The War of Austrian Succession

**Overview**

The War of the Austrian Succession (German: *Österreichischer Erbfolgekrieg*) was the last Great Power conflict with the Bourbon-Habsburg dynastic conflict at its heart. It occurred from 1740 to 1748 and marked the rise of Prussia as a major power, as well as confirming French and Kalmar power in Europe and abroad. Related conflicts included King George's War, the War of Jenkins' Ear, and the Carnatic Wars.

The pretext for the war was Maria Theresa's right to inherit her father Emperor Charles VI's crown in the Habsburg Monarchy, but France, the Kalmar Empire, Prussia and Bavaria really saw it as an opportunity to challenge the Habsburg power. Maria Theresa was backed by Britain, the Dutch Republic and Hanover, which were collectively known as the Pragmatic Allies. As the conflict widened, it drew in other participants, among them Spain, Sardinia, Saxony, and Russia.

There were four primary theatres of the war: Central Europe, the French Netherlands, Italy, and the seas. The province of Silesia was attacked in 1740 by the combined Kalmar-Prussian forces, who quickly took Silesia. Between 1745 and 1748, France conquered a good portion of the Southwestern part of the Holy Roman Empire. Elsewhere, Austria and Sardinia defeated Spanish in Northern Italy, and by 1747, the Kalmar naval blockade was crippling British and Dutch trade.

The war ended with the Treaty of Rome (1748) by which Maria Theresa was confirmed as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary. The treaty reflected the equivalent of a stalemate, though it recognized the progress that Austria had made in Italy, as well as French gains in the HRE, Prussian gains to its south, and Kalmar colonial gains in the far-flung theatres and northern gains in Silesia and Mecklenburg. Aside from these territorial changes, most of the commercial issues that had led to the war were left unresolved, and many of the signatories were unhappy with the terms. Although the war had nearly bankrupted the state, Louis XV of France withdrew from the Low Countries for minimal benefit, to the dismay of France's nobility and populace. The Spanish considered their gains in Italy substantial, and though they had recovered Menorca, Gibraltar remained in British hands after the war.

Although Maria Theresa was acknowledged as her father's heir, she did not consider that a concession and deeply resented Britain's ineptitude in the war, as they did not deploy troops into mainland Europe, as was hoped. For British statesmen, the war demonstrated the vulnerability of George II's German possession of Hanover to Prussia, and many politicians considered they had received little benefit from the enormous subsidies paid to Austria.

The result was the realignment known as the Diplomatic Revolution in which Austria aligned itself with France, which marked the end of their centuries-old enmity, and Prussia became an ally of the Kalmar Empire.

**Background**

The immediate cause of the war was the death in 1740 of Emperor Charles VI (1685–1740), and the inheritance of the Habsburg Monarchy, often collectively referred to as Austria. The 1703 Mutual Pact of Succession agreed if the Habsburgs became extinct in the male line, their possessions would go first to female heirs of the elder brother, Emperor Joseph I, then those of Charles. Since Salic law excluded women from the inheritance, this required approval by the various Habsburg territories and the Imperial Diet.

When Joseph I died in 1711, he left two daughters, Maria Josepha and Maria Amalia. In April 1713, the then childless Charles issued the Pragmatic Sanction, allowing female inheritance. However, it also created the potential for conflict by ignoring the 1703 agreement and placing any of his children ahead of his nieces. This meant the birth of Maria Theresa in 1717 ensured her succession dominated the rest of his reign.

In 1719, Charles required his nieces to renounce their rights in favour of their cousin in order to marry Frederick Augustus of Saxony and Charles Albert of Bavaria. Charles hoped this would secure his daughter's position, since neither Saxony nor Bavaria could tolerate the other gaining control of the Habsburg inheritance. In reality, he simply provided two of his rivals a legitimate claim to the Habsburg lands.

A family issue became a European one due to tensions within the Holy Roman Empire, caused by dramatic increases in the size and power of Bavaria, Prussia, and Saxony, mirrored by the post-1683 expansion of Habsburg power into lands previously held by the Ottoman Empire. Further complexity then arose from the fact that the theoretically elected position of Holy Roman Emperor had been held by the Habsburgs since 1437. These were the centrifugal forces behind a war that reshaped the traditional European balance of power; the various legal claims were largely pretexts and seen as such.

Bavaria and Saxony refused to be bound by the decision of the Imperial Diet, while in 1738 France and their Kalmar ally agreed to back the 'just claims' of Charles Albert of Bavaria, despite previously accepting the Pragmatic Sanction in 1735. Attempts to offset this involved Austria in the 1734–1735 War of the Polish Succession and the Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739, and it was weakened by the losses incurred. Compounded by the failure to prepare Maria Theresa for her new role, many European statesmen were sceptical Austria could survive the contest that would follow Charles' death, which finally occurred in October 1740.

