First Silesian War
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Was the first of three wars between Austria and Prussia for the control of Silesia. It was part of the War of the Austrian Succession. The war started when Prussia invaded Silesia. The possession of the region by Prussia was aknowledged by Austria at the end of the war.
Chronology
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Was the Silesian theatre of the First Silesian War.
January 1741: By the end of January 1741, almost the entirety of Silesia had come under Prussian control, and the remaining Austrian strongholds of Glogau, Brieg and Neisse were besieged.
June 1742: The Treaty of Breslau was a preliminary peace agreement signed in 1742 between Maria Theresa of Austria and Frederick II of Prussia, ending the First Silesian War. The treaty ceded the territory of Silesia to the Kingdom of Prussia.
May 1741: Brieg (today Brzeg) surrendered to the Prussians on 4 May.
November 1741: On 9 October Austria and Prussia agreed to a secret armistice known as the Convention of Klein Schnellendorf, under which both belligerents would cease hostilities in Silesia, and Austria would eventually concede Lower Silesia in return for a final peace to be negotiated before the end of the year. Neipperg's Austrian forces were then recalled from Silesia to defend Austria against the western invaders, abandoning Neisse after a sham siege in early November and leaving the whole of Silesia under Prussian control.
June 1742: The Treaty of Breslau was a preliminary peace agreement signed in 1742 between Prussian King Frederick the Great and Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, ending the First Silesian War. The treaty ceded most of Silesia to Prussia, marking a significant territorial gain for the Kingdom of Prussia.
January 1741: The fortress at Ohlau was taken without resistance by Prussian forces.
March 1741: Prince Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau took Glogau by storm.
January 1741: The Prussians swept through the province, taking control of the capital at Breslau without a fight.
Was the Austrian theatre of the First Silesian War.
September 1741: 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.
October 1741: The French deprecated a decisive move on Vienna, wishing to see Austria reduced rather than destroyed. So, on 24 October their forces turned north to march instead on Prague.
January 1742: Surrender of 10,000 French soldiers at Linz Habsburg forces led by Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.
October 1741: In mid-October 1741, Charles Albert of Bavaria, supported by French forces, was preparing to besiege Vienna during the War of the Austrian Succession. The military occupation of the territory by France and Bavaria posed a significant threat to the Austrian capital.
Was the Bohemian theatre of the First Silesian War.
January 1742: Prince Leopold's army besieged the fortress at Glatz on the edge of Bohemia.
April 1742: Frederick took Kłodzko.
January 1743: Siege of Prague.
November 1741: The Bavarian, French and Saxon armies converged around Prague in November, besieging it and ultimately storming it.
December 1741: Charles Albert was the Elector of Bavaria, who was supported by France in his claim to the Bohemian throne during the War of the Austrian Succession. He proclaimed himself King of Bohemia on 7 December 1741 after his forces occupied the territory.
Was the Moravian theatre of the First Silesian War.
December 1741: In December Schwerin's army advanced through the Sudetes into Moravia, occupying the capital at Olmütz on 27 December.
April 1742: Prussian forces moved onto Židlochovice in March 1742.
May 1742: The Moravian campaign in 1742 was part of the War of the Austrian Succession. The Prussians, led by King Frederick the Great, retreated from Moravia after failing to make significant gains against the Habsburg Empire. The territory was then occupied by the Habsburg military.
Was the Bavarian theatre of the First Silesian War.
February 1742: On January 24, 1742, during the War of the Austrian Succession, Bavarian Field Marshal Bärenklau captured the capital city of Munich, which was under the control of the Habsburg Empire at the time.
June 1743: In mid-June, the Pragmatic army arrived at Aschaffenburg, on the north bank of the River Main.
January 1742: Von Khevenhüller defeated a Bavarian army at Schärding.
May 1743: The Battle of Simbach in 1743 saw the Bavarians defeated by Charles of Lorraine, who was a general in the Habsburg Empire. This military occupation resulted in the territory of Simbach falling under Habsburg control.
October 1744: Prince Charles's army was able to return to Bohemia quickly, in good order and at full strength, though it was forced to abandon control of Alsace and Bavaria. Austrian diplomats also persuaded Saxony to re-enter the conflict on Austria's side, though in a strictly defensive role. By early October the Austrians were advancing through southwestern Bohemia toward Prague.
April 1745: After this defeat, Maximilian III of Bavaria (the son of the late Emperor Charles Albert) made peace with Maria Theresa by the Treaty of Füssen on 22 April.
April 1745: With Prussia's forces driven out of Bohemia, Austria renewed its offensive against Bavaria in March 1745, swiftly over-running the defences that had been reestablished there during the winter. On 15 April the Austrians under Count Batthyány decisively defeated the Franco-Bavarian army at the Battle of Pfaffenhofen and drove the allied forces entirely out of Bavaria.
