First Silesian War

First Silesian War.
The First Silesian War was a conflict between Prussia and Austria lasting from 1740 to 1742, which resulted in Prussia's seizure of most of the region of Silesia (now in south-western Poland). The war was fought mainly in Silesia, Moravia and Bohemia and was part of the wider War of the Austrian Succession. The war commenced in late 1740 with an invasion of Habsburg Silesia when Maria Theresa's contested succession to the Habsburg Monarchy provided an opportunity for Prussia to expand. It ended in a Prussian victory with the 1742 Treaty of Berlin. The War of the Austrian Succession continued, and would draw Austria and Prussia into the Second Silesian War only two years later, which also ended in Prussian control of Silesia. The First Silesian War marked the unexpected defeat of the Habsburg Monarchy by a lesser German power and initiated the Austria–Prussia rivalry that would shape German politics for more than a century. (This article is part of a featured topic: Silesian Wars.)