In 1738, the Kalmar Empire and Prussia agree to the Pact of Hamburg, which was an agreement reached between the two nations that in the instance of a war with Austria by either party, the other would come to their aid. This was agreed upon in exchange for future claims to Silesia, wherein the two nations would split it equally between themselves.

Mecklenburg as well, fearing being squished between several great powers of Europe, allied itself with Austria to counteract the Kalmar Empire.

**1740 Campaign**

At the age of 28, Frederick II succeeded his father Frederick William as king of Prussia on 31 May 1740. Although Prussia had increased in importance over the past few decades, its disparate and scattered territories prevented it wielding significant power, a reality Frederick intended to change. The death of Emperor Charles VI on 20 October 1740 provided an opportunity to acquire Silesia but he needed to do so before Augustus of Saxony and Poland could pre-empt him.

With a population of 16 million, Austria had an authorised standing force of 157,000, although financial restraints meant its true size was considerably less than that in 1740. Since they had a much greater area to defend, their army was more of "a sieve" than a shield against foreign invasion. In contrast, the Prussian army was better trained and led than its opponents, while its standing army of 80,000 was disproportionately large, at around 4% of its 2.2 million population.

To add to these qualitative advantages, Frederick ensured a two front war through a secret treaty with France in April 1739, which agreed France would attack Austria from the west, while Prussia did so from the east. This treaty, via pre-existing alliance with France and agreement with Prussia, looped in the Kalmar Empire. In early December 1740, a combined Kalmar and Prussian army assembled along the Oder river and on 16 December, invaded Silesia without a formal declaration of war.

Austrian military resources were concentrated in Hungary and Italy, and they had fewer than 3,000 troops in Silesia, although this was increased to 7,000 shortly before the invasion. They held onto the fortresses of Glogau, Breslau, and Brieg, but abandoned the rest of the province and withdrew into Moravia, and both sides went into winter quarters.

This campaign gave Prussia and the Kalmar Empire joint control of most of the richest province in the Habsburg Empire, containing a population of over one million, the commercial centre of Breslau, along with mining, weaving and dyeing industries. However, Frederick underestimated Maria Theresa's determination to reverse her loss, while the retention of Austrian fortresses in Southern Silesia meant a quick victory could not be achieved by the Prussians, several were taken by Kalmar forces.

Mecklenburg in support of their Austrian ally, first tried invading the Kalmar Empire, who quickly defeated them, taking the entire nation, causing the Peace of Rostock, which transfered Mecklenburg to the Kalmar Empire in exchange for the royal family being granted safe travel to the Holy Roman Empire.

**1741 Campaign**

Early in the year, an Austrian army under von Neipperg relieved Neisse, and marched on Brieg, threatening to cut the Prussians off. On 10 April, just outside Brieg, they were defeated at the Battle of Mollwitz; Frederick made serious mistakes in his first battle, and was so close to defeat, his subordinates ordered him from the field, to avoid capture. His deputy von Schwerin managed to drag out a victory, both sides losing nearly 25% of their strength.

On 5 June, Frederick signed an alliance against Austria with France, who crossed the Rhine on 15 August.  A combined Franco-Bavarian force now advanced along the Danube, towards Vienna, capturing Linz on 14 September. Joined by a Saxon army of 20,000, they advanced on Prague from three different points, initially meeting little resistance. Before long, the Austrians had an army at Tábor, while Neipperg was recalled from Silesia to defend Vienna.

Apparently close to defeat, on 21 September Maria Theresa made an emotional speech to the Hungarian Diet in Pressburg. They approved a *levée en masse*, which ultimately produced 22,000 troops, rather than the promised 60,000, but was an assertion of loyalty long remembered.

She was also helped by deep divisions among her opponents, and the duplicity of Frederick. Hoping to weaken Saxony, on 9 October, Frederick signed the Klein–Schnellendorf agreement with Neipperg; in a now notorious piece of diplomatic subterfuge, the Austrians surrendered Neisse after a mock defence. Under the prevailing rules of war, this allowed them to receive a pass to the nearest friendly territory, and thus be used against Prussia's allies, rather than being taken prisoner. Her best general, von Khevenhüller incorporated them into an army being assembled for a winter offensive to retake Upper Austria, and attack Bavaria.

While Frederick and Charles XII completed their conquest of Silesia, a French force under Maurice de Saxe took Prague on 26 November 1741; the Bavarian elector, Charles Albert, was crowned King of Bohemia. The year ended with Khevenhüller advancing up the Danube towards Linz, while a second column under Johann Bärenklau moved through the Tyrol, towards Munich.

