Editing Frederick the Great (section)

== Reign ==
{{OSM Location map
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| title = The major battles of {{br}}Frederick the Great
| caption = {{legend|olive|[[First Silesian War]]}}{{legend|maroon|[[Second Silesian War]]}}{{legend|navy|[[Third Silesian War]]}}

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| label1 =
| mark-coord1 = {{coord|50.85|17.41}}
| mark-title1 = [[Battle of Mollwitz]] on 10 April 1741
| mark-description1 = [[Małujowice]]
| shape-color1 = olive
| label-color1 = olive

| label2 =
| mark-coord2 = {{coord|49.95|15.39}}
| mark-title2 = [[Battle of Chotusitz]] on 17 May 1742
| mark-description2 = [[Chotusice]]
| shape-color2 = olive
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| label3 =
| mark-coord3 = {{coord|50.96|16.34}}
| mark-title3 = [[Battle of Hohenfriedberg]] on 4 June 1745
| mark-description3 = [[Strzegom]]
| shape-color3 = maroon
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| label4 =
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| mark-title4 = [[Battle of Soor]] on 30 September 1745
| mark-description4 = Strítež, [[Trutnov]]
| shape-color4 = maroon
| label-color4 = maroon

| label5 =
| mark-coord5 = {{coord|51.17|15.27}}
| mark-title5 = [[Battle of Hennersdorf]] on 23 November 1745
| mark-description5 = [[Henryków Lubański]]
| shape-color5 = maroon
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| label6 =
| mark-coord6 = {{coord|50.51|14.03}}
| mark-title6 = [[Battle of Lobositz]] on 1 October 1756
| mark-description6 = [[Lovosice]]

| label7 =
| mark-coord7 = {{coord|50.97|13.93}}
| mark-title7 = [[Siege of Pirna]] from 10 September to 14 October 1756
| mark-description7 = [[Pirna]]

| label8 = Prague
| mark-coord8 = {{coord|50.08|14.55}}
| mark-title8 = [[Battle of Prague (1757)]] on 6 May 1757
| mark-description8 = [[Prague]]

| label9 =
| mark-coord9 = {{coord|50.03|15.12}}
| mark-title9 = [[Battle of Kolín]] on 18 June 1757
| mark-description9 = [[Kolín]]

| label10 = Berlin
| mark-coord10 = {{coord|52.52|13.41}}
| mark-title10 = [[1757 raid on Berlin]] on 16 October 1757
| mark-description10 = [[Berlin]]

| label11 =
| mark-coord11 = {{coord|51.27|11.89}}
| mark-title11 = [[Battle of Rossbach]] on 5 November 1757
| mark-description11 = [[Braunsbedra]]

| label12 =
| mark-coord12 = {{coord|51.15|16.75}}
| mark-title12 = [[Battle of Leuthen]] on 5 December 1757
| mark-description12 = [[Lutynia, Środa Śląska County]]

| label13 =
| mark-coord13 = {{coord|51.12|17.03}}
| mark-title13 = [[Siege of Breslau (1757)]] from 7 December 1757 to 20 December 1757
| mark-description13 = [[Wrocław]]

| label14 =
| mark-coord14 = {{coord|49.6|17.25}}
| mark-title14 = [[Siege of Olomouc]] from 4 May to 2 July 1758
| mark-description14 = [[Olomouc]]

| label15 =
| mark-coord15 = {{coord|52.66|14.68}}
| mark-title15 = [[Battle of Zorndorf]] on 25 August 1758
| mark-description15 = [[Sarbinowo, Gmina Dębno]]

| label16 =
| mark-coord16 = {{coord|51.15|14.57}}
| mark-title16 = [[Battle of Hochkirch]] on 14 October 1758
| mark-description16 = [[Hochkirch]]

| label17 =
| mark-coord17 = {{coord|52.35|14.61}}
| mark-title17 = [[Battle of Kunersdorf]] on 12 August 1759
| mark-description17 = [[Kunowice]]

| label18 = Dresden
| mark-coord18 = {{coord|51.05|13.73}}
| mark-title18 = [[Siege of Dresden]] from 13 to 22 July 1760
| mark-description18 = [[Dresden]]
| label-offset-x18 = 5
| label-offset-y18 = 10

| label19 =
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| mark-title19 = [[Battle of Liegnitz (1760)]] on 15 August 1760
| mark-description19 = [[Legnica]]

| label20 =
| mark-coord20 = {{coord|51.58|12.93}}
| mark-title20 = [[Battle of Torgau]] on 3 November 1760
| mark-description20 = [[Torgau]]

| label120 =
| mark-coord21 = {{coord|50.79|16.47}}
| mark-title21 = [[Battle of Burkersdorf (1762)]] on 21 July 1762
| mark-description121 = [[Burkatów]]

| label22 =
| mark-coord22 = {{coord|50.85|16.48}}
| mark-title22 = [[Siege of Schweidnitz (1762)]] from 7 August to 9 October 1762
| mark-description22 = [[Świdnica]]
}}

