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A ''Reichskrieg'' ("Imperial War", pl. ''Reichskriege'') was a
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
fought by the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
as a whole against a common enemy. After the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
in 1648, a ''Reichskrieg'' was a formal state of war that could only be declared by the Imperial Diet. There were two kinds of ''Reichskrieg'' with two different legal bases. The first was a ''
Reichsexekution In German history, a ''Reichsexekution'' (sometimes "Reich execution" in English) was an imperial or federal intervention against a member state, using military force if necessary. The instrument of the ''Reichsexekution'' was constitutionally av ...
skrieg'', a military action of the empire against one of its own
Imperial Estate An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...
s (''Reichstände''). This could only be done after one of the empire's two supreme courts, the
Imperial Chamber Court The ''Reichskammergericht'' (; ; la, Iudicium imperii) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal ...
or the
Imperial Aulic Council The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juri ...
, had found the offending estate to be in breach of the peace, and the estate was too powerful to be subdued by the Imperial Circle to which it belonged. The second kind of ''Reichskrieg'' was that against another sovereign state that had violated the empire's rights or frontiers. After 1519, the emperors were bound to get the support of the
Imperial Electors The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...
prior to declaring war on another state. From 1648, they required the approval of the diet for both kinds of war. The only state against which a formal ''Reichskrieg'' was ever declared was
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The diet declared war on France in 1689, 1702, 1734, 1793 and 1799. The declaration created a state of war, but it was still necessary for the emperor by a series of orders to begin the decentralised process of forming the ''
Reichsarmee , image = Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor with haloes (1400-1806).svg , image_size = 150 , caption = , dates = 1422–1806 , country ...
'' (Imperial Army) out of the Imperial Circles' troops. What each estate owed in both money and men was determined by the
Imperial Military Constitution The Imperial Military Constitution (german: Reichsheeresverfassung, also called the ''Reichskriegsverfassung'') was the collection of military laws of the Holy Roman Empire. Like the rest of the imperial constitution, it grew out of various laws an ...
. Following the ''
Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...
'' (1803), the six
imperial cities In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
that remained were pledged to perpetual neutrality even during a ''Reichskrieg''.


Middle Ages

In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, the formal mechanisms of imperial war did not yet exist. Historians still sometimes speak of imperial wars, such as the war against the Count of Württemberg in 1311–1312; that declared by the Emperor
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
against Duke
Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...
of Burgundy in 1434; or that declared against the
Armagnacs The Armagnac faction was prominent in French politics and warfare during the Hundred Years' War. It was allied with the supporters of Charles, Duke of Orléans against John the Fearless after Charles' father Louis of Orléans was killed on a ...
by the Emperor Frederick III in 1444.


Imperial reforms, 1495–1519

At the
Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms of 1521 (german: Reichstag zu Worms ) was an imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City of Worms. Martin Luther was summoned to t ...
in 1495, the emperor was prohibited from making war in the name of the empire without first consulting the Imperial Diet. His right to make war in his own name and with his own resources was not restricted. This was the first restriction on the emperor's war-making powers, and it introduced the concept of a war fought by the whole empire as distinct from a war fought privately by the emperor. The 1495 diet also declared an Eternal Peace and instituted a supreme court, the
Imperial Chamber Court The ''Reichskammergericht'' (; ; la, Iudicium imperii) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal ...
. These acts outlawed private warfare and
feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
s, and created a binding judicial mechanism for dispute resolution. This had the effect of making civil wars a matter of breaching the imperial peace (''Reichsfriedensbruch'') to be resolved by the courts. It was illegal for any
Imperial Estate An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...
to assist another that was breaching the peace. Following court rulings, the emperor could issue an "advocates' mandate" (''mandatum advocatorium'') that identified estates in breach of the peace as "enemies of the empire" (''Reichsfeinde'') and required other estates to act to bring the enemy to heel. Thus, after a judicial process, the empire could make war on one of its own members that was in breach of the peace.
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...
in his '' Wahlkapitulation'' (electoral capitulation) of 1519 agreed not to declare war without the consent of the electors. This represented a loosening of the restriction imposed in 1495.


