The Empire of Austria - John S. C. Abbott (best books to read now TXT) 📗

to an accommodation, sent an ambassador to ascertain his terms. In laconic phrase, characteristic of this singular man, he returned the following answer: -

"All lower Silesia; the river Neiss for the boundary. The town of Neiss as well as Glatz. Beyond the Oder the ancient limits to continue between the duchies of Brieg and Oppelon. Breslau for us. The affairs of religion in statu quo . No dependence on Bohemia; a cession forever. In return we will proceed no further. We will besiege Neiss for form. The commandant shall surrender and depart. We will pass quietly into winter quarters, and the Austrian army may go where they will. Let the whole be concluded in twelve days."

These terms were assented to. The king promised never to ask any further territory from the queen, and not to act offensively against the queen or any of her allies. Though the queen placed not the slightest confidence in the integrity of the Prussian monarch, she rejoiced in this treaty, which enabled her to turn all her attention to her other foes. The allies were now in possession of nearly all of Bohemia and were menacing Prague.

The Duke of Lorraine hastened with sixty thousand men to the relief of the capital. He had arrived within nine miles of the city, when he learned, to his extreme chagrin, that the preceding night Prague had been taken by surprise. That very day the Elector of Bavaria made a triumphal entry into the town, and was soon crowned King of Bohemia. And now the electoral diet of Germany met, and, to the extreme disappointment of Maria Theresa, chose, as Emperor of Germany, instead of her husband, the Elector of Bavaria, whom they also acknowledged King of Bohemia. He received the imperial crown at Frankfort on the 12th of February, 1742, with the title of Charles VII.

The Duke of Lorraine having been thus thwarted in his plan of relieving Prague, and not being prepared to assail the allied army in possession of the citadel, and behind the ramparts of the city, detached a part of his army to keep the enemy in check, and sent General Kevenhuller, with thirty thousand men, to invade and take possession of Bavaria, now nearly emptied of its troops. By very sagacious movements the general soon became master of all the defiles of the Bavarian mountains. He then pressed forward, overcoming all opposition, and in triumph entered Munich, the capital of Bavaria, the very day Charles was chosen emperor. Thus the elector, as he received the imperial crown, dropped his own hereditary estates from his hand.

This triumph of the queen's arms alarmed Frederic of Prussia. He reposed as little confidence in the honesty of the Austrian court as they reposed in him. He was afraid that the queen, thus victorious, would march her triumphant battalions into Silesia and regain the lost duchy. He consequently, in total disregard of his treaty, and without troubling himself to make any declaration of war, resumed hostilities. He entered into a treaty with his old rival, the Elector of Bavaria, now King of Bohemia, and Emperor of Germany. Receiving from the emperor large accessions of territory, Frederic devoted his purse and array to the allies. His armies were immediately in motion. They overran Moravia, and were soon in possession of all of its most important fortresses. All the energies of Frederic were consecrated to any cause in which he enlisted. He was indefatigable in his activity. With no sense of dishonor in violating a solemn treaty, with no sense of shame in conspiring with banded despots against a youthful queen, of whose youth, and feebleness and feminine nature they wished to take advantage that they might rob her of her possessions, Frederic rode from camp to camp, from capital to capital, to infuse new vigor into the alliance. He visited the Elector of Saxony at Dresden, then galloped to Prague, then returned through Moravia, and placed himself at the head of his army. Marching vigorously onward, he entered upper Austria. His hussars spread terror in all directions, even to the gates of Vienna.

The Hungarian troops pressed forward in defense of the queen. Wide leagues of country were desolated by war, as all over Germany the hostile battalions swept to and fro. The Duke of Lorraine hastened from Moravia for the defense of Vienna, while detached portions of the Austrian army were on the rapid march, in all directions, to join him. On the 16th of May, 1742, the Austrian army, under the Duke of Lorraine, and the Prussian army under Frederic, encountered each other, in about equal numbers, at Chazleau. Equal in numbers, equal in skill, equal in bravery, they fought with equal success. After several hours of awful carnage, fourteen thousand corpses strewed the ground. Seven thousand were Austrians, seven thousand Prussians. The Duke of Lorraine retired first, leaving a thousand prisoners, eighteen pieces of artillery and two standards, with the foe; but he took with him, captured from the Prussians, a thousand prisoners, fourteen cannon, and two standards. As the duke left Frederic in possession of the field, it was considered a Prussian victory. But it was a victory decisive of no results, as each party was alike crippled. Frederic was much disappointed. He had anticipated the annihilation of the Austrian army, and a triumphant march to Vienna, where, in the palaces of the Austrian kings, he intended to dictate terms to the prostrate monarchy.

