order to the regiments stationed on the Great Spitz to turn around across the former front and take the blow of the Prussian infantry that had left the ravine. Since the ridge of the Great Spitz was narrow for building, several lines of defense were formed. They went into action as the front lines fell. This was the climax of the battle: if the Prussians had broken through the lines, the Great Spitz would have fallen. But, as a contemporary writes, although the enemy “attacked our small lines with indescribable courage, one after another exterminated to the ground, however, like them, without clasping their hands, they stood, and each line, sitting on their knees, until then fired back, as long as there was almost no one left alive and unharmed, then all this stopped a little Prussians. An attempt to bring down the Russian positions in the center with the help of Seydlitz's cavalry also failed - the Russian-Austrian cavalry and artillery repulsed the attack. The Prussians began to retreat. The total losses of the 48,000th army of Frederick reached 17,000 people, 5,000 Prussians were captured. The trophies of the Russians and Austrians were 172 guns, 26 banners. The Russian army lost 13 thousand people. It was so much that Saltykov did not dare to pursue Frederick II, who had fallen into a panic, and jokingly said that one more such victory, and he alone would have to go to Petersburg with a wand to report the victory.

The fruits of victory on the field near the village of Kunersdorf Russia did not manage to collect. Blood was shed in vain. It soon became clear that Saltykov was suffering from the same disease as his predecessors - indecision and slowness. Moral responsibility for the army entrusted to him, feuds with the Austrians oppressed the commander, and he lost heart. With irritation, the empress wrote to the newly-made field marshal about his reports about his main intention - to save the army: “Although we should take care of saving our army, however, that frugality is bad when you have to wage a war for several years instead of ending it in one campaign, with one blow ". As a result, more than 18 thousand Russian soldiers who died in 1759 turned out to be a vain victim - the enemy was not defeated. In the middle of the 1760 campaign, Saltykov had to be replaced by Field Marshal A.B. Buturlin. By this time, dissatisfaction was growing in Elizabeth's entourage both with the actions of the army and with the general situation in which Russia found itself. The victory at Kunersdorf went to the Russians not by chance. It reflected the increased power of the army. The experience of continuous campaigns and battles showed that the commanders did not act as decisively as they should. In a rescript to Saltykov on October 13, 1759, the Conference at the Imperial Court, formed with the outbreak of the war, noted: “Since the King of Prussia has already attacked the Russian army four times, the honor of our weapons would require attacking him at least once, and now, all the more so since our The army outnumbered the Prussians both in number and vigor, and we explained to you at length that it is always more profitable to attack than to be attacked. The sluggishness of the allied generals and marshals (and Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, many German states fought against Friedrich) led to the fact that Frederick got away with it for the fourth campaign in a row. And although the allied armies outnumbered the Prussian army twice, there was no smell of victories. Friedrich, constantly maneuvering, striking each ally in turn, skillfully making up for losses, was moving away from the general defeat in the war. From 1760, he became generally invulnerable. After the defeat at Kunersdorf, he avoided battles as much as possible and by continuous marches, with false attacks, he drove the Austrian and Russian generals into a frenzy.

Anisimov E.V. Imperial Russia. St. Petersburg, 2008 http://storyo.ru/empire/78.htm

CAPTURE OF BERLIN

At this time, the idea was ripe to occupy Berlin, which would allow Friedrich to inflict great material and moral damage. At the end of September, the Russian-Austrian detachment approached and surrounded the capital of the Prussian kingdom. On the night of September 28, all the Prussian troops suddenly left the city, which immediately capitulated to the mercy of the winner, bringing them the keys to the city gates. The allies stayed in the city for two days and, having received news of Frederick's impetuous movement to help his capital, hastily left Berlin. But in two days they managed to rip off a huge indemnity from the Berliners, completely destroy the huge warehouses and arsenals of the Prussian army, and burn down the arms factories in Berlin and Potsdam. The Berlin operation could not make up for the failures in other theaters of war. The main enemy of Prussia, the Austrian army, acted extremely unsuccessfully, suffered defeat from Frederick, and its commanders could not find a common language with the Russians. Petersburg was dissatisfied with the fact that at the very beginning of the war Russia was assigned a subordinate role, she was obliged all the time to play along with Austria, who fought for Silesia. Meanwhile, Russian strategic and imperial interests were directed to other goals. From 1760, Russian diplomats increasingly demanded from the allies solid compensation for the blood shed for the common good. Already from the beginning of 1758, East Prussia with Koenigsberg was occupied by Russia. Moreover, its inhabitants swore allegiance to Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, that is, they were recognized as subjects of Russia.

[…] At the same time, the Russian army seriously took up the siege of the key fortress of Kolberg on the Prussian coast, control over which would allow more decisive action against Frederick and the capital of his kingdom. The fortress fell on December 5, 1761, and Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died 20 days later.

From that day on, the international situation began to change rapidly. Peter III, who came to the Russian throne, immediately broke off the alliance with Austria and offered peace to Frederick II without any conditions. Prussia, brought to ruin by a five-year war, was saved, which allowed her to fight even before 1763. Russia, which had withdrawn from the war earlier, did not receive any territories or compensation for losses.

Anisimov E.V. Imperial Russia. St. Petersburg, 2008 http://storyo.ru/empire/78.htm

The points of surrender, which the city of Berlin hopes to receive from the grace of Her Imperial Majesty the All-Russian and from the well-known philanthropy of the Commander-in-Chief, General.

1. So that this capital city and all the inhabitants, with their privileges, liberties and rights, are supported, and trade, factories and sciences are left on the same basis.

2. So that the free exercise of faith and the service of God in the present institution, without the slightest cancellation, be allowed.

3. So that the city and all suburbs are freed from camps, and light troops are not allowed to break into the city and suburbs.

4. If the need requires several regular troops to be deployed in the city and in the suburbs, then this would have been done on the basis of the institutions that were to this day, and those that were previously turned off from that and continue to be free to be.

5. All inhabitants in general of whatever rank and dignity they may be will remain in the deceased possession of their estate and all disorders and robberies in the city and in the suburbs and in the magistrates' villages will not be allowed. […]

Significantly expanded the borders of his state. Prussia, already at the beginning of the war of 1740-1748, which had the third army in Europe in terms of numbers and the first in terms of training, could now create powerful competition for the Austrians in the rivalry for supremacy over Germany. The Austrian Empress Maria Theresa did not want to accept the loss of Silesia. Her dislike for Frederick II was intensified by the religious difference between Catholic Austria and Protestant Prussia.

Frederick II the Great of Prussia - protagonist of the Seven Years' War

The Prussian-Austrian enmity was the main cause of the Seven Years' War, but colonial conflicts between England and France were added to it. In the middle of the 18th century, the question was being decided which of these two powers would dominate North America and India. The confusion of European relations led to the "diplomatic revolution" of the 1750s. The two-century feud between the Austrian Habsburgs and the French Bourbons was overcome in the name of common goals. Instead of the Anglo-Austrian and Franco-Prussian alliances that fought each other during the War of the Austrian Succession, new coalitions formed: Franco-Austrian and Anglo-Prussian.

