Story Highlights
- Historical event:
- 9 October 1760
- In the Seven Years' War (1756 – 1763), the European powers joined forces against Prussian king Frederick II the Great, the arch-enemy of Maria Theresa.
In the Seven Years’ War (1756 – 1763), the European powers joined forces against Prussian king Frederick II the Great, the arch-enemy of Maria Theresa.
Frederick earlier took Silesia from Maria Theresa, and this war was for the most part an attempt to return the country under Austrian rule. Frederick’s only allies were Britain and a few German princedoms.
Maria Theresa was fortunate to have three great military commanders in her service. These were field marshals Daun, Laudon, and Lacy. It was Lacy who took Berlin, Frederick’s capital, on this day. The field marshal’s full name was Franz Moritz Graf von Lacy, and has a complex and interesting origin.
His ancestors hailed from Ireland, where they had emigrated for religious reasons (they were Catholics). Lacy’s father settled in Russia, where he became a field marshal. Franz Moritz was born in Saint Petersburg, but entered Austrian military service.
He quickly rose through the ranks and became one of Empress and Queen Maria Theresa’s most prominent commanders. The Austrians managed to hold Berlin for only six days, but managed to take a vast amount of loot back with them.
