Plots and Counterplots
In Italy, affairs proved even more disastrous. Genoa, which up to this
time had remained neutral, now sided with Spain, Naples, and France, so
that there was an addition of ten thousand men to the enemy’s forces to
be reckoned with when the campaign opened in May. This gave them an army
of seventy thousand capable of crushing Austria and its ally Sardinia.
The outlook was dark for Maria Theresa when the Dresden Treaty was
signed. While on the one hand it brought respite, on the other redoubled
vigilance and energy were needed. The overburdened Empress breathed a
little more freely, and calmly faced the situation in Italy, where she
had sent reënforcements to the army and placed Prince Wenzel
Lichtenstein in command. Thirty thousand fresh troops, with a _man_ at
their head, count for a great deal; the latter even more than the
former, since any number of troops without a competent leader can
accomplish little.
The new campaign, in the Spring of 1746, began hopefully, and its
promise was realized largely by an unforeseen event which occurred on
the ninth of July and made an important change in the situation. This
was the death of King Philip V of Spain,[13] and the succession to the
throne of Ferdinand VI,[14] who was anxious for peace.
A change in the leadership of the Spanish forces in Italy had already
weakened them, and the recall of six thousand men to Spain greatly
increased Lichtenstein’s advantage, as results were not slow in proving.
The battle of the tenth of August disposed of the Spaniards as far as
Maria Theresa’s army was concerned, and left it free to chastise Genoa.
That Republic, already alarmed at the turn of events, became
panicstricken when the Austrians captured Bocchetta, and the Senate
bowed its once proud neck beneath the foot of the victor. The punishment
it had so well merited was not lacking when the day of reckoning came.
Maria Theresa magnanimously, indeed, sought to save Genoa from the
depths of humiliation to which Botta relentlessly subjected it, for the
crippled Republic had suffered enough,—and too much, as the sequel
showed.
At this juncture, when the army was victorious and both ready and able
to continue the work, Maria Theresa’s plans were frustrated by the
jealousy of England and Sardinia. The two allies felt obliged to turn
their arms against Naples, which lay so near, and the result was
obvious: the Empress was forced to abandon them and follow the French
and Spaniards to Nice. The advance into Provence, however, was suddenly
brought to a standstill, because of the harsh treatment Genoa had
received. The bow had been bent too far, and it broke. A popular
insurrection was the fruit of Botta’s revenge. Austria’s disregard of
the fact that a people driven to desperation will risk everything—a fact
unfortunately too often forgotten, in spite of the terrible examples in
history,—cost it dearly; for, aside from its material losses in men and
supplies, Botta’s flight and the forced retreat of Browne from Provence
were bitter fruit. Nor was it made any less so by the loss of Genoa
itself, and the fact that Austria had only itself to blame; for the
brutal severity of the conqueror and his overbearing arrogance were
alone responsible. Genoa retained its freedom after this, and the war
was continued with varying results until the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
put an end to the bloodshed; but Austria had no cause to rejoice over
this peace, and Maria Theresa felt it deeply.
The Queen, however, now turned her vigorous mind and generous sympathies
into other channels than those which ran red with human blood, and
devoted herself to the welfare of her people. War, even in its grandest
aspect, is and must always be degrading to humanity and a source of
untold misery. The old German saying that “Peace nourishes; strife
consumes,” is a true one. In spite of manifold disasters, Maria Theresa
had emerged from the long struggle with success; she had defeated the
efforts of her enemies to break her power, and had strengthened her
empire. It had taken eight years of war; but the great Empress had not
been through this hard school of experience without profiting much by
it, even if her gains were not those of territory.
The eight years of peace that now ensued gave her time and opportunity
to effect the reforms she had in mind, a work that appealed strongly to
her and was worthy of her best endeavors. She had a wide field before
her, for the weakness of the antiquated system of government bequeathed
from the Middle Ages was felt on all sides. A great advance in
civilization had been made during that period, and many cumbersome
formalities had to be abandoned in order that the administration of
affairs should be in sympathy with this development.