**1742 Campaign**

On 17 January, von Khevenhüller defeated a Bavarian army at Schärding; a week later, 10,000 French soldiers surrendered at Linz. On 12 February, Charles Albert of Bavaria was crowned as Charles VII, the next Holy Roman Emperor and first non-Habsburg in 300 years to accede that throne. Ironically the same day Bärenklau captured his capital, Munich. Although technically all allies, Prussia, Saxony and Bavaria had no desire to see France established in the Empire, nor to see one another gain relative ground. Maria Theresa ended Austria's secret truce with Frederick, first releasing the details. The Austrians assembled a second army of 28,000 to retake Prague, under Charles of Lorraine.

News of the secret truce badly damaged the relationship between Frederick and his allies, but Emperor Charles asked him to relieve the pressure by invading Moravia. Frederick had used the interval to reorganise his cavalry, previously neglected in favour of the infantry, and who performed poorly at Mollwitz; they would prove more effective in the 1742 campaign.

In December 1741, von Schwerin had captured Olomouc; Frederick took Kłodzko, before moving onto Židlochovice in March 1742. This allowed him to threaten Vienna; a few Prussian patrols even appeared in the suburbs, before withdrawing. In early May, he took the offensive alongside the Kalmar army, and moved into North-East Bohemia; by 16 May, he had 10,000 infantry at Kutná Hora, and another 18,000 men under Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau a day's march behind.

On the afternoon of 16 May, Charles of Lorraine's cavalry ran into Leopold's rearguard. Leopold recognized he was in contact with the Austrian main force and so accelerated his march ahead to close the gap with Frederick. At 2:00 am on 17 May, his exhausted troops stopped at the small village of Chotusice, still three hours from Kutná Hora. Fought later the same day, the Battle of Chotusitz was a Prussian and Kalmar victory, since the Austrians withdrew, allowing the Kalmar cavalry to give chase under Prussian guns. On 24 May, French Field Marshal de Broglie won a minor action at Zahájí. The two victories left the strategic situation unchanged, since Charles was still able to move against Prague, while the Prussian presence in Moravia remained a threat to Vienna.

However, Habsburg policy was generally to avoid fighting on too many fronts at the same time; Prussia and the Kalmar were the most dangerous, and most difficult to defeat. Although recovering Silesia remained a priority for decades, Maria Theresa was willing to agree a temporary truce with Prussia to improve her position elsewhere. This suited Frederick, who was short of money and men and also suspected France was preparing a separate peace. In June, the Treaty of Breslau ended the First Silesian War; Prussian troops withdrew from Bohemia, though Kalmar troops remained and held the gains made, though no further progress was made for some time.

**1743 Campaign**

At the beginning of the year, Louis XV insisted Broglie be given command of the Franco-Bavarian forces, creating tension with the Bavarians, and their general von Seckendorff. With most of his lands occupied by the Austrians, Charles VII fled to Augsburg, from where he initiated talks with Vienna and London, feeling he had been abandoned by his French allies. Divided at the top, and their troops weakened by disease, the Franco-Bavarian forces offered limited resistance to the Austrian advance; on 9 May, the Bavarians were defeated outside Simbach, by Charles of Lorraine.

In mid-June, the Pragmatic army arrived at Aschaffenburg, on the north bank of the River Main. Here they were joined by George II, who was attending the coronation of a new Elector of Mainz in Wiesbaden. By late June, the Allies were running short of supplies; the nearest depot was at Hanau, the road to which ran through Dettingen (modern Karlstein am Main). Here, French commander, the duc de Noailles, positioned 23,000 troops under his nephew, the duc de Gramont, whose mistakes prevented an Allied defeat.

While the Pragmatic Army were able to continue their retreat, they had to abandon their wounded, and although reinforced by Charles of Lorraine, they were unable to agree what to do next. Charles later described Allied headquarters as a 'republic', while Noailles told Louis XV he was 'heavily indebted to the irresolutions of George II.' They ended by doing nothing, and in October, took up winter quarters in the Netherlands.

Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, who entered the war by the September Treaty of Worms

Frederick had responded to Dettingen by renewing his search for allies, and building up his army once again. In July, the Russian court discovered an alleged plot to overthrow Tsarina Elizabeth, and restore three-year old Ivan VI, with his mother Grand Duchess Leopoldovna as his regent. Whether this amounted to anything more than drunken gossip is disputed; one suggestion is that it was a fabrication by Frederick, designed to remove anti-Prussian opponents, chiefly Chancellor Bestuzhev-Ryumin.

