For the Want of a King TL

For the Want of a King TL: Prussia loses the War of Austrian Succession

Part 1: The War of Austrian Succession 1740-2:
The War of Austrian Succession began in 1740 as Prussia objected to the Pragmatic Sanction and the succession of Maria Theresa. Austria was supported by the naval powers of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic. The first action of the war was the Prussian invasion of Silesia.
The Prussian forces swiftly advanced across Silesia and by winter had occupied the majority of the Silesian fortresses. The Austrian counter-offensive under General Wilhelm Reinhard von Neipperg relieved the siege of Neisse and marched on Brieg threatening to encircle the Prussians and cut them off from their homeland. On the 10th April 1741 the Prussian forces under Frederick II met the Austrians at the snow covered fields of Mollwitz. However, all did not go as planned. The Austrians had succeeded in capturing some of Prussia’s scouts, who gave away the Prussian position. This allowed Neipperg to draw up the Austrian forces to fight the Prussians head on. The Austrian cavalry charge decimated their Prussian counterparts and captured Frederick II. Unaware of his King’s capture General von Schwerin attempted to hold the Prussian infantry line against the General Rommer’s cavalry. They succeeded in driving the cavalry back, but suffered heavy losses which were increased by the Austrian artillery. Neipperg then ordered the Austrian infantry to advance, the Prussian infantry surrounded by the Austrians and suffering heavy losses surrendered after Schwerin was killed by an Austrian shell. The Battle of Mollwitz had ended in a resounding Austrian victory. The capture of Frederick II and death of the Prussian Chief of Staff von Schwerin would result in the defeat of the Prussian Silesia Campaign.
The Austrian forces have suffered 5300 men dead, but had destroyed the Prussian army and captured their king. After reinforcements arrived from Bohemia (freed up by the lack of France forces in Bavaria unlike OTL) Neipperg mopped up the remaining Prussian garrisons who were heavily demoralised by the capture of their king. Frederick William II had been appointed regent, but did not inspire confidence among the troops in their current state. Thus 2 of the garrisons surrendered with a fight.
Under the Treaty of Vienna:
1. The Prussian territories in western Germany are partitioned between Austria, Hanover and the Palatine. Austria received Prussian Guelders, the Palatinate received Cleves and Mark and Hanover received Ravensburg and Minden. (In exchange for Cleves and Mark, the Palatine agrees to vote for Maria Theresa/ her husband in the upcoming imperial election.)
2. Saxony awarded a strip of land to connect Saxony with Poland.
3. Prussia forced to vote for Maria Theresa/husband in the imperial election.
France was left regretting its decision to join Prussia against Austria, Germany was now dominated by Austria, who were also allied with a long time French enemy the British. What would happen next? Only time would tell.

Interlude 1: Military and Economic Reform 1743- 1747
Following the Treaty of Vienna Maria Theresa was left with a victorious but vulnerable empire. Since 1733 Austria had lost all its Italian possessions (except Lombardy and Tuscany), all land south of the Danube (including the fortresses of Orsova and Belgrade) had been ceded to the Ottomans and Silesia had almost been lost to a minor power. This series of losses and the near loss of the nation'd most economically advanced province spurred Maria Theresa into action.. She needed to create an adequate economic basis to underpin her nation's status as a great power. Her Secretary of the State Conference Bartenstein realized that the key issue was the unwillingness and inability of the Estates to provide adequately for the payment and supplies of the army. This was due to the Estates being principally concerned with minimizing the burden on their province. In response Maria Theresa decided to raise the subsidy demanded from each province to the level required to support a standing army of 108,000. This additional burden was to be met by taxing seigniorial land, which had previously been exempt from taxation. This plan was met with resistance from the nobility, particularly the Supreme Chancellor Count Friedrich Harrach, who attempted to get the power of the Estates increased in return for the demanded subsidy. However, such plans were rejected.
Count Friedrich Haugwitz, along with Bartenstein and the Cabinet Secretary Koch, was the chief architect of the reforms and almost single-handedly steered them through the State Conference and the Estates. His principal argument was that the ease that Prussia had occupied Silesia, showed that any of the old enemies of Austria could do the same and not be driven out again. He demonstrated the need to tax seigniorial land by reference to the 'self-evident' inability of the peasantry to pay any more than they were already paying. He also reinforced these arguments with the invocation of a general principle of equity. "As it is self-evident that the resources of the peasants do not suffice without the addition of the seigniorial land, which is normally exempt from taxation, to defray the cost of the defence required for the security of the Crown and of the privileges of the Estates, both God-pleasing justice and natural equity demand that the nobility should contribute to this necessary defence in proportion to the full extent of their resources."

