War of the Bavarian Succession

War of the Bavarian Succession between Austria and Prussia, 1778-79. With the extinction of the Bavarian line of the house of Wittelsbach on the death of Elector Maximilian Joseph in 1777, the duchy of Bavaria passed to the elector palatine, Charles Theodore, of the Sulzbach line. However, by a secret treaty with Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, who wished to strengthen imperial and Austrian influence in Germany, