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As we’re discussing the Bavarian War of Succession, it’s clear that the cause of this war lies in the death of the Bavarian ruler. On December 30th, 1777, Duke Max Joseph of Bavaria succumbed to smallpox and left no heirs, setting off a fierce scramble for the throne. But what made Bavaria so desirable to all these ambitious claimants? Well, the Duke held an incredibly high position within the Holy Roman Empire, enjoying both economic and legal privileges. Moreover, he was one of the possible candidates for Holy Roman Emperor, which made Bavaria a highly coveted prize.
展开剩余90%In fact, there was a primary successor—the Duke of Zweibrücken, Charles Theodore of Pfalz—but this duke was also the Elector of Pfalz. According to the rules, he could only inherit Bavaria after renouncing his claim to the Electorate of Pfalz. Though Bavaria was undoubtedly more important, Charles Theodore preferred the mild climate of Pfalz and enjoyed living there. Additionally, Charles had numerous mistresses, with whom he fathered many children. He hoped to secure land for them, which complicated the Bavarian succession further.
Austria's Archduke Joseph also had designs on Bavaria, seeking to expand his influence. To secure his claim, he married Max Joseph's sister, Maria, in the hope of producing an heir. Unfortunately, their union failed to produce any offspring, leaving Joseph's claim based solely on a 1425 imperial grant. Aware of the weak legal standing of this claim, Joseph quickly began negotiations with Charles Theodore after Max Joseph’s death. The two reached a secret agreement, where Joseph would acquire Bavaria’s inheritance while Charles Theodore received other territories as compensation. This arrangement allowed Charles to distribute land to his illegitimate children.
However, this agreement wasn’t without its casualties. Charles Theodore’s son, the presumptive heir Charles II Augustus, found himself sidelined. His mother-in-law—Max Joseph’s sister (though some believe it may have been his widow, Maria Anna of Saxony)—had her own plans. To help Charles II Augustus secure the throne, she secretly began negotiations with Prussia. Thus, the Bavarian succession issue turned into a battleground for the two European powerhouses: Austria and Prussia.
Diplomatic talks between the representatives of each country dragged on for months, but behind the scenes, both Austria and Prussia were mobilizing their armies, amassing forces that far exceeded those seen during the Seven Years’ War. Eventually, the negotiations collapsed, and war seemed imminent. The conflict began with Prussia's invasion, with both armies facing off near the Elbe River. Austria’s forces hesitated to move, knowing that Frederick the Great, one of Europe’s finest generals, commanded the Prussian army.
Sustaining such a large force proved difficult, so the focus of the war quickly shifted to the battle for logistical supplies. Both sides launched constant raids against each other’s supply convoys, seizing whatever they could to feed their troops. They even scoured the countryside for food, with commanders ordering soldiers to dig up locally grown potatoes to stave off hunger. These actions became the main feature of the war, and in fact, the time spent searching for food far exceeded that spent fighting. Thus, the conflict was soon dubbed the “Potato War.”
As the stalemate dragged on, both sides suffered tremendous depletion of their resources. Desperate to break the deadlock, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria began secretive efforts to broker a ceasefire. She sent envoys to Berlin and even wrote to Russian Empress Catherine the Great seeking support. Finally, under the mediation of Theresa and Catherine, both Austria and Prussia withdrew their forces, leaving only small contingents to monitor each other.
However, the war did not truly end there.
In the winter of 1778-1779, fighting erupted again. The Austrian forces launched a surprise attack on the Prussians, with the Austrian commander leading a raid on Beppersdorf on March 3, 1779, capturing the entire Prussian garrison. With that, the Bavarian War of Succession effectively came to an end.
On May 13, 1779, Austria and Prussia signed the Treaty of Teschen, which saw Austria gain the Inn Valley region, while Lower Bavaria was returned to Charles Theodore. The treaty arrangements clearly indicated that Austria was the war's ultimate victor. However, this settlement did little to resolve the underlying issues. In 1785, a dispute reignited when Emperor Joseph II of Austria proposed exchanging Austrian-controlled territories in the Low Countries for the remainder of Bavaria. This plan was thwarted when Prussia rallied other German states to pressure Joseph, forcing him to abandon the land swap. It wasn’t until 1799 that Charles II Augustus’ brother, Maximilian, inherited the Bavarian throne, finally resolving the succession crisis.
Though the war mobilized substantial armies on both sides, the actual fighting was not extensive. Still, the economic and human toll was immense. Both sides suffered heavy losses from starvation and disease, and the prolonged military standoff put a significant strain on the economies of both Austria and Prussia. No wonder Joseph II of Austria later remarked on the horrors of war, seeing the suffering of countless innocent people.
While the Bavarian War of Succession may not be widely remembered, its impact was far-reaching. Some historians consider it Europe’s last \"old-style\" war, after which the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars would fundamentally alter the nature of warfare. Additionally, the military mobilization shown during this conflict hinted at future changes in the way wars would be fought. This war also exposed the growing dichotomy within the German-speaking states, where the rivalry between Austria and Prussia would go on to shape Germany's future unification.
James Frank Bright, Maria Theresa: A History of the Habsburg Dynasty (Chinese Edition, 2020).
Harold Templerly, Frederick the Great and Joseph II: 18th-Century Wars and Diplomacy (Chinese Edition, 2020).
Author: Haoran Wenshi (ABC Friends of History and Culture)
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