Chapter VIII The Trapped Fox of the Seven Years' War (continued)
At this point, tears flowed from Old Hans's eyes:
"One of my brothers and two younger brothers were killed in that battle. Our army has never suffered such a defeat." After speaking, he took out the handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiped the corners of his eyes and continued:
"When His Majesty found a place to rest, he immediately wrote to his brother Prince Henry: Of the 48,000 troops under my command, there are now less than 3,000 left, and I am no longer the commander-in-chief of the army...
·After experiencing this major disaster, I no longer want to live any longer.
His Majesty informed the generals that the command was being transferred to Prince Henry. Then, His Majesty fell down on the haystack and fell asleep.
When he woke up the next morning, His Majesty found that 20,000 deserters had returned to the army. This was a miracle. The soldiers still believed in their king and they were ready to serve under His Majesty again.
Encouraged by this, His Majesty threw the matter of suicide out of the sky; His Majesty reorganized these people and those who followed His Majesty to break out of the encirclement into an army of 32,000 people, and established a stronghold on the Russian army's road to Berlin to defend the capital.
Make a last ditch effort.
But Saltykov's army did not appear, and the Russian soldiers also had to look for food. They were on enemy territory, full of dangers, and the lines of communication were so far away. Saltkov believed that the Austrians should be responsible at this time.
He felt responsible, so he ordered the withdrawal of the Russian troops. Austrian Marshal Daun agreed that the next step should be decided by himself.
The Austrians took advantage of Prince Henry's return of reinforcements, marched their troops to the gates of Dresden, and opened fire with artillery. The general who defended the city was originally a loyal Prussian general, but at this time he felt that the matter was over.
On September 5th, despite His Majesty's order to stand firm, he opened the city and surrendered to the Austrians. However, His Majesty's reinforcements were on the way at this moment, and upon receiving the news, His Majesty had no choice but to order the army to march to the winter camp of Freiburg.
After replenishment from various places, our total strength was restored to 60,000 at this time, and we faced off with the main force of the Austrian army led by Daun in Freiburg. That winter was surprisingly cold, and a few weeks later, the snow was knee-deep. Only officers could
Finding shelter in the house, ordinary soldiers could only live in temporary wooden houses, huddled around the fire to keep warm, and had no food except bread.
In November, the two large armies that went out to look for food were ambushed and annihilated by Daun, and another 20,000 people were lost. The only good news is that Daun's Austrian army also froze to death in 16 days, with 4,000 people freezing to death.
On November 19, His Majesty the King wrote to Voltaire of France: If this war continues, Europe will return to the Dark Ages, and some of us will become like beasts.
Although France at this time was far richer than us in terms of money and personnel, France's national finances were also on the verge of bankruptcy. France reduced pension payments and levied taxes on aristocratic estates.
On October 6, France suspended payments on the national bonds it issued, but the French finance minister was dismissed when he suggested that King Louis XV cut costs.
In this environment, the Duke of Choiseul of France actually armed a fleet at this time and prepared to land in Britain. However, it was destroyed by the British in the Battle of Quiberon Bay on November 20.
After experiencing defeat, like every Frenchman, Louis XV also felt that there were too many wars. He wanted peace, but our King ceded Silesia to the Austrians. He also wanted a glorious peace, and we
The old ally of England, Pitt, was busy annexing French colonies. How could he possibly negotiate peace with him before establishing the British Empire?
In 1760, His Majesty the King worked hard to increase the number of troops to 100,000 to 120,000. The anti-Prussian alliance's army was 220,000.
The Allies planned to take coordinated actions: the Russian and Austrian forces were in Silesia, the Imperial Army in Saxony, and the French Army against Hanover.
His Majesty the King went on the defensive in order to cover his supply lines and munitions depots. The Russian and Austrian troops fought on the enemy's lines of communication in an attempt to force our troops to abandon the occupied fortresses and cities. Since Marshal Daun of Austria evaded coordinated actions,
Saltykov transferred the main force of the Russian army to Pomerania and sent some troops to attack Berlin. As a result, 23,000 Russian troops led by Russian General Chernyshev occupied Berlin on October 9.
However, as the 70,000 Prussian troops led by His Majesty were approaching Berlin, Chernyshev's army, after destroying our military supply depot and other military facilities, withdrew from Berlin and joined the main force of the Russian army fighting in the Frankfurt area.
The war in 1760 ended with no fundamental change in the situation on either side.
In the winter of 1759 to 1760, His Majesty was busy controlling the domestic economy and recruiting and training military personnel.
In April, Saltykov reentered the battlefield with 100,000 troops from Russia. Austrian Laudon had 30,000 troops in Silesia, facing off against Prince Henry's 34,000 troops. Austrian Daun's main force was in Drei
There were only 40,000 troops left to fight against him. The French army had 125,000 troops, while Ferdinand only had 70,000 troops. The enemy troops besieging Prussia were still twice as many as his.
The brave Austrian rookie Laudon launched the first attack in 1760. At the Battle of Landshut on June 23, he annihilated an army of 13,000 of our troops.
On August 15, His Majesty escaped from Daun's encirclement, defeated Laudon at the Battle of Liegnitz, and entered Breslau. However, on October 9, a group of Cossacks and Daun led by Fermor
The Russian-Austrian army, composed of the troops of Chief of Staff Count Franz Moritz von Rasch, invaded Berlin, plundered the military warehouses, levied a sum of 2 million silver coins, and then retreated.
On November 3, His Majesty's 44,000 troops and Daun's 53,000 troops fought the Battle of Torgau. He used the old method of flanking assault, but the actions of the task force were noticed by the opponent and did nothing. His Majesty's front was attacked
Due to the fierce attack of the Austrian army, His Majesty once again lost three of his horses, and a bullet hit his chest. He was stunned and fell unconscious.