The queen had effectually checked his progress, new levies were crowding to her aid, and it was in vain for Frederic, with his diminished and exhausted regiments, to undertake an assault upon the ramparts of Vienna. Again he proposed terms of peace. He demanded all of upper as well as lower Silesia, and the county of Glatz, containing nearly seven hundred square miles, and a population of a little over sixty thousand. Maria Theresa, crowded by her other enemies, was exceedingly anxious to detach a foe so powerful and active, and she accordingly assented to the hard terms. This new treaty was signed at Breslau, on the 11th of June, and was soon ratified by both sovereigns. The Elector of Saxony was also included in this treaty and retired from the contest.

The withdrawal of these forces seemed to turn the tide of battle in favor of the Austrians. The troops from Hungary fought with the most romantic devotion. A band of Croats in the night swam across a river, with their sabers in their mouths, and climbing on each other's shoulders, scaled the walls of the fortress of Piseck, and made the garrison prisoners of war. The Austrians, dispersing the allied French and Bavarians in many successful skirmishes, advanced to the walls of Prague. With seventy thousand men, the Duke of Lorraine commenced the siege of this capital, so renowned in the melancholy annals of war. The sympathies of Europe began to turn in favor of Maria Theresa. It became a general impression, that the preservation of the Austrian monarchy was essential to hold France in check, which colossal power seemed to threaten the liberties of Europe. The cabinet of England was especially animated by this sentiment, and a change in the ministry being effected, the court of St. James sent assurances to Vienna of their readiness to support the queen with the whole power of the British empire. Large supplies of men and money were immediately voted. Sixteen thousand men were landed in Flanders to cooperate with the Austrian troops. Holland, instigated by the example of England, granted Maria Theresa a subsidy of eight hundred and forty thousand florins. The new Queen of Russia, also, Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, adopted measures highly favorable to Austria.

In Italy affairs took a singular turn in favor of the Austrian queen. The King of Sardinia, ever ready to embark his troops in any enterprise which gave him promise of booty, alarmed by the grasping ambition of France and Spain, who were ever seizing the lion's share in all plunder, seeing that he could not hope for much advantage in his alliance with them, proposed to the queen that if she would cede to him certain of the Milanese provinces, he would march his troops into her camp. This was a great gain for Maria Theresa. The Sardinian troops guarding the passes of the Alps, shut out the French, during the whole campaign, from entering Italy. At the same time the Sardinian king, with another portion of his army, aided by the Austrian troops, overran the whole duchy of Modena, and drove out the Spaniards. The English fleet in the Mediterranean cooperated in this important measure. By the threat of a bombardment they compelled the King of Naples to withdraw from the French and Spanish alliance. Thus Austria again planted her foot in Italy. This extraordinary and unanticipated success created the utmost joy and exultation in Vienna. The despondency of the French court was correspondingly great. A few months had totally changed the aspect of affairs. The allied troops were rapidly melting away, with none to fill up the dwindling ranks. The proud army which had swept over Germany, defying all opposition, was now cooped up within the walls of Prague, beleaguered by a foe whom victory had rendered sanguine. The new emperor, claiming the crown of Austria, had lost his own territory of Bavaria; and the capital of Bohemia, where he had so recently been enthroned, was hourly in peril of falling into the hands of his foes.

Under these circumstances the hopes of the Duke of Bavaria sank rapidly into despair. The hour of disaster revealed a meanness of spirit which prosperity had not developed. He sued for peace, writing a dishonorable and cringing letter, in which he protested that he was not to blame for the war, but that the whole guilt rested upon the French court, which had inveigled him to present his claim and commence hostilities. Maria Theresa made no other reply to this humiliating epistle than to publish it, and give it a wide circulation throughout Europe. Cardinal Fleury, the French minister of state, indignant at this breach of confidence, sent to the cabinet of Vienna a remonstrance and a counter statement. This paper also the queen gave to the public.

Marshal Belleisle was in command of the French and Bavarian troops, which were besieged in Prague. The force rapidly gathering around him was such as to render retreat impossible. The city was unprepared for a siege, and famine soon began to stare the citizens and garrison in the face. The marshal, reduced to the last extremity, offered to evacuate the city and march out of Bohemia, if he could be permitted to retire unmolested, with arms, artillery and baggage. The Duke of Lorraine, to avoid a battle which would be rendered sanguinary through despair, was ready and even anxious to assent to these terms. His leading generals were of the same opinion, as they wished to avoid a needless effusion of blood.

The offered terms of capitulation were sent to Maria Theresa. She rejected them with disdain. She displayed a revengeful spirit, natural, perhaps, under the circumstances, but which reflects but little honor upon her character.

"I will not," she replied, in the presence of the whole court; "I will not grant any capitulation to the French army. I will listen to no terms, to no proposition from Cardinal Fleury. I am astonished that he should come to me now with proposals for peace; he who endeavored to excite all the princes of Germany to crush me. I have acted with too much condescension to the court of France. Compelled by the necessities of my situation I debased my royal dignity by writing to the cardinal in terms which would have softened the most obdurate rock. He insolently rejected my entreaties; and