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Before the war
Britain tried to prevent the war from spreading and to isolate France diplomatically. -
Frederick the Great finding a ally
Frederick was in desperate need of an ally and successfully made an alliance with Britain for the protection of Hanover. -
the beginning
Fredrick the great decided to strike first before his enemies were prepared, invading Saxony on August 29, 1756 and absorbing its army into his own that winter. Frederick defeated an Austrian army coming to the Saxons' relief at Lobositz in October, but Saxon resistance forced Frederick to delay his planned invasion of Bohemia until next year. -
Frederick taking over
The French advanced into Germany, with one army advancing against Hanover and another toward Saxony. Frederick defeated it with an army half its size at Rossbach on November 5th. In December, the French advanced again, pushing Ferdinand back to Luneberg and taking Harburg on the 30th. -
Attacks the French
The Russians advanced to the Oder River, threatening Berlin, the heart of Prussia. Frederick moved north, evading the Austrians, and struck the Russians at Zorndorf on August 25th, winning a costly victory. For 1758, British troops were sent on diversionary attacks on the French coast, which were thought by Pitt and Frederick to divert troops away from Germany. -
The Attack of the Russians
The Austrians moved against and conquered Silesia but denied Frederick the chance for decisive battle. The Russians were approaching Frankfurt on the Oder River, and Frederick moved up from Silesia to confront them. Frederick tried another of his famous flank attacks, but rough terrain hampered the effort and he was badly beaten at Kunersdorf, losing 19,000 of his nearly 50,000 men. The armies of Russia and Austria now combined, and Austria's army of the Holy Roman Empire retook Dresden, th -
Victory over Austrians
Frederick had a difficult year, with pressure in both Silesia and Saxony. Frederick defeated an attack on his marching army by the Austrians at Liegnitz on August 15th. He then maneuvered the Russians out of Silesia, and ended plans of Russian and Austrian cooperation. Although Berlin was briefly taken, Frederick won a costly victory over the Austrians at Torgau, forcing them to retreat from Saxony. -
war in america OVER......YAH
The year's campaign involved mopping up French resistance, culminating in the surrender of French forces in Montreal in September 1760. This ended the war in America. -
Captured St. David
The French had captured Fort St. David in 1758 and besieged Madras in 1759. The French force, under Lally, was however defeated at Masulipatam in 1759 and at Wandewash in 1760 and all French territory was captured by 1761. -
Prussia gaining power
Frederick was unable to prevent the junction of the Austrians and Russians in Silesia, and took up a strong position at Bunzelwitz which the allies would not attack. Meanwhile, the Austrians made progress in Saxony while the Russians took Colberg on the Baltic, which greatly increased the threat to Prussia. -
Spain enters war
France convinced Spain to enter the war to regain enough naval power to once again attempt an invasion of England. -
Invasion by Spain
With the loss of Havana, Spain lost three ships of the line sunk, nine captured, and two being built, which amounted to roughly 20% of the Spanish navy. More importantly, this blocked Spain's vital trade and treasure network which financed their war effort. Spain invaded Britain's ally Portugal in the hopes of gaining a bargaining chip at the peace talks. They hoped to divert troops from Britain in preparation for the foiled desperate invasion attempt. Britain shifted troops from Belleisle t -
PEACE
Russia made peace with Prussia and even supplied Frederick with troops. -
WAR IS OVER
Austria was left on its own against Frederick, as Sweden had also exited the war. Peace was made, with Frederick retaining Silesia. France and Spain also came to unfavorable terms, ending the seven plus years of war in 1763. -
Victory
Britain conquered Canada. The American colonists no longer needed protection from Britain, and the attempt by Parliament to tax the colonists to help pay for the war sparked the American Revolution.