Russia's position on the eve of the Seven Years' War was also complicated. At the St. Petersburg court, supporters of both Austria and Prussia had influence. In the end, the former prevailed, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna moved her troops to support the Habsburgs and France. However, the authority of the "Prussophiles" continued to be strong. Russian participation in the Seven Years' War from beginning to end was marked by indecision and hesitation between the two European factions.

The course of the Seven Years' War - briefly

The alliance of Austria, France and Russia against Prussia was a great secret, but Frederick II managed to find out about it. He decided himself to be the first to attack the not fully prepared allies in order to prevent them from connecting. The Seven Years' War began with the Prussian invasion of Saxony on August 29, 1756, whose elector sided with Frederick's enemies. The Saxon army (7 thousand soldiers) was blocked in Pirna (on the Bohemian border) and forced to surrender. The Austrian commander Broun tried to save the Saxons, but after the battle on October 1, 1756 near Lobositz, the Prussians forced him to retreat. Frederick captured Saxony.

The Seven Years' War continued in 1757. By the beginning of that year, the Austrians had gathered a large force. Three French armies moved against Frederick from the west - d "Estre, Richelieu and Subise, from the east - Russians, from the north - Swedes. The German Sejm declared Prussia a violator of peace. But the English army arrived in Westphalia to help Frederick. The British thought to tie the French with Prussian hands in Europe, in the meantime to push them decisively in the American and Indian colonies.England had enormous naval and financial power, but her land forces were weak, and they were commanded by the incapable son of King George II, the Duke of Cumberland.

Frederick moved to Bohemia (Czech Republic) in the spring of 1757 and on May 6, 1757 inflicted a heavy defeat on the Austrians near Prague, capturing up to 12 thousand soldiers. He locked another 40 thousand soldiers in Prague, and they almost repeated the fate of the Saxons in Pirna. But the Austrian commander-in-chief Daun rescued his people by moving towards Prague. Frederick the Great, who thought to stop him, was repulsed with heavy damage on June 18 in the battle of Collin and driven back from the Czech Republic.

Seven Years' War. The Life Guards Battalion at the Battle of Collin, 1757. Artist R. Knötel

In the Western theater of the Seven Years' War, the three commanders of the French armies were intriguing against each other: each of them wanted to lead the war alone. Accustomed to luxury, the French officers looked at the campaign as if it were a picnic. They went away to Paris every now and then, carrying crowds of servants with them, and their soldiers needed everything and died in masses from diseases. July 26, 1757 d "Estre defeated the Duke of Cumberland near Hameln. The Hanoverian aristocrats, who thought only of their own benefits, concluded a capitulation that gave all of Hanover to the French. The Duke of Cumberland also wanted to approve it, but the British government Pitt Senior prevented this. It succeeded in removing the duke from command and replacing him (on the advice of Frederick the Great) with the German prince Ferdinand of Brunswick.

Another French army (Subise), united with the Austrians, entered Saxony. Frederick the Great had only 25 thousand troops here - half that of the enemy. But when he attacked the enemies at the village of Rosbach on November 5, 1757, they fled in panic even before the entire Prussian army entered the battle. From Rosbach Friedrich went to Silesia. On December 5, 1757, he inflicted a severe defeat on the Austrians near Leuthen, driving them back to the Czech Republic. On December 20, the 20,000-strong Austrian garrison of Breslau surrendered, and all of Europe froze in surprise at the exploits of the Prussian king. His actions in the Seven Years' War were ardently admired even in France.

Attack of the Prussian infantry at the Battle of Leuthen, 1757. Artist Karl Röchling

Even before that, a large Russian army of Apraksin entered East Prussia. On August 30, 1757, it inflicted a defeat on the old Prussian Field Marshal Lewald at Gross-Jägersdorf and in this way opened a way for itself beyond the Oder. However, instead of moving forward, Apraksin unexpectedly retreated back to the Russian border. This act of his was connected with the dangerous illness of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Apraksin either did not want to quarrel with Grand Duke Peter Fedorovich, a passionate Prussophile who was supposed to inherit the Russian throne after Elizabeth, or he intended, together with Chancellor Bestuzhev, with the help of his army to force the unbalanced Peter to abdicate in favor of his son. But Elizaveta Petrovna, who was already dying, recovered, and the Russian campaign against Prussia soon resumed.

Stepan Apraksin, one of the four Russian commanders-in-chief in the Seven Years' War

The British government of Pitt continued the Seven Years' War with energy, increasing monetary support for the Prussians. Frederick the Great brutally exploited Saxony and Mecklenburg, which he occupied. In the western theater of the Seven Years' War, Ferdinand of Brunswick in 1758 pushed the French back to the Rhine and defeated them at Krefeld, already on the left bank of the river. But the new, more capable French commander-in-chief, Marshal Contad, again invaded the Rhine and in the fall of 1758 passed through Westphalia to the Lippe River.

In the eastern theater of the Seven Years' War, the Russians, led after the removal of Apraksin by Saltykov, crossed from East Prussia to Brandenburg and Pomerania. Frederick the Great himself unsuccessfully besieged the Moravian Olmutz in 1758, and then moved to Brandenburg and on August 25, 1758 gave the Russian army the battle of Zorndorf. Its outcome was indecisive, but the Russians after this battle chose to retreat from Brandenburg, so it was recognized that they were defeated. Frederick rushed to Saxony, against the Austrians. On October 14, 1758, the rising star of the Austrian army, General Laudon, defeated the king at the Gochkirch thanks to a surprise attack. However, by the end of the year, Frederick's generals had driven the Austrians out of Saxony.

Frederick the Great at the Battle of Zorndorf. Artist Karl Röchling

At the beginning of the 1759 campaign, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick suffered heavy losses in the western theater of the Seven Years' War from the French general Broglie in the battle near Bergen (April 13), not far from Frankfurt am Main. In the summer of 1759, the French commander-in-chief Contad went deep into Germany to the Weser, but then Prince Ferdinand defeated him in the battle of the Prussian Minden and forced him to retreat behind the Rhine and Main. Ferdinand, however, could not build on his success: he had to send 12 thousand soldiers to King Frederick, whose position in the east was very bad.

The Russian commander Saltykov led the campaign of 1759 very slowly and only in July reached the Oder. On July 23, 1759, he defeated the Prussian general Wedel at Züllichau and Kai. This defeat could have been disastrous for Prussia and ended the Seven Years' War. But Saltykov, fearing the imminent death of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and the coming to power of the "Prussophile" Peter III, continued to hesitate. On August 7, he connected with the Austrian corps of Laudon, and on August 12, 1759, he entered the battle of Kunersdorf with Frederick II himself. In this battle, the Prussian king suffered such a defeat that after him he already considered the war lost and thought about suicide. Laudon wanted to go to Berlin, but Saltykov did not trust the Austrians and did not want to assist them in acquiring unconditional hegemony over Germany. Until the end of August, the Russian commander stood motionless in Frankfurt, citing heavy losses, and in October he returned to Poland. This saved Frederick the Great from inevitable defeat.

