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Polity that includes all territories militarly occupied by Prussia that are not part of a specific military territory.
Establishment
January 1619: Union of Brandenburg and Prussia.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
The Elector of Brandenburg inherited the Duchy of Prussia upon Duke Albert Frederick's death in 1618.
Were a series of wars in Europe (and the overseas possessions of European countries) the 16th, 17th and early 18th that started after the Protestant Reformation. Although the immediate causes of the wars were religious, the motives were complex and also included territorial ambitions.
2.1.Thirty Years' War
Was a war that took place mainly in central Europe between 1618 and 1648. The war began as a religious conflict between Catholics and Protestant in the Holy Roman Empire but then escalated into a conflict for the hegemony in Europe between Habsburg Spain and Austria, Sweden and France.
2.1.1.Bohemian-Palatine period
Was the first period of the Thirty Years' War. It started with a protestant revolt in Bohemia, at the time a territory of the Habsburg Domains.
2.1.1.1.War in Palatinate
Was the theatre of war in Palatinate during the first phase of the Thirty Years' War.
January 1622: German Protestant military leader Christian of Brunswick captures Lippstadt.
January 1622: Christian of Brunswick captures Soest.
September 1622: From the summer of 1622, the territories of the Palatinate on the right bank of the Rhine were occupied by the troops of the Catholc League. Frederick V of the Palatinate eventually lost his electoral dignity on February 23, 1623, which was transferred to Maximilian of Bavaria.
2.1.2.Swedish Period
Was the third main period of the Thirty Years' War. It started with the intervention of the Kingdom of Sweden.
September 1633: The Swedes take Osnabrück.
2.2.Düsseldorf Cow War
Was a military conflict over the status of church property in the duchies Jülich and Berg between the Palatinate and the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
July 1651: In June 1651, 3,800 Brandenburg troops led by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, invaded Berg, which was ruled by Wolfgang Wilhelm, Duke of Berg. The invasion resulted in the death of two civilians, the bombardment of Wolfgang Wilhelm's palace, and the seizure of his wife's cows. The Brandenburg troops then established an encampment at Angermund as part of Prussia's military occupation of the territory.
November 1651: In 1651, during the Thirty Years' War, Neuburg and Brandenburg, led by Wolfgang Wilhelm, Duke of Neuburg, and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, respectively, disbanded their troops in the occupied regions, which then came under military occupation by Kurpfalz.
November 1651: In 1651, during the Thirty Years' War, the territories of Neuburg and Brandenburg had disbanded their troops in the occupied regions, which then went under the control of the Archbishopric of Cologne.
Was a war of succession in the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg between Brandenburg and the Palatinate.
July 1651: Brandenburg troops invaded Berg.
3.1.Treaty of Cleve
Was a treaty between Palatinate-Neuburg and Brandenburg that officially paritioned the Duchy of Jülich-Cleves-Mark and ended the War of the Jülich Succession.
September 1666: In 1666 the Treaty of Kleve was ratified, which significantly reduced the conflict between Pfalz-Neuburg and Brandenburg. With this settlement, the Duchy of Kleve and the counties of Mark and Ravensberg fell to the Elector of Brandenburg, Friedrich Wilhelm. The Count Palatine Philipp Wilhelm received the duchies of Jülich and Berg as well as the small Flemish dominions of Wijnendale west of Ghent and Breskesand on the extreme southwestern Scheldt island.
A series of wars fought in northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century.
4.1.Second Northern War
Was a war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden (along with their respective allies) over the hegemony in the Baltic Sea.
January 1656: In 1656, during the Second Northern War, the "Great Elector" of Brandenburg, Frederick William, was forced to join the Swedish camp and became a Swedish vassal for the Duchy of Prussia and Ermland. This decision was a strategic move to protect his territories from Polish and Russian threats.
November 1656: The Treaty of Labiau was a treaty signed between Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg and Charles X Gustav of Sweden. With several concessions, the most important being the elevation of Frederick William I from a Swedish vassal to a full sovereign in the Duchy of Prussia and in Ermland (Ermeland, Warmia).