=== War of the Austrian Succession ===
{{Main|First Silesian War|Second Silesian War}}
When Frederick became king, he faced vulnerably disconnected holdings with a weak economic base.{{sfn|Fraser|2001|pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/55 55–56]}} To strengthen Prussia's position, he fought wars mainly against Austria, whose [[Habsburg]] dynasty had reigned as [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s continuously since the 15th century.{{sfn|Fraser|2001|pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/16 16–18]}} Thus, upon succeeding to the throne on 31 May 1740,{{sfn|Asprey|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n140 141]}} Frederick declined to endorse the [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1713]], a legal mechanism to ensure the inheritance of the Habsburg domains by Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Holy Roman [[Emperor Charles&nbsp;VI]]. Upon the death of Charles&nbsp;VI on 29 October 1740,{{sfn|Asprey|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n183 154]}} Frederick disputed the 23-year-old Maria Theresa's right of succession to the Habsburg lands, while simultaneously asserting his own right to the Austrian province of [[Silesia]] based on a number of old, though ambiguous, Hohenzollern claims to parts of Silesia.{{sfnm|MacDonogh|2000|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/152 152]|Schieder|1983|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat0000schi/page/96 96]}}

The [[First Silesian War]] (1740–1742, part of the [[War of the Austrian Succession]]) began on 16 December 1740 when Frederick invaded and quickly occupied almost all of Silesia within seven weeks.{{sfn|Luvaas|1966|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreaton00fred/page/3 3]}} Though Frederick justified his occupation on dynastic grounds,{{sfnm|Clark|2006|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/ironkingdomrised00chri/page/192 192–193]|Duffy|1985|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/militarylifeoffr00duff/page/22 22–23]|Kugler|1840|3p=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n178 160]}} the invasion of this militarily and politically vulnerable part of the Habsburg empire also had the potential to provide substantial long-term economic and strategic benefits.{{sfnm|Clark|2006|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/ironkingdomrised00chri/page/192 192–193]|Duffy|1985|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/militarylifeoffr00duff/page/22 22–23]}} The occupation of Silesia added one of the most densely industrialised German regions to Frederick's kingdom and gave it control over the navigable [[Oder River]].{{sfn|Clark|2006|p=[https://archive.org/details/ironkingdomrised00chri/page/192 192]}} It nearly doubled Prussia's population and increased its territory by a third.{{sfn|Kulak|2015|p=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200726123710/http://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/79021/PDF/Cuius_regio_vol_3.pdf 64]}} It also prevented [[Augustus&nbsp;III]], [[King of Poland]] and Elector of [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]], from seeking to connect his own disparate lands through Silesia.{{sfn|Clark|2006|pp=[https://archive.org/details/ironkingdomrised00chri/page/192 192–193]}}
[[File:Fredrik II, 1712-1786, kung av Preussen (Antoine Pesne) - Nationalmuseum - 15767.tif|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Portrait of Frederick during his early reign by [[Antoine Pesne]] ({{circa|1740}}, [[Gripsholm Castle]], Sweden)]]
In late March 1741, Frederick set out on campaign again to capture the few remaining fortresses within the province that were still holding out. He was surprised by the arrival of an Austrian army, which he fought at the [[Battle of Mollwitz]] on 10 April 1741.{{sfn|Asprey|1986|pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n232 196–203]}} Though Frederick had served under Prince Eugene of Savoy, this was his first major battle in command of an army. Frederick's cavalry was disorganised by a charge of the Austrian horse. Believing his forces had been defeated, Frederick galloped away to avoid capture,{{sfn|Asprey|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n232 203]}} leaving Field Marshal [[Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin|Kurt Schwerin]] to lead the disciplined Prussian infantry to victory. Frederick would later admit to humiliation at his abdication of command{{sfn|Luvaas|1966|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreaton00fred/page/4 4]}} and would state that Mollwitz was his school.{{sfn|Luvaas|1966|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreaton00fred/page/46 46]}} Disappointed with the performance of his [[cavalry]], whose training his father had neglected in favour of the infantry, Frederick spent much of his time in Silesia establishing a new [[military doctrine|doctrine]] for them.{{sfnm|Luvaas|1966|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreaton00fred/page/4 4]|Ritter|1936|2p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/84 84]}}

