1740–1748
Charles VI died in 1740 without a surviving son, and his daughter Maria Theresa inherited the Habsburg hereditary lands under the Pragmatic Sanction. Her succession was challenged by several powers, while Frederick II of Prussia invaded and retained most of Silesia. Maria Theresa preserved the core Habsburg monarchy, but the imperial title went first to the Bavarian Charles VII and then to her husband Francis Stephen.
Chapter-by-chapter narrative with maps, primary sources, and key events.
Explore battles on a live map with a timeline slider and territory overlays.
Deep-dive into every major engagement — commanders, casualties, significance.
Biographical flip cards with real portraits, facts, and full biography pages.
Trace each figure's full life journey — birth, education, battles, and death — on a live map.
Scroll-driven visualization of casualties — each dot a thousand lives.
Weapons, war machines, and the military innovations that defined how this conflict was fought.
Cause-and-effect chains tracing the war's long shadow on history.
War crimes, massacres, and the darkest chapters of this conflict — documented for history.
Charles VI died in 1740 without a surviving son, and his daughter Maria Theresa inherited the Habsburg hereditary lands under the Pragmatic Sanction. Her succession was challenged by several powers, while Frederick II of Prussia invaded and retained most of Silesia. Maria Theresa preserved the core Habsburg monarchy, but the imperial title went first to the Bavarian Charles VII and then to her husband Francis Stephen.
War of the Austrian Succession was fought from 1740 to 1748.
War of the Austrian Succession was fought between Habsburg Austria and Prussia / France / Bavaria.
An estimated 1,200,000 people died in War of the Austrian Succession, including roughly 400,000 military and 800,000 civilian deaths. Figures are scholarly estimates and vary by source.
Major engagements included Battle of Fontenoy, Battle of Hohenfriedberg, Battle of Lauffeld, and Battle of Chotusitz.