Pyotr Saltykov, one of the four Russian commanders-in-chief in the Seven Years' War

Frederick began the campaign of 1760 in the most desperate situation. On June 28, 1760, the Prussian general Fouquet was defeated by Laudon at Landsgut. However, on August 15, 1760, Frederick the Great, in turn, defeated Laudon at Liegnitz. Saltykov, who continued to avoid any decisive undertakings, took advantage of this failure of the Austrians to withdraw beyond the Oder. The Austrians moved Lassi's corps on a short raid on Berlin. Saltykov sent Chernyshov's detachment to reinforce him only after a strict order from St. Petersburg. On October 9, 1760, the combined Russian-Austrian corps entered Berlin, stayed there for four days and took an indemnity from the city.

Frederick the Great meanwhile continued to fight in Saxony. On November 3, here, near the fortress of Torgau, the bloodiest battle of the Seven Years' War took place. The Prussians won a brilliant victory in it, but most of Saxony and part of Silesia remained in the hands of their opponents. The alliance against Prussia was replenished: Spain, ruled by a side branch of the French Bourbons, joined it.

But soon the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna (1761) died, and her successor, Peter III, an enthusiastic admirer of Frederick II, not only renounced all the conquests made by the Russian armies, but even expressed his intention to go over to the side of Prussia in the Seven Years' War. The latter did not happen only because Peter III, after the coup on June 28, 1762, was deprived of the throne by his wife Catherine II. She abstained from any participation in the Seven Years' War, Russia withdrew from it. The Swedes also lagged behind the coalition. Frederick II could now direct all his efforts against Austria, which was inclined towards peace, especially since France fought so ineptly that it seemed to have completely outlived its former military glory of the era of Louis XIV.

The Seven Years' War on the European continent was accompanied by colonial struggle in America and India.

The results of the Seven Years' War - briefly

The results of the Seven Years' War determined the Paris and Hubertsburg Peace Treaties of 1763.

The Peace of Paris in 1763 put an end to the maritime and colonial struggle between France and England. England wrested from the French an entire empire in North America: Southern and Eastern Canada, the Ohio River Valley and the entire left bank of the Mississippi. From Spain, the British received Florida. Until the Seven Years' War, the whole south of India was subject to French influence. Now it was completely lost there, to soon pass to the British.

Results of the Seven Years' War in North America. Map. British possessions before 1763 are marked in red, British annexations following the Seven Years' War are marked in pink

The Hubertsburg Treaty of 1763 between Prussia and Austria summed up the results of the Seven Years' War on the continent. In Europe, the old borders have been restored almost everywhere. Russia and Austria failed to return Prussia to the position of a minor power. However, Frederick the Great's plans for new conquests and the weakening of the power of the Habsburg emperors of Germany to the benefit of the Prussians did not come true.

Seven Years' War

Prussia's rapid rise aroused general envy and dismay among the European powers. Austria, having lost Silesia in 1734, longed for revenge. France was worried about Frederick II's rapprochement with England. Russian Chancellor Bestuzhev considered Prussia to be the worst and most dangerous enemy of the Russian Empire.

Back in 1755, Bestuzhev was fussing about concluding a so-called subsidized treaty with England. England was to be given gold, and Russia was to send 30-40 thousand troops. This project was destined to remain a project. Bestuzhev, correctly taking into account the significance of the "Prussian danger" for Russia, at the same time reveals a complete lack of maturity of judgment.

He believes to crush the Prussia of Frederick II "with a corps of 30-40 thousand", and for money he turns to none other than to Prussia's ally - England. Under such circumstances, in January 1756, Prussia entered into an alliance with England, the answer to which was the formation of a triple coalition of Austria, France and Russia, joined by Sweden and Saxony.

Austria demanded the return of Silesia, Russia was promised East Prussia (with the right to exchange it from Poland for Courland), Sweden and Saxony were tempted by other Prussian lands: the first - Pomerania, the second - Lusatia. Soon almost all German principalities joined this coalition. The soul of the whole coalition was Austria, which provided the largest army and had the best diplomacy. Austria very cleverly managed to force all her allies, and mainly Russia, to serve her interests.

While the allies shared the skin of an unkilled bear, Frederick, surrounded by enemies, decided not to wait for their blows, but to start on his own. In August 1756, he was the first to open hostilities, taking advantage of the unpreparedness of the allies, invaded Saxony, surrounded the Saxon army in the camp near Pirna and forced it to lay down its arms. Saxony immediately fell out of action, and its captured army almost entirely went over to the Prussian service.

The Russian army campaign was announced in October 1756 and during the winter it was supposed to concentrate in Lithuania. Field Marshal Count Apraksin was appointed commander in chief, placed in the closest dependence on the Conference - an institution borrowed from the Austrians and representing in Russian conditions a worsened edition of the notorious "gofkriegsrat". The members of the Conference were: Chancellor Bestuzhev, Prince Trubetskoy, Field Marshal Buturlin, and the Shuvalov brothers. However, our “Austrophilism” was not limited to this alone, but went much further: the Conference immediately fell entirely under Austrian influence and, commanding an army a thousand miles from Petersburg, it seemed to be guided primarily by observing the interests of the Vienna Cabinet.

In 1757, three main theaters were identified, which then existed throughout the entire Seven Years' War - the Franco-Imperial, the main, or Austrian, and Russian.

Fusilier, chief officer, grenadiers of the Tengin Infantry Regiment, 1732–1756 Colored engraving

The campaign was opened by Frederick, moving at the end of April from different directions - concentrically - to Bohemia. He defeated the Austrian army of Prince Charles of Lorraine near Prague and locked it in Prague. However, the second Austrian army of Daun moved to its rescue, defeating Frederick at Kolin (June). Frederick retreated to Saxony, and by the end of the summer his position became critical. Prussia was surrounded by 300,000 enemies. The king entrusted the defense against Austria to the Duke of Bevern, and he hurried to the West. Having bribed the commander-in-chief of the northern French army, the Duke of Richelieu, and secured his inaction, he, after some hesitation caused by bad news from the East, turned to the southern Franco-imperial army. Frederick II would not have been a Prussian and a German if he had acted in the same honest ways.

With an army of 21,000, he utterly defeated the 64,000 Franco-Imperials of Soubise at Rossbach, and then moved into Silesia, where Bevernsky was meanwhile defeated at Breslau. On December 5, Frederick attacked the Austrians and literally incinerated their army in the famous battle of Leuthen. This is the most brilliant of all Frederick's campaigns; according to Napoleon, for one Leithen he is worthy of being called a great commander.

The Russian army, operating in the secondary East Prussian theater of the war, remained aloof from the main events of the 1757 campaign. Its concentration in Lithuania took the whole winter and spring. There was a great shortage in the troops, which was especially felt in the officers.

