The Peace of Teschen

Abstract

Maria Theresia had continued her efforts to find a peaceful settlement thoughout the most critical phase of the military operations. On the third of September she drew up an appeal to Frederick in which she not only proposed to evacuate every last square foot of Bavarian territory and to recognize his claim to the margraviates in the bargain, but also went on to beseech him to end once and for all their thirty-eight years of enmity and mutual suspicion in the interest of bringing unparalleled happiness to all of Germany.¹ Perhaps even the Empress, upon reflection, considered this a little too abject an offer of surrender, as the document was never dispatched. It, however, gives a fairly accurate reflection of her mood and her determination to go to almost any length to end the war. This was abetted by Kaunitz, who had apparently given up on the prospect of achieving anything through military operations. On the seventh, thus before he could have any notion of what the outcome of the campaign in Bohemia would be, he submitted a memorandum which maintained that, whatever might still happen in the field, it was hopeless for the Empire to consider renewing the war the next spring, as its resources would not be equal to this. And even if it should prove possible to fight a second year nothing would be accomplished as not even a series of victories would restore Silesia to the Empire.² It is not without a certain significance that no one bothered to take issue with this little bit of sophistry and to point out that the object of the war had never been to recover Silesia.