At this point, tears welled up in Old Hans' eyes:
"One of my elder brothers and two younger brothers died in that battle. Our army has never suffered such a big defeat." He took out a handkerchief from his jacket pocket, wiped his eyes and continued:
"When His Majesty found a place to rest, he immediately wrote to his brother, Prince Henry: The 48,000 troops I commanded are now less than 3,000, and I am no longer the commander of the army... After experiencing this great disaster, I no longer want to live in humiliation.
His Majesty informed the generals that he was handing over the command to Prince Henry, and then he fell asleep on the haystack.
When he woke up the next morning, His Majesty found that 20,000 deserters had returned to the army. This was a miracle. The soldiers still believed in their king and they were ready to serve under His Majesty again.
Encouraged by this, His Majesty threw the thought of suicide out of his mind; His Majesty reorganized these men and those who had followed His Majesty out of the siege into an army of 32,000 people, established strongholds on the Russian army's approach to Berlin, and made a final effort to defend the capital.
But Saltykov's army did not appear, and the Russian soldiers also had to find food. They were in enemy territory, full of dangers, and the transportation lines were so far away. Saltykov believed that the Austrians should take responsibility at this time, so he ordered the Russian army to withdraw. Austrian Marshal Daun agreed that the next step should be decided by him.
The Austrians took advantage of Prince Henry's return to help and marched their troops to the outskirts of Dresden, opening artillery fire. The commander defending the city was originally a loyal Prussian general, but at this time he also felt that the situation was hopeless.
On September 5, despite His Majesty's order to hold on, the city surrendered to the Austrians. But at this moment, His Majesty's reinforcements were on the way, and upon hearing the news, His Majesty had to order the army to the winter camp in Freiburg.
After reinforcements from various places, our total strength was restored to 60,000, and we confronted the main Austrian army led by Daun in Freiburg. That winter was unusually cold, and after a few weeks, the snow was knee-deep. Only officers could find shelter in the house, and ordinary soldiers could only live in temporary wooden houses, huddled close to the fire to keep warm, with no food except bread.
In November, two large armies that went out to look for food were ambushed and annihilated by Daun, and another 20,000 men were lost. The only good news was that 4,000 of Daun's Austrian troops also froze to death in 16 days.
On November 19, His Majesty the King wrote to Voltaire of France: If this war continues, Europe will return to the Dark Ages, and some of us will become like beasts.
Although France was much richer than us in terms of money and personnel, its national finances were on the verge of bankruptcy. France reduced pension payments and imposed taxes on noble estates.
On October 6, France suspended payments on its issued national bonds, but when the French finance minister advised King Louis XV to cut spending, he was dismissed.
It was in this environment that the Duke of Choiseul of France armed a fleet and prepared to land in Britain, but it was destroyed by the British in the Battle of Quiberon Bay on November 20.
After experiencing failure, like every Frenchman, Louis XV felt that there were too many wars and he wanted peace. However, our King ceded Silesia to the Austrians, and he was still thinking about an glorious peace. Our ally, Pitt the Old of Britain, was busy annexing French colonies. How could we negotiate peace with him before establishing the British Empire!
In 1760, His Majesty the King had to work hard to increase the number of troops to 100,000 to 120,000. The anti-Prussian coalition had an army of 220,000.
The Allies planned a coordinated operation: the Russian and Austrian armies in Silesia, the Imperial army in Saxony, and the French against Hanover.
His Majesty the King went on the defensive to protect his supply lines and arsenals. The Russian and Austrian armies fought on the enemy's lines of communication, trying to force our army to abandon the occupied fortresses and cities. As Austrian Marshal Daun evaded coordinated actions, Saltykov transferred the main force of the Russian army to Pomerania and sent part of the force to attack Berlin. As a result, 23,000 Russian troops led by General Chernyshev occupied Berlin on October 9.
However, as the 70,000 Prussian troops led by Your Majesty were approaching Berlin, Chernyshev's army withdrew from Berlin after destroying our arsenal and other military facilities and joined the main Russian army fighting in the Frankfurt area.
The war of 1760 ended with no fundamental change in the situation for either side.
During the winter of 1759-1760, His Majesty was busy controlling the domestic economy and recruiting and training military personnel.
In April, Saltykov re-entered the battlefield with 100,000 men from Russia. Laudon of Austria had 30,000 men in Silesia, against Prince Henry's 34,000. Daun of Austria's main force was in Dresden, and Your Majesty only had 40,000 men to oppose him. The French had 125,000 men, while Ferdinand had only 70,000, and the enemy troops besieging Prussia were still twice as many as his.
The brave Austrian rookie Laudon launched the first attack in 1760. On June 23, he annihilated an army of 13,000 men in the Battle of Landshut.
On August 15, His Majesty escaped from Daun's encirclement, defeated Laudon in the Battle of Liegnitz, and entered Breslau, but on October 9, a Russian-Austrian coalition army composed of Cossacks led by Fermor and the troops of Daun's chief of staff Count Franz Moritz von Raisi entered Berlin, plundered military warehouses, and levied a sum of 2 million silver coins before retreating.
On November 3, His Majesty's 44,000 troops fought against Daun's 53,000 troops at the Battle of Torgau. He used the old method of flank attack, but the action of the task force was detected by the enemy and nothing was done. His Majesty was attacked fiercely by the Austrian army in the front. His Majesty once again lost three horses in battle. A bullet hit his chest, and he was stunned and fell unconscious.