We did not go on a trip with a light heart. We were afraid of the Prussians. Since the time of Peter I and, especially, Anna, the German has been a reserved creature for us - a different, higher order, a teacher and a boss. The Prussian, on the other hand, was a German to all Germans. “Frederick, they say, beat the Frenchman himself, and even more Tsars - where can we stand against him with many sinners! ..” So the future winners near Palzig and Kunersdorf argued, kneading the Lithuanian mud with their boots. The nasty Russian habit of always belittling oneself in comparison with a foreigner ... After the first skirmish on the border, where three of our dragoon regiments were overturned by the Prussian hussars, "great timidity, cowardice and fear" took possession of the whole army, which, however, had an effect on the tops much stronger than on bottoms.

By May, the concentration of our army on the Neman was over. There were 89,000 people in it, of which no more than 50-55 thousand “really fighting” were fit for battle, the rest were non-combatants of any kind, or unorganized Kalmyks armed with bows and arrows.

Prussia was defended by the army of Field Marshal Lewald (30,500 regular and up to 10,000 armed inhabitants). Friedrich, busy fighting Austria and France, treated the Russians with disdain:

“Russian barbarians do not deserve to be mentioned here,” he once remarked in one of his letters.

The Russian commander-in-chief depended entirely on the St. Petersburg Conference. He did not have the right to dispose of the troops without a formal “approbation” of the cabinet each time, he did not have the right to take the initiative in the event of a change in the situation, and he had to communicate with St. Petersburg over all sorts of trifles. In the campaign of 1757, the Conference instructed him to maneuver in such a way that for him "it would not matter for him to march straight on Prussia or to the left through all Poland into Silesia." The purpose of the campaign was to capture East Prussia, but Apraksin was not sure until June that part of his army would not be sent to Silesia to reinforce the Austrians.

S. F. Apraksin. Unknown artist

On June 25, Farmer's vanguard captured Memel, which was the signal for the opening of the campaign. Apraksin went with the main forces to Verzhbolovo and Gumbinen, sending the vanguard of General Sibilsky - 6,000 horses, to Friedland to act in the rear of the Prussians. The movement of our army was distinguished by slowness, which is explained by administrative troubles, an abundance of artillery and the fear of the Prussian troops, about which there were whole legends. On July 10, the main forces crossed the border, on the 15th they passed Gumbinen and on the 18th they occupied Insterburg. Sibilsky's cavalry did not live up to the hopes placed on it, as a hundred and fifty years later - in the same places, their detachment of Khan of Nakhichevan would not justify them ... Levald was waiting for the Russians in a strong position across the Alle River, near Velau. Having united with the vanguard - Farmer and Sibilsky, Apraksin moved on August 12 to Allenburg, in a deep bypass of the position of the Prussians. Upon learning of this movement, Lewald hurried to meet the Russians and attacked them at Gross-Egernsdorf on August 19, but was repulsed. Lewald had 22,000 people in this battle, Apraksin had up to 57,000, of which, however, half did not take part in the case. The fate of the battle was decided by Rumyantsev, who seized the infantry of the vanguard and went with it through the forest with hostility. The Prussians did not survive this attack. The trophies of victory were 29 guns and 600 prisoners. The damage of the Prussians - up to 4000, ours - over 6000. This first victory had the most beneficial effect on the troops, showing them that the Prussian is no worse than the Swede and the Turk is running from the Russian bayonet. She made the Prussians think too.

After the Battle of Jagernsdorf, the Prussians withdrew to Weslau. Apraksin moved after them and on August 25 began to bypass their right flank. Lewald did not accept the fight and retreated. The military council assembled by Apraksin decided, in view of the difficulty of supplying the army, to retreat to Tilsit, where to put the economic unit in order. On August 27, the retreat began, carried out very covertly (the Prussians only learned about it on September 4). On the march, it became clear that, due to the complete disorder, it was impossible to go on the offensive that same autumn and it was decided to retreat to Courland. On September 13, Tilsit will be abandoned, and the Russian military council decided to evade battle with Lewald's vanguard despite all our superiority in strength; "Cowardice and fear", of course, was no longer in sight, but the notorious "timidity", apparently, did not have time to completely leave our senior commanders. On September 16, the entire army was withdrawn beyond the Neman. The campaign of 1757 ended in vain due to the extraordinary embarrassment of the actions of the commander-in-chief by cabinet strategists and the disorder of the economic part.

Musketeer headquarters and chief officers of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, 1762. Colorized engraving

Chief officer and reytar of the Life Guards Horse Regiment, 1732–1742 Colored engraving

Chief officer of the Horse Regiment, 1742–1762 Colored engraving

The conference demanded an immediate transition to the offensive, as our diplomacy promised the Allies. Apraksin refused, was removed from office and put on trial, died from a blow without waiting for the trial. He was treated unfairly, Apraksin did everything that could be done in his place by any chief of average talents and abilities, put in a really impossible position and bound hand and foot by the Conference.

Instead of Apraksin, General Farmer was appointed commander-in-chief - an excellent administrator, a caring boss (Suvorov recalled him as a "second father"), but at the same time he was fussy and indecisive. The farmer took up the organization of the troops and the establishment of the economic part.

Frederick II, dismissive of the Russians, did not even allow the thought that the Russian army would be able to make a winter campaign. He sent the entire army of Lewald to Pomerania against the Swedes, leaving only 6 garrison companies in East Prussia. The farmer knew this, but, not receiving orders, did not move.

In the meantime, the Conference, in order to refute the reprehensible opinions about the fighting qualities of the Russian troops that were circulating in Europe through the efforts of the Prussian "gazeters", ordered the Farmer to move on the first snow to East Prussia.

On the first day of January 1758, the columns of Saltykov and Rumyantsev (30,000) crossed the border. On January 11, Koenigsberg was occupied, and then all of East Prussia, turned into a Russian general government. We were acquiring a valuable base for further operations and, as a matter of fact, we had achieved our goal of the war. The Prussian population, sworn into Russian citizenship by Apraksin, did not resist our troops, while the local authorities were sympathetic to Russia. Having mastered East Prussia, Farmer wanted to move on Danzig, but was stopped by the Conference, which ordered him to wait for the arrival of the Observation Corps, demonstrate together with the Swedes to Küstrin, and then go with the army to Frankfurt. In anticipation of summer time, the Farmer deployed most of the army at Thorn and Posen, not particularly caring about maintaining the neutrality of the Commonwealth.

On July 2, the army set off for the Franfort, as directed. It numbered 55,000 fighters. The disorder of the Observation Corps, ignorance of the terrain, food shortages, and the constant interference of the Conference led to wasted time, lengthy halts and counter marches. All maneuvers were carried out under the cover of Rumyantsev's cavalry of 4,000 sabers, whose actions can be called exemplary.

The military council decided not to get involved in the battle with the Don corps, which had warned us in Frankfurt, and to go to Kustrin to communicate with the Swedes. On August 3, our army approached Kustrin and on the 4th began bombarding it.

Frederick P. himself hurried to the rescue of the threatened Brandenburg. Leaving 40,000 people against the Austrians, he moved to the Oder with 15,000, joined the Don corps and went down the Oder to the Russians. The farmer lifted the siege of Küstrin and retreated to Zorndorf on August 11, where he took up a strong position. For the expulsion of Rumyantsev's division to the crossings across the Oder, in the ranks of the Russian army there were 42,000 people with 240 guns. The Prussians had 33,000 and 116 guns.

