anxious to secure for him the crown of Germany, as adding
to her power and grandeur. But Francis was still more anxious to attain
that dignity, as his position in the court, as merely the docile subject
of his wife, the queen, was exceedingly humiliating. The spring of 1745
found all parties prepared for the renewal of the fight. The drama was
opened by the terrible battle of Fontenoy in the Netherlands. On the
11th of May eighty thousand French met the Austrian allied army of fifty
thousand. After a few hours of terrific slaughter the allies retreated,
leaving the French in possession of the field. In Italy, also, the tide
of war set against the queen. The French and Spaniards poured an army of
seventy thousand men over the Alps into Italy. The queen, even with the
aid of Sardinia, had no force capable of resisting them. The allies
swept the country. The King of Sardinia was driven behind the walls of
his capital. In this one short campaign Tortona, Placentia, Parma,
Pavia, Cazale and Aste were wrested from the Austrians, and the citadels
of Alexandria and Milan were blockaded.

The queen had weakened her armies both in the Netherlands and Italy that
she might accumulate a force sufficient to recover Silesia, and to crush,
if possible, her great antagonist Frederic. Maria Theresa was greatly
elated by her success in driving the Prussians from Bavaria, and
Frederic was mortified and irritated by this first defeat of his arms.
Thus animated, the one by hope, the other by vengeance, Maria and
Frederic gathered all their resources for a trial of strength on the
plains of Silesia. France, fully occupied in the Netherlands and in
Italy, could render Frederic no assistance. His prospects began to look
dark. War had made sad ravages in his army, and he found much difficulty
in filling up his wasted battalions. His treasury was exhausted. Still
the indomitable monarch indulged in no emotions of dejection.

Each party was fully aware of the vigilance and energy of its
antagonist. Their forces were early in the field. The month of April was
passed in stratagems and skirmishes, each endeavoring in vain to obtain
some advantage over the other in position or combinations. Early in May
there was a pretty severe conflict, in which the Prussians gained the
advantage. They feigned, however, dejection and alarm, and apparently
commenced a retreat. The Austrians, emboldened by this subterfuge,
pursued them with indiscreet haste. Prince Ch