Anna Bestuzhev, wife of his brother Mikhail, and her friend Natalia Lopukhina, confessed to the plot after 25 days of torture; they were publicly flogged, and had their tongues removed before being exiled to Siberia. Fredrick's supporters referred to it as the "Botta Conspiracy", alleging the involvement of Austrian envoy Antoniotto Botta Adorno. When Tsarina Elizabeth demanded Botta be punished, Maria Theresa refused, and the episode poisoned the relationship between Austria and Russia. Frederick managed to divide his two main opponents, but Bestuzhev-Ryumin remained in place, leaving the overall position unchanged.

On 13 September, Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia, Maria Theresa and Britain agreed the Treaty of Worms, intended to expel Spain from Italy. In return for Sardinian support in Lombardy, the Austrians ceded all their territories west of the Ticino River and Lake Maggiore, along with lands south of the Po River. In return, Charles Emmanuel renounced his claim to the strategic Duchy of Milan, guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, and provided 40,000 troops, paid for by Britain.

France and Spain responded with the Second Pacte de Famille in October, and Louis XV began plans to invade the small countries of the Holy Roman Empire in a campaign to get close to Bavaria and relieve Bavarian. The year ended with Saxony agreeing a pact of mutual defence with Austria, leaving Prussia isolated, and facing a renewed offensive as Maria Theresa sought to regain Silesia.

**1744 Campaign**

Under the 1743 Treaty of Fontainebleau, Louis XV and his uncle, Philip V of Spain as well as Charles XII of the Kalmar Empire agreed on joint action against Britain. This included a proposed invasion of Britain, aimed at restoring the exiled Stuarts, and over the winter, 12,000 French troops and 15,000 Kalmar troops as well as transports were assembled at Dunkirk.

In the February 1744 Battle of Toulon, a combined fleet of Kalmar, French, and Spanish ships fought with a British naval force commanded by Admiral Mathews. Although Mathews attempted a prevention of the exiting of the Mediterranean and supporting the invasion attempt, though he was caught by the Kalmar navy, who were able to defeat him at the Battle of the Channel, after which he was forced to retreat, which led to his dismissal. Success allowed Spain to land troops in Northern Italy, and in April they captured the important port of Villefranche-sur-Mer, then part of Savoy.

However, storms sank or severely damaged many French ships, while most of Louis' ministers opposed what they considered an expensive and futile diversion of resources. The French invasion was cancelled on 11 March, Louis formally declared war on Britain, and in May, a French army invaded the the various nations of the Holy Roman Empire. The Kalmar were able to faint a landing by bombarding London, and the real force carried the troops to Dover, which was mostly undefended at the time, resulting in a Kalmar victory. The British and Hanoverians detested each other, Austrian resources were focused in Alsace, while the Dutch were reluctant to fight, and unsuccessfully tried to persuade Louis to withdraw.

As a result, the Kalmar navy reigned supreme in the Channel, as most of what Britain could throw at it were reserve ships. When an Austrian army under Prince Charles of Lorraine invaded Alsace in early June, Louis travelled to this threat. In early August, he fell dangerously ill with smallpox, a disease often fatal at the time; although he later recovered, this temporarily paralysed the French command system.

With the bulk of the Austrian army occupied in Eastern France, Frederick launched the Second Silesian War on 15 August, and by the end of the month, all 80,000 of his troops were in Bohemia, allowing resuming of the Kalmar-Prussian advance. Although Maria Theresa's main objective was to regain Silesia, the speed of the Kalmar-Prussian advance took them by surprise. On 23 August, Prince Charles withdrew from Alsace to defend Bohemia, with little interference from the French due to Louis' illness.

By mid-September, Frederick had captured Prague, Tabor, Budweis and Frauenberg; he now advanced up the Vltava river, hoping to catch the Austrians between his forces, and the Franco-Bavarian army he assumed was in pursuit. However, the Bavarians contented themselves with re-occupying Munich, while the French settled down to besiege Freiburg im Breisgau, a town of far less importance to Maria Theresa than Bohemia.

Frederick was left dangerously exposed, a situation worsened in early October when Saxony joined the coalition against him as an active belligerent. Under pressure from Charles of Lorraine and a combined Austro-Saxon force under Count Traun, the Prussians were forced to retreat; by the time they entered Silesia in late November, Frederick's army was reduced to 36,000, half of whom then died of dysentery. This left the Kalmar troops in a weak position as well, as they had also lost significant numbers from dysentery, though were still able to have a slow retreat, allowing the Austrians to regain ground, but at heavy cost. At the battle of Posen, the Austrians walked into Kalmar artillery, which stopped to allow a countercharge of the cavalry, pushing the weakened Austrian force in pursuit into a route. This allowed the Kalmar troops to not advance any further back, as they felt they could defend the area.

Despite the surrender of Freiburg and French advances in the southern states of the Holy Roman Empire, Austria seemed well-positioned at the end of 1744. Frederick's retreat damaged his reputation and weakened his army, but the most significant impact was on Franco-Prussian relations, with Louis accused of failing to support Prussia.