Encouraged by Frederick's victory at Mollwitz, the French and their ally, the [[Electorate of Bavaria]], entered the war against Austria in early September 1741 and marched on [[Prague]].{{sfn|Asprey|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n249 220]}} Meanwhile, Frederick, alongside other members of the [[Treaty of Nymphenburg#League of Nymphenburg|League of Nymphenburg]], sponsored the candidacy of his ally [[Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles of Bavaria]] to be elected Holy Roman Emperor. In late November, the Franco-Bavarian forces took Prague, and Charles was crowned King of Bohemia.{{sfn|Asprey|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n257 228]}} Subsequently, he was elected as the Holy Roman Emperor Charles&nbsp;VII on 24 January 1742. After the Austrians pulled their army out of Silesia to defend Bohemia, Frederick pursued them and blocked their path to Prague.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n265 236]|Mitford|1970|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/110 110]}} The Austrians counter-attacked on 17 May 1742, initiating the [[Battle of Chotusitz]]. Frederick's retrained cavalry proved more effective than at Mollwitz,{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/124 124]|Kugler|1840|2p=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n212 195]}} but once more it was the discipline of the Prussian infantry that won the field{{sfnm|Duffy|1985|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/44 44], [https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/49 49]|Fraser|2001|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/126 126]}} and allowed Frederick to claim a major victory.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n287 258]|Luvaas|1966|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreaton00fred/page/4 4]}} This victory, along with the Franco-Bavarian forces capturing Prague, forced the Austrians to seek peace. The terms of the [[Treaty of Breslau]], negotiated in June 1742, gave Prussia all of Silesia and Glatz County, with the Austrians retaining only the portion called [[Czech Silesia|Austrian or Czech Silesia]].{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/121 121]|Kugler|1840|2p=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n214 196]}}

[[File:Hohenfriedeberg - Attack of Prussian Infantry - 1745.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting of Prussian infantry marching in ranks across a field|upright=1.5|''Attack of Prussian Infantry, [[Battle of Hohenfriedberg|Hohenfriedberg]]'' by [[Carl Röchling]] (1913)]]
By 1743, the Austrians had subdued Bavaria and driven the French out of Bohemia. Frederick strongly suspected Maria Theresa would resume war in an attempt to recover Silesia. Accordingly, he renewed his alliance with France and preemptively invaded [[Bohemia]] in August 1744, beginning the [[Second Silesian War]].{{sfn|Asprey|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n308 279]}} In late August 1744, Frederick's army had crossed the Bohemian frontier, marched directly to Prague, and laid siege to the city, which surrendered on 16 September 1744 after a three-day bombardment.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n319 290–293]|Duffy|1985|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/51 51–52]}} Frederick's troops immediately continued marching into the heart of central Bohemia,{{sfn|Luvaas|1966|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreaton00fred/page/4 4]}} but Saxony had now joined the war against Prussia.{{sfn|Fraser|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/165 165]}} Although the combined Austrian and Saxon armies outnumbered Frederick's forces, they refused to directly engage with Frederick's army, harassing his supply lines instead. Frederick was forced to withdraw to Silesia as winter approached.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n323 294–297]|Duffy|1985|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/52 52–55]}} In the interim, Frederick successfully claimed his inheritance to the minor territory of East Frisia on the North Sea coast of Germany, occupying the territory after its last ruler died without issue in 1744.{{sfn|Asprey|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n310 285]}}

In January 1745, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles&nbsp;VII of Bavaria died,{{sfn|Duffy|1985|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/58 58]}} taking Bavaria out of the war and allowing Maria Theresa's husband [[Francis of Lorraine]] to be eventually elected Holy Roman Emperor.{{sfn|Kugler|1840|p=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n235 217]}} Now able to focus solely on Frederick's army, the Austrians, who were reinforced by the Saxons, crossed the mountains to invade Silesia. After allowing them across,{{efn|According to the French diplomat [[Louis Guy Henri de Valori]], when he asked Frederick why he allowed the Saxon and Austrian forces to cross the mountains unopposed in the first place, Frederick answered: "{{lang|fr|mon ami, quand on veut prendre des souris, il faut tenir la souricière ouverte, ils entreront et je les battrai.}}" ("My friend, when you want to catch mice, you have to keep the mousetrap open, they will enter and I will batter them."){{sfn|Valori|1820|p=[https://archive.org/details/memoiresnegoc01valo/page/226 226]}} }} Frederick pinned them down and decisively defeated them at the [[Battle of Hohenfriedberg]] on 4 June 1745.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n349 321–324]|Duffy|1985|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/60 60–65]|Fraser|2001|3pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/178 178–183]}} Frederick subsequently advanced into Bohemia and defeated a counterattack by the Austrians at the [[Battle of Soor]].{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n364 334–338]|Duffy|1985|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/68 68–69]|Showalter|2012|3pp=[{{Google books|id=WvpiFTmWnaQC|page=PT120|plainurl=yes}} 120–123]}} Frederick then turned toward [[Dresden]] when he learned the Saxons were preparing to march on Berlin. However, on 15 December 1745, Prussian forces under the command of [[Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau|Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau]] soundly defeated the Saxons at the [[Battle of Kesselsdorf]].{{sfn|Kugler|1840|pp=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n255 237–239]}} After linking up his army with Leopold's, Frederick occupied the Saxon capitol of Dresden, forcing the Saxon elector, Augustus III, to capitulate.{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/195 195]|Kugler|1840|2p=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n258 240]}}

