Hello and welcome to a history of the United States. Episode 107. The Interministerium. Our last episode was a busy

one, in which we really mixed things up. Rather than looking at how unorganized the British were

on the northern frontier in North America, we looked at how unorganized they were on the Western frontier.

The frontier was disintegrating all along the borders of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia,

which led to a radical transformation in Pennsylvania, in particular, as the Quakers withdrew from public life,

leaving Benjamin Franklin to take leadership of the anti-proprietorial faction.

We looked at why things were going so badly for the British, in particular at how Lowndon

was alienating American support. This took us to the end of 1756 and

quarters up with events in London where Newcastle's ministry had fallen and Pitt had taken control

under the figurehead ministry of the Duke of Devonshire.

We'll begin today by zooming out and looking at the big picture again, as the war unfolded

across the globe in 1757. Remember, the seven years war can be broken down into roughly four separate conflicts.

The French and Indian War in North America, the Pomeranian War in North Europe, the Third Silesian War in Central Europe, and the Third Carnatic War in India.

We'll start with Prussia, who had launched the war in 1756, with their

successful but costly invasion of Saxony, and in retaliation, the Austrians had partially

reoccupied Silesia, which the Prussians had taken from the Austrians in the War of the Austrian

succession. Frederick of Prussia began 1757 by moving southwards out of Saxony and into Bohemia,

where he won a great victory against 60,000 Austrians in the Battle of Prague. But he suffered

significant losses and didn't feel strong

enough to storm the city, instead buzzing it under siege. Another Austrian force then moved

around and cut off his supply lines, leaving Frederick in a tricky position. He decided to attack the second Austrian force near

Cullen, which resulted in a bitter defeat with the Prussians losing 14,000 men, nearly half of

...