The Seven Years' War, 1754–1763, spanned four continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, and India and the Philippines, in Asia.

The conflict split Europe into two coalitions: Kingdom of Great Britain, Prussia, Portugal, Hanover, and other small German states on one side versus the Kingdom of France, Austria-led Holy Roman Empire, Russia, Spain, several small German states, and Sweden on the other. The coalitions represented a "revolution" in diplomatic alliances, reflected in the Diplomatic Revolution. Ultimately, the victory of the Anglo-Prussian coalition undercut the balance of power in Europe, a balance that was not reestablished until 1815.

Situation

Although Anglo-French skirmishes over their American colonies had already begun in 1754, the seven year long large-scale war that drew in most of the European powers was centered on Austria's desire to recover Silesia, which it had lost in 1747 to Prussia under Frederick the Great's takeover. In India, the Mughal Empire, with the encouragement of the French, tried to crush a British attempt to conquer Bengal: these are known as the Third Carnatic War.

In the European theater, seeing the opportunity to curtail Britain's and Prussia's ever-growing power, France and Austria put aside their ancient rivalry to form a coalition of their own. Britain faced with this sudden turn of events aligned herself with Prussia This alliance drew in not only the British king's territories in personal union by marriage, including Hanover, but also those of his relatives in the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg and the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. This series of political maneuvers became known as the Diplomatic Revolution.[1]

In the Americas, the same coalitions prevailed but each side added a First Nation "Indian" partner. Abenaki, an Algonquin speaking tribe, joined with the French. The Iroquois, or Five Nations, joined with the British. To both sides, the war in North America particularly proved expensive. The Iroquois, who lived predominantly in lands controlled by the French, wrought havoc on the European trade routes and settlements of France. The Abenaki, who were also known as "People of the Dawn", lived in, or had been displaced by, English settlers in the Atlantic colonies, thus they antagonized British trade and activities. In the West Indies, the British and Spanish fought for control of key points in the Caribbean trade routes, particularly the Windward Passage and Havana. In West Africa, the British effort was to oust France from its colonies in Gorée, Senegal, and Gambia.

After seven years of exhaustive and expensive fighting (nine in North America), the Anglo-Prussian coalition prevailed. The war marked the rise of Britain as the world's predominant power; it also destroyed France's land supremacy in Europe, and Prussia, due to Frederick the Great's military prowess, established itself as a dominant land-power in Europe. The Austrian Habsburgs lost permanently their territories in Silesia to Prussia. This altered the European balance of power.[2]

TheaterAbbreviationLocation
Baltic BAL Area bordering on the Baltic sea, principally disputed between Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Poland-Lithuania and Prussia
Hereditary Habsburg lands HHL Lands previously part of the Habsburg inheritance but lost to Prussia in the War of Austrian Succession
French-British coast FBC Attempted invasions of France and Britain, and naval battles in the coastal areas.
Central Europe CE Portions of the Holy Roman Empire upon which combat occurred (such as Saxony, Prussia, Hannover)
Rhineland RH Western portions of the Holy Roman Empire under contest.
North America NA British colonies in North America, unsettled lands to the Mississippi River, and portions of Canada
Iberia IB Predominantly coastal cities and fortresses in Portugal, Spain, and Malta.
West Africa WA French forts on the coast of Senegal
Indian Subcontinent IS India, Bengal, Carnatic, and Indian Ocean battles, fought between French and British East India Company

