1757 (MDCCLVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar, the 1757th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 757th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 18th century, and the 8th year of the 1750s decade. As of the start of 1757, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, was the third and youngest son of King George II of Great Britain and Ireland and his wife, Caroline of Ansbach. He was Duke of Cumberland from 1726. He is best remembered for his role in putting down the Jacobite Rising at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, which made him immensely popular throughout parts of Britain. He is often referred to by the nickname given to him by his Tory opponents: 'Butcher' Cumberland. For much of the War of the Austrian Succession, with the assistance of John Ligonier, Cumberland commanded the main allied field army in Flanders acting in defence of the Austrian Netherlands and the Dutch Republic. At the head of the largest deployment of British troops on the continent since the days of Marlborough and opposed to the experienced French Marshal Maurice de Saxe, Cumberland's campaigning could not prevent the fall of the Dutch Barrier Forts. Between 1748 and 1755 he attempted to enact a series of army reforms that were resisted by the opposition and by the army itself. Following the Convention of Klosterzeven in 1757, he never again held active military command and switched his attentions to politics and horse racing.
The Battle of Hastenbeck was fought as part of the Invasion of Hanover during the Seven Years' War between the allied forces of Hanover, Hesse-Kassel and Brunswick, and the French. The allies were defeated by the French army near Hamelin in the Electorate of Hanover.
The Battle of Breslau was a battle fought on 22 November 1757 in Breslau during the Third Silesian War. A Prussian army of 28,000 men fought an Austrian army of 84,000 men. The Prussians held off the Austrian attack, losing 6,000 men to the Austrians 5,000 men. But one day later the Prussians beat a retreat. Breslau's garrison surrendered on 25 November 1757.
The Battle of Zorndorf, during the Seven Years' War, was fought on 25 August 1758 between Russian troops commanded by Count William Fermor and a Prussian army commanded by King Frederick the Great. The battle was tactically inconclusive, with both armies holding their ground and claiming victory. The site of the battle was the Prussian village of Zorndorf.
Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was the Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and a military leader. His titles are usually shortened to Duke of Brunswick in English-language sources.
Zeven [] is a town in the district of Rotenburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of around 14,000. The nearest large towns are Bremerhaven, Bremen and Hamburg. It is situated approximately 22 km northwest of Rotenburg, and 40 km northeast of Bremen. Zeven is also the seat of the Samtgemeinde Zeven.
The Electorate of Hanover was an Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg. For most of its existence, the electorate was ruled in personal union with Great Britain and Ireland following the Hanoverian Succession.
The Battle of Lauffeld, variously known as Lafelt, Laffeld, Lawfeld, Lawfeldt, Maastricht, or Val, took place on 2 July 1747, between Tongeren in modern Belgium, and the Dutch city of Maastricht. Part of the War of the Austrian Succession, a French army of 80,000 under Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic army of 120,000, led by the Duke of Cumberland.
Ferdinand, Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was a German-Prussian field marshal (1758–1766) known for his participation in the Seven Years' War. From 1757 to 1762 he led an Anglo-German army in Western Germany which successfully repelled French attempts to occupy Hanover.
Events from the year 1757 in Great Britain.
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict between Great Britain and France for global pre-eminence. Britain, France and Spain fought both in Europe and overseas with land-based armies and naval forces, while Prussia sought territorial expansion in Europe and consolidation of its power. Long-standing colonial rivalries pitting Britain against France and Spain in North America and the West Indies were fought on a grand scale with consequential results. In Europe, the conflict arose from issues left unresolved by the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). Prussia sought greater influence in the German states, while Austria wanted to regain Silesia, captured by Prussia in the previous war, and to contain Prussian influence.
The Raid on Cherbourg took place in August 1758 during the Seven Years' War when a British force was landed on the coast of France by the Royal Navy with the intention of attacking the town of Cherbourg as part of the British government's policy of "descents" on the French coasts.
Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War, which in fact lasted nine years, between 1754 and 1763. British involvement in the conflict began in 1754 in what became known as the French and Indian War. However the warfare in the European theater involving countries other than Britain and France commenced in 1756. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power, having gained all of New France in North America, ending France's role as a colonial power there. Following Spain's entry in the war in alliance with France in the third Family Compact, Britain captured the major Spanish ports of Havana, Cuba and Manila, in the Philippines in 1762, and agreed to return them in exchange for Florida, previously controlled by Spain. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 formally ended the conflict and Britain established itself as the world's pre-eminent naval power.
The Anglo-Prussian Alliance was a military alliance created by the Westminster Convention between Great Britain and Prussia that lasted formally between 1756 and 1762, during the Seven Years' War. The alliance allowed Britain to concentrate most of its efforts against the colonial possessions of the French-led coalition while Prussia was bearing the brunt of the fighting in Europe. It ended in the final months of the conflict, but strong ties between both kingdoms remained.
The Raid on Rochefort was a British amphibious attempt to capture the French Atlantic port of Rochefort in September 1757 during the Seven Years' War. The raid pioneered a new tactic of "descents" on the French coast, championed by William Pitt who had taken office a few months earlier.
The Invasion of Hanover took place in 1757 during the Seven Years' War when a French army under Louis Charles César Le Tellier, duc d'Estrées advanced into the Electorate of Hanover and neighbouring German states following the Battle of Hastenbeck. French forces overran most of Hanover forcing the Hanoverian Army of Observation, intended to defend the Electorate, to Stade on the North Sea coast. At the Convention of Klosterzeven the Duke of Cumberland agreed to disband his army and acknowledge the French occupation of the Electorate.
AugustFriedrich von Spörcken (1698–1776) was a Hanoverian soldier best known for his service in the Seven Years' War. He served as part of the Army of Observation between 1757–1762 leading the Hanoverian contingent at a number of major battles including Krefeld and Minden.
David Morier, was an Anglo-Swiss painter of portraits, military subjects and historical scenes around and after the time of the War of the Austrian Succession and the related Jacobite rising of 1745. His most recognisable work is An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745.
Events from the year 1757 in France.
