Frederick II accedes to the throne of Prussia after the death of his father. A few months later, he invades Silesia and starts an eight-year war with Austria. In the late 1740s Frederick began ...

After Napoleon's lost most of his army in Russia, Britain, Russia, Prussia, and Sweden united against him. Only Austria, ruled by his new wife's father, wavered. But they wouldn't remain neutral ...

Agreements with Prussia and Austria led to three partitions of Poland, in 1772, 1793, and 1795, extending Russia's borders well into central Europe. Catherine began as a political and social ...