Editing War of the Austrian Succession (section)

==Naval operations==
{{Campaignbox War of the Austrian Succession:Sea battles}}
The naval [[Operation (military)|operations]] of this war were entangled with the [[War of Jenkins' Ear]], which broke out in 1739 in consequence of the long disputes between Britain and Spain over their conflicting claims in America.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=43}} The war was remarkable for the prominence of privateering on both sides. It was carried on by the Spaniards in the West Indies with great success, and actively at home. The French were no less active in all seas. Mahé de la Bourdonnais's attack on Madras partook largely of the nature of a privateering venture. The British retaliated with vigour. The total number of captures by French and Spanish [[Privateer|corsairs]] was in all probability larger than the list of British—as the French wit [[Voltaire]] drolly put it upon hearing his government's boast, namely, that more British merchants were taken because there were many more British merchant ships to take; but partly also because the British government had not yet begun to enforce the use of [[convoy]] so strictly as it did in later times.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=45}}

{{further|War of Jenkins' Ear}}

===West Indies===
{{Campaignbox War of Jenkins' Ear}}
[[File:Edward Vernon by Thomas Gainsborough.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Vice-Admiral]] [[Admiral Vernon|Edward Vernon]]]]
War on Spain was declared by Great Britain on 23 October 1739, which has become known as the [[War of Jenkins' Ear]]. A plan was laid for combined operations against the Spanish colonies from east and west. One force, military and naval, was to assault them from the [[West Indies]] under Admiral [[Edward Vernon]]. Another, to be commanded by Commodore [[George Anson, 1st Baron Anson|George Anson]], afterwards Lord Anson, was to round [[Cape Horn]] and to fall upon the Pacific coast of Latin America. Delays, bad preparations, [[dockyard]] corruption, and the squabbles of the naval and military officers concerned caused the failure of a hopeful scheme. On 21 November 1739, Admiral Vernon did, however, succeed in capturing the ill-defended Spanish harbour of [[Battle of Porto Bello (1739)|Porto Bello]] in present-day [[Panama]]. When Vernon had been joined by Sir [[Chaloner Ogle]] with massive naval reinforcements and a strong body of troops, an attack was made on [[Battle of Cartagena de Indias|Cartagena de Indias]] in what is now [[Colombia]] (9 March{{snd}}24 April 1741). The delay had given the Spanish under [[Sebastián de Eslava]] and [[Blas de Lezo]] time to prepare. After two months of skilful defence by the Spanish, the British attack finally succumbed to a massive outbreak of disease and withdrew having suffered a dreadful loss of lives and ships.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=44}}

The war in the West Indies, after two other unsuccessful attacks had been made on Spanish territory, died down and did not revive until 1748. The expedition under Anson sailed late, was very ill-provided, and less strong than had been intended. It consisted of six ships and left Britain on 18 September 1740. Anson returned alone with his [[flagship]] the ''[[HMS Centurion (1732)|Centurion]]'' on 15 June 1744. The other vessels had either failed to round the Horn or had been lost. But Anson had harried the coast of [[Chile]] and [[Peru]] and had captured a Spanish galleon of immense value near the [[Philippines]], completing a [[George Anson's voyage around the world|circumnavigation of the world]]. His cruise was a great feat of resolution and endurance.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=45}}

After the failure of the British invasions and a Spanish [[Battle of Bloody Marsh|counter invasion]] of [[Province of Georgia|Georgia]] in 1742, belligerent naval actions in the Caribbean were left to the [[privateer]]s of both sides. Fearing great financial and economic losses should a [[Spanish treasure fleet|treasure fleet]] be captured, the Spanish reduced the risk by increasing the number of convoys, thereby reducing their value. They also increased the number of ports they visited and reduced the predictability of their voyages.{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}}

In 1744, a British force of 300 men accompanied by two [[privateer]]s from [[Saint Kitts]] successfully captured the French half of neighbouring [[Saint Martin (island)|Saint Martin]], occupying it until the 1748 [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]]. In late May 1745 two French royal frigates of 36 and 30 guns respectively under Commodore La Touché, plus three privateers in retaliation sailed from [[Martinique]] to invade and capture the British colony of [[Anguilla]] but were repelled with heavy loss in the [[Battle of Anguilla]].

The last year of the war saw two significant actions in the Caribbean. A second British [[Battle of Santiago de Cuba (1748)|assault on Santiago de Cuba]] which also ended in failure and a naval action which arose from an accidental encounter between two convoys. The [[Battle of Havana (1748)|action]] unfolded in a confused way with each side at once anxious to cover its own trade and to intercept that of the other. Capture was rendered particularly desirable for the British by the fact that the Spanish homeward-bound fleet would be laden with [[bullion]] from the American mines.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=45}} The advantage lay with the British when one Spanish warship ran aground and another was captured but the British commander failed to capitalise and the Spanish fleet took shelter in [[Havana]].