Under the terms of the [[Treaty of Dresden]], signed on 25 December 1745, Austria was forced to adhere to the terms of the Treaty of Breslau giving Silesia to Prussia.{{sfn|Asprey|1986|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n376 347]}} It was after the signing of the treaty that Frederick, then 33 years old, first became known as "the Great".{{sfn|Kugler|1840|p=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n260 242]}}

=== Seven Years' War ===
{{Main|Third Silesian War}}

Though Frederick had withdrawn from the War of the Austrian Succession once Austria guaranteed his possession of Silesia,{{sfn|Schieder|1983|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat0000schi/page/114 114]}} Austria remained embroiled in the war until the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]] in 1748. Less than a year after the treaty was signed, Maria Theresa was once more seeking allies, particularly Russia and France, to eventually renew the war with Prussia to regain Silesia.{{sfn|Clark|2006|p=[https://archive.org/details/ironkingdomrised00chri/page/197 197]}} During the ten years of peace that followed the signing of the Treaty of Dresden, Frederick prepared to defend his claim on Silesia by further fortifying the province, expanding his army,{{sfn|Fraser|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/204 204]}} and reorganising his finances.{{sfn|Fraser|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/229 229]}}

In 1756, Frederick attempted to forestall Britain's financing of a Russian army on Prussia's border by negotiating an [[Anglo-Prussian Alliance (1756)|alliance]] with Britain at the [[Diplomatic Revolution#Westminster Convention|Convention of Westminster]], by which Prussia would protect Hanover against French attack, and Britain would no longer subsidise Russia. This treaty triggered the [[Diplomatic Revolution]] in which Habsburg Austria and [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] France, who had been traditional enemies, allied together with Russia to defeat the Anglo-Prussian coalition.{{sfnm|MacDonogh|2000|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/246 246–247]|Ritter|1936|2p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/103 103]}} To strengthen his strategic position against this coalition,{{sfn|Ropes|1891|p=[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3678050 171]}} on 29 August 1756, Frederick's well-prepared army preemptively invaded Saxony.{{sfnm|Duffy|1985|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/83 83]|Longman|1899|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreata00unkngoog/page/n120 98-00]|MacDonogh|2000|3p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/248 248]}} His invasion triggered the [[Third Silesian War]] and the larger [[Seven Years' War]], both of which lasted until 1763. He quickly captured Dresden, besieged the trapped Saxon army in [[Siege of Pirna|Pirna]], and continued marching the remainder of his army toward North Bohemia, intending to winter there.{{sfn|Ropes|1891|p=[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3678050 173]}} At the [[Battle of Lobositz]] he claimed a close victory against an Austrian army that was aiming to relieve Pirna,{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n459 430–434]|Mitford|1970|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/200 200]}} but afterward withdrew his forces back to Saxony for the winter.{{sfnm|Duffy|1985|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/108 108]|Fraser|2001|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/325 325]}} When the Saxon forces in Pirna finally capitulated in October 1756, Frederick forcibly incorporated them into his own army.{{sfnm|Longman|1899|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreata00unkngoog/page/n124 102]|Schieder|1983|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat0000schi/page/127 127]}} This action, along with his initial invasion of neutral Saxony, brought him widespread international criticism;{{sfn|Ritter|1936|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/104 104]}} but the conquest of Saxony provided him with significant financial, military, and strategic assets to sustain the war.{{sfn|Ropes|1891|p=[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3678050 174]}}

[[File:Bataille de Zorndorf.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Painting of Frederick marching ahead of Prussian troops with a banner|''Frederick the Great at the [[Battle of Zorndorf]]'' by [[Carl Röchling]]  (1904)]]
In the early spring of 1757, Frederick again invaded Bohemia.{{sfn|Longman|1899|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreata00unkngoog/page/n134 134]}} He was victorious against the Austrian army at the [[Battle of Prague (1757)|Battle of Prague]] on 6 May 1757, but his losses were so great he was unable to take the city, and settled for besieging it.{{sfnm|Mitford|1970|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/203 203–204]|Ritter|1936|2p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/108 108]}} On 18 June 1757, Frederick suffered his first major defeat at the [[Battle of Kolín]],{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n484 455–457]|Longman|1899|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreata00unkngoog/page/n138 117–120]}} which forced him to abandon his invasion of Bohemia. When the French and the Austrians pursued him into Saxony and Silesia in the fall of 1757, Frederick defeated and repulsed a much larger Franco-Austrian army at the [[Battle of Rossbach]]{{sfnm|Kugler|1840|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n356 338–342]|MacDonogh|2000|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/264 264–265]}} and another Austrian army at the [[Battle of Leuthen]].{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/370 370–375]|Mitford|1970|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/212 212–213]}} Frederick hoped these two victories would force Austria to negotiate, but Maria Theresa was determined not to make peace until she had recovered Silesia.{{sfnm|MacDonogh|2000|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/267 267]|Mitford|1970|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/217 217]}} Despite its strong performance, the losses suffered from combat, disease and desertion had severely reduced the quality of the Prussian army.{{sfn|Redman|2014|p=[{{Google books|id=P_q2BQAAQBAJ|pg=PA171|plainurl=yes}} 171]}}

