Silesian Wars

Silesian Wars.
The Silesian Wars were a series of three wars fought between Prussia (under King Frederick the Great) and Austria (under Archduchess Maria Theresa) for control of the Central European region of Silesia (now in south-west Poland). The First (1740–1742) and Second Silesian Wars (1744–1745) formed parts of the War of the Austrian Succession, in which Prussia was one member of an anti-Austrian coalition. The Third Silesian War (1756–1763) was one theatre of the global Seven Years' War, in which Austria led a coalition aiming to seize Prussian territory. All three ended in Prussian victories, and their overall territorial result was Austria's cession of the majority of Silesia to Prussia, which emerged from the Silesian Wars as a new European great power. Austria's defeat by a lesser German power significantly damaged its prestige. The conflict foreshadowed a century-long Austria–Prussia rivalry for hegemony over the German-speaking peoples. (This article is part of a featured topic: Silesian Wars.)