Frederick bypassed the Russian position from the rear and forced our army to give him a battle with an inverted front. The bloody battle of Zorndorf on August 14 had no tactical consequences. Both armies "crashed one against the other." Morally, Zorndorf is a Russian victory and a cruel blow to Friedrich. Here, as they say, "I found a scythe on a stone" - and the Prussian king saw that "these people can be killed rather than defeated."

Here he also experienced his first disappointment: the vaunted Prussian infantry, having tasted the Russian bayonet, refused to attack a second time. The honor of this bloody day belongs to Seydlitz's armored men and those old regiments of iron Russian infantry, on which the gust of their avalanches crashed ... The Russian army had to rebuild the front already under fire. Its right and left flanks were separated by a ravine. Friedrich's detour maneuver pinned our army to the Mitchell River and turned the main advantage of our Zorndorf position into an extreme disadvantage, the river found itself in the rear. On the part of Farmer, who was completely out of control of the battle, not the slightest attempt was made to coordinate the actions of the two disunited masses, and this allowed Frederick to fall first on our right flank, then on our left. In both cases, the Prussian infantry was repulsed and overturned, but, pursuing it, the Russians became upset and fell under the blow of the Prussian cavalry masses. We had almost no cavalry, only 2700, the rest under Rumyantsev. By the end of the battle, the front of the armies made a right angle with the original front, the battlefield and the trophies on it were, as it were, divided in half.

Our loss - 19,500 killed and wounded, 3,000 prisoners, 11 banners, 85 guns - 54 percent of the entire army. Out of 9143 people, only 1687 remained in the ranks of the Observation Corps.

The Prussians - 10,000 killed and wounded, 1,500 prisoners, 10 banners and 26 guns - up to 35 percent of the total. The steadfastness of the Russians, Frederick II, set an example for his own troops, especially the infantry.

By pulling Rumyantsev to him, the Farmer could have resumed the battle with a greater chance of success, but he missed this opportunity. Frederick retreated to Silesia - the Farmer set out to capture the heavily fortified Kolberg in Pomerania. He acted indecisively and at the end of October withdrew the army to winter quarters along the Lower Vistula. The campaign of 1758 - a successful winter and unsuccessful summer campaigns - was generally favorable for Russian weapons.

On the remaining fronts, Friedrich continued active defense, acting along internal lines of operations. At Gohkirch, he was defeated, Daun attacked him at night, but the indecision of Daun, who did not dare to take advantage of his victory, despite the double superiority in forces, rescued the Prussians.

V. V. Farmer. Artist A. P. Antropov

By the opening of the 1759 campaign, the quality of the Prussian army was no longer what it had been in previous years. Many military generals and officers, old and experienced soldiers died. Captives and defectors had to be placed in the ranks on a par with untrained recruits. Lacking those forces, Frederick decided to abandon his usual initiative in opening a campaign and wait first for the actions of the allies, in order to then maneuver on their messages. Being interested in the short duration of the campaign due to the scarcity of his funds, the Prussian king sought to slow down the start of the Allied operations, and to this end, undertook cavalry raids on their rear to destroy stores. In that era of store rations for armies and the "five transition system", the destruction of stores entailed the disruption of the campaign plan. The first raid on the Russian rear in Poznań by small forces in February went well for the Prussians, although it did not cause any particular harm to the Russian army. Rumyantsev vainly pointed out to Farmer, when occupying apartments, all the disadvantages and danger of cordon location. This even caused them to break up. In 1759, Rumyantsev did not receive a position in the active army, but was appointed a rear inspector, from where Saltykov was already requested to join the army. Another raid into the rear of the Austrians in April was much more successful, and the Austrian headquarters were so frightened by it that they refused to take any active action during the spring and early summer.

Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Conference, finally falling under the influence of Austria, developed a plan of operations for 1759, according to which the Russian army became auxiliary to the Austrian. It was supposed to be increased to 120,000, of which 90,000 should be sent to join the Tsesars, and 30,000 left on the Lower Vistula.

At the same time, the commander-in-chief did not indicate at all where exactly to connect with the Austrians and what to be guided by when performing operations “upstream or downstream of the Oder”.

It was not possible to complete the army even up to half of what was expected - due to the insistent demands of the Austrians, they had to set out on a campaign before the arrival of reinforcements. At the end of May, the army marched from Bromberg to Posen and, moving slowly, arrived there only on the 20th of June. Here the rescript of the Conference was received, appointing Count Saltykov as commander-in-chief, the Farmer received one of 3 divisions. Saltykov was instructed to link up with the Austrians at a point where these latter wished, then he was ordered, "without obeying Daun, to listen to his advice" - by no means sacrificing the army for the sake of Austrian interests - and, to top it all, not to engage in battle with superior forces.

Frederick II, confident in Daun's passivity, transferred 30,000 from the "Austrian" front to the "Russian" one - and decided to defeat the Russians before joining them with the Austrians. The Prussians acted sluggishly and missed an opportunity to break the Russian army in parts.

Not embarrassed by the presence of this strong enemy mass on his left flank, Saltykov moved on July 6 from Poznan in a southerly direction - to Karolat and Crossen to join the Austrians there. He had under his command up to 40,000 combatants. The Russian army brilliantly made an extremely risky and courageous flanking march, and Saltykov took measures in case the army was cut off from its base - Poznan.

P. S. Saltykov. Engraving

The Prussians hurried after Saltykov to get ahead of him at Crossen. On July 12, in the battle of Palzig, they were defeated and driven back beyond the Oder - under the walls of the Krossen fortress. In the battle of Palzig, 40,000 Russians with 186 guns fought 28,000 Prussians. Against the linear battle order of the latter, Saltykov used separation in depth and a game of reserves, which gave us victory, which, unfortunately, was not brought to the complete destruction of the Prussians by a sufficiently energetic pursuit of the enemy.

Our damage is 894 killed, 3897 wounded. The Prussians lost 9,000 people: 7,500 retired in battle and 1,500 deserted. In fact, their damage was much more significant, and it can be considered no less than 12,000, the Russians buried 4,228 bodies alone killed Prussians. 600 prisoners, 7 banners and standards, 14 guns were taken.

All this time, Down was inactive. The Austrian commander-in-chief based his plans on Russian blood. Fearing to engage in battle with Frederick, despite his double superiority in strength, Daun sought to bring the Russians under the first fire and draw them to him - deep into Silesia. But Saltykov, who had managed to "bite" his Austrian colleague, did not succumb to this "strategy", but decided after the Palzig victory to move on Frankfurt and threaten Berlin.

This movement of Saltykov equally alarmed both Friedrich and Daun. The Prussian king feared for his capital, the Austrian commander-in-chief did not want a victory won by the Russians alone without the participation of the Austrians (which could have important political consequences). Therefore, while Frederick was concentrating his army in the Berlin region, Daun, "carefully guarding" the weak Prussian barrier left against him, moved Laudon's corps to Frankfurt, ordering him to warn the Russians there and profit from the indemnity. This ingenious calculation did not materialize: the Franfort was already occupied by the Russians on July 19.

