10.2.1763 - Confirmed the agreement to end the Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War is referred to as the first global conflict. It took place between 1756 and 1763, in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and on the oceans. The conflict was only ended by the Treaty of Paris, ratified on 10 February 1763.

The agreement was signed in the name of their respective kings - the Duke of Bedford, the Duc de Choiseul and the Marquis of Grimaldi. The King of Portugal also supported it, although his envoy Martin de Mello did not add his signature. The winner of the Seven Years' War was Great Britain, which gained a stronger position in both India and the Gulf of Guinea. In addition, it retained its superiority at sea. Together with her, Hanover, Portugal, Prussia and Russia can also be considered winners. France, on the other hand, remained weakened militarily but also economically. She was literally eliminated from the competition for colonies. She had to destroy the fortifications at Dunkirk and clear out all the occupied territories that belonged to Hanover and other German states. France's allies, namely Sweden, Austria and Saxony, also suffered defeat.

The Seven Years' War included several separate conflicts that broke out in different parts of the world. The common denominator, however, was that France was both the main opponent and the loser. "Prussian victories from 1757 onwards completely destroyed France's military reputation. This was only restored in the revolutionary wars of the 1990s. In India, both the English and the French were only a tiny fraction of the population and so had to rely on their domestic allies for technical and military superiority," writes R. G. Grant in his book on the greatest battles in human history.

The Seven Years' War was a military conflict between Great Britain, Prussia, Portugal and some German states.on the one hand, and France, the Holy Roman Empire (Austria and Saxony), Russia, Sweden and Spain on the other.

One of the largest battles took place on 5 December 1757 at Leuthen, where the Austrian military force numbered 60,000 men and the Prussian 36,000. In total, over eleven thousand soldiers were killed, most on the Austrian side. Friedrich could not wait to expel also the second Austrian army, commanded by the Emperor's brother-in-law Charles of Lorraine from Silesia, after the Battle of Rossbach. He had taken it from Austria in 1740. And so Friedrich planned his revenge.

Napoleon described the Battle of Leuthen as a masterstroke by Friedrich, where the Prussian monarch used his skill of movement, his ability to manoeuvre and his decision-making. "The Austrians held a fortified position, with the village of Leuthen in their midst. The front of the formation was nearly eight kilometres wide, its flanks protected by muddy terrain. Friedrich feigned an attack on the Austrian right flank, where all attention was directed, but in reality he struck the left flank, which was partly covered by a mountain range," R. G. Grant describes.

South of the village of Lobetinz, Friedrich made a rapid movement and the Austrian army failed to react promptly. Friedrich's army completely decimated them. He "saved" Silesia, the defeated Austrians retreated to Bohemia, and an angry Maria Theresa deposed Prince Charles.

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