Turkish wars (''Türkenkriege''), 1529–1791

In the early modern period, a fundamental difference was introduced to the empire between wars against fellow Christians and wars against non-Christians, which, in the imperial context, meant the
Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
. Between 1529 and 1699, the empire was in a constant state of war with the Ottomans, punctuated only by temporary truces that usually involved the payment of tribute to the Ottomans. This permanent state of war followed from the Ottoman division of world between the lands of Islam and the "house of war". These wars attracted support from both Catholic and Protestant Europe. Although they had the support of the
Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
, they were never declared
crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
. Owing to the impossibility of peace, the right of the emperor to demand assistance in the war against the Ottomans was unquestioned. In the 1520s the Imperial Diet asserted its right to debate the level of the "Turkish aid" (''Türkenhilfe''), but not its requirement. Since the state of war did not require approval by the Imperial Diet, there was also no question of the emperor's right to demand assistance from those imperial states, like
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, that did not participate in the diet. During the active phases of the long war, bells would be rung in churches throughout the empire at noon to remind subjects to pray for the success of the imperial armies, a practice known as the "Turkish bells" (''Türkenglocken''). The Diet voted to raise imperial troops for the Turkish war five times before the
Peace of Zsitvatorok The Peace of Zsitvatorok (or Treaty of Sitvatorok) was a peace treaty which ended the 15-year Long Turkish War between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy on 11 November 1606. The treaty was part of a system of peace treaties which put an ...
ended the
Long Turkish War The Long Turkish War or Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the Principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, and Moldavia. It was waged from 1593 to 1606 but in Europ ...
in 1606. An imperial army was thus in the field, often outside of the empire's borders, in 1532, 1542, 1552, 1566–67 and 1593–1606. During the last war, the imperial troops also undertook garrison duty on the
Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( hr, Vojna krajina or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 16 ...
. In 1544, the Diet of Speyer declared
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
to be an "enemy of the empire" (''Reichsfeind'') on account of its alliance with the Ottomans. This permitted the emperor to make war against France on behalf of the empire, but it was an unusual step and one not repeated for over a century. A permanent peace was finally agreed in the
Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the ...
(1699), although there were subsequent wars against the Ottomans in 1716–18, 1736–39 and 1787–91. The Turkish bells were rung in 1716–18 and 1736–39, but the idea was rejected in 1787–91 as out of step with the Enlightenment.


Evolution of the ''Reichskrieg'', 1618–1688

During the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
(1618–48), no ''Reichskrieg'' was ever declared. The emperor made war by means of advocates' mandates. Imperial estates signed treaties with the emperor and with each other to provide armies as required. The Treaty of Osnabrück of 1648 restricted the right of the emperor to make war in the empire's name—either against external foes or internal violators of the peace—without permission from the Imperial Diet. The first war waged in the empire's name after 1648 was the war against the Ottomans in 1663–64. It is commonly said that the Emperor Leopold I obtained a declaration of ''Reichskrieg'' (or ''Reichskriegserklärung'') against France in 1674 during the
Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...
, In fact, Leopold had expelled the French ambassador to the Empire from
Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
in March 1674 and informed the diet that he considered France an enemy of the Empire. Taking advantage of the general anti-French mood, he secured the diet's sanction of imperial aid to the
Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
and other territories threatened by the French on 31 March. In April and May, the emperor issued further decrees implementing the diet's grant of aid. His decision not to call for a ''Reichskrieg'' forced him to lean heavily on the militarised princes and thus further increased their standing and influence in the Empire. Although the diet, at the suggestion of the French king,
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
, considered sending its own representative to the peace conference at Nijmegen in 1675–76, this was vetoed by Leopold, who asserted that since it was not a ''Reichskrieg'' he retained full authority to negotiate on the empire's behalf. This set a precedent that was upheld even in future ''Reichskriege'' in 1697 and 1714: the emperor could negotiate peace without the diet. The negotiated treaty, however, had still to be ratified by the diet. In 1681, the Imperial Diet approved a triple quota of Imperial Circle troops (''Kreistruppen'') for the relief of Vienna, but as it was a war against the Turks no declaration of ''Reichskrieg'' was necessary. In the same year, in response to military flaws exposed during the Dutch War, the diet passed a law on military organization that formed the basis of the
Imperial Military Constitution The Imperial Military Constitution (german: Reichsheeresverfassung, also called the ''Reichskriegsverfassung'') was the collection of military laws of the Holy Roman Empire. Like the rest of the imperial constitution, it grew out of various laws an ...
until the end of the empire.


Wars against France


1689

Between 1672 and 1688, the emperor employed advocates' mandates against
Louis XIV of France , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Versa ...
. When in 1688 Louis invaded the Palatinate, the whole empire mobilized against him. Then, on 11 February 1689, the Imperial Diet approved a declaration of war against France. On 3 April 1689, Leopold I issued advocates' mandates putting the declaration into effect. This had the effect of converting the ''Kreistruppen'' into a true ''
Reichsarmee , image = Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor with haloes (1400-1806).svg , image_size = 150 , caption = , dates = 1422–1806 , country ...
'', although the actual process by which this was done was highly decentralised and required the issuance of old-fashioned advocates' mandates. Despite this, the Empire did not join the Grand Alliance in May 1689, although the emperor did on his own behalf as ruler of Austria and Hungary. The declaration of war of 1689 was revolutionary. The precedent of 1544 had not been forgotten, and the war with the Ottomans was raging in the east. The declaration of war on France sought to build morale and rally support by equating the Christian French to the Muslims Turks.