Having captured Frankfurt, Saltykov intended to move Rumyantsev with cavalry to Berlin, but the appearance of Friedrich there forced him to abandon this plan. In connection with Laudon, he had 58,000 men, with whom he took up a strong position at Kunersdorf.

Against the 50,000 Prussians of Friedrich in the Berlin region, three masses of allies concentrated in this way: from the east, 58,000 soldiers of Saltykov, 80 versts from Berlin; from the south 65,000 Daun, 150 versts; from the west, 30,000 imperials, 100 versts away, Frederick decided to get out of this unbearable situation by attacking with all his forces the most dangerous enemy, the enemy who advanced most forward, the most brave and skillful, moreover, who did not have the habit of evading battle, in short - the Russians.

Reiter of the Horse Regiment, 1742–1762 Colored engraving

On August 1, he fell upon Saltykov and in the fierce battle that took place at the Kunersdorf position - the famous "Franfort Battle" - was utterly defeated, losing two-thirds of his army and all artillery. Friedrich intended to bypass the Russian army from the rear, as under Zorndorf, but Saltykov was not a Farmer: he immediately turned the front around. The Russian army was heavily echeloned in depth on a relatively narrow front. Friedrich shot down the first two lines, capturing up to 70 guns, but his attack bogged down, and Seydlitz's cavalry died, untimely rushing to the undisrupted Russian infantry. Having launched a crushing counteroffensive to the front and flank, the Russians overturned Frederick's army, and Rumyantsev's cavalry completely finished off the Prussians, who fled wherever they could. Of the 48,000 people, the king failed to collect even a tenth immediately after the battle! The Prussians show their final damage at 20,000 in the battle itself and over 2,000 deserters when fleeing. In fact, their loss should be at least 30,000. We buried 7,627 Prussian corpses on the site, took over 4,500 prisoners, 29 banners and standards, and all 172 guns that were in the Prussian army. Russian damage - up to 13,500 people (a third of the troops): 2614 killed, 10,863 wounded. In the Austrian corps of Laudon, about 2,500 lost. In total, the Allies lost 16,000 people. The despair of Frederick II is best expressed in his letter to one of his childhood friends, written the next day: “From an army of 48,000, I don’t have even 3,000 left at this moment. Everything is running, and I no longer have power over the army ... In Berlin they will do well if they think about their safety. A cruel misfortune, I will not survive it. The consequences of the battle will be even worse than the battle itself: I have no more means, and, to tell the truth, I consider everything lost. I will not survive the loss of my fatherland. Farewell forever". The pursuit was short-lived; Saltykov had no more than 23,000 men left after the battle, and he could not reap the fruits of his brilliant victory.

Down, devoured by envy of Saltykov, did nothing on his part to relieve him, but with idle "advice" he only annoyed the Russian commander in chief.

Frederick II came to his senses after Kunersdorf, gave up thoughts of suicide and again assumed the title of commander in chief (which he resigned from himself in the evening of the "Franfort battle"); On August 18, near Berlin, Friedrich already had 33,000 people and he could calmly look at the future. Daun's inaction saved Prussia.

The Austrian commander-in-chief persuaded Saltykov to move to Silesia for a joint offensive against Berlin, but one raid by the Prussian hussars to the rear was enough for Daun's hasty retreat to his original position ... He did not prepare the promised allowance for the Russians.

The indignant Saltykov decided to act independently and headed for the Glogau fortress, but Friedrich, having foreseen his intention, moved parallel to Saltykov in order to warn him. Both had 24,000 soldiers each, and Saltykov decided not to get involved in the battle this time: he considered it inappropriate to risk these troops 500 miles from his base. Friedrich, remembering Kunersdorf, did not insist on a battle. On September 14, the opponents dispersed, and on the 19th, Saltykov retreated to winter quarters on the Varta River. The winner at Kunersdorf, who received the field marshal's baton, had the civic courage to prefer the interests of Russia to the interests of Austria and reject the demand of the Conference, which insisted on wintering in Silesia together with the Austrians and the outfit of 20-30 thousand Russian infantry in the Laudon corps. Having already arrived at the Warta, Saltykov, at the insistence of the Austrians, showed the appearance that he was returning to Prussia. By this, he saved the valiant Daun and his eighty thousandth army from the Prussian offensive, which the Caesar commander imagined.

Officer and Sergeant of the Life Company, 1742–1762 Colored engraving

The campaign of 1759 could decide the fate of the Seven Years' War, and with it the fate of Prussia. Fortunately for Frederick, he had opponents, in addition to the Russians, also the Austrians.

In the campaign of 1760, Saltykov planned to capture Danzig, Kolberg and Pomerania, and from there to act on Berlin. But the "home-grown Austrians" at their Conference decided otherwise and again sent the Russian army "on errands" to the Austrians in Silesia - the winners at Kunersdorf were all equated with the losers at Leuthen! At the same time, Saltykov was also instructed to "make an attempt" to master Kolberg - to act in two diametrically opposite operational directions. Saltykov's position was further complicated by the fact that the Austrians did not inform him of either Frederick's movements or their own. At the end of June, Saltykov, with 60,000 and a supply of provisions for 2 months, set out from Poznan and slowly moved towards Breslau, where, in the meantime, the Austrians of Laudon also headed. However, the Prussians forced Laudon to retreat from Breslau, and Frederick II, who arrived in Silesia, defeated him (August 4) at Liegnitz. Frederick II, with 30,000, arrived from Saxony on a forced march, having traveled 280 miles in 5 days (an army crossing - 56 miles). The Austrians demanded the transfer of Chernyshev's corps to the left bank of the Oder - into the mouth of the enemy, but Saltykov opposed this and retreated to Gernstadt, where the army stood until September 2. At the end of August, Saltykov fell dangerously ill and handed over his superiors to Farmer, who first tried to besiege Glogau, and then on September 10 withdrew the army near Crossen, deciding to act according to circumstances. The following fact perfectly characterizes the Farmer. Laudon asked for his help in the proposed siege of Glogau.

The farmer, who did not take a step without the permission of the Conference, notified St. Petersburg about this. While relations and relations were being written back and forth for 1,500 miles, Laudon changed his mind and decided not to besiege Glogau, but Kempen, about which he informed the Farmer. In the meantime, a rescript of the Conference was obtained, authorizing traffic on the Glogau. The farmer, a too well-disciplined commander, moved on Glogau, despite the fact that this movement, due to the changed situation, lost all meaning. Going to the fortress, the Farmer saw that it was impossible to take it without siege artillery. Chernyshev's corps, with Totleben's cavalry and Krasnoshchekov's Cossacks, totaling 23,000, half cavalry, was sent to raid Berlin.

