# Battles of the Seven Years' War

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.
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.
| Theater | Abbreviation | Location |
| 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 Prussian forces advance into Pomerania |
| 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 | 19 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 | 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 |