Were a series of wars between the Habsburg Domains and Prussia for the control of Silesia. The war started during the War of the Austrian Succession, when Frederick the Great of Prussia invaded Habsburg-held Silesia.
5.1.First Silesian War
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.
5.1.1.Silesian Theatre (First War)
Was the Silesian theatre of the First Silesian War.
January 1741: The Prussians swept through the province, taking control of the capital at Breslau without a fight.
January 1741: The fortress at Ohlau was taken without resistance by Prussian forces.
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.
March 1741: Prince Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau took Glogau by storm.
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.
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.
5.1.2.Bohemian Theatre (First Silesian WarWar)
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.
5.1.3.Moravian Theatre
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.
5.2.Second Silesian War
Was the second of three wars between Austria and Prussia for the control of Silesia. It was part of the War of the Austrian Succession.
5.2.1.Bohemian Theatre (Second Silesian War)
Was the Bohemian theatre of the Second Silesian War.
September 1744: The Second Silesian War began in 1744. Frederick of Prussia was disquieted by the universal success of the Austrians and their alliance with Sardinia.
The invading army of around 70,000 men entered Bohemia in three columns: the eastern column, led by Count Kurt von Schwerin, advanced from Silesia through Glatz and across the Giant Mountains; the central column, led by Prince Leopold II of Anhalt-Dessau, marched through Saxony (with an order from the Emperor guaranteeing safe conduct), passing through Lusatia and advancing to Leitmeritz; the western column, led by Frederick himself, advanced up the Elbe through Dresden and across the Ore Mountains to Leitmeritz. After entering Bohemia, all three forces converged on Prague by the beginning of September, surrounding and besieging the Bohemian capital.
September 1744: Prague underwent a week of heavy artillery bombardment, eventually surrendering to the Prussians on 16 September.
September 1744: Frederick the Great left a modest garrison in Prague and quickly marched on to the south, occupying Tabor, Budweis and Frauenberg.
November 1744: By early November the Prussians were forced to retreat to Prague and the Elbe.
November 1744: After some weeks of manoeuvre an Austrian-Saxon force crossed the Elbe on 19 November. At this point the Prussians abandoned Prague and gave up Bohemia, retreating in poor morale into Upper Silesia.
June 1745: The Prussians followed the retreating Austrian-Saxon army into Bohemia, harassing its rear as far as Königgrätz.
November 1745: The Prussian's supplies were exhausted and they withdrew again into Upper Silesia for the winter.
5.2.2.Silesian Theatre (Second War)
Was the Silesian theatre of the Second Silesian War.
November 1745: Frederick the Great won the actions of Katholisch-Hennersdorf on 24 November and Görlitz on 25 November.
November 1745: Leopold I was the Duke of Anhalt-Dessau and a Prussian general during the War of the Austrian Succession. His army's advance into Leipzig in 1745 marked a significant military occupation by Prussia in the region.
December 1745: The armies of King Charles VII of Bavaria and King Frederick II of Prussia converged toward Dresden in early December 1745.
December 1745: Leopold's force attacked and destroyed Rutowsky's army in the Battle of Kesselsdorf.
December 1745: The Prussians occupied Dresden on 18 December.
December 1745: This Treaty of Dresden ended the Second Silesian War between Austria, Saxony, and Prussia.
Was a global conflict that involved most of the European great powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. At the end of the war the main winner was Great Britain, that obtained territories in North America, the Caribbean and India, becoming the most powerful maritime and colonial of the European powers.
6.1.Third Silesian War
Was the last of three wars between Austria and Prussia for the control of Silesia. It was also part of the Seven Years' War.
6.1.1.Saxon Theatre (Polish-Soviet War)
Was the theatre of War in the Electorate of Saxony, which was invaded by Prussia, during the Third Silesian War.
September 1756: Prussians occupied Dresden against little resistance.
October 1756: The Saxon army was briefly besieged at Pirna and surrendered on 14 October, after which its men were forcibly incorporated into the Prussian army under Prussian officers.