Officer of the Musketeer Prince Wilhelm Regiment, 1762. Colorized engraving

Guards Grenadier Officer. Engraving

Oboe player, flute player and drummer of the Musketeer Regiment, 1756–1761 Colored engraving

The capture of the Kolberg fortress during the Seven Years' War. Artist A. Kotzebue

Flayer of the Life Guards of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, 1763–1786 Engraving

On September 23, Totleben attacked Berlin, but was repulsed, and on the 28th Berlin surrendered. In addition to 23,000 Russians, 14,000 Lassi Austrians participated in the raid on Berlin. The capital was defended by 14,000 Prussians, of whom 4,000 were taken prisoner. The mint, the arsenal were destroyed and the indemnity was taken. The Prussian "newspapers", who, as we have seen, wrote all sorts of libels and fables about Russia and the Russian army, were duly flogged. This event hardly made them special Russophiles, but it is one of the most comforting episodes in our history. After spending four days in the enemy's capital, Chernyshev and Totleben withdrew from there as Frederick approached. The raid had no important results.

When the impossibility of any productive cooperation with the Austrians became clear, the Conference returned to Saltykov's original plan and ordered Farmer to seize Kolberg in Pomerania. Busy with organizing a raid on Berlin, Farmer moved Olitz's division under Kolberg. The new commander-in-chief, Field Marshal Buturlin, who arrived in the army (Saltykov was still ill), lifted the siege of Kolberg in view of the late season and in October led the entire army to winter quarters along the Lower Vistula. The campaign of 1760 did not bring results ...

In 1761, following the example of a number of past campaigns, the Russian army was moved to Silesia to the Austrians.

From Thorn, she went on her usual way to Posen and Breslau, but at this last point she was forestalled by Frederick. Passing by Breslavl, Buturlin contacted Laudon. The entire campaign took place in marches and maneuvers. On the night of August 29, Buturlin decided to attack Frederick near Gochkirchen, but the Prussian king, not relying on his own strength, evaded the battle. In September, Frederick II moved to the messages of the Austrians, but the Russians, quickly connecting with these latter, prevented him and forced Frederick to retreat to the fortified camp at Bunzelwitz. Then Buturlin, reinforcing Laudon with Chernyshev's corps, withdrew to Pomerania. On September 21, Laudon took Schweidnitz by storm, with the Russians especially distinguished themselves, and soon after both sides took up winter quarters. During the assault on Schweidnitz, 2 Russian battalions were the first to climb the ramparts, then opened the gates to the Austrians and stood in perfect order with a gun at their feet on the ramparts, while at their feet the Austrians indulged in revelry and robbery. The Allies lost 1,400 men. 2600 Prussians surrendered with 240 guns, 1400 were killed.

Rumyantsev's corps, operating separately from the main army, approached Kolberg on August 5 and laid siege to it. The fortress turned out to be strong, and the siege, conducted with the help of the fleet, lasted four months, accompanied at the same time by actions against the Prussian partisans in the rear of the siege corps. Only Rumyantsev's indomitable energy made it possible to bring the siege to an end - the military council convened three times called for a retreat. Finally, on December 5, Kolberg surrendered, 5,000 prisoners, 20 banners, 173 guns were taken, and this was the last feat of the Russian army in the Seven Years' War.

The report on the surrender of Kolberg found Empress Elizabeth on her deathbed ... Emperor Peter III, who ascended the throne - an ardent admirer of Frederick - immediately stopped hostilities with Prussia, returned to her all the conquered areas (East Prussia was under Russian citizenship for 4 years) and ordered Chernyshev's corps to be under Prussian army. In the spring of the 1762 campaign, Chernyshev's corps raided Bohemia and regularly cut down yesterday's Austrian allies, for whom the Russians at all times - and then especially - had contempt. When in early July Chernyshev was ordered to return to Russia, where a coup had taken place at that time, Friedrich begged him to stay for another "three days" - until the battle, which he gave on July 10 at Burkersdorf. The Russians did not participate in this battle, but by their very presence they greatly frightened the Austrians, who still did not know anything about the events in St. Petersburg.

So sadly and unexpectedly ended for us the Seven Years' War, which glorified Russian weapons.

Officer of the Grenadier Prince Wilhelm Regiment, 1762. Colorized engraving

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Seven Years' War between Russia and Prussia in 1757-1760

After Russia joined the Treaty of Versailles on January 11, 1757, concluded on May 1, 1756 between Austria and France against England and Prussia, Sweden, Saxony and some small states of Germany joined the anti-Prussian coalition, strengthened at the expense of Russia.

The war, which began in 1754 in the colonial possessions of England and France in Canada, only in 1756 passed to Europe, when on May 28 the Prussian king Frederick II invaded Saxony with an army of 95 thousand people. Frederick defeated the Saxon and Austrian troops allied to them in two battles and occupied Silesia and part of Bohemia.

It should be noted that the foreign policy of Russia during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna was distinguished almost all the time by peacefulness and restraint. The war with Sweden that she inherited was completed in the summer of 1743 with the signing of the Abo peace treaty, and until 1757 Russia did not fight.

As for the Seven Years' War with Prussia, Russia's participation in it turned out to be an accident, fatally connected with the intrigues of international adventurer politicians, as already mentioned when it came to the furniture of Madame Pompadour and the tobacco trade of the Shuvalov brothers.

But now, after the victories won by Frederick II in Saxony and Silesia, Russia could not stand aside. She was obliged to do this by recklessly signed allied treaties with France and Austria and a real threat to her possessions in the Baltic states, since East Prussia was a border territory adjacent to the new Russian provinces.

In May 1757, the seventy-thousand-strong Russian army, under the command of Field Marshal Stepan Fedorovich Apraksin, one of the best Russian commanders of that time, moved to the banks of the Neman River bordering Prussia.

Already in August, the first major victory was won - at the village of Gross-Egersdorf, Russian troops defeated the corps of the Prussian Field Marshal Lewald.

However, instead of going to the nearby capital of East Prussia, Koenigsberg, Apraksin gave the order to return to the Baltic states, explaining this by a lack of food, heavy losses and illnesses among the troops. This maneuver gave rise to rumors in the army and in St. Petersburg about his betrayal and led to the fact that a new commander-in-chief was appointed in his place - a Russified Englishman, General-in-Chief, Count Vilim Vilimovich Fermor, who successfully commanded troops in the wars with Sweden, Turkey and in the latter war with Prussia.

Apraksin was ordered to go to Narva and wait for further orders. However, there were no orders, and instead, the “Grand State Inquisitor”, the head of the Secret Chancellery A. I. Shuvalov, came to Narva. It should be borne in mind that Apraksin was a friend of Chancellor Bestuzhev, and the Shuvalovs were his ardent enemies. The “Grand Inquisitor”, having arrived in Narva, immediately subjected the disgraced field marshal to a severe interrogation, concerning mainly his correspondence with Ekaterina and Bestuzhev.

Shuvalov had to prove that Catherine and Bestuzhev persuaded Apraksin to treason in order to alleviate the position of the Prussian king in every possible way. After interrogating Apraksin, Shuvalov arrested him and transported him to the Four Hands tract, not far from St. Petersburg.