Interlude 2: The Ohio Valley Indian War 1741-1746
In 1741 British and French colonial tensions flared up in the Americas. A Native American attack on a British outpost had gone badly and several Indians were captured, as they were searched French made gear was found on them. The British Governor (OOC: not sure if there were governors at this point, please point out if there weren’t) accused the French of arming the Native Americans and inciting them to attack British outposts. Understandably the French were not happy and denied all accusations. However Native American attacks continued and more French-made gear was discovered. Anti-French and Anti-Native American sentiment grew among colonials and some began to attack Native Americans within the French claims in the Ohio River Valley. As tensions escalated, Britain, began a guerrilla campaign using their Native American allies. They clearly hadn’t learnt from France’s attempt at this and armed the Native Americans with British guns. Just like the British had done before hand, the French discovered British guns on Native American attacks. This obvious anti-French move further antagonised the French and on 2nd November 1742. France declared war on Britain, officially over the Ohio River Valley dispute. Because of this the war was sorely fought in the Americas. Britain’s first move was to invade French Canada and attempt to capture Loiusbourg and Quebec. The French meanwhile were gathering a force to invade the Thirteen Colonies and seize Halifax, Boston and the rest of the colony. The British army, under the command of General Forbes, entered French Canada, defeating a small French army on the border and marching towards Louisbourg. The French army seized British outposts in Ohio and assumed total control of the Ohio valley area. By this point, however, each nation had realised that that they were being invaded. The French army (which was smaller, 14 000 men, compared to 20 000 men in the British force) continued its invasion in an attempt to gain more than the British and hold a stronger negotiating positon, whilst the British army split into 2 armies numbering 10 000 each. One under Forbes pressed on towards Louisbourg, the other turned around and marched back where they had come from to fight the French. Despite this the British army reached and besieged the fort of Louisbourg, before capturing it on the 22nd December, before famously holding a Christmas banquet in the courtyard that would become known as the Louisbourg Christmas. The French forces captured Fort Necessity and were marching north to Philadelphia. The British army of 10 000 met the French army of 12 000 (2 000 men having been lost or assigned to garrison captured forts). The British were routed following several mistakes by their in-experienced commander, but managed to inflict massive losses on the French army, leaving a French army of 7 000 and a tiny British force of 2 500. The city surrendered 3 days later on the 12th January. Britain offered a status quo ante bellum peace treaty to the French, but it was rejected the French counter-offered with a treaty which would end British claims over the Ohio River Valley. Britain rejected this treaty, however, and the war eventually just ended with a white peace on the 3rd April 1745. The war didn’t officially end until May 1746 when the various Native American tribes that were being influenced by France and Britain finally agreed to a truce.

Part 2: War of Sardinian Succession 1750-1756:

The War of Sardinian Succession, known as The Empress’ War in Austria, the Italian War in Italy, the European War in the Americas and as the Franco-British War in India, began with the invasion of Genoa by Sardinia. Most modern historians agree that it would have remained a regional conflict had it not been for the death of Charles Emmanuel III in battle near Voltri, Genoa and Maria Theresa’s subsequent power play. Following Charles Emmanuel III’s death he was succeeded by his son Victor Amadeus III, who was viewed by many as a weak man. Maria Theresa attempted to take advantage of this and have his younger brother Prince Benedetto, who was betrothed to Maria Anna (note: This marriage occurred because she was rejected as a potential wife by most kings because of a spine deformity, it also did not occur IOTL). Some members of the Savoyard nobility supported this idea in the hope of an alliance with Austria, but the king did not. The French then offered their support for Victor Amadeus III if he rejected Maria Theresa’s demands. Low and behold he swiftly did so, in response Austria declared war on Sardinia and sent an army under Field-Marshal Ludwig Khevenhüller to invade Sardinia. France then declared war on Austria, who promptly called the Grand Alliance into action (a recently signed treaty between Britain, Prussia and Austria) bringing the might of two great powers and one minor power on France. France roped Spain into the war on their side shortly afterwards. A British army under General James Wolfe marched from Hanover to assist in the defence of the Austrian Netherlands. Meanwhile in North America another British army under General John Forbes marched towards Louisbourg and another invaded Spanish Florida. France, then agreed an alliance with Saxony-Poland who then invaded Austria. For the next 2 years (from 1751-1753) France and her allies would dominate the war, occupying Hanover, British Canada, the Austrian Netherlands and East Prussia. Bavaria was forced/convinced to enter the war in 1752 on the French side. However a decisive battle at Leuthen, following the Saxon-Polish-Lithuanian (but the force is predominately made up of Saxon forces) invasion of Silesia resulted in the crushing defeat of the Saxon army. A dual-pronged Austrian counter-attack, wiped out the Bavarians at the Battle of Munich and the Saxons at the Battle of Dresden. A Prussian attack then smashed through West Prussia and recaptured East Prussia following the Battle of Konigsberg. Saxony-Poland and Bavaria surrendered on the 3rd March 1755 allowing Austria to turn on France. However, in North America the French had defeated the British invasion at Louisbourg and had now invaded the 13 Colonies and British Canada. British Canada was swiftly occupied, but the 13 Colonies put up more of a fight. Despite this Spanish Florida had been occupied. In India, meanwhile the French-backed Hyderabadi forces were scoring victory after victory against the British-backed Maratha Empire and a French force was massing to invade Bombay from the south. This brought Austria and Britain to the negotiating table and France was happy to agree to a peace. The Treaty of Voltri was as follows:
-Austria renounces all claims on Sardinian throne and allows creation of North Italian League (including Genoa, Parma, Modena and Lucca).
-Britain gains Spanish Florida.
-France gains British Canada.
-Territory in south of the Maratha Empire ceded to Hyderabad.
-British control in North India confirmed as is French control in the south.
-All other borders reverted to pre-war borders.
Despite their gains the French were unhappy with the Treaty of Voltri and it was clear that another great war was brewing, a war of French aggression.

Interlude 3: The Great Movement 1757-1759
Following the French ‘defeat’ of sorts (they were angry at their small gains), in the War of Sardinian Succession unrest began to grow in France, they had been fought to a standstill in America in 1745 and had now lost (largely) the war in Europe. The gains in the Americas and of their allies in India did next to nothing to improve the public mood. Thus in 1757 riots broke out in Paris, Toulouse and other cities across the nation, aggravated in part by the great French thinkers, such as François-Marie Arouet (known by his pen name Voltaire) and Gui-Jean-Baptiste Target. However the riots were swiftly crushed the army. The riots, however, had a lasting effect on the country. Louis XV, further restricted free speech and implemented total censorship on written works. This lead to, what became known as, the Great Movement. Many of the French thinkers and writers left the country, some such as Voltaire moved to Louisiana, others moved to New Spain and some more moved to Austria.

Part 3: Third War of Polish Succession 1765-1771:
Augustus III of Poland died in 1764, leaving behind a unorganised nation, crippled by internal unrest. Empress Catherine of Russia now made moves towards the annexation/partitioning of Poland. However, Maria Theresa had other plans for Poland. She determined to support Fürst Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski for the position of king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Fürst Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski went on to win the election with Austrian support in 1765. Russia was not happy and began to stir up a rebellion in Podolia. This would gone on to be known as the Podolian Revolutionary War, and would become one of the most significant parts of the Third War of Polish Succession. Adam I called on Austrian aid and in late 1765 Austrian forces entered Podolia to quell the rebellion. The Austrian-Polish army met the Podolian rebels outside Lwow, the battle ended in a Austrian-Polish victory. The poorly armed rebels were routed and the rebellion was subdued. The crisis seemed to be over, until Catherine decided to resort to war. A Russia army under feared general Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky marched into Podolia under the pretence of restoring order to the province. This blatant lie allowed Austria to call the Grand Alliance in to action for the second time. Prussian troops marched into Poland to help shore up Polish defences and the British sent naval forces to attack Russian ports in the Black Sea. The Austrian-Polish army met the Russians at Lwow, where they had set up a garrison. The Austrian-Polish forces were routed by the Russians and Podolia and everywhere east of it was occupied by the Russians. At this point the Russians called upon their French allies to occupy the Austrians in Germany, to allow the Russians to crush Poland. The French subsequently invaded the Austrian Netherlands under Louis Philippe d'Orléans and defeated an Austrian army near Brussels. The Austrians retreated into British Hannover, leaving the Netherlands under French control. At the dawn of 1766 the Franco-Russian Alliance was dominant.

To be continued...