The War of the Austrian Succession

by Reed Browning and Telford Taylor

Book Overview

Reed S. Browning explores the often-changing war aims of the major belligerents-Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, Piedmont-Sardinia, and Spain-and links diplomatic and military events to the political and social context from which they arose.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312125615
• ISBN13: 9780312125615
• Release Date: May 1995
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Maria Theresa's Struggle, Superbly Told

This book defied my expectations in several different ways: despite being an academic press, it was superbly written and engaging; though primarily a diplomatic history, it proved itself briskly paced, with lively characters and more than occasional joke; also, it overcame the verdict of hindsight that usually treats the War of the Austrian Succession (1741-48) as a mere prelude to the Seven Year's War (1756-63). There are three real stars of this story. First, Maria Theresa herself, at whose destruction the war was originally aimed, who rallied her subjects and her armies, even as Franco-Prussian alliance had overrun Upper Austria; second, the Marshall de Saxe, bastard son of the exiled Polish King, who rose to become one of France's greatest soldiers (and a future hero to Napoleon); third - and perhaps the biggest surprise, King Charles Emannuel of Savoy-Piedmont, military-diplomatic mastermind of Northern Italy, who, despite his second-tier status within European royalty, parlayed his strategic Alpine position between France and Austria to emerge as the preeminent prince of Italy. Needless to say, there are other luminaries - Argenson and Belle-Isle, the mad French war ministers, waging war without purpose; Bonnie Prince Charlie, Stuart adventurer (and Bourbon cats paw); King George II, victor of Dettingen (last British monarch to fight in battle); Frederick II of Prussia, unscrupulous genius, conqueror of Silesia; and Empress Elizabeth, the Russian wild-card. This is history of the kind found in Tuchman's "Guns of August" and John Keegan's works; richly rewarding.

Frederick meets Maria Theresa

Mid Eighteenth Century political/military history is not everyone's cup of tea. The War of Austrian Succession does not have the cache of the better known Seven Years War or the War of Spanish Succession. Nevertheless, the War of Austrian Succession/Silesian Wars has a lot to recommend it. The story of the teenaged Maria Theresa who upon ascending the thrown is greedily attacked by Prussia, Bavaria and France is a great story. With no credible allies, Maria Theresa was able to rally her people to defend her empire.Reed Browning is good writer and has the organizational ability to help the reader keep track of the myriad of diplomatic and military details. My only criticism is the pathetic maps that accompany the book. The poor author must have not found the money to include better maps with his book. The War of Austrian Succession is an obscure war. Reed Browning has done a wonderful job of bringing a little known conflict to life.

Solid, well-organized account

The War of the Austrian succession began when Frederick the Great(as he was to become eventually) invaded Silesia on 16 Dec 1740 and ended with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. This book is well-researched and a reader can be confident that an accurate and competent account is being read. Anyone who wants to read such an account will welcome this book. Solid, well-written, authoritative.

Excellent

Reed Browning is my history professor at Kenyon College. This book was great. He writes about a lot of very confusing events in a coherent style, creating a wonderful narrative. I definitely reccomend this book to any history buffs.

The author creates a vivid, engaging, yet concise work.

I am very impressed with this book. The author has taken an immense amount of material on all the warring realms of the Europe in the mid 18th century and distilled it into a brilliantly executed and entertaining dissertation. The author maintains very clear objectives, discusses ramifications, maintains a global context and manages to keep the reader entertained throughout. The war which was really comprised of a number of regional conflicts and revolving alliances established a new order in Europe at the time. It was sparked by greed, opportunity and a change in national fortunes. Careers were made and destroyed and the balance of power in Europe was altered forever. Maps augment the text and I was particularly impressed with the author's ability to weave in details about the intricacies of warfare, of commerce and of society in the 18th century while not distracting from a structured discussion of the battles and their outcomes. Highly recommended.