September 1757: The Austrians under Daun and Prince Charles, advancing into Upper Lusatia, defeated a Prussian force under Bevern and Hans Karl von Winterfeldt at the Battle of Moys.
October 1757: In late October 1757, during the Seven Years' War, the Prussian army under King Frederick II retreated from Dresden to Leipzig to defend against the advancing Austrian and Saxon forces. This strategic move was crucial in protecting Prussia's heartland from potential invasion.
November 1757: After this series of manoeuvres, on 5 November, a Prussian corps under Frederick located and engaged Soubise's much larger force near the village of Rossbach in Saxony. The ensuing Battle of Rossbach ended in a stunning Prussian victory, in which Frederick lost fewer than 1,000 men, while the Franco-German force under Soubise lost around 10,000.This victory secured Prussia's control of Saxony for a time.
September 1758: In 1758, during the Seven Years' War, Austrian forces led by Field Marshal Daun captured Dresden, the capital of Saxony, from the Prussian army. The surrender of Dresden on 4 September was a significant blow to the Prussian forces, who had been preparing for a major battle at Kunersdorf.
September 1758: And quickly occupying most of the electorate.
July 1760: Frederick the Great of Prussia led his army back into Saxony and besieged Dresden.
July 1760: Daun's army marched westward and forced the Prussians to lift the siege and withdraw.
October 1762: After the Battle of Freiberg it controlled most of Saxony outside of Dresden. Austria still held Dresden and the southeastern edge of Saxony.
6.1.2.Bohemian Theatre (Third War)
Was the Bohemian theatre of the Third Silesian War.
April 1757: In 1757, during the Seven Years' War, the Prussian forces under Field Marshal von Bevern defeated the Austrian corps led by Count Königsegg in the Battle of Reichenberg. This victory resulted in the territory of Reichenberg falling under Prussian military occupation.
May 1757: The invading columns reunited north of Prague, while the retreating Austrians reformed under the command of Prince Charles of Lorraine to the city's east, and on 6 May the two armies fought the Battle of Prague.
June 1757: The resulting Battle of Kolín on 18 June ended in a decisive Austrian victory; the Prussian position was ruined, and the invaders were forced to lift the siege and withdraw from Bohemia altogether, pursued by Daun's army, which was enlarged by the Prague garrison.
April 1758: Frederick the Great, King of Prussia led a field army into Moravia, reaching Olmütz.
June 1758: On June 30 Austrian forces commanded by General Ernst von Laudon intercepted a massive supply convoy from Silesia bound for the Prussian army at Olmütz and destroyed it in the Battle of Domstadtl. After this loss, the Prussians were forced to break off the siege and withdraw from Moravia, abandoning their final major invasion of Austrian territory during the war.
6.1.3.Treaty of Hubertusburg
Was the treaty that ended the Third Silesian War, and, together with the Treaty of Paris (1763) it ended also the Seven Years' War.
February 1763: At the end of the Third Silesian War, the warring parties agreed restore the status quo ante bellum. Austria withdrew from Glatz, restoring full Prussian control of Silesia, in exchange for Prussia's evacuation of Saxony.
6.2.Central German Theatre
Was the theatre of war in central Germany of the Seven Years' War.
6.2.1.French Invasion (German Theatre of the Seven Years' War)
Was a French large-scale invasion of Germany during the Seven Years' War.
November 1757: The Prussian army leaves Rossbach.
6.2.2.Counteroffensive against the French invasion of Germany
Was the Prussian and British counteroffensive against the French invasion of Germany during the Seven Years' War.
April 1758: During the Seven Years' War, Ferdinand of Brunswick led the Allied forces, including British and Hanoverian troops, to re-capture the port of Emden from the French in 1758. This victory was a significant turning point in the war.
6.3.Pomeranian War
Was a theatre of war of the Seven Years' War. The term is used to describe the fighting between Sweden and Prussia between 1757 and 1762 in Swedish Pomerania, Prussian Pomerania, northern Brandenburg and eastern Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
April 1759: In 1759, during the Seven Years' War, the Swedish commander Carl August Ehrensvärd was forced to retreat to Stralsund by a superior Prussian force. This resulted in the loss of the garrisons at Demmin, Anklam, and Peenemünde to Prussia through military occupation.