Later, it was only thanks to the flexible counterattack of Hans Ernst Karl Graf von Zieten's cavalry that the Austrian army withdrew from the battlefield first, causing the accidental injury of Austrian Daun. The Austrian army lost 11,260 people, while our army's losses should be between 15,000 and 20,000. With the arrival of winter, our army finally took a breath.
1761 was a diplomatic year. King George II of England, who was extremely concerned about Hanover, died at the end of 1760. His grandson George III was not interested in Hanover and ordered an end to the war that cost a lot of pounds. The British garrison in Hanover was sharply reduced, and Prince Ferdinand had to abandon his family territory and retreat.
French Army Minister Choiseul turned to Spain, and the two countries signed a family agreement to deal with the common enemy. Austria's most aggressive general Laudon was ordered to lead 72,000 troops to join the 50,000 Russian troops, completely cut off the connection between East Prussia and Brandenburg, and prepare to occupy Berlin.
On September 1, the Austrian army once again captured the Schweidnitz fortress and obtained its supplies.
On October 5, the British Minister of War, Pitt the Elder, who advocated war, was opposed in the House of Commons and was forced to resign. The King's teacher, the Earl of Bute, ousted the Prime Minister, the Duke of Newcastle, and demanded that His Majesty admit defeat and cede Silesia to Austria. His Majesty decisively refused, and Britain stopped its aid to us.
At that time, the whole of Europe, including many Prussians, asked Your Majesty to make concessions. Many of our soldiers had lost the will to fight, and some even claimed that they would rather surrender if they were attacked again.
At the end of 1761, His Majesty found himself alone against all the enemies of Europe. His Majesty once said helplessly that only God could save him.
But God did not abandon us, and a miracle finally saved us.
On January 5, 1762, the Russian tsarina who hated Your Majesty died, and Peter III, who succeeded Her Majesty, was an admirer of Your Majesty. When Your Majesty received the news, he immediately ordered to give all Russian prisoners clothes, shoes and food, and released them.
On February 23, Peter announced the end of the war with Prussia.
On May 22, Sweden subsequently made peace with the Prussian army.
In the same month, 100,000 Turkish troops launched an attack on Hungary.
On June 10, the Russian army reappeared on the battlefield, but this time it was our ally. In one of the most incredible scenes in history, Peter III dressed in a Prussian uniform and volunteered to serve "the king, my master."
His Majesty was comforted by this, and the morale of our army was restored. However, His Majesty also agreed with his enemies that Peter III was crazy, especially when Peter suggested attacking Denmark and recovering Holstein.
His Majesty the King could only watch quietly as the poor prince destroyed himself.
On June 28, Peter was overthrown in a coup led by his wife and assassinated a few days later. The successor, Catherine II, ordered the Russian army to return home immediately. At that time, Her Majesty was preparing to attack Daun, so she asked the Russian commander to delay the announcement of the tsarina's order for three days. He used these three days to cooperate with the Russian army in the Battle of Bocksdorf.
On July 21, the cautious Marshal Daun retreated with the loss of 2,000 men. He wanted to wait for the Russian-Prussian coalition to split.
On July 23, the Prussian army reoccupied the Schweidnitz fortress, and Russia finally withdrew from the war.
October 29. Prince Henry led 24,000 men to defeat the 39,000-man Imperial Parliament Army in the Battle of Saxe-Freiburg. This was actually the last battle of the Seven Years' War.
At that time, the resources of the whole of Western Europe had been exhausted, especially in our country. All children over the age of 14 were conscripted, the countryside was deserted, and merchants went bankrupt due to lack of trade.
Austria had many people but little money, and its national debt was as high as 100 million gulden. Soon after the Spanish Empire entered the war, it was defeated. The British fleet launched the Battle of Havana and the Battle of Manila, and captured Cuba and the Philippines.
France was bankrupt, its colonies were lost, and overseas trade almost came to a standstill.
Britain badly needed peace to consolidate his gains.
On September 5, 1762, British Prime Minister Lord Bute John Stewart sent envoys to Paris to meet with French Army Minister Duke of Choiseul. If France was willing to cede Canada, Britain would agree to return the West Indies trade centers of Guadeloupe and Martinique, the Philippines and Cuba, and agree to allow France to retain five unarmed trading points in India.
While Pitt the Elder fiercely denounced these clauses in the British House of Commons, public opinion at the time supported Lord Bute.
On November 5, Britain, France, Portugal and Spain signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau.
Now the only two armies in Europe were Prussia and Austria, facing each other.
In February 1763, Queen Maria Theresa of Hungary was forced by circumstances to sign a peace treaty with us, and the Germanic countries returned to their pre-war status. Nothing had changed, only youth and passion had disappeared. Looking back 30 years ago, Your Majesty almost married the Queen of Hungary, which is a great irony.
His Majesty promised to support the Queen's son Joseph to become the King of Rome and inherit the Holy Roman Empire. The Empire returned to peace. When His Majesty returned to Berlin after six years of absence, only the poor and sad crowds stood on both sides to welcome him. His Majesty was only 51 years old at the time. After continuous battles, his back was hunched, his face was wrinkled, he was as thin as a stick, his teeth had fallen out, his hair was half a century old, and he suffered from stomachache, diarrhea and hemorrhoids. At that time, His Majesty thought that the most suitable place for him now was the disabled soldiers' nursing home."