Editing War of the Polish Succession (section)

===Austrian isolation===
[[File:Liesbach-Steinburgg 001.JPG|thumb|[[Fusilier]]s of the [[French Royal Army]] (1735) ]]

When hostilities finally broke out, the Austrians had hoped for aid from [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and the [[Dutch Republic]]. Such expectations quickly dissipated as both the Dutch and the British chose to pursue a policy of neutrality. British Prime Minister [[Robert Walpole|Sir Robert Walpole]] justified British neutrality in the conflict by noting that the [[Anglo-Austrian Alliance]] agreed at the 1731 [[Treaty of Vienna (1731)|Treaty of Vienna]] was a purely defensive agreement, while Austria was in this instance the aggressor. This position was attacked by British [[Austrophile]]s who wanted to aid the Austrians against France, but Walpole's dominant position ensured that Britain stayed out of the conflict. 

The Dutch under the leadership of [[Grand Pensionary]] [[Simon van Slingelandt]] mediated between the parties, but were anxious themselves to not have war on their doorstep again. The heavy toll of the previous wars against France on the Dutch economy was still in fresh memory.{{sfn|Van Alphen|Hoffenaar|Lemmers|Van der Spek|2019|p=102}} In early 1733, it appeared that the Dutch Republic was on the verge of war with Prussia. [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles VI]] exerted pressure on Prussia, aiming to align the Republic with Austria. However, this attempt proved unsuccessful as the Dutch chose to remain neutral.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2002|p=67}} The threat of war still forced the Dutch Republic to increase the size of [[Dutch States Army|its army]], just at a time the Dutch had hoped to be able to reduce it appreciably.{{sfn|Israel|1995|p=993-994}}  The French had no wish to provoke Britain and the Dutch Republic and carefully chose not to campaign in the [[Austrian Netherlands]], where [[Dutch States Army]] troops [[Barrier Treaty|garrisoned several fortresses]], while also avoiding the parts of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] that might draw either power into the conflict.

On Austria's southern border, France in November 1733 negotiated the secret [[Treaty of Turin (1733)|Treaty of Turin]] with Charles Emmanuel and prepared for military operations in northern Italy.  It concluded the (also secret) [[Treaty of the Escorial]] with Spain, which included promises of French assistance in the Spanish conquest of Naples and Sicily.  France also made diplomatic overtures to [[Sweden]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]] in a fruitless attempt to draw them into the conflict in support of Stanisław.

The Austrians were thus left largely without effective external allies on their southern and western frontiers. Their Russian and Saxon allies were occupied with the Polish campaign, and the Emperor distrusted [[Frederick William I of Prussia]], who was willing to provide some aid.  Divisions within the empire also affected the raising of troops in 1733, as [[Charles-Albert of Bavaria]], who harbored ambitions to become the next [[Holy Roman Emperor]], signed a secret agreement with France in November 1733, and tried, with limited success, to dissuade other rulers within the empire from the [[House of Wittelsbach|Wittelsbach]] family from providing troops to the emperor under their treaty obligations. While Britain itself did not provide support, the [[Electorate of Hanover]], where [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] also ruled as an Imperial Elector, proved willing to help. On 9 April 1734, a ''[[Reichskrieg]]'' (imperial war) was declared against France, obliging all imperial states to participate.