June 1759: The Russian advance in May liberated Swedish Pomerania.
Was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Saxony and Prussia over the succession to the Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Bavaria was finally united with Palatinate (where another Branche of the Wittelsbach ruled) but lost the Innviertel region ot Austria.
August 1778: Frederick the Great of Prussia led his troops to invade Bohemia. The Prussian forces occupied Náchod but did not advance further into Bohemia.
7.1.Treaty of Teschen
Was the treaty that ended the War of the Bavarian Succession.
May 1779: Prussia leaves the territories occupied in the Habsburg Domains after the War of the Bavarian Succession was ended with the Treaty of Teschen.
Was a Prussian military campaign in September-October 1787 to restore the Orange stadtholderate in the Dutch Republic against the rise of the democratic Patriot movement.
September 1787: The fortress city of Gorinchem (the only garrison south of Amsterdam still in a position to offer resistance, after the Woerden Defense Council had ordered all other troops to retreat to Amsterdam on 15 September) was ordered to surrender by Knobelsdorff on 17 September.
September 1787: The main Prussian force, led by Gaudi and Knobelsdorff, reached Leimuiden.
September 1787: Naarden and Weesp were part of the Dutch Republic during the Patriot movement in the late 18th century. Adam Gerard Mappa was a prominent Patriot leader who led the surrender of Naarden to Prussian forces in 1787 during the Prussian military occupation of the Dutch Republic.
October 1787: Prussian military occupation of Sloten
October 1787: The Prussian forces left the city of Leiden.
Was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and in the Prussian territories in Poland. The revolt was caused by the first two partitions of Poland.
9.1.Revolt proper (Kościuszko Uprising)
On 24 March 1794, Tadeusz Kościuszko, a veteran of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War, announced a general uprising of Poland-Lithuania against Russia and Prussia.
June 1794: The Prussian army captured Kraków unopposed.
November 1794: The commander of the Kościuszko Uprising, Tomasz Wawrzecki, surrendered to Russian and Prussian forces Radoszyce.
Were a series of conflicts between France and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars against the newly declared French Republic and from 1803 onwards the Napoleonic Wars against First Consul and later Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. They include the Coalition Wars as a subset: seven wars waged by various military alliances of great European powers, known as Coalitions, against Revolutionary France - later the First French Empire - and its allies.
10.1.Franco-Swedish War
Was a war between France and Sweden that took place in Swedish Pomerania.
10.1.1.Offensive in Swedish Pomerania
Were a series of French campaigns were Swedish Pomerania was occupied.
May 1809: The French occupation of Stralsund was interrupted when a Prussian freikorps under Ferdinand von Schill seized the city.
May 1809: The Prussian freikorps are defeated by the French who recaptured Stralsund.
Were a series of wars that resulted in the creation of the German Empire under Prussian leadership in 1871.
11.1.Austro-Prussian War
Was a war between the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire over the dominance of the German states. The war resulted in a Prussian victory. The German confederation was abolished and in 1871 Prussia united all the German states but Austria in the German Empire.
11.1.1.Front in Bohemia (Austro-Prussian War)
Was the Bohemian front of the Austro-Prussian War.
June 1866: Battle of Hühnerwasser (modern-day Kuřívody, Czech Republic).
June 1866: Battle of Podol.
June 1866: Battle of Nachod.
June 1866: Battle of Skalitz.
June 1866: Battle of Trautenau.
June 1866: Battle of Munich Grätz.
June 1866: Battle of Gichin.
June 1866: Battle of Königinhof (modern-day Dvůr Králové nad Labem, Czech Republic)
June 1866: Battle of Schweinschädel (modern-day Bitva u Svinišťan, Czech Republic).
July 1866: The Battle of Königgrätz was the culminating military event in the 1866 Austro Prussian War. It was also the largest European land battle before World War I. The battle was won by Prussia, that become the dominant German state.
July 1866: Battle of Blumenau.
July 1866: Battle of Trautenau.