Apraksin also denied any malicious intent in his retreat beyond the Neman and claimed that "he did not make any promises to the young court and did not receive any comments from him in favor of the Prussian king."

Nevertheless, he was accused of high treason, and everyone suspected of having a criminal connection with him was arrested and brought for interrogation to the Secret Chancellery.

On February 14, 1758, unexpectedly for everyone, Chancellor Bestuzhev was also arrested. He was first arrested and only then they began to look for: what to accuse him of? It was difficult to do this, because Bestuzhev was an honest man and a patriot, and then he was credited with "the crime of insulting Majesty and for the fact that he, Bestuzhev, tried to sow discord between Her Imperial Majesty and Their Imperial Highnesses."

The case ended with Bestuzhev being expelled from St. Petersburg to one of his villages, but during the investigation, suspicions fell on Catherine, the jeweler Bernardi, Poniatovsky, the former favorite of Elizaveta Petrovna, Lieutenant General Beketov, teacher Ekaterina Adodurov. All these people were associated with Catherine, Bestuzhev and the English envoy Williams. Of all of them, only Catherine, as the Grand Duchess, and Poniatowski, as a foreign ambassador, could feel relatively calm if it were not for their secret intimate relationship and a highly secret relationship with Chancellor Bestuzhev, which could easily be regarded as an anti-government conspiracy. The fact is that Bestuzhev drew up a plan according to which, as soon as Elizaveta Petrovna dies, Pyotr Fedorovich will become emperor by right, and Catherine will be co-ruler. For himself, Bestuzhev provided for a special status that endowed him with power no less than that of Menshikov under Catherine I. Bestuzhev claimed chairmanship of the three most important boards - Foreign, Military and Admiralty. In addition, he wanted to have the rank of lieutenant colonel in all four Life Guards regiments - Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky, Izmailovsky and Konnom. Bestuzhev outlined his thoughts in the form of a manifesto and sent it to Catherine.

Fortunately for himself and for Ekaterina, Bestuzhev managed to burn the manifesto and all the drafts, and thus deprived the investigators of the most serious evidence of treason. Moreover, through one of her most devoted servants, the valet Vasily Grigorievich Shkurin (remember the name of this man, soon, dear reader, you will meet him again in more than extraordinary circumstances), Catherine learned that the papers were burned and she had nothing to fear.

Nevertheless, the suspicion remained, and Elizaveta Petrovna, through the efforts of the Shuvalov brothers, Peter and Alexander, was notified of the Bestuzhev-Ekaterina alliance. The impulsive and unbalanced empress decided, at least outwardly, to show her displeasure with Catherine and stopped receiving her, which led to a chill in her and a significant part of the “big court”.

And Stanislav-August remained as before the lover of the Grand Duchess, and there are many reasons to believe that in March 1758, Catherine became pregnant again from him and on December 9 she gave birth to a daughter named Anna. The girl was taken to the chambers of Elizabeth Petrovna immediately after birth, and then everything happened, as it had four years ago, when her first-born, Pavel, was born: balls and fireworks began in the city, and Catherine was again left alone. True, this time at her bedside were court ladies close to her - Maria Alexandrovna Izmailova, Anna Nikitichna Naryshkina, Natalia Alexandrovna Senyavina and the only man - Stanislav-August Poniatovsky.

Anna Naryshkina, nee Countess Rumyantseva, was married to Chief Marshal Alexander Naryshkin, and Izmailova and Senyavina were nee Naryshkins, sisters of the Chamberlain and Catherine's trusted confidantes. In Notes, Ekaterina reports that this company gathered in secret, that the Naryshkins and Poniatowski hid behind the screens as soon as there was a knock on the door, and in addition, Stanislav-August went to the palace, calling himself a musician of the Grand Duke. The fact that Poniatowski was the only man who ended up at the bedside of Catherine after giving birth looks like quite eloquent evidence confirming the version of his paternity.

In her Notes, Catherine cites a curious episode that took place shortly before the birth in September 1758: “Since I became heavy from my pregnancy, I no longer appeared in society, believing that I was closer to childbirth than I actually was. . It was boring for the Grand Duke ... Therefore, His Imperial Highness was angry with my pregnancy and decided to say one day at home, in the presence of Lev Naryshkin and some others: “God knows where my wife gets her pregnancy from, I don’t know too much, my Is it a child and should I take him personally?

And yet, when the girl was born, Pyotr Fedorovich was glad of what had happened. Firstly, the child was named exactly the same as the name of his late mother - the sister of the Empress - Anna Petrovna. Secondly, Pyotr Fedorovich received, as the father of a newborn, 60,000 rubles, which, of course, were more than necessary for him.

The girl did not live very long and died on March 8, 1759. For some reason, she was buried not in the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which since 1725 became the burial place of the Romanov dynasty, but in the Church of the Annunciation of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. And this circumstance also did not escape contemporaries, leading them to think about whether Anna Petrovna was the legitimate royal daughter?

And the events outside the walls of the imperial palaces went on as usual. On January 11, 1758, the troops of Vilim Fermor occupied the capital of East Prussia - Koenigsberg.

This was followed on August 14 by a bloody and stubborn battle at Zorndorf, in which the opponents lost only about thirty thousand people killed. Catherine wrote that more than a thousand Russian officers were killed in the battle near Zorndorf. Many of the dead had previously lodged or lived in St. Petersburg, and therefore the news of the Zorndorf massacre caused sorrow and despondency in the city, but the war continued, and so far there was no end in sight. Ekaterina was worried along with everyone. Pyotr Fedorovich felt and behaved quite differently.

Meanwhile, on August 6, 1758, without waiting for the trial, S.F. Apraksin suddenly died. He died of heart failure, but rumors about a violent death immediately spread throughout St. Petersburg - after all, he died in captivity. The supporters of this version were even more convinced that the field marshal was buried without any honors, hastily and secretly from everyone at the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Apraksin died of heart failure, but why the paralysis occurred, one could only guess. An indirect recognition of Apraksin's innocence was that all those involved in the investigation into the Bestuzhev case - and it arose after Apraksin's arrest - were either demoted or deported from St. Petersburg to their villages, but no one was punished.

Catherine remained in disfavor with the Empress for some time, but after she asked to be released to Zerbst, to her parents, so as not to experience humiliation and insulting suspicions for her, Elizaveta Petrovna changed her anger to mercy and restored her former relationship with her daughter-in-law.

And in the theater of operations, success was replaced by failure, and, as a result, the commanders-in-chief also changed: Fermor was replaced in June 1759 by field marshal Count Pyotr Semenovich Saltykov, and in September 1760 another field marshal appeared, Count Alexander Borisovich Buturlin. The favorite of the empress flashed with fleeting luck - he occupied Berlin without a fight, the small garrison of which left the city at the approach of the Russian cavalry detachment.

However, after three days, the Russians also hastily retreated, having learned about the approach to the capital of Prussia of the superior forces of Frederick II. "Sabotage" on Berlin did not change anything during the war. And the decisive factor for its outcome was not a military campaign, but the coming to power in England of a new government that refused Prussia further monetary subsidies.

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