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Frederick’s victory at Prague was supposed to break Austria.

Instead, it leaves him trapped between a besieged city he cannot abandon and a growing Austrian relief army under Leopold Joseph von Daun.

At Kolín, Frederick once again turns to the solution that has served him so well: attack first, attack hard, and trust the Prussian army to make the plan work.

This time, Daun is ready.

On June 18, 1757, Frederick’s confidence, the limits of Prussian manpower, and the growing strength of Maria Theresa’s reformed army collide in one of the most important battles of the war.

For the first time, Frederick is decisively beaten.

And across Europe, everyone notices.

Please enjoy another set of homemade battle maps! Hope these help...!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/139aCYHzfri4hufeGDzQf0hSkV6xzhVyY-7CF7RrfvTw/edit?usp=sharing

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Frederick the Great has driven deep into Bohemia and now stands before Prague, determined to crush the Austrian army in one decisive blow. Instead, the battle becomes a savage contest of mud, cannon fire, shattered formations, and desperate improvisation. By the end of the day, Frederick has his victory—but at a terrible cost. Prague still stands, the Austrian army still survives, and another force under Leopold Daun is already gathering beyond the horizon.

It is one of Frederick’s greatest battlefield triumphs.

And one of the first signs that victory alone may no longer be enough.

Please enjoy these maps I made to help you follow along! They are products of my own creation and not terribly good or expertly geographically accurate, but hopefully they help somewhat!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wb1Zv34ILpMlcY_PJP71b-aI97XFD2-Ihw7WogQwx84/edit?usp=sharing

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Before returning to the battlefields of 1757, we take a step back to answer a deceptively simple question: how did 18th-century warfare actually work?

From battalions, grenadiers, cuirassiers, and hussars to muskets, bayonets, artillery, and the endless problem of keeping tens of thousands of men fed, this supplemental episode breaks down the basic machinery of war in the age of Frederick the Great. We explore linear tactics, volley fire, logistics, flanking and envelopment, the oblique order, and the relentless discipline that allowed the Prussian army to execute Frederick’s increasingly ambitious plans.

Because before we can understand Prague, Kolín, Rossbach, and Leuthen, we first need to understand why thousands of otherwise sensible men were willing to stand in perfectly straight lines and shoot at one another until somebody decided they had had enough.

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With Europe closing in from every direction, Frederick the Great knows Prussia cannot survive a long war. Instead of waiting for the coalition to strike, he launches a bold invasion of Bohemia, hoping to defeat Austria before its allies can bring their full strength to bear. As Prussian columns march through difficult terrain, early clashes—including the Battle of Reichenberg—suggest that his audacious strategy might just succeed. But every mile deeper into Bohemia increases the stakes, and by the campaign’s end both armies stand face-to-face outside Prague, poised for the first great battle of 1757. Frederick has forced the issue. Now, he must live with the consequences.

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Before the armies march… before the battles are fought… before the first shots echo across Bohemia…

The outcome of the war is already being imagined.

In this episode, we step back from the battlefield to examine the forces gathering against Frederick II of Prussia—and the very real plans being formed to dismantle his kingdom piece by piece.

Austria seeks revenge and the return of Silesia. France pivots toward a global struggle with Britain, with Hanover squarely in its sights. Russia prepares to push west, eyeing East Prussia and greater influence in Poland. Sweden looks for an opportunity to reclaim its Baltic foothold. And within the Holy Roman Empire, a broader political system begins to align against Prussia’s rise.

This is not just a coalition.

It is a partition in the making.

Meanwhile, Britain faces a dilemma of its own—how to fight a global war while protecting Hanover. The solution? Gold. Subsidies begin to flow, an alliance with Prussia takes shape, and the Army of Observation assembles to hold the line in western Germany… or at least stand there and hope the French don’t push too hard.

At the center of it all, Frederick sees the trap forming around him. Surrounded, outnumbered, and running out of time, he makes the only move he believes he can.

He strikes first.

With Saxony already occupied, the war has begun. But as we’ll see, that opening move has only bought him time—not victory.

Because next… the war moves south.