Battles

Name Theater Date Year Combatant Combatant2 State/Location of Action Outcome
Siege of Pirna CE 11 September – 14 October 1756 Prussia Austria Saxony Siege and blockage of Saxon army began in early September and ended with surrender of the Saxon Army on 14 October to Hans Karl von Winterfeldt
Battle of Lobositz CE 1 October 1756 Prussia Austria Saxony Prussian tactical victory; Austrian strategic victory. Prussians won the battle but Austrians forced them to retreat.
Battle of Reichenberg CE 20 April 1757 Prussia Austria Saxony Prussian victory
Battle of Prague (1757) HHL 5 May 1757 Prussia Austria Saxony Prussian victory
Battle of Prague (1757) (conclusion) HHL 20 June 1757 Prussia Austria Saxony
Battle of Kolín HHL 18 June 1757 Prussia Austria Bohemia Austrian victory; Frederick's first defeat in this war forced him to abandon a march on Vienna, raise his siege of Prague, and fall back on Litoměřice/Leitmeritz.
Battle of Hastenbeck RH 26 July 1757 Hanover
Britain
Hesse-Cassel
Brunswick
France Hanover French victory; Convention of Klosterzeven signed and Hanover occupied by France; treaty later dismissed after Prussian victory at Rossbach; French withdraw from Hanover in early 1758
Battle of Rossbach HRE 5 November 1757 Prussia France
Austria
Saxony-Anhalt Prussian victory over the largely French army
Siege of Olomouc (start) HHL 1 May 1758 Prussia Austria Bohemia Austrian victory
Siege of Olomouc (conclusion) HHL 2 July 1758 Prussia Austria Bohemia Austrian victory
Battle of Domstadtl HHL 30 June 1758 Prussia Austria Bohemia Austrian victory
Capture of Senegal WA April-May 1758 BritainLocal Wolof Militias France Saint-Louis, Senegal - British victory.

- British successfully convince the local Wolof people to take up arms against the French. - French garrison of Fort Saint Louis taken by surprise.

- French administrators surrendered the colony to the British forces. - the capture of the colony cut off several major French trade routs and did significant damage to the French slave and gum industries

Battle of Rheinberg RH 12 June 1758 Hanover
Britain
Hesse-Cassel
Brunswick
France Hanover
Battle of Krefeld RH 23 June 1758 Great Britain
Hesse-Cassel
Brunswick
Hanover
France North Rhine-Westphalia
Battle of Zorndorf HHL 25 August 1758 Prussia Russia Brandenburg
1st Battle of Lutterberg RH 10 October 1758 Britain
Hanover
Austria Saxony
Battle of Hochkirch HHL 14 October 1758 Prussia Austria Silesia
Prussian Bohemia Incursion HHL 14–20 April 1759 Prussia Austria Bohemia Six-day raid into Bohemia by Prussia to destroy Austrian magazines and disrupt troop movements. Austrian summer campaign delayed.
Siege of Masulipatam IS 6 March–7 April 1759 British East India Company French East India Company Masulipatam British victory; siege ended when British stormed the town
Battle of Minden RH 1 August 1759 Britain
Hesse-Cassel
Brunswick
Hanover
Schaum-Lippe,
France formerly West Prussia, now North Rhine-Westphalia
Battle of Kay HHL 23 July 1759 Prussia Russia Brandenburg
Battle of Bergen (1759) RH 13 April 1759 Great Britain
Hesse-Cassel
Brunswick
Hanover
France Near Frankfurt
Battle of Pondicherry IS 10 September 1759 Britain France Off the cost of Pondicherry - Strategically indecisive.

- Tactical French victory.