In the remaining years of the war, Frederick faced a coalition of enemies including Austria, France, Russia, [[Sweden]], and the Holy Roman Empire,{{sfn|Ritter|1936|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/109 109]}} supported only by Britain and its allies [[Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel|Hesse]], [[Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel|Brunswick]], and [[Electorate of Hanover|Hanover]].{{sfn|Rose|1914a|p=[https://www.jstor.org/stable/551264 85]}} In 1758 Frederick once more took the initiative by invading Moravia. By May, he had laid [[Siege of Olomouc|siege to Olomouc]], but the Austrians were able to hold the town and destroyed Frederick's supply train, forcing him to retreat into Silesia.{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/384 384–385]|Kugler|1840|2pp= [https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n386 368–369]|Ritter|1936|3pp=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/115 115–116]}} In the meantime, the Russian army had advanced within {{Convert|100|mi|km}} east of Berlin. In August, he fought the Russian forces to a draw at the [[Battle of Zorndorf]], in which nearly a third of Frederick's soldiers were casualties.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n527 498–499]|Gooch|1947|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatru0000gooc_n4j0/page/47 47]|Schieder|1983|3pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat0000schi/page/130 130–131]}} He then headed south to face the Austrian army in Saxony. There, he was defeated at the [[Battle of Hochkirch]] on 14 October, although the Austrian forces were not able to exploit their victory.{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/403 403–404]|MacDonogh|2000|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/278 278–280]}}

[[File:Frederick the Great after the Battle of Hochkirch in 1758 by Carl Röchling.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting of Frederick by a campfire with wounded Prussian soldiers|Frederick the Great after the defeat at the [[Battle of Hochkirch]] by [[Carl Röchling]] ({{circa|1900}})]]
During the 1759 campaign, the Austrian and Russian forces took the initiative, which they kept for the remainder of the war.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n537 509]|Fraser|2001|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/409 409]|Schieder|1983|3p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat0000schi/page/131 131]}} They joined and advanced on Berlin. Frederick's army, which consisted of a substantial number of quickly recruited, half-trained soldiers,{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n536 507–508]|Ritter|1936|2p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/120 120]}} attempted to check them at the [[Battle of Kunersdorf]] on 12 August, where he was defeated and his troops were routed.{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/419 419]|MacDonogh|2000|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/286 286]}} Almost half his army was destroyed, and Frederick almost became a casualty when a bullet smashed a snuffbox he was carrying.{{sfnm|Gooch|1947|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatru0000gooc_n4j0/page/48 409]|Mitford|1970|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/244 244]}} Nevertheless, the Austro-Russian forces hesitated and stopped their advance for the year, an event Frederick later called the "[[Miracle of the House of Brandenburg]]".{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/419 419]|Ritter|1936|2p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/122 122]}} Frederick spent the remainder of the year in a futile attempt to manoeuvre the Austrians out of Saxony, where they had recaptured Dresden.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n552 523]|Fraser|2001|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/420 420–421]|Kugler|1840|3pp=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n442 425–427]}} His effort cost him further losses when his general [[Friedrich August von Finck]] capitulated at [[Battle of Maxen|Maxen]] on 20 November.{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/423 423]|Ritter|1936|2p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/122 122]}}

At the beginning of 1760, the Austrians moved to retake Silesia, where Frederick defeated them at the [[Battle of Liegnitz (1760)|Battle of Liegnitz]] on 15 August.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n567 538–539]|MacDonogh|2000|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/296 296]|Mitford|1970|3p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/246 246]}} The victory did not allow Frederick to regain the initiative or prevent Russian and Austrian troops from [[Raid on Berlin|raiding Berlin]] in October to extort a ransom from the city.{{sfnm|Ritter|1936|1p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/122 123]|Schieder|1983|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat0000schi/page/132 132–133]}} At the end of the campaign season, Frederick fought his last major engagement of the war.{{sfn|Gooch|1947|pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatru0000gooc_n4j0/page/53 53–45]}} He won a marginal victory at the [[Battle of Torgau]] on 3 November,{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n570 541–542]|Mitford|1970|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/248 248]}} which secured Berlin from further raids.{{sfn|Ritter|1936|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/122 123]}} Frederick became a casualty when he was hit in the chest by a spent bullet.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n571 542]|Fraser|2001|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/444 444]|Gooch|1947|3pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatru0000gooc_n4j0/page/53 53–54]|Kugler|1840|4p=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n478 460]}}

