Editing War of the Austrian Succession (section)

==Campaign of 1744==
[[File:Louis XV ;Carle van Loo.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Louis XV of France]] by [[Maurice Quentin de La Tour]]]]

Under the 1743 Treaty of Fontainebleau, Louis XV and his uncle, [[Philip V of Spain]] agreed on joint action against Britain. This included [[Planned French invasion of Britain (1744)|a proposed invasion of Britain]], aimed at restoring the exiled [[House of Stuart|Stuarts]], and over the winter, 12,000 French troops and transports were assembled at [[Dunkirk]].{{sfn|Harding|2013|p=171}}

In the February 1744 [[Battle of Toulon (1744)|Battle of Toulon]], a combined Franco-Spanish fleet fought an indecisive action with a [[British Naval Forces|British naval force]] commanded by [[Thomas Mathews|Admiral Mathews]]. Although Mathews prevented them exiting the Mediterranean and supporting the invasion attempt, he was forced to retreat, which led to his dismissal.{{sfn|Baugh|2004}} Success allowed Spain to land troops in Northern Italy, and in April they captured the important port of [[Villefranche-sur-Mer]], then part of [[Savoyard state|Savoy]].{{sfn|Anderson|1995|p=137}}

However, storms sank or severely damaged many French ships, while most of Louis' ministers opposed what they considered an expensive and futile diversion of resources. The invasion was cancelled on 11 March, Louis formally declared war on Britain, and in May, a French army invaded the [[Austrian Netherlands]].{{sfn|Riding|2016|p=29}} As in 1744, they were greatly helped by divisions between the Pragmatic Allies, making it very difficult to formulate a consistent strategy. The British and Hanoverians detested each other, Austrian resources were focused in [[Alsace]], while the [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] were reluctant to declare war on France, and unsuccessfully tried to persuade Louis to withdraw.{{sfn|Anderson|1995|p=132}} The Dutch however did want to protect their [[Barrier Treaty|Barrier fortresses]] and [[Isaac Cronström]] thus argued to engage the French in the open field. [[George Wade]], supreme commander of the allied army, disagreed. He was under strict orders of the British government to not risk losing his connection to [[Ostend]] and not to risk British or Hanoverians troops becoming prisoners of war, which also meant that he refused to put them on garrison duty. The British feared another [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] uprising and therefore wanted to be able to send their troops home in time.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2002|p=187}}

As a result, the French made rapid progress, quickly capturing most of the Dutch-held Barrier fortresses along the border, including [[Menen]] and [[Ypres]]. When an Austrian army under Prince Charles of Lorraine invaded Alsace in early June, Louis went on the defensive in the [[Southern Netherlands]], and travelled to [[Metz]] to meet this threat. In early August, he fell dangerously ill with [[smallpox]], a disease often fatal at the time; although he later recovered, this temporarily paralysed the French command system.{{sfn|Browning|1993|p=175}}

With the bulk of the Austrian army occupied in Eastern France, Frederick launched the [[Second Silesian War]] on 15 August, and by the end of the month, all 80,000 of his troops were in Bohemia.{{sfn|Asprey|2007|p=289}} Although Maria Theresa's main objective was to regain Silesia, the speed of the Prussian advance took the Austrians by surprise. On 23 August, Prince Charles withdrew from Alsace to defend Bohemia, with little interference from the French due to Louis' illness.{{sfn|Asprey|2007|pp=290–294}}

[[File:Friedrich ii campenhausen.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Frederick the Great, by [[Wilhelm Camphausen]]; his position at the end of 1744 was extremely precarious]]
By mid-September, Frederick had captured Prague, [[Tábor|Tabor]], [[Budweis]] and [[Hluboká nad Vltavou|Frauenberg]]; he now advanced up the river [[Vltava|Moldau]], hoping to catch the Austrians between his forces, and the Franco-Bavarian army he assumed was in pursuit. However, the Bavarians contented themselves with re-occupying Munich, while the French settled down to besiege [[Freiburg im Breisgau]], a town of far less importance to Maria Theresa than Bohemia.{{sfn|Anderson|1995|p=134}}

Frederick was left dangerously exposed, a situation worsened in early October when Saxony joined the coalition against him as an active belligerent. Under pressure from Charles of Lorraine and a combined Austro-Saxon force under Count [[Otto Ferdinand von Abensperg und Traun|Traun]], the Prussians were forced to retreat; by the time they entered Silesia in late November, Frederick's army was reduced to 36,000, half of whom then died of dysentery.{{sfn|Duffy|2015|p=56}}

Despite the surrender of Freiburg and French advances in the Southern Netherlands, Austria seemed well-positioned at the end of 1744. Frederick's retreat damaged his reputation and weakened his army, but the most significant impact was on Franco-Prussian relations, with Louis accused of failing to support Prussia.{{sfn|Anderson|1995|p=135}}

In Italy, an Austrian attack on the [[Kingdom of Naples]] was unsuccessful, largely due to the incompetence of their commanders. In the north, arguments over strategy, and Spanish accusations of French cowardice at [[Toulon]] prevented them from taking full advantage of their victories earlier in the year. This was offset by similar divisions among their opponents; Charles Emmanuel was reluctant to see the Bourbons expelled from Italy, leaving the Habsburgs as the dominant power, while his territorial ambitions could only be achieved at Austrian expense. As a result, neither side could make significant progress in this area.{{sfn|Anderson|1995|p=139}}