Editing Maria Theresa (section)

==Seven Years' War==
{{Main|Seven Years' War}}
[[File:Maria Theresia im Spitzenbesetzten Kleid.jpg|thumb|State portrait of Maria Theresa, showing her as the "first lady of Europe" in a precious dress made of [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]] [[bobbin lace]]. On her right are the Hungarian [[crown of St. Stephen]], the Bohemian [[crown of St. Wenceslas]] and the Austrian [[archducal hat]] as symbols of her power and dignity (painting by [[Martin van Meytens]], around 1752).]]
Frederick of Prussia's invasion of Saxony in August 1756 began a [[Third Silesian War]] and sparked the wider [[Seven Years' War]]. Maria Theresa and Prince [[Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg|Kaunitz]] wished to exit the war with possession of Silesia.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=238}} Before the war started, Kaunitz had been sent as an ambassador to [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]] from 1750 to 1753 to win over the French. Meanwhile, the British rebuffed requests from Maria Theresa to aid her in reclaiming Silesia, and Frederick II himself managed to secure the [[Treaty of Westminster (1756)]] with them. Subsequently, Maria Theresa sent [[Georg Adam, Prince of Starhemberg]], to negotiate an agreement with France, and the result was the [[Treaty of Versailles (1756)|First Treaty of Versailles]] of 1 May 1756. Thus, the efforts of Kaunitz and Starhemberg managed to pave a way for a [[Diplomatic Revolution]]; previously, France was one of Austria's archenemies together with [[Russian Empire|Russia]] and the [[Ottoman Empire]], but after the agreement, they were united by a common cause against Prussia.{{sfn|Berenger|2014|pp=80–82}} However, historians have blamed this treaty for [[France in the Seven Years' War|France's devastating defeats in the war]], since Louis XV was required to deploy troops in Germany and to provide subsidies of 25–30&nbsp;million pounds a year to Maria Theresa that were vital for the Austrian war effort in Bohemia and Silesia.{{sfn|Berenger|2014|p=82}}

On 1 May 1757, the [[Treaty of Versailles (1757)|Second Treaty of Versailles]] was signed, whereby Louis XV promised to provide Austria with 130,000 men in addition to 12&nbsp;million florins yearly. They would also continue the war in Continental Europe until Prussia could be compelled to abandon Silesia and Glatz. In return, Austria would cede several towns in the Austrian Netherlands to the son-in-law of Louis XV, [[Philip, Duke of Parma|Philip of Parma]], who in turn would grant his Italian duchies to Maria Theresa.{{sfn|Berenger|2014|p=82}}

[[Maximilian Ulysses Browne|Maximilian von Browne]] commanded the Austrian troops. Following the indecisive [[Battle of Lobositz]] in 1756, he was replaced by [[Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine]], Maria Theresa's brother-in-law.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=240}} However, he was appointed only because of his familial relations; he turned out to be an incompetent military leader, and he was replaced by [[Leopold Joseph von Daun]], [[Franz Moritz von Lacy]] and [[Ernst Gideon von Laudon]].{{sfn|Berenger|2014|p=83}} Frederick himself was startled by Lobositz; he eventually re-grouped for another attack in June 1757. The [[Battle of Kolín]] that followed was a decisive victory for Austria. Frederick lost one third of his troops, and before the battle was over, he had left the scene.{{sfn|Crankshaw|1970|p=242}} Subsequently, Prussia was defeated at [[Battle of Hochkirch|Hochkirch]] in Saxony on 14 October 1758, at [[Battle of Kunersdorf|Kunersdorf]] in Brandenburg on 12 August 1759, and at [[Battle of Landeshut (1760)|Landeshut]] near Glatz in June 1760. Hungarian and Croat light hussars led by [[András Hadik|Count Hadik]] [[1757 raid on Berlin|raided Berlin]] in 1757. Austrian and Russian troops even occupied Berlin for several days in August 1760. However, these victories did not enable the Habsburgs to win the war, as the French and Habsburg armies were destroyed by Frederick at [[Battle of Rossbach|Rossbach]] in 1757.{{sfn|Berenger|2014|p=83}} After the defeat in [[Battle of Torgau|Torgau]] on 3 November 1760, Maria Theresa realised that she could no longer reclaim Silesia without Russian support, which vanished after the death of Empress [[Elizabeth of Russia|Elizabeth]] in early 1762. In the meantime, France was losing badly in America and India, and thus they had reduced their subsidies by 50%. Since 1761, Kaunitz had tried to organise a diplomatic congress to take advantage of the accession of [[George III]] of Great Britain, as he did not really care about Germany. Finally, the war was concluded by the [[Treaty of Hubertusburg]] and [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Paris]] in 1763. Austria had to leave the Prussian territories that were occupied.{{sfn|Berenger|2014|p=83}} Although Silesia remained under the control of Prussia, a new balance of power was created in Europe, and Austrian position was strengthened by it thanks to its alliance with the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbons]] in Madrid, Parma and [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]]. Maria Theresa herself decided to focus on domestic reforms and refrain from undertaking any further military operations.{{sfn|Berenger|2014|p=84}}