Battle of Hoyerswerda HHL 25 September 1759 Prussia Austria Hoyerswerda, Saxony Prussian victory
Battle of Maxen HHL 20 November 1759 Prussia Austria Maxen, Electorate of Saxony Austrian victory
Battle of Meissen HHL 4 December 1759 Prussia Austria Saxony
Battle of Corbach RH 10 July 1760 Britain
Hanover
Prussia
Hesse-Cassel
France Hesse Cassel
Battle of Emsdorf RH 14 July 1760 Britain
Hanover
France Hesse
Siege of Dresden 22 July 1760 Prussia Austria Saxony
Battle of Warburg RH 31 July 1760 Britain
Hanover
France
Saxony
Hesse
Battle of Kloster Kampen RH 15 October 1760 Britain
Brunswick
Prussia
Hanover
France North Rhine Westphalia
Battle of Torgau HHL 3 November 1760 Prussia Austria Saxony
Battle of Langensalza (1761) HHL 10 February 1761 Prussia
Britain
France Thuringia
Siege of Cassel (1761) RH 30 April 1761 Brunswick France Hesse-Cassel
Battle of Grünberg RH 21 March 1761 Hanover
Hesse-Cassel
Brunswick
France Hesse-Cassel
Battle of Villinghausen RH 16 July 1761 Prussia
Hanover
Great Britain
France Hesse Cassel
Battle of Röpenack BAL 6 August 1761 Prussia Sweden Siedenbollentin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern A minor Swedish force halt the Preussian forces advance into Pommerania
Battle of Cape Finisterre 13-14 August 1761 Britain France Naval action off the coast of Cape Finisterre British victory; French ship of the line Courageux captured
Battle of Ölper (1761) RH 13 October 1761 Brunswick France
Saxony
Duchy of Brunswick
Battle of Wilhelmsthal RH 24 June 1762 Brunswick
Britain
Hesse Cassel
France Castle of Wilhelmsthal near Calden, northwestern Germany
2nd Battle of Lutterberg HRE 99 July 1762 Britain
Brunswick
Hanover
France Lower Saxony
Battle of Nauheim RH 30 August 1762 Hesse Cassel
Hanover
Britain
France Hesse Cassel
Battle of Freiberg HRE 29 October 1762 Prussia Austria Saxony
2nd Siege of Cassel RH 30 November 1762 Britain
Hanover
Hesse-Cassel
France Hesse-Cassel
Battle of Kunersdorf HRE 12 August 1759 Prussia Russia Brandenburg Russian and Austrian victory
Battle of Moys HHL 7 September 1757 Prussia Austria Upper Lusatia
Battle of Breslau HHL 22 November 1757 Prussia Austria Silesia Austrian victory; forced Frederick to return to Breslau.
Battle of Leuthen HHL 5 December 1757 Prussia Austria Silesia Decisive Prussian victory over Austrian army
Breslau siege HHL 19 December 1757[3] Prussia Austria Silesia Decisive Prussian victory
Battle of Landeshut HHL 23 June 1760 Prussia Austria Silesia
Siege of Glatz HHL 26 July 1760 Prussia Austria Silesia
Battle of Liegnitz HHL 15 August 1760 Prussia Austria Silesia
Raid on Berlin HRE 12 October 1760 Prussia Russia
Austria
Brandenburg Russian and Austrian victory
Battle of Burkersdorf HHL 21 July 1762 Prussia Russia Silesia
Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf BAL 30 August 1757 Prussia Russia East Prussia
Blockade of Stralsund (start) BAL December 1757 Prussia Sweden Stralsund, Swedish Pomerania Prussians blockaded the Swedes in their fortress but couldn't take it because they lacked naval support
Blockade of Stralsund (conclusion) BAL June 1758 Prussia Sweden
Russia
Stralsund, Swedish Pomerania Prussians withdrew blockade due to lack of British naval support
Tornow BAL 26 September 1758 Prussia Sweden Tornow (Fürstenberg/Havel) in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Prussian victory
Battle of Fehrbellin BAL 28 September 1758 Prussia Sweden Fehrbellin, located 60 kilometers (37 mi) NW of Berlin
Battle of Güstow BAL 18 November 1758 Prussia Sweden Güstow Pomerania Prussian victory
Battle of Frisches Haff BAL 10 September 1759 Prussia Sweden Oder Lagoon Swedish victory; Prussia lost its small fleet
Battle of Pasewalk BAL 3 October 1760 Prussia Sweden Draw Paul von Werner's troops took many prisoners, but abandoned the effort as too costly.
Siege of Kolberg BAL 4 October 1759 Prussia Russia Kolberg, in the Duchy of Brandenburg, on the Baltic Sea. Prussian victory. First of three sieges.