Maria Theresa grasped the situation clearly; she understood all this, as
well as her own position and power and the country’s needs. It was a
woman in this case that proved the old saying, “One’s self is the man”;
for it was she herself who was the motive power in these salutary
reforms; it was her own hand that guided the affairs of state and
directed the reforms in the condition of her people.
Experience had taught her the value of Prince Eugene’s advice to her
father, which unfortunately for himself the latter had so little heeded;
hence her first thought was for the reorganization of the army. Well as
she knew its deficiencies, she showed no haste or precipitation in
making the necessary changes, but proceeded slowly though surely to the
end she had in view. The wonderful personal influence and power of this
remarkable woman were not the only evidences of her greatness; they were
apparent also in her successful discovery of the right men, and
assignment of them to positions where they would be most effective and
accomplish the most good. The change brought about in the army was an
illustration of this; not only was the discipline wonderfully improved,
but so much spirit and enthusiasm were infused into it that at the
beginning of the Seven Years’ War Frederick the Great himself was forced
to declare, “These are no longer the old Austrians!” But there was the
same love and devotion for the Empress which had been manifested in the
days of the first Silesian war, and the army submitted willingly and
cheerfully to all her measures of reform.
In this work Maria Theresa had two faithful assistants, Count Daun,
whose ancestral home was a stronghold in the volcanic mountains of Eifel
and even in its ruined state a worthy cradle of a great race, and Prince
Wenzel Lichtenstein. As Daun, one might say, created the infantry, so
old Lichtenstein was the founder of the new artillery—two branches of
the service in which Frederick II was an adept. The cavalry, just as it
stood, had served as a model for Frederick, but even in that branch of
the service there was room for improvement. Maria Theresa devoted
especial attention to the breeding of good horses for the cavalry, and
took great interest in hospital work. It would take too long to go into
all the details of this important work, but one of her remarkable
achievements must not be overlooked. This was the construction of a line
of defences, or “military frontier,” along the Turkish border, which
interposed an effective barrier against those invasions and unexpected
attacks which had been so common in previous wars with that country.
If Maria Theresa’s determined efforts to strengthen her army really
meant that she had Silesia in her mind, who can blame her, especially
when the affection with which she clung to that lost province and her
inward conviction that two natures like hers and Frederick II’s could
never remain long at peace with one another, as was indeed the case, are
considered?
With this problem of perfecting the army and fitting it for future
service—possibly the re-conquest of Silesia—was closely linked another,
suggested by that saying of Montecuculi’s already quoted; namely, that
the requisites of war were, firstly, money; secondly, more money; and
thirdly, more money again, and plenty of it. The second task that
confronted Maria Theresa’s dauntless spirit was the question of taxes,
or, in a word, what we call finances. Austria was rich in resources, but
there had been a lack of good management in their application. Judicious
economy was much needed in this branch of the administration, and,
remembering the extravagance and wastefulness that had prevailed in her
father’s time, the Empress began the reduction of expenses. This action
and her realization that the proper remedy was to be obtained not by the
imposition of crushing taxes on her subjects, but by developing the rich
resources of the country, merely furnish further proofs of her political
wisdom and statesmanship.
During the last war, the lack of funds in the treasury had made it
necessary to impose heavy taxes to meet the deficiency, but the system
was wrong, and failed to effect the desired object; it only made the
taxes extremely burdensome, and its injustice increased the irritation
and discontent of the people. This was an evil that needed a remedy, as
her unerring glance had long since discovered, and she lost no time in
devoting all her energies to the establishment of a system, wherein
juster methods should be employed; there were so many who for various
reasons were exempt from taxation, that it became absolutely necessary
to limit the number. These reforms were received with great enthusiasm
all over the land, and endeared her still more to the people.
