Alliance and Conflict
Maria Theresa, heir to the Hapsburg line, had taken control of the Austrian throne. This angered many who thought they had genealogical rights to the crown. Seizing on this, Prussian forces invaded the Silesian region of Austria, doubling the country's size.
After Prussian forces had secured the bulk of Silesia from Austria in 1740, an alliance between France and Prussia was established the following year to destroy the Habsburg control of the Germanic states. Joined by the Elector of Bavaria, the alliance soon marched into Austria to carry out its task.
French and Bavarian forces joined at the Danube and advanced in a three-pronged attack on Prague. The Austrian forces offered little resistance. Count Neipperg, who commanded the Austrian forces in Silesia made a secret agreement with Frederick II, King of Prussia, to abandon his fortress in Neisse and mobilize his troops elsewhere. The Hungarians joined the Austrian forces after an insurrection and were assembled with fresh forces in Vienna. Field Marshal Khevenhuller organized an offensive against Franco-Bavarian forces in Bohemia and on the Danube.
On November 26, 1741, French forces stormed Prague. The Austrians moved too slowly to save the fortress and the city fell to the alliance. The Elector of Bavaria claimed himself as Archduke of Austria and was crowned King of Bohemia on December 9. Austrian forces could perform nothing but small skirmishes in Bohemia, but on the Danube, Khevenhuller drove back the allies on December 27 and pushed them all the way to Bavaria. Munich surrendered the following month.
As the initial campaign of the allies came to a close, the French maintained its grip on Bohemia, while Austria controlled Bavaria. Meanwhile, Frederick II held tight his hold on Silesia.
The Campaigns of 1742
Revealing the truce that had taken place in Silesia and moved by the victories of 1741 and the insurrection of Hungary, Maria Theresa moved to compromise Frederick II position with his allies. However, Prussian forces had used the relatively inactive events for itself in 1741 to reorganize its army, specifically its cavalry.
The Elector of Bavaria, who now claimed himself Emperor Charles VII, requested that Prussian forces invade Moravia. During this operation in January, the French and Prussian troops were joined by the Saxon army with the goal of capturing Olomouc, Glatz and Linz. Unfortunately for the allies, Linz was held and their forces were weakened by the Bavarians choosing to depart for an offensive against Khevenhuller's army. The Saxons joined Frederick II's army for a march towards Jihlave just as a large force of Austrians under Prince Charles of Lorrained was assembled in front of them.
Frederick II chose to reverse course and drive southwards into Znojmo and Mikulov. Prince Charles took the opportunity to cut the Prussians off from Silesia. The Hungarians attacked Upper Silesia, while Prince Charles forces moved southward. The Saxons, recognizing the situation, chose to withdraw from Frederick II's army and marched to their own country. The Prussians fell back to Bohemia to consolidate their position. Glatz surrendered to the French, opening up a large front of Prussian forces stationed in Bohemia and parts of Silesia and French forces in Glatz. The remaining Prussian forces in Moravia pulled back to Silesia as well.
On May 17, the forces of Prince Charles and Frederick II finally met at the Battle of Chotusitz. The armies were evenly matched with Austrian forces numbering near 23,500 while Prussians were near 28,000. After hours of pitched fighting, Frederick II launched his cavalry in a desperate attempt to break the stalemate. The Prussian cavalry was nearly decimated but broke the Austrian line. In the end, 7,000 troops lie dead on each side and the Austrians were forced to surrender 12,000 troops and 18 guns.
In the aftermath of the conflict, Maria Theresa was forced to cede Silesia to Prussia in order to consolidate her forces elsewhere. A peace treaty between Austria and Prussia was signed on June 11. The treaty marked the end of the opening conflict of the War of the Austrian Succession, a conflict that would continue for years and spread to the whole of Europe.
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