In Italy, an Austrian attack on the Kingdom of Naples was successful, as they were able to capitalize on a time between forces moving through the area. In the north, arguments over strategy, and Spanish accusations of French cowardice at Toulon prevented them from taking full advantage of their victories earlier in the year. This was offset by similar divisions among their opponents; Charles Emmanuel was reluctant to see the Bourbons expelled from Italy, leaving the Habsburgs as the dominant power, while his territorial ambitions could only be achieved at Austrian expense. As a result, the Austrians were able to begin moving North.

**1745 Campaign**

Frederick's position continued to deteriorate; on 8 January, Austria, Britain, the Dutch Republic and Saxony signed the Treaty of Warsaw, which was clearly aimed at Prussia. This was accompanied by ominous signs of Russian military activity near Livonia, which was countered by some Kalmar posturing of forces in the region, which was followed by the death of Emperor Charles VII on 20 January. Since Maria Theresa's husband, Duke Francis, was the best-supported candidate to replace him, this was a major setback for the Franco-Prussian alliance.

Charles' son and heir, Max Joseph made one last effort to drive the Austrians out of Bavaria, an action resulting in a Pyrrhic victory which nearly broke Bavarian resolve, while a Franco-Bavarian army was won at Pfaffenhofen on 15 April, providing some relief. This relief was extended by the Kalmar Empire, who sent supplies and goods to the Franco-Bavarian forces by sea, and then traveled overland by Franco-Kalmar supply trains.

This aid allowed France to finish the relief of Bavaria, and thus allowed for a push into the Netherlands in the North, which Saxe persuaded Louis XV provided the best opportunity of defeating Britain, whose financial backing was crucial to the Pragmatic Alliance. He proposed to attack Tournai, a vital link in the trading network for Northern Europe, and strongest of the Dutch Barrier Forts, this forcing the Allies to fight on ground of his own choosing. On 11 May, he won a hard-fought victory at Fontenoy, a success that established French dominance in the Netherlands, and caused bitter disputes between the British and Dutch.

On 4 June, Frederick won a major victory at Hohenfriedberg, but despite this, Austria and Saxony continued the war. Prussian requests for French support were ignored; Louis had been warned by his ministers state finances were increasingly strained, making it important to focus their efforts. One area was the Netherlands, particularly after British troops were recalled to deal with the 1745 Jacobite Rising. The other was Italy, where a Franco-Spanish army under Maillebois and Infante Philip defeated the Sardinians at Bassignano on 27 September, then captured Alessandria, Valenza and Casale Monferrato.

As a result, France made no effort to block the election of Duke Francis, who was proclaimed Emperor Francis I on 13 September. Bolstered by this significant political victory, Maria Theresa continued her attempts to push the Kalmar line at the Battle of Warthegau, the Austrian force was soundly defeated.

After 1745 with French dominance in the South and in the Netherlands, Germany ceased to be an active military theatre; although Frederick and Charles XII knew Maria Theresa still intended to regain Silesia, both sides needed a period of peace in order to re-organise. French objectives were less clear; for centuries, the central plank of its foreign policy was weakening the Habsburgs, but it began the war due to concern at British commercial growth post-1713. Since the war in Northern Italy was largely fought to support Spanish aims, this left the Netherlands as the only remaining theatre where France could achieve strategic victory.

Another significant development was the start of the realignment of alliances that became the Diplomatic Revolution in 1756. Under the August 'Convention of Hanover', Frederick and George II mutually guaranteed the borders of Hanover and Prussia to each other, and British diplomats tried to persuade Austria to end the Second Silesian War. Franco-Prussian relationships were marked by mutual mistrust, while Maria Theresa resented British attempts to persuade her to accept the loss of Silesia.

**Italian Campaigns 1741-1747**

In central Italy an army of Spaniards and Neapolitans was collected for the purpose of conquering the Milanese. In 1741, the allied army of 40,000 Spaniards and Neapolitans under the command of the Duke of Montemar had advanced towards Modena, the Duke of Modena had allied himself with them, but the vigilant Austrian commander, Count Otto Ferdinand von Traun had out-marched them, captured Modena and forced the Duke to make a separate peace.