Part of Maria Theresa’s success was due to her judgment and sagacity in
choosing for her advisers men of the highest talents and abilities, as
well as to that unerring tact which is one of nature’s best gifts to
mankind, and which helped her here as it had with the army. Among her
statesmen, she possessed in Kaunitz[15] not only an able and clever
diplomatist, who filled the highest posts of honor with credit to
himself and his country, but also a faithful and devoted servant, and an
invaluable aid to her in all her far-reaching plans. The one with which
she was closely concerned at this time had been suggested by England. It
was a proposal to retain the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire of
the German nation in her family, and make her son, the Archduke Joseph,
King of Rome; thus giving him the right, on the death of her husband, to
succeed him as Emperor, and prevent any more such destructive wars as
those from which the country had already suffered. England had devised
this scheme, and was willing to do its share toward bringing it about;
but there were many obstacles in the way, not the least of them,
Prussia. France was another; but Germany itself, for that matter,
furnished difficulties enough to relegate its accomplishment to the
far-distant future.
The Empress, strongly as the plan appealed to her, was cautious and said
little, but England continued to urge the matter with a persistence that
excited some doubt as to the sincerity of its attitude toward Austria.
At last its motives became apparent, and Maria Theresa abandoned any
further consideration of the plan. This caused somewhat strained
relations between the two countries. During the negotiations, moreover,
England’s behavior was such that Kaunitz, in defence of the dignity of
his sovereign, was forced to protest against it as inadmissible in
diplomatic intercourse. His remonstrances were unheeded, however; and
when it came to the question of affairs in the Netherlands, England’s
communications and Austria’s replies became even more pointed. A
complete rupture was inevitable, but Kaunitz would not permit matters to
proceed as far as that until he had seen his way clear to a union with
France.
His one idea, since he had been in power, was the recovery of Silesia,
and as a means to that end he endeavored to come to an agreement with
France and turn it to his advantage. He was shrewd enough to keep this
plan a secret, as well as that other which went hand in hand with it,
the humiliation of Prussia. That Maria Theresa, who had never ceased to
grieve over the loss of Silesia, fully sympathized with these schemes
cannot be doubted. The only hope of their realization, however, lay in
separating Prussia from all her allies; and an alliance with France
would be a long step in this direction. England and France at that time
were on the verge of hostilities over the boundaries of Canada, and
England had been endeavoring to involve France in a war with some of the
European powers, so as to have a free hand in America. This, however,
could not be accomplished without assistance; and, beside, there was
Hanover to protect. The number of troops there had been increased, to be
sure, but they were not sufficient to insure its safety. At this point
England demanded to know how large a force Austria could raise in case
France and Prussia should invade the Netherlands and Hanover.
Maria Theresa’s eyes were opened now, and she replied that she could not
spare any troops from Bohemia without exposing it to danger from
Prussia. She would furnish the twenty-five thousand men agreed upon, in
the Netherlands, leaving England to take Reuss in payment and seek
assistance from the sovereign princes of Germany. These terms of Maria
Theresa’s were definite and final, but England further demanded that
Austria should not only send thirty thousand men immediately to the
Netherlands, but also an extra force to defend Hanover. This Maria
Theresa refused to do, whereupon England threatened to break its
alliance with Austria unless it complied with these demands. Maria
Theresa then declared plainly what she should demand of England in
return for the protection of her territory against Prussia and Italy.
Before her answer had been sent, still more peremptory demands arrived
from England; but Kaunitz made no reply to them. Matters had gone too
far to avoid a breach any longer. England broke off negotiations with
Austria and went over at once to the King of Prussia.
Frederick II had learned through a traitor at Dresden that a secret
alliance existed against him between Austria and Saxony, to which Russia
was a party. He therefore gladly accepted the overtures of England,
since his union with France had come to an end, with little prospect of
its renewal. The treaty between Maria Theresa and France was signed on
the first of May, 1756.
Thus there had been a remarkable change in the relations of the European
powers when the storm-clouds gathered once more and broke in the Seven
Years’ War.