11.1.2.Campaign of the Main
Was a campaign of the Prussian army in the area of the river Main against the allies of Austria in Southern Germany during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866.
July 1866: Battle of Kissingen.
July 1866: The Prussians won the battle near Laufach against Hessian-Darmstadt troops and stormed Aschaffenburg on July 14 in fierce street fighting against Austrian troops under Field Marshal Erwin von Neipperg.
July 1866: On the day after next, on July 16, the Prussian Main Army occupied the city of Frankfurt without a fight.
July 1866: Battle of Hundheim.
July 1866: Battle near Tauberbischofsheim.
July 1866: Battle near Werbach.
July 1866: Battle of Helmstadt.
July 1866: Battle of Gerchsheim.
July 1866: Battle of Rossbrunn.
August 1866: Battle of Rossbrunn.
11.1.3.Peace Treaties (Austro-Prussian War)
Were a series of treaties that ended the Austro-Prussian War. Prussia annexed the Austro-Prussian condominium of Schleswig and Holstein and several other territories. The German Confederation was dissolved, and a Prussian domained Northern German Confederation, that excluded the southern German states, was created.
September 1866: After the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia evacuated the territories it had occupied in Austria.
September 1866: After the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia evacuated the territories it had occupied in Baden.
September 1866: At the end of the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia left the territories occupied in Bavaria.
September 1866: The peace treaty of September 3, 1866 with the Grand Duchy of Hesse resulted in territorial gains for the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, specifically acquiring the territories of Rumpenheim und Amt Dorheim. This treaty was signed following the Austro-Prussian War, which ended with the defeat of Austria and its allies by Prussia and its allies.
September 1866: Prussia annexed Frankfurt.
January 1632: The Lordship of Gimborn fell directly under the control of the Holy Roman Empire.
Disestablishment
June 1866: Battle of Hühnerwasser (modern-day Kuřívody, Czech Republic).
June 1866: Battle of Podol.
June 1866: Battle of Nachod.
June 1866: Battle of Munich Grätz.
June 1866: Battle of Trautenau.
June 1866: Battle of Skalitz.
June 1866: Battle of Gichin.
June 1866: Battle of Schweinschädel (modern-day Bitva u Svinišťan, Czech Republic).
June 1866: Battle of Königinhof (modern-day Dvůr Králové nad Labem, Czech Republic)
July 1866: The Battle of Königgrätz was the culminating military event in the 1866 Austro Prussian War. It was also the largest European land battle before World War I. The battle was won by Prussia, that become the dominant German state.
July 1866: Battle of Kissingen.
July 1866: The Prussians won the battle near Laufach against Hessian-Darmstadt troops and stormed Aschaffenburg on July 14 in fierce street fighting against Austrian troops under Field Marshal Erwin von Neipperg.
July 1866: On the day after next, on July 16, the Prussian Main Army occupied the city of Frankfurt without a fight.
July 1866: Battle of Blumenau.
July 1866: Battle of Hundheim.
July 1866: Battle near Tauberbischofsheim.
July 1866: Battle near Werbach.
July 1866: Battle of Helmstadt.
July 1866: Battle of Gerchsheim.
July 1866: Battle of Rossbrunn.
July 1866: Battle of Trautenau.
August 1866: Battle of Rossbrunn.
September 1866: After the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia evacuated the territories it had occupied in Baden.
September 1866: At the end of the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia left the territories occupied in Bavaria.
September 1866: After the Austro-Prussian War, Prussia evacuated the territories it had occupied in Austria.
September 1866: The peace treaty of September 3, 1866 with the Grand Duchy of Hesse resulted in territorial gains for the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, specifically acquiring the territories of Rumpenheim und Amt Dorheim. This treaty was signed following the Austro-Prussian War, which ended with the defeat of Austria and its allies by Prussia and its allies.
September 1866: Prussia annexed Frankfurt.
Selected Sources
Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.230
Tucker, S.C. (2011) Battles that changed History - An Encyclopedia of World Conflict, ABC-CLIO, p.352
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Prussia (Military Occupation)