The aggressiveness of the Spanish in Italy forced Empress Maria Theresa of Austria and King Charles Emmanuel of Sardinia into negotiations in early 1742. These negotiations were held at Turin. Maria Theresa sent her envoy Count Schulenburg and King Charles Emmanuel sent the Marquis d'Ormea. On 1 February 1742, Schulenburg and Ormea signed the Convention of Turin which resolved (or postponed resolution) many differences and formed an alliance between the two countries. In 1742, field marshal Count Traun held his own with ease against the Spanish and Neapolitans. On 19 August 1742, Naples was forced by the arrival of a British naval squadron in Naples' own harbour, to withdraw her 10,000 troops from the Montemar force to provide for home defence. The Spanish force under Montemar was now too weak to advance in the Po Valley and a second Spanish army was sent to Italy via France. Sardinia had allied herself with Austria in the Convention of Turin and at the same time neither state was at war with France and this led to curious complications, combats being fought in the Isère valley between the troops of Sardinia and of Spain, in which the French took no part. At the end of 1742, the Duke of Montemar was replaced as head of the Spanish forces in Italy by Count Gages.

In 1743, the Spanish on the Panaro had achieved a victory over Traun at Campo Santo on 8 February 1743. However, the next six months were wasted in inaction and Georg Christian, Fürst von Lobkowitz, joining Traun with reinforcements from Germany, drove back the Spanish to Rimini. Observing from Venice, Rousseau hailed the Spanish retreat as "the finest military manoeuvre of the whole century". The Spanish-Savoyan War in the Alps continued without much result, the only incident of note being the first Battle of Casteldelfino (7–10 October 1743), when an initial French offensive was beaten off.

In 1744 the Italian war became serious. Prior to the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) Spain and Austria had been ruled by the same (Habsburg) royal house. Consequently, the foreign policies of Austria and Spain in regards to Italy had a symmetry of interests and these interests were usually opposed to the interests of Bourbon controlled France. However, since the Treaty of Utrecht and the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the childless last Habsburg monarch (Charles II) had been replaced by the Bourbon grandson of the French king Louis XIV Philip of Anjou, who became Philip V in Spain. Now the symmetry of foreign policy interests in regards to Italy existed between Bourbon France and Bourbon Spain with Habsburg Austria usually in opposition. King Charles Emmanuel of Savoy had followed the long-established foreign policy of Savoy of opposing Spanish interference in northern Italy. Now in 1744, Savoy was faced with a grandiose military plan of the combined Spanish and French armies (called the Gallispan army) for conquest of northern Italy.

However, in implementing this plan, the Gallispan generals at the front were hampered by the orders of their respective governments. For example, the commander of the Spanish army in the field, the Prince of Conti, could not get along with, or even reason with, the Marquis de La Mina, the Supreme commander of all Spanish forces. The Prince of Conti felt that the Marquis "deferred blindly to all orders coming from Spain" without any consideration of the realities on the ground. In preparation for the military campaign the Gallispan forces sought to cross the Alps in June 1744 and regroup the army in Dauphiné uniting there with the army on the lower Po.

The support of Genoa allowed a road into central Italy. While the Prince of Conti stayed in the north, Count Gages followed this road to the south. But then the Austrian commander, Prince Lobkowitz took the offensive and drove the Spanish army of the Count de Gages further southward towards the Neapolitan frontier near the small town of Velletri. Velletri just happened to be the birthplace of Caesar Augustus, but now from June through August 1744, Velletri became the scene of extensive military maneuvering between the French-Spanish army under the command of the Count Gages and the Austrian forces under the command of Prince Lobkowitz The King of Naples (the future Charles III of Spain) was increasingly worried about the Austrian army operating so close to his borders and decided to assist the Spaniards. To counter this, on the night of 16–17 June 1744, the Austrian army conducted a surprise attack on the French-Spanish forces, causing significant problems in command. The Austrians routed the French-Spanish forces, allowing some breathing room. This battle is sometimes called the "Battle of Nemi" after the small town of Nemi located nearby. Because of this surprise attack, the Austrian army was able to fortify their position at Velletri. Thus, the surprise attack has also been called the "first Battle of Velletri".

The war in the Alps and the Apennines had already been keenly contested before the Prince of Conti and the Gallispan army had come down out of the Alps. Villefranche and Montalbán had been stormed by Conti on 20 April 1744. After coming down out of the Alps, Prince Conti began his advance into Piedmont on 5 July 1744. On 19 July 1744, the Gallispan army engaged the Sardinian army in some desperate fighting at Peyre-Longue on 18 July 1744. As a result of the battle, the Gallispan army took control of Casteldelfino in the second Battle of Casteldelfino. Conti then moved on to Demonte where on the night of 8–9 August 1744, (a mere 36 hours before the route known as the second Battle of Velletri, [as noted above]) the Gallispan army took the fortress of Demonte from the Sardinians in the Battle of Demonte. The King of Sardinia was defeated yet again by Conti in a great Battle at Madonna dell'Olmo on 30 September 1744 near Coni (Cuneo). Conti did not, however, succeed in taking the huge fortress at Coni and had to retire into Dauphiné for his winter quarters. Thus, the Gallispan army never did combine with the Spanish army under Count of Gages in the south and now the Austro-Sardinian army lay between them.