By 1761, both the Austrian and Prussian military forces were so exhausted that no major battles were fought between them. Frederick's position became even more desperate when Britain, having achieved victory in the American and Indian theatres of the war, ended its financial support for Prussia after the death of King George II, Frederick's uncle.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n579 550–551]|Longman|1899|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreata00unkngoog/page/n247 225]|Rose|1914b|3p=[https://www.jstor.org/stable/551224 270]}} The Russian forces also continued their advance, occupying [[Pomerania]] and parts of Brandenburg. With the Russians slowly advancing towards Berlin, it looked as though Prussia was about to collapse.{{sfnm|Fraser|2001|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatki00fras/page/456 456]|Mitford|1970|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/252 252]}} On 6 January 1762, Frederick wrote to [[Count Karl-Wilhelm Finck von Finckenstein]], "We ought now to think of preserving for my nephew, by way of negotiation, whatever fragments of my territory we can save from the avidity of my enemies".{{sfn|Bain|1911|p=[[:s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Elizabeth Petrovna|285]]}}

[[File:Friedrich ii campenhausen.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Portrait of Frederick by [[Wilhelm Camphausen]] (1870). One of many [[Portraits of Frederick the Great|idealized portraits of Frederick.]]]]
The sudden death of Empress [[Elizabeth of Russia]] in January 1762 led to the succession of the Prussophile [[Peter III of Russia|Peter&nbsp;III]], her German nephew, who was also the Duke of [[Holstein-Gottorp]].{{sfn|Anderson|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/crucibleofwarsev00ande_0/page/492 492]}} This led to the collapse of the anti-Prussian coalition; Peter immediately promised to end the Russian occupation of East Prussia and Pomerania. One of Peter III's first diplomatic endeavours was to seek a Prussian title; Frederick obliged. Peter III was so enamoured of Frederick that he not only offered him the full use of a Russian corps for the remainder of the war against Austria, he also wrote to Frederick that he would rather have been a general in the Prussian army than Tsar of Russia.{{sfn|Anderson|2001|pp=[https://archive.org/details/crucibleofwarsev00ande_0/page/492 492–493]}} More significantly, Russia's about-face from an enemy of Prussia to its patron rattled the leadership of Sweden, who hastily made peace with Frederick.{{sfn|Anderson|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/crucibleofwarsev00ande_0/page/493 493]}} With the threat to his eastern borders over, and France also seeking peace after its defeats by Britain, Frederick was able to fight the Austrians to a stalemate. While the ensuing [[Treaty of Hubertusburg]] returned the European borders to what they had been before the Seven Years' War, Frederick's ability to retain Silesia in spite of the odds earned Prussia admiration throughout the German-speaking territories. A year following the Treaty of Hubertusburg, [[Catherine the Great]] signed an eight-year alliance with Prussia, albeit with conditions that favoured the Russians.{{sfn|Stone|2006|p=[https://archive.org/details/fightingforfathe0000ston_x1g9/page/82 82]}}

Frederick's ultimate success came at a heavy financial cost to Prussia. Part of the burden was covered by the [[Anglo-Prussian Convention]], which gave Frederick an annual £670,000 in British subsidies from 1758 until 1762.{{sfn|Szabo|2008|p=[{{Google book|id=GaUuAgAAQBAJ|page=99|plainurl=yes}} 99]}} These subsidies ceased when Frederick allied with Peter&nbsp;III,{{sfn|Middleton|1692|p=[https://archive.org/details/bellsofvictorypi0000midd/page/206 206]}} partly because of the changed political situation{{sfn|Spencer|1956|pp=100–112}} and because of Britain's decreasing willingness to pay the sums Frederick wanted.{{sfn|Schweizer|1989|p=97}} Frederick also financed the war by devaluing the Prussian coin five times; [[Ephraimiten|debased coins]] were produced with the help of Leipzig [[Münzmeister|mintmasters]], [[Veitel Heine Ephraim]], [[Daniel Itzig]] and Moses Isaacs.{{sfn|Hertz|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=z4taDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT74 74]}} He also debased the coinage of Saxony and [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Poland]].{{sfn|Henderson|1963|p=[https://archive.org/details/studiesineconomi0000hend/page/40 40]}} This helped Frederick cover over 20 per cent of the cost of the war, but at the price of causing massive inflation and economic upheaval throughout the region.{{sfn|Lowenstein|1994|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=GSHNy9qBT0EC&pg=PA26 26]}} Saxony, occupied by Prussia for most of the conflict, was left nearly destitute as a result.{{sfn|Clark|2006|p=[https://archive.org/details/ironkingdomrised00chri/page/199 199]}} While Prussia lost no territory, the population and army were severely depleted by constant combat and invasions by Austria, Russia and Sweden. The best of Frederick's officer corps were killed in the conflict. Although Frederick managed to bring his army up to 190,000 men by the time the economy had largely recovered in 1772, which made it the third-largest army in Europe, almost none of the officers in this army were veterans of his generation and the King's attitude towards them was extremely harsh.{{sfn|Duffy|1985|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatmi00duff/page/n265 245]}} Frederick suffered a number of personal losses. Many of his closest friends and family members—including his brother Augustus William,{{sfn|Mitford|1970|pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/217 217–218]}} his sister Wilhelmine, and his mother—had died while Frederick was engaged in the war.{{sfn|Schieder|1983|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat0000schi/page/146 146]}}