1702

On 30 September 1702, the Imperial Diet voted a triple quota (''triplum'' or 120,000 men) for defence against France. In November, it formally declared war on France. Two of the electors— Joseph Clemens of Cologne and Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria—sided openly with France and were thus in breach of imperial law. Already in November, the ''
Reichshofrat The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juris ...
'' heard the case against them and recommended that the other electors be consulted about outlawing the rebels. In 1705, the Emperor
Joseph I Joseph I or Josef I may refer to: *Joseph I of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1266–1275 and 1282–1283 *Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (1678–1711) *Joseph I (Chaldean Patriarch) (reigned 1681–1696) *Joseph I of Portugal (1750–1777) ...
pressured the diet to extend the ''Reichskrieg'' to include the wars ongoing in Italy and Hungary, but the diet refused. In November 1705, the electors minus Cologne and Bavaria voted to outlaw those two and the emperor transmitted the declaration of the
imperial ban The imperial ban (german: Reichsacht) was a form of outlawry in the Holy Roman Empire. At different times, it could be declared by the Holy Roman Emperor, by the Imperial Diet, or by courts like the League of the Holy Court (''Vehmgericht'') or th ...
to the diet.


1734

During the
War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other regional power, European powers widened in p ...
, which began in 1733, most of the empire supported the claim of the Saxon elector,
Augustus III Augustus III ( pl, August III Sas, lt, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augu ...
, to the Polish throne, against the claims of
Stanisław Leszczyński Stanisław I Leszczyński (; lt, Stanislovas Leščinskis; french: Stanislas Leszczynski; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at v ...
, who was supported by the French. War between France and Austria broke out in the Rhineland and in Italy. On 9 November 1733, the Frankfurt Association, an association of Imperial Circles, authorised the mobilization of a triple quota for the Austrian war effort. Finally, on 9 April 1734, the Imperial Diet declared war against France. Ultimately, while 36,338 troops were raised for the ''Reichsarmee'' by September 1735, various states provided 54,302 troops to the
Austrian army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...
through simple bilateral agreements alone. In 1735,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
intervened on the side of the empire. A preliminary peace was signed in Vienna on 3 October that year, but the final peace treaty was not signed until 1738.


1793

After the outbreak of the
French Revolutionary War The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
, Emperor Francis II petitioned the Imperial Diet for 100 Roman months on 1 September 1792. In November, the Imperial Diet agreed to a triple quota and thirty Roman months (that is, four million
florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
) to be paid into the Imperial Operations Fund. Finally, on 23 March 1793, the Imperial Diet declared an imperial war against revolutionary France. Under Austrian and Prussian pressure, the stated goal of this ''Reichskrieg'' was to secure from France compensation for those imperial estates, such as Austria and Prussia, that had been fighting since April 1792. The implication was that such compensation would come in the form of territorial cessions. The ''Reichskrieg'' of 1793, unlike all those before, was thus an offensive war, although the diet itself refused to recognised this, preferring to see it as a war forced upon it by France. Throughout 1793, as Prussia's commitment to the war weakened, the increasingly defensive ''Reichskrieg'' rose in popularity. In January 1794, with the war going badly for the Empire, discussions were held behind the scenes to try to strengthen the emperor's war-making powers, but no agreement could be reached and in the end no proposal was tabled in the Imperial Diet.


1799

In late February 1799, Austria having failed to satisfy a French ultimatum, France resumed the war with the Empire by invading the Rhineland while the Congress of Rastatt was still sitting and before a peace treaty had been signed. The emperor decreed that the ''Reichskrieg'' was resumed. On 16 September, the Diet voted 100 Roman months and a quintuple quota (''quintuplum''), the largest military outlay in the history of the empire. This was little more than a paper decision, since many states had declared neutrality and voted against the resumption of the ''Reichskrieg''. Since no peace treaty had been signed, it had also been unnecessary to vote on a formal declaration of war, the emperor's declaration on resuming hostilities was sufficient.


