Maria Theresa - War of The Austrian Succession

War of The Austrian Succession

Immediately after her accession, a number of European sovereigns who had recognised Maria Theresa as heiress broke their promises; Queen Elisabeth of Spain and Elector Charles Albert of Bavaria, married to Maria Theresa's deprived cousin Maria Amalia and supported by Empress Wilhelmine Amalia, wanted portions of her inheritance. Maria Theresa secured the recognition of King Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, who hadn't accepted the Pragmatic Sanction during her father's lifetime, in November 1740.

In December, King Frederick II of Prussia invaded the Duchy of Silesia and requested that Maria Theresa cede it, threatening to join her enemies if she refused. Maria Theresa decided to fight for the mineral-rich province. Frederick even offered a compromise: he would defend Maria Theresa's rights if she agreed to cede him at least a part of Silesia. Francis Stephen was inclined to consider such an arrangement, but the Queen and her advisers were not, fearing that any violation of the Pragmatic Sanction would invalidate the entire document. Maria Theresa's firmness soon assured Francis Stephen that they should fight for Silesia and she was confident that she would retain "the jewel of the House of Austria". The invasion of Silesia by Frederick was the start of a lifelong enmity; she referred to him as "that evil man".

As Austria was short of experienced military commanders, Maria Theresa released Marshall Neipperg, who had been imprisoned by her father for his poor performance in the Turkish War. Neipperg took command of the Austrian troops in March. The Austrians suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Mollwitz in April 1741. France drew up a plan to partition Austria between Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony and Spain. Marshall Belle-Isle joined Frederick at Olmütz. Vienna was in a panic, as none of Maria Theresa's advisors expected France to betray them. Francis Stephen urged Maria Theresa to reach a rapprochement with Prussia, as did Great Britain. Maria Theresa reluctantly agreed to negotiations.

Contrary to all expectations, a significant amount of support for the young Queen came from Hungary. Her coronation as King of Hungary took place in St. Martin's Cathedral, Pressburg (Bratislava) on 25 June 1741 after she had spent months honing the equestrian skills necessary for the ceremony and negotiating with the Diet. By July, attempts at conciliation had completely collapsed. Maria Theresa's ally, the Elector of Saxony, now became her enemy and George II declared the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg to be neutral. The Queen was once again in need of help from Hungary. In order to obtain it, she granted favours to the Hungarian noblemen and flattered them without conceding to all of their demands. She had already won their support when she appeared in Pressburg in September 1741, hoping to persuade the Diet to call a mass conscription and recognise Francis Stephen as co-ruler. Upon achieving both goals, she showed her gift for theatrical displays by triumphantly holding her son and heir, Joseph, before the Diet, thereby gaining sympathy of the noblemen.

In 1741, the Austrian authorities informed Maria Theresa that Bohemian populace would prefer Charles Albert to her as sovereign. Maria Theresa, desperate and burdened by pregnancy, wrote plaintively to her sister: "I don't know if a town will remain to me for my delivery." She bitterly vowed to spare nothing and no one to defend her kingdom when she wrote to the Bohemian chancellor, Count Philip Kinsky: "My mind is made up. We must put everything at stake to save Bohemia." On 26 October, the Elector of Bavaria captured Prague and declared himself King of Bohemia. Maria Theresa, then in Hungary, wept on learning of the loss of Bohemia. Charles Albert was unanimously elected Holy Roman Emperor on 24 January 1742. The Archduchess, who regarded the election as a catastrophe, caught her enemies unprepared by insisting on a winter campaign; the same day he was elected emperor, Austrian troops under Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller captured Munich, Charles Albert's capital.

The Treaty of Breslau of June 1742 ended hostilities between Austria and Prussia. The Archduchess soon made the recovery of Bohemia her priority. French troops fled Bohemia in the winter of the same year. On 12 May 1743, Maria Theresa had herself crowned Queen of Bohemia in St. Vitus Cathedral.

Prussia became anxious at Austrian advances on the Rhine frontier, and Frederick sacked Prague in August 1744. The French plans fell apart when Charles Albert died in January 1745. The French overran the Austrian Netherlands in May.

Francis Stephen was elected Holy Roman Emperor on 13 September 1745. Prussia recognised Francis as emperor, and Maria Theresa once again recognised the loss of Silesia by the Treaty of Breslau in December 1745. The war dragged on for another three years, with fighting in northern Italy and the Austrian Netherlands. The Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle, which concluded the eight-year conflict, recognised Prussia's possession of Silesia and Maria Theresa ceded the Duchy of Parma to Philip of Spain.