=== First Partition of Poland ===
{{main|First Partition of Poland|Prussian Partition}}
[[File:Rzeczpospolita Rozbiory 1.png|thumb|alt=Political map of the border changes due to the First Partition of Poland|The [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] after the First Partition in 1772]]
[[File:portraitoffrederickthegreat.jpg|thumb|alt=Full-length portrait painting of Frederick as an older man|Portrait of Frederick by [[Anna Dorothea Therbusch]] (1772, [[Palace of Versailles]], France)]]
Frederick sought to acquire and economically exploit [[Royal Prussia|Polish Prussia]] as part of his wider aim of enriching his kingdom.{{sfn|Scott|2001|p=[{{Google book|id=lc8EMD0JYUAC|page=176|plainurl=yes}} 176]}} As early as 1731 Frederick had suggested that his country would benefit from annexing Polish territory,{{sfn|MacDonogh|2000|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/78 78]}} and had described Poland as an "artichoke, ready to be consumed leaf by leaf".{{sfn|Clark|2006|p=[https://archive.org/details/ironkingdomrised00chri/page/231 231]}} By 1752, he had prepared the ground for the partition of Poland–Lithuania, aiming to achieve his goal of building a territorial bridge between Pomerania, Brandenburg, and his East Prussian provinces.{{sfn|Friedrich|2000|p=[{{Google book|id=3pdTHkGcs1wC|page=189|plainurl=yes}} 189]}} The new territories would provide an increased tax base, manpower for the military, and serve as a surrogate for the overseas colonies of the other great powers.{{sfn|Hagen|1976|pp=[https://www.jstor.org/stable/4545765 118–119]}}

Poland was vulnerable to partition due to poor governance and the interference of foreign powers in its internal affairs.{{sfn|Konopczyński|1919|pp=[https://archive.org/details/briefoutlineofpo00kono/page/28 28–33]}} Frederick himself was partly responsible for this weakness by opposing attempts at financial and political reform in Poland,{{sfn|Scott|2001|p=[{{Google book|id=lc8EMD0JYUAC|page=176|plainurl=yes}} 176]}} and undermining the Polish economy by inflating its currency by his use of Polish coin dies. The profits exceeded 25&nbsp;million [[thaler]]s, twice the peacetime national budget of Prussia.{{sfn|Lukowski|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OI-3f0olkGAC&q=25%20million%20thaler 176]}} He thwarted Polish efforts to create a stable economic system by building a customs fort at [[Kwidzyn|Marienwerder]] on the Vistula, Poland's major trade artery,{{sfn|Scott|2001|p=[{{Google book|id=lc8EMD0JYUAC|page=176|plainurl=yes}} 176]}} and by bombarding Polish customs ports on the Vistula.{{sfn|Davies|1996|p=[{{Google book|id=jrVW9W9eiYMC|page=663|plainurl=yes}} 663]}}

Frederick used Poland's religious dissension to keep the kingdom open to Prussian control.{{sfn|Konopczyński|1919|p=[https://archive.org/details/briefoutlineofpo00kono/page/34 34]}} Poland was predominantly Roman Catholic, but approximately ten per cent of Poland's population, 600,000 Eastern Orthodox and 250,000 Protestants, were non-Catholic dissenters. During the 1760s, the dissenters' political importance was out of proportion to their numbers. Although dissenters still had substantial rights, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had increasingly been reducing their civic rights after a period of considerable religious and political freedom.{{sfn|Scott|2001|p=[{{Google book|id=lc8EMD0JYUAC|page=177|plainurl=yes}} 177]}} Soon Protestants were barred from public offices and the {{lang|pl|[[Sejm]]}} (Polish Parliament).{{sfn|Teter|2005|pp=[{{Google book|id=5-l_EXtIVe8C|page=57|plainurl=yes}} 57–58]}} Frederick took advantage of this situation by becoming the protector of Protestant interests in Poland in the name of religious freedom.{{sfn|Scott|2001|pp=[{{Google book|id=lc8EMD0JYUAC|page=177|plainurl=yes}} 177–178]}} Frederick further opened Prussian control by signing an alliance with Catherine the Great who placed [[Stanisław August Poniatowski]], a former lover and favourite, on the Polish throne.{{sfn|Hodgetts|1914|pp=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924028401234/page/n263 228–230]}}

After Russia occupied the [[Danubian Principalities]] in 1769–1770, Frederick's representative in Saint Petersburg, his brother Prince Henry, convinced Frederick and Maria Theresa that the balance of power would be maintained by a tripartite division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth instead of Russia taking land from the Ottomans. They agreed to the [[First Partition of Poland]] in 1772 without war. Frederick acquired most of Royal Prussia, annexing {{convert|38000|km2|sqmi|sigfig=2}} and 600,000 inhabitants. Although Frederick's share of the partition was the smallest of the partitioning powers, the lands he acquired had roughly the same economic value as the others and had great strategic value.{{sfn|Kaplan|1962|pp=[https://archive.org/details/firstpartitionof0000kapl/page/188 188–189]}} The newly created province of [[West Prussia]] connected [[East Prussia]] and Farther Pomerania, granted Prussia control of the mouth of the [[Vistula River]], and cut off Poland's sea trade. Maria Theresa had only reluctantly agreed to the partition, to which Frederick sarcastically commented, "she cries, but she takes".{{sfn|Ritter|1936|p=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/192 192]}}