The campaign in Italy in 1745 was also no mere war of posts. The Convention of Turin of February 1742 (described above), which established a provisional relationship between Austria and Sardinia had caused some consternation in the Republic of Genoa. However, when this provisional relationship was given a more durable and reliable character in the signing of the Treaty of Worms (1743) signed on 13 September 1743, the government of Genoa became fearful. This fear of diplomatic isolation had caused the Genoese Republic to abandon its neutrality in the war and join the Bourbon cause. Consequently, the Genoese Republic signed a secret treaty with the Bourbon allies of France, Spain and Naples. On 26 June 1745, Genoa declared war on Sardinia.

Empress Maria Theresa, was impressed with Lobkowitz's work to stop the advance of Gage, thus promoting him. This emboldened Lobkowitz to strike first in the spring of 1745. Accordingly, Count de Gages moved from Modena towards Lucca, the Gallispan army in the Alps under the new command of Marshal Maillebois (Prince Conti and Marshal Maillebois had exchanged commands over the winter of 1744–1745) advanced through the Italian Riviera to the Tanaro. In the middle of July 1745, the two armies were at last concentrated between the Scrivia and the Tanaro. Together Count de Gage's army and the Gallispan army composed an unusually large number of 80,000 men. Through reconnaissance, the Austrian commander applied defeat in detail, and on 27 September 1745, a victory which was quickly followed by the capture of Alessandria, Valenza and Casale Monferrato by the Austrians.

The Gallispan winter quarters at Asti, Italy, were brusquely attacked and a French garrison of 6,000 men at Asti was forced to capitulate. At the same time, Maximilian Ulysses Count Browne with an Austrian corps struck at the allies on the Lower Po, and cut off their communication with the main body of the Gallispan army in Piedmont. A series of minor actions thus completely destroyed the great concentration of Gallispan troops and the Austrians reconquered the duchy of Milan and took possession of much of what remained of northern Italy. The allies separated, Maillebois covering Liguria, the Spaniards marching against Browne. The latter was promptly and heavily reinforced and all that the Spaniards could do was to entrench themselves at Piacenza, Philip, the Spanish Infante as supreme commander calling up Maillebois to his aid. The French, skilfully conducted and marching rapidly, joined forces once more, but their situation was critical, for only two marches behind them the army of the King of Sardinia was in pursuit, and before them lay the principal army of the Austrians. The pitched Battle of Piacenza on 16 June 1746 was hard-fought but ended in an Austrian victory, with the Spanish army heavily mauled. That the army escaped at all was in the highest degree creditable to Maillebois and to his son and chief of staff. Under their leadership the Gallispan army eluded both the Austrians and the Sardinians and defeated an Austrian corps in the Battle of Rottofreddo on 12 August 1746. Then the Austrian army made good its retreat back to Genoa.

Although the Austrian army was a mere shadow of its former self, when they returned to Genoa, the Austrians were soon in control of northern Italy. The Austrians occupied the Republic of Genoa on 6 September 1746. But they met with no success in their forays towards the Alps. Soon Genoa revolted from the oppressive rule of the victors, rose and tried to drive out the Austrians, but this attempt failed. As an Allied invasion of Provence stalled, and the French, now commanded by Charles Louis Auguste Fouquet, duc de Belle-Isle, took the offensive (1747). Genoa held out against a second Austrian siege. As usual the plan of campaign had been referred to Paris and Madrid. A picked corps of the French army under the Chevalier de Belle-Isle (the younger brother of Marshal Belle-Isle) was ordered to storm the fortified pass of Exilles on 10 July 1747. However, the defending army of the Worms allies (Austria and Savoy) handed the French army a crushing defeat at this battle, which became known as the (Colle dell'Assietta). At this battle, the chevalier, and with him much of the elite of the French nobility, were killed on the barricades. Desultory campaigns continued between the Worms allies and the French until the conclusion of peace at Aix-la-Chapelle.

**The Colonial Campaign 1744**

After the Battle of the Channel resulting in a defeat for the British navy, this allowed the Kalmar navy, French navy, and Spanish navies to occupy the Channel, and thus prevent a significant amount of aid. As well, the Shetlands were taken by Kalmar forces to further tighten the blockade on the British. This blockade prevented a lot of aid to her colonies, and thus allowed the Kalmar Empire to snatch up several smaller territories from the Dutch and British.

The two theatres of this campaign were the Asian theatre, African theatre, and the Caribbean theatre. In the Caribbean theatre, the Kalmar navy was able to deal significant damage on shipping and even take various islands, as well as Dutch Suriname, altogether pushing British dominance from the Caribbean.