Later, it was only with the flexible counterattack of Hans Ernst Karl Graf von Zieten's cavalry that the Austrian Daun was accidentally injured, which made the Austrian army withdraw from the battlefield first. The Austrian army lost 11,260, and
The loss statistics of our army should be between 15,000 and 20,000. With the arrival of winter, our army finally took a breath again.
1761 was the year of diplomacy. King George II, who was extremely concerned about Hanover, passed away at the end of 1760. His grandson George III was not interested in Hanover and ordered an end to this war that cost a lot of pounds. The British garrison in Hanover was sharply reduced.
Prince Ferdinand had to abandon his family territory and retreat.
French Minister of War Choiseul turned to Spain, and the two countries signed a family agreement to deal with the common enemy. Austria's most offensive general Laudon was ordered to lead 72,000 and 50,000 Russian troops to join forces to completely cut off East Prussia and Branden
Fort, and prepared to capture Berlin.
On September 1, the Austrian army once again captured the Schweidnitz Fortress to obtain its supplies.
On October 5, Old Pitt, the British War Secretary who was leading the war, encountered opposition in the House of Commons and was forced to resign. The King's teacher, Earl Bute, ousted the Prime Minister, the Duke of Newcastle. He asked His Majesty to admit defeat and cede Silesia to Austria. His Majesty was decisive.
We refused, and Britain stopped aid to us.
At that time, the whole of Europe, including many Prussians, asked His Majesty to make concessions. Many of our soldiers had lost the will to fight, and some even claimed that they would rather surrender if attacked again.
At the end of 1761, His Majesty found himself alone against enemies all over Europe. His Majesty had no choice but to say that only God could save him.
But God did not abandon us, and a miracle finally saved us.
On January 5, 1762, the Russian Czarina who hated Your Majesty died. Peter III, who succeeded him, was an admirer of His Majesty. When His Majesty received the news, he immediately ordered that all Russian prisoners be given clothes, shoes and food, and that they be sent to
release.
On February 23, Peter announced the end of the war with Prussia.
On May 22, Sweden then made peace with the Prussian army.
In the same month, 100,000 Turkish troops launched an attack on Hungary.
On June 10, the Russian army once again entered the battlefield, but this time it was as our ally. Peter III wore a Prussian military uniform and automatically requested to serve "the king, my master". This was the most unprecedented military attack in history.
One of the incredible situations.
His Majesty was encouraged by this and felt relieved, and the morale of our army was restored. However, His Majesty also agreed with his enemies that Peter III was crazy, especially when Peter suggested attacking Denmark and recovering Holstein.
His Majesty the King could only watch quietly as this poor prince destroyed himself.
On June 28, Peter was overthrown in a coup initiated by his wife and assassinated a few days later. Catherine II, who succeeded to the throne, ordered the Russian troops to return home immediately. At that time, His Majesty was preparing to attack Daun, so he asked the Russians to
The army commander delayed the Tsarina's order for three days to announce it, and he used these three days to contract the Russian army to fight the Battle of Boksdorf.
On July 21, the cautious Marshal Daun retreated with the loss of 2,000 men. He wanted to wait for the Russian-Prussian coalition to split.
On July 23, the Prussian army once again occupied the Schweidnitz Fortress. Russia finally withdrew from the war.
On October 29, Prince Henry led 24,000 people to defeat 39,000 Imperial Parliamentary troops at the Battle of Freiburg in Saxony. This was actually the last battle of the Seven Years' War.
At that time, the resources of the entire Western Europe were exhausted, especially in our country. All children over the age of 14 were drafted, the countryside was deserted, and businessmen went bankrupt because there was no business.
Austria had more people but less money, and its national debt was as high as 100 million gulden. The Spanish Empire was defeated soon after entering the war. The British fleet launched the Battle of Havana and the Battle of Manila and captured Cuba and the Philippines.
France was bankrupt, its colonies were lost, and overseas trade almost came to a halt.
Britain desperately needed peace to consolidate the possessions he had acquired.
On September 5, 1762, British Prime Minister John Stewart, Lord Bute, sent an envoy to Paris to meet with the French Minister of War, the Duke of Choiseul. If France was willing to cede Canada, Britain would agree to return Guadeloupe, the trading center of the West Indies.
and Martinique, agreed to return the Philippines and Cuba. Agreed to France retaining five unarmed trading points in India.
The elder Pitt fiercely denounced these clauses in the British House of Commons, but public opinion at the time supported Lord Bute.
On November 5, Britain, France, Portugal and Spain signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
Now only the Prussian and Austrian armies are left facing each other in Europe.
In February 1763, Queen Maria Theresia of Hungary was forced by the situation to sign a peace treaty with us. The Germanic countries returned to their pre-war conditions, with nothing changed and only youth and blood disappearing. Recall
Thirty years ago, His Majesty almost married the Queen of Hungary, which must be said to be a huge irony.
His Majesty promised to support the Queen's son Joseph to become King of Rome and inherit the Holy Roman Empire. The empire restored peace. When His Majesty returned to Berlin after six years of absence, only poor and sad people stood on both sides to welcome him. His Majesty was only 51 years old at the time.
After continuous battles, his back was hunched, his face was wrinkled, he was as thin as wood, his teeth were missing, his hair was half-haired, and he suffered from stomach pain, diarrhea and hemorrhoids. At that time, His Majesty believed that the most suitable place for him now is a nursing home for disabled soldiers."
Newbie, new book, please support. These chapters mainly talk about the Seven Years' War. After all, it was the Seven Years' War that established Prussia's position in Europe. Basically, it didn't take much effort. It's all from Baidu. I hope you can forgive me...