Frederick undertook the exploitation of Polish territory under the pretext of an enlightened civilising mission that emphasised the supposed cultural superiority of Prussian ways.{{sfn|Clark|2006|p=[https://archive.org/details/ironkingdomrised00chri/page/239 239]}} He saw Polish Prussia as barbaric and uncivilised,{{sfn|Egremont|2011|p=[{{Google book|id=ZzWkxQZzyBIC36|page=36|plainurl=yes}} 36]}} describing the inhabitants as "slovenly Polish trash".{{sfn|Kakel|2013|p=[{{Google book|id=TbXKAQAAQBAJ|pg=PT43|plainurl=yes}} 213]}} His long-term goal was to remove the Poles through [[Germanisation of Poles during the Partitions|Germanisation]], which included appropriating Polish Crown lands and monasteries,{{sfn|Konopczyński|1919|p=[https://archive.org/details/briefoutlineofpo00kono/page/46 46]}} introducing a military draft, encouraging German settlement in the region, and implementing a tax policy that disproportionately impoverished Polish nobles.{{sfn|Hagen|1976|p=[https://www.jstor.org/stable/4545765 119]}}

=== War of the Bavarian Succession ===
{{Main|War of the Bavarian Succession}}
[[File:Frederick II of Prussia Coloured drawing.png|thumb|alt=Portrait painting of Frederick as an old man in military uniform |upright=0.8 |Colorized engraving of Frederick in a [[Waffenrock]] (1873)]]
Late in his life Frederick involved Prussia in the low-scale [[War of the Bavarian Succession]] in 1778, in which he stifled Austrian attempts to exchange the [[Austrian Netherlands]] for [[Bavaria]].{{sfn|Stollberg-Rillinger|2018|p=[{{Google books|id=I3OYDwAAQBAJ|page=PA130|plainurl=yes}} 130]}} For their part, the Austrians tried to pressure the French to participate in the War of Bavarian Succession since there were guarantees under consideration related to the [[Peace of Westphalia]], clauses which linked the Bourbon dynasty of France and the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty of Austria. Unfortunately for the Austrian Emperor [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]], the French court was unwilling to support him because they were already [[Franco-American alliance|supporting]] the [[American Revolution|American revolutionaries]] in North America and the idea of an alliance with Austria had been unpopular in France since the end of the Seven Years' War.{{sfn|Haworth|1904|pp=[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1833470 473–474]}} Frederick ended up as a beneficiary of the [[American Revolutionary War]], as Austria was left more or less isolated.{{sfn|Hassall|1896|pp=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924027888209/page/n357 342–343]}}

Saxony and Russia, both of which had been Austria's allies in the Seven Years' War, were now allied with Prussia.{{sfnm|MacDonogh|2000|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/373 373–374]|Ritter|1936|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/196 196–197]}} Although Frederick was weary of war in his old age, he was determined not to allow Austrian dominance in German affairs.{{sfnm|MacDonogh|2000|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/373 373–374]|Schieder|1983|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat0000schi/page/175 175–176]}} Frederick and Prince Henry marched the Prussian army into Bohemia to confront Joseph's army, but the two forces ultimately descended into a stalemate, largely living off the land and skirmishing.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n649 620–621]|MacDonogh|2000|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatli00macd/page/373 373–374]|Ritter|1936|3pp=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/196 196–197]}} Frederick's longtime rival Maria Theresa, who was Joseph's mother and his co-ruler, did not want a new war with Prussia, and secretly sent messengers to Frederick to discuss peace negotiations.{{sfnm|Kugler|1840|1p=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistor00menzgoog/page/n574 556]|Ritter|1936|2pp=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/196 196–197]}} Finally, [[Catherine II of Russia]] threatened to enter the war on Frederick's side if peace was not negotiated, and Joseph reluctantly dropped his claim to Bavaria.{{sfn|Ritter|1936|pp=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_520010744/page/196 196–197]}} When Joseph tried the scheme again in 1784, Frederick created the {{lang|de|[[Fürstenbund]]}} (League of Princes), allowing himself to be seen as a defender of German liberties. To stop Joseph II's attempts to acquire Bavaria, Frederick enlisted the help of the Electors of Hanover and Saxony along with several other minor German princes. Perhaps even more significantly, Frederick benefited from the defection of the senior prelate of the German Church, the Archbishop of Mainz, who was also the arch-chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire, which further strengthened Frederick and Prussia's standing amid the German states.{{sfn|Blanning|2016|p=[{{Google book|id=Hz_TCwAAQBAJ|page=339|plainurl=yes}} 339]}}