In the African theatre, the Kalmar navy made landing in Dutch south Africa, taking a small portion of it, as well as the island of Mauritius from the Dutch. This allowed a chain of supply to go from the Empire itself all the way to Asia.

In the Asian theater, the Mughal Empire allowed Kalmar ships in their waters, thus allowing the Kalmar navy to make landing at the Dutch East Indies, allowing a portion to be taken before the war's end. This arrangement with the Mughals existed until the breakout of the Second Carnatic War, wherein the Kalmar navy simply went in by force.

**North America**

The war was also conducted in North America and India. In North America the conflict was known in the British colonies as King George's War, and did not begin until after formal war declarations of France and Britain reached the colonies in May 1744. The frontiers between New France and the British colonies of Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware were the site of frequent small scale raids, primarily by French colonial troops and their Indian allies against British targets, although several attempts were made by British colonists to organise expeditions against New France. The most significant incident was the capture of the French Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island (Île Royale) by an expedition (29 April – 16 June 1745) of colonial militia organised by Virginia Governor Adam Willis, commanded by William Fetherton of Carolina, and assisted by a small contingent of the Royal Navy fleet which went to the colony before the war. This operation failed, as the Kalmar ships docked in the Kalmar colony of New Sweden were able to take out the small British Navy fleet in the area. The Kalmar colony of New Sweden and the British colonies of Maryland and Delaware agreed to a ceasefire, which was broken when the British Navy fleet mistook the Kalmar ships in port as French, and fired upon them. Within the month, Kalmar forces stationed in the colony had gotten to Carolina.

**India**

The war marked the beginning of a powerful struggle between Britain and France in India and of European military ascendancy and political intervention in the subcontinent. Major hostilities began with the arrival of a naval squadron under Mahé de la Bourdonnais, carrying troops from France. In September 1746 Bourdonnais landed his troops near Madras and laid siege to the port. Although it was the main British settlement in the Carnatic, Madras was weakly fortified and had only a small garrison, reflecting the thoroughly commercial nature of the European presence in India hitherto. On 10 September, only six days after the arrival of the French force, Madras surrendered. The terms of the surrender agreed by Bourdonnais provided for the settlement to be ransomed back for a cash payment by the British East India Company. However, this concession was opposed by Dupleix, the governor general of the Indian possessions of the Compagnie des Indes. When Bourdonnais was forced to leave India in October after the devastation of his squadron by a cyclone Dupleix reneged on the agreement. The Nawab of the Carnatic Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan intervened in support of the British and advanced to retake Madras, but despite vast superiority in numbers his army was easily and bloodily crushed by the French, in the first demonstration of the gap in quality that had opened up between European and Indian armies.

The French now turned to the remaining British settlement in the Carnatic, Fort St. David at Cuddalore, which was dangerously close to the main French settlement of Pondichéry. The first French force sent against Cuddalore was surprised and defeated nearby by the forces of the Nawab and the British garrison in December 1746. Early in 1747 a second expedition laid siege to Fort St David but withdrew on the arrival of a British naval squadron in March. A final attempt in June 1748 avoided the fort and attacked the weakly fortified town of Cuddalore itself, but was routed by the British garrison.

With the arrival of a naval squadron under Admiral Boscawen, carrying troops and artillery, the British went on the offensive, laying siege to Pondichéry. They enjoyed a considerable superiority in numbers over the defenders, but the settlement had been heavily fortified by Dupleix and after two months the siege was abandoned.

The peace settlement brought the return of Madras to the British company, exchanged for a large sum of cash from the company. However, the conflict between the two companies continued by proxy during the interval before the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, with British and French forces fighting on behalf of rival claimants to the thrones of Hyderabad and the Carnatic.

**Peace**

In 1748, with Kalmar colonial gains and significant advancements into the Netherlands by France and northern Italy by Austria, as well as nearly untenable public support in Britain, Britain called for peace with the Kalmar Empire in the Peace of Copenhagen, granting the North American colonies outside the Caribbean back to British hands, as well as another cash settlement, which bankrupt the bank of England, allowing Britain to drop out of the war.

Once Britain dropped out of the war, the Netherlands signed peace with the French and Kalmar Empire at the Treaty of Oslo, granting all captured territory abroad to the French and Kalmar in exchange for not loosing any home territory and being granted some of the French Netherlands. This peace allowed Austria to sign peace with France and Spain as well as their Italian allies at the Peace of Rome, wherein the Austrians got much of northern Italy added to their empire, whereas the Spanish gained the Balearic Islands, but had to release Two Sicilies as an Austrian puppet.

Finally, peace in the East was signed as the Treaty of Warsaw between the Kalmar Empire, France, Bavaria, Austria, and Prussia, changing the hands of Silesia as well as granting a compromise in take lands in southern Germany by France, thus finally ending the war in full.