The French-Bavarian Occupation

JAN 01 1741 · 12:00

Charles Albert of Bavaria as Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII. Workshop of Georges Desmarées, Munich Residenz. He was crowned King of Bohemia at St Vitus on 19 December 1741, the first non-Habsburg to wear the Bohemian crown in two centuries. Place: Prague Castle, St Vitus Cathedral, the city walls Figures: Maurice de Saxe, marshal · Charles Albert of Bavaria (Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor) · Maria Theresa of Austria · Prince Lobkowitz, besieging Austrian commander Maria Theresa has been on the throne for thirteen months. Half of Europe has decided that a Habsburg daughter cannot inherit; the Pragmatic Sanction is dead the moment her father is buried. Frederick II takes Silesia in December 1740. By autumn 1741, a French army under Belle-Isle, a Bavarian army under the elector Charles Albert, and a Saxon contingent under Rutowsky converge on Prague. The Austrian garrison is small. On the night of 25–26 November, Maurice de Saxe sends grenadiers up scaling ladders against the New Town walls near the Špitálské gate. The escalade succeeds before dawn. By morning the city is held by three foreign armies sharing the same billet. Belle-Isle writes to Versailles that Prague has fallen presque sans coup férir, almost without a blow.