Battle of Neuensund BAL 18 September 1761 Prussia Sweden Neuensund, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Minor skirmish resulting in a Swedish rout of the Prussian force commanded by Wilhelm Sebastian von Belling
Battle of Neukalen BAL 2 January 1762 Prussia Sweden Swedes surprised von Belling's troops near Neukalen. Last battle between Sweden and Prussia
Siege of Almeida IB August 1762 Portugal Spain Almeida, Portugal Spanish victory
Battle of Valencia de Alcántara IB 27 August 1762 Britain
Portugal
Spain Valencia de Alcántara, near the Portuguese border Decisive British-Portuguese victory, with negligible losses
Battle of Vila Velha de Ródão IB 5 October 1762 Britain
Portugal
Spain Vila Velha de Ródão, Portugal On 22 November, a truce withdrew Spain from the war.
Battle of Marvão IB 9–10 November 1761 Great Britain
Portugal
Spain Marvão, Portugal British-Portuguese victory. By 22 November, Spain was out of the war.
Siege of Fort St Philip IB April – 29 June 1756 Britain France Principle British garrison at Fort St. Philip British sent a relief force commanded by Admiral John Byng; after relief failed, the garrison eventually surrendered
Battle of Minorca IB 20 May 1756 Britain France Mediterranean island of Menorca British withdrew to Gibraltar; commander was court-martialed and executed.
Raid on Rochefort FBC September 1757 Britain France Rochefort, a port on the Charente estuary, where it joins the Atlantic. French victory; British withdraw without capturing Rochefort.
Battle of Cartagena IB 28 February 1758 Britain France Cartagena, Spain
Action of 29 April 1758 FBC 29 April 1758 Britain France naval Bay of Biscay British victory
Raid on St Malo FBC 5–12 June 1758 Britain France Amphibious assault on Brittany British tactical victory
Raid on Cherbourg FBC 7–16 August 1758 Britain France northern France British landed troops in Cherbourg. Withdrew them again
Battle of Saint Cast FBC 11 September 1758 Britain France France French victory; last of the British descents (amphibious assaults) on northern France
Planned invasion of Britain FBC October 1760 Britain France scrapped Plan to invade Britain via Portsmouth; called off after French defeats at Lagos and Quiberon Bay
Battle of Quiberon Bay FBC 20 November 1759 Great Britain France naval British victory; British naval supremacy confirmed and threat of French invasion of Britain lifted for remainder of the war
Capture of Belle Île FBC 7 April – 8 June 1761 Britain France Belle Île, off the Brittany coast.
Action of 17 July 1761 FBC 17 July 1761 Britain France naval action near Cádiz British victory
Battle of Chandannagar IS 23 March 1757 Britain
British East India Company
France Chandannagar, Bengal
Battle of Plassey IS 23 June 1757 British East India Company France Plassey, Bengal
Battle of Cuddalore (1758) IS 29 April 1758 British East India Company France Cuddalore
Battle of Negapatam (1758) IS 3 August 1758 British East India Company France Naval battle off the Carnatic coast near Negapatam Indecisive.
Battle of Condore IS 9 December 1758 British East India Company France Condore
Siege of Madras IS 14 December 1758 British East India Company France Madras Annus Mirabilis of 1759
Siege of Pondicherry (1760) IS 4 September 1759 British East India Company France Pondicherry
Battle of Wandiwash IS 22 January 1760 British East India Company France Vandavasi, Tamil Nadu
Battle of Chinsurah IS 24–25 September 1759 British East India Company Dutch East India Company Chinsurah, Bengal
Battle of Pondicherry IS 10 September 1759 British East India Company France Pondicherry indecisive battle

Notes

  1. D.B. Horn, "The Diplomatic Revolution" in J.O. Lindsay, ed., The New Cambridge Modern History vol. 7, The Old Regime: 1713–63 (1957): pp 449–64.
  2. Jeremy Black, "Essay and Reflection: On the 'Old System' and the Diplomatic Revolution' of the Eighteenth Century", International History Review (1990) 12#2 pp. 301–323
  3. Siege began on 7 December 1757 and ended on 19 December 1757.
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