===Mediterranean===
[[File:Combate de Tolón.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The Franco-Spanish fleet commanded by Don [[Juan José Navarro]] drove off the British fleet under [[Thomas Mathews]] near [[Battle of Toulon (1744)|Toulon in 1744]].]]

While Anson was pursuing his [[George Anson's voyage around the world|voyage round the world]], Spain was mainly intent on the Italian policy of the king. A squadron was fitted out at [[Cádiz]] to convey troops to Italy. It was watched by the British admiral [[Nicholas Haddock]]. When the blockading squadron was forced off by want of provisions, the Spanish admiral Don [[Juan José Navarro]] put to sea. He was followed, but when the British force came in sight of him Navarro had been joined by a French squadron under [[Claude-Élisée de Court de La Bruyère]] (December 1741). The French admiral told Haddock that he would support the Spaniards if they were attacked and Haddock retired. France and Great Britain were not yet openly at war, but both were engaged in the struggle in Germany—Great Britain as the ally of the Queen of Hungary, Maria Theresa; France as the supporter of the Bavarian claimant of the empire. Navarro and de Court went on to [[Toulon]], where they remained until February 1744. A British fleet watched them, under the command of Admiral [[Richard Lestock]], until Sir [[Thomas Mathews]] was sent out as commander-in-chief and as Minister to the Court of [[Turin]].{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=44}}

Sporadic manifestations of hostility between the French and British took place in different seas, but avowed war did not begin until the French government issued its declaration of 30 March, to which Great Britain replied on 31 March. This formality had been preceded by [[Planned French invasion of Britain (1744)|French preparations for the invasion of England]], and by the [[Battle of Toulon (1744)|Battle of Toulon]] between the British and a Franco-Spanish fleet. On 11 February, a most confused battle was fought, in which the van and centre of the British fleet was engaged with the Spanish rear and centre of the allies. Lestock, who was on the worst possible terms with his superior, took no part in the action. Mathews fought with spirit but in a disorderly way, breaking the formation of his fleet, and showing no power of direction, while Navarro's smaller fleet retained cohesion and fought off the energetic but confused attacks of its larger enemy until the arrival of the French fleet forced the heavily damaged British fleet to withdraw. The Spanish fleet then sailed to Italy where it delivered a fresh army and supplies that had a decisive impact upon the war. The mismanagement of the British fleet in the battle, by arousing deep anger among the people, led to a drastic reform of the British navy.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=44}}

===Northern waters===
The French scheme to invade Britain was arranged in combination with the [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] leaders, and soldiers were to be transported from [[Dunkirk]]. In February 1744, a French fleet of twenty sail of the line entered the [[English Channel]] under [[Jacques Aymar de Roquefeuil et du Bousquet|Jacques Aymar, comte de Roquefeuil]], before the British force under Admiral [[John Norris (Royal Navy officer)|John Norris]] was ready to oppose him. But the French force was ill-equipped, the admiral was nervous, his mind dwelt on all the misfortunes which might possibly happen, and the weather was bad. De Roquefeuil came up almost as far as [[The Downs (ship anchorage)|The Downs]], where he learnt that Sir John Norris was at hand with twenty-five sail of the line, and thereupon precipitately retreated. The military expedition prepared at Dunkirk to cross under cover of De Roquefeuil's fleet naturally did not start. The utter weakness of the French at sea, due to long neglect of the fleet and the bankrupt state of the treasury, was shown during the Jacobite rising of 1745, when France made no attempt to profit by the distress of the British government.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=44}}

The Dutch, having by this time joined Great Britain, made a serious addition to the naval power opposed to France, though the Dutch Republic was compelled by the necessity for maintaining an army in Flanders to play a very subordinate part at sea. Not being stimulated by formidable attack, and having immediate interests both at home and in Germany, the British government was slow to make use of its latest naval strength. Spain, which could do nothing of an offensive character, was almost neglected. During 1745 the [[New England]] expedition which took Louisburg (30 April{{snd}}16 June) was covered by a British naval force, but little else was accomplished by the naval efforts of any of the belligerents.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=44}}

In 1746, a British combined naval and military expedition to the coast of France—the first of a long series of similar ventures which in the end were derided as "breaking windows with guineas"—was carried out during August and October. The aim was the capture of the [[French Indies Company|French East India Company]]'s dockyard at [[Lorient]], but it was not attained.<ref>Harding</ref>{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=44}}

From 1747 until the close of the war in October 1748, the naval policy of the British government, without reaching a high level, was more energetic and coherent. A closer watch was kept on the French coast, and effectual means were taken to intercept communication between France and her American possessions. In the spring information was obtained that an important convoy for the East and West [[Indies]] was to sail from [[Lorient]].{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=44}} The convoy was intercepted by Anson on 3 May, and in the [[First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)|First Battle of Cape Finisterre]], British admiral George Anson's fourteen ships of the line wiped out the French escort of six ships of the line and three armed Indiamen, although in the meantime the merchant ships escaped.