Map of Europe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years%27_War#/media/File:Europe_1748-1766_en.png

Map of the HRE

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/1740_Homann_Map_of_the_Holy_Roman_Empire_%28_Germanic_Empire_%29_-_Geographicus_-_ImperiiRomanoGerman-homann-1740.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=index&utm_content=original

Map of Hanover

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Electorate_of_Hanover_in_1789.png

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Frederick of Prussia is surrounded.

Austria wants Silesia back. France has changed sides. Russia is preparing to march. And from Berlin, it all looks less like diplomacy—and more like a trap.

So Frederick makes a decision.

In August of 1756, he invades Saxony, launching what he believes will be a short, decisive war—one that will secure his position before his enemies can fully mobilize.

At first, everything goes according to plan.

Prussian armies advance in three coordinated columns. Dresden falls with little resistance. Saxony appears on the brink of collapse.

But then—

The Saxon army refuses to surrender.
Austria intervenes.
And at Lobositz, Frederick gets his first real taste of the war he has just begun.

A war that is already proving slower, harder, and far more complicated than expected.

Because “quick wars,” as it turns out—

Rarely are.

Maps!!!

General map of Europe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Silesian_War#/media/File:Europe_1748-1766_en.png

Localized Campaign map

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Silesian_War#/media/File%3AMap_for_the_Silesian_and_Seven_Years_Wars.jpg

Battle of Lobositz

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lobositz#/media/File%3ABattle_of_Lobositz.png

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By the end of 1756, what had begun as a series of regional conflicts was rapidly becoming something far larger.

In this episode, we pause the narrative to take a global snapshot of the war as it stood at the close of the year. From the diplomatic upheaval of Europe’s Diplomatic Revolution, to the frontier fighting in North America, to the rising tensions in Bengal, the conflict was already stretching across continents and oceans.

We revisit each of the major theaters of the war:

• The shifting alliances of Europe, and the growing danger facing Prussia
• The French advantage in North America following the fall of Fort Oswego
• The critical role of Native nations in shaping the frontier conflict
• The transformation of trade into warfare in India, as tensions rise in Bengal
• The high-stakes economic rivalry of the Caribbean sugar islands
• The wider global networks linking West Africa and the Philippines

By the end of the episode, the picture becomes clear:

The war is already global.

And in Europe, the spark that will ignite full-scale continental war is about to be struck.

Next Time:

Frederick the Great makes his move.

Prussian armies march into Saxony—and the Seven Years’ War enters a new and far more dangerous phase.

Seven Years War Global Map

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years%27_War#/media/File:SevenYearsWar.png

Europe — Diplomatic Revolution

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diplomatic_Revolution#/media/File:Carte_Guerre_de_Sept_Ans_Europe.PNG

North America — French & British Positions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_colonization_of_the_Americas#/media/File:Nouvelle-France_map-en.svg

India — Bengal & European Trading Posts

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:European_settlements_in_India_from_1498-1739.PNG

Caribbean — Colonial Possessions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_Caribbean#/media/File:Political_Evolution_of_Central_America_and_the_Caribbean_1756_na.png

West Africa — Trading Forts (note that it is a bit newer than. the time...)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Senegal#/media/File:Guillaume_Delisle_Senegambia_1707.jpg

Philippines — Manila Galleon Trade

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Manila-Accapulco_galleon_trade_route,_showing_onward_route_to_Spain.png

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In the mid-eighteenth century, the Caribbean was one of the most valuable regions in the world.

Small islands covered in sugar plantations generated immense wealth, drawing the competing empires of Britain, France, Spain, and the Dutch Republic into a crowded and volatile imperial chessboard. What had once been a frontier of buccaneers and raiders had become a tightly organized system of trade, slavery, and naval power.

In this episode, we explore how the Caribbean was conquered, how the sugar plantation economy transformed the region, and why these islands became such coveted prizes in the growing global conflict of the Seven Years’ War. From the rise of privateers and commerce warfare to the uneasy calm of 1756, the Caribbean stands poised on the edge of a much larger storm.

Because in a war fought across continents…

Even the smallest islands could carry enormous weight.

Map of the Caribbean Basin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Caribbean_general_map.png

Map of Colonial Possessions in 1756

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_Caribbean#/media/File:Political_Evolution_of_Central_America_and_the_Caribbean_1756_na.png

Atlantic Triangle Trade Map

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Triangular_trade_en.svg