''Reichsexekutionskriege''


Against Sweden (1675)

In response to the Swedish invasion of Brandenburg in support of France in 1674, a ''Reichsexekution'' was launched against
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, whose king owned the imperial
duchies of Bremen and Verden ), which is a public-law corporation established in 1865 succeeding the estates of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (established in 1397), now providing the local fire insurance in the shown area and supporting with its surplusses cultural effor ...
, on 17 July 1675. The historian Peter Wilson denies that the war against Sweden qualifies as a true ''Reichskrieg'' for the same reasons the contemporaneous war against France does not. Writing in the 18th century, however, the constitutional scholar
Johann Jakob Moser Johann Jakob Moser (18 January 1701 – 30 September 1785) was a German jurist, publicist and researcher, whose work earned him the title "The Father of German Constitutional Law" and whose political commitment to the principles of Liberalism cau ...
regarded it as a ''Reichskrieg''.


Against Prussia (1757)

During the
First Silesian War The First Silesian War (german: Erster Schlesischer Krieg, links=no) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1740 to 1742 and resulted in Prussia's seizing most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland) from Austria. T ...
(1740–42), the Emperor Charles VII sought a declaration of ''Reichskrieg'' against Austria, although the latter had not breached imperial law and there was therefore no justification. The pro-Austrian
elector of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...
,
Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein Johann Friedrich Karl von Ostein (6 July 1689 – 4 June 1763) was the Prince-Bishop of Worms, Archbishop of Mainz and Elector of Mainz. Early life He was born as the eldest son of Count Johann Franz Sebastian von Ostein (1652-1718) and his wi ...
, tabled a formal protest in the Imperial Diet on 23 September 1743 alleging that the election of Charles VII had been irregular. In such a situation, there was no chance of the diet agreeing to the emperor's proposal for a ''Reichskrieg'' against Austria. The
Second Silesian War The Second Silesian War (german: Zweiter Schlesischer Krieg, links=no) was a war between Prussia and Austria that lasted from 1744 to 1745 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland). The war was fough ...
(1744–45) thus also went by without any imperial action. The
Third Silesian War The Third Silesian War () was a war between Kingdom of Prussia, Prussia and Archduchy of Austria, Austria (together with its allies) that lasted from 1756 to 1763 and confirmed Prussia's control of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Po ...
(1756–63), however, became wrapped in a global war of great power politics, the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
, and Prussia could not avoid an imperial response. On 13 September 1756, the Emperor
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
issued an advocate's mandate (''mandata avocatoria'') releasing imperial subjects from their oaths to the
King in Prussia King ''in'' Prussia (German: ''König in Preußen'') was a title used by the Prussian kings (also in personal union Electors of Brandenburg) from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently, they used the title King ''of'' Prussia (''König von Preußen''). Th ...
, Frederick II, and ordering them not to assist him in his illegal war. On 14 September, Francis requested the Imperial Diet sanction a ''Reichsexekution'' to restore peace to the empire. This was debated on 20 September without resolution. On 9 October, Francis increased his demands, asking for the ''Reichsarmee'' to be mobilised and for the intervention of the two guarantors of the Peace of Westphalia (France and Sweden). On 17 January 1757, a ''Reichskrieg'' was declared against Prussia. A triple quota was called up for a ''Reichs-Exekutions-Armee''. The representatives of the Prussian king were removed from imperial institutions, imperial postal service to Prussian territory was suspended and travel into and out of it was banned, although not trade (even in war materiel, which was only classed as contraband in 1760). In February 1763, the Imperial Diet formally declared the ''Reichskrieg'' over and the
Treaty of Hubertusburg The Treaty of Hubertusburg (german: Frieden von Hubertusburg) was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg Castle by Prussia, Austria and Saxony to end the Third Silesian War. Together with the Treaty of Paris, signed five days earlier, it marke ...
restored the ''status quo ante bellum''. The
War of the Bavarian Succession The War of the Bavarian Succession (; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of Saxony and Prussia over succession to the Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian bra ...
that broke out between Austria and Prussia in 1778 saw barely any fighting, and was diplomatically resolved before any ''Reichsexekution'' was sought by the emperor.


Legacy

After the demise of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the formation of
German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
(''Deutscher Bund'') in 1815, a war involving several German states or countries against other parties were referred to as a ''Bundesfeldzug'', that is, a "federal campaign". Examples include the
First Schleswig War The First Schleswig War (german: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Krieg) was a military conflict in southern Denmark and northern Germany rooted in the Schleswig-Holstein Question, contesting the issue of who should control the Duchies of Schleswig, ...
(1848–51) and the
Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
(1866).


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* {{refend Legal history of the Holy Roman Empire Military history of the Holy Roman Empire Warfare of the Early Modern period