On 14 October, another French convoy, protected by a strong squadron, was intercepted by a well-appointed and well-directed squadron of superior numbers—the squadrons were respectively eight French and fourteen British—in the [[Bay of Biscay]]. In the [[Second Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)|Second Battle of Cape Finisterre]] which followed, the French admiral, [[Henri-François des Herbiers, Marquis de l'Estenduère]], succeeded in covering the escape of most of the merchant ships, but [[Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke|Hawke]]'s British squadron took six of his warships. Most of the merchantmen were later intercepted and captured in the West Indies. This disaster convinced the French government of its helplessness at sea, and it made no further effort.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=44}}

===Indian Ocean===
{{main|First Carnatic War}}
{{Campaignbox First Carnatic War}}

In the East Indies, attacks on French commerce by a British squadron under [[Curtis Barnett]] in 1745 led to the despatch of a French squadron commanded by [[Bertrand-François Mahé de La Bourdonnais|Mahé de la Bourdonnais]]. After [[Action of 6 July 1746|an inconclusive clash]] off [[Negapatnam]] in July 1746, [[Edward Peyton]], Barnett's successor, withdrew to Bengal, leaving Bourdonnais unopposed on the [[Coromandel Coast]]. He landed troops near [[Chennai|Madras]] and [[Battle of Madras|besieged the port]] by land and sea, forcing it to surrender on 10 September 1746. In October the French squadron was devastated by a cyclone, losing four ships of the line and suffering heavy damage to four more, and the surviving ships withdrew. French land forces went on to make several attacks on the British settlement at [[Cuddalore]], but the eventual replacement of the negligent Peyton by [[Thomas Griffin (Royal Navy officer)|Thomas Griffin]] resulted in a return to British naval supremacy which put the French on the defensive. Despite the appearance of another French squadron, the arrival of large-scale British reinforcements under [[Edward Boscawen]] (who considered but did not make an attack on [[Mauritius|Île de France]] on the way) gave the British overwhelming dominance on land and sea, but [[Siege of Pondicherry (1748)|the ensuing siege]] of [[Puducherry (city)|Pondichéry]] organised by Boscawen was unsuccessful.

===Military methods and technologies===

European warfare in the [[early modern period]] was characterised by the widespread adoption of [[firearm]]s in combination with more traditional [[Edged and bladed weapons|bladed weapons]]. Eighteenth-century European armies were built around units of massed [[infantry]] armed with [[smoothbore]] [[flintlock]] [[musket]]s and [[bayonet]]s. [[Cavalry]]men were equipped with [[sabre]]s and [[pistol]]s or [[carbine]]s; [[light cavalry]] were used principally for [[reconnaissance]], [[Screening (tactical)|screening]] and [[tactical communications]], while [[heavy cavalry]] were used as [[Military reserve|tactical reserves]] and deployed for [[Shock tactics|shock attack]]s. Smoothbore [[artillery]] provided [[fire support]] and played the leading role in [[siege warfare]].<ref name="Black 38">{{Harvp|Black|1994b|pp=38–52}}</ref> Strategic warfare in this period centred around control of key [[fortification]]s positioned so as to command the surrounding regions and roads, with lengthy sieges a common feature of armed conflict. Decisive field battles were relatively rare, though they played a larger part in Frederick's theory of warfare than was typical among his contemporary rivals.<ref>{{Harvp|Black|1994b|pp=67–80}}</ref>

The War of the Austrian Succession, like most European wars of the eighteenth century, was fought as a so-called [[cabinet war]] in which disciplined [[Regular army|regular armies]] were equipped and supplied by the state to conduct warfare on behalf of the sovereign's interests. Occupied enemy territories were regularly taxed and extorted for funds, but large-scale atrocities against civilian populations were rare compared with conflicts in the previous century.<ref>{{Harvp|Clark|2006|p=209}}</ref> [[Military logistics]] was the decisive factor in many wars, as armies had grown too large to support themselves on prolonged campaigns by foraging and plunder alone. Military supplies were stored in centralised [[Supply depot|magazines]] and distributed by [[baggage train]]s that were highly vulnerable to enemy raids.<ref>{{Harvp|Creveld|1977|pp=26–28}}</ref> Armies were generally unable to sustain combat operations during winter and normally established [[Cantonment|winter quarters]] in the cold season, resuming their campaigns with the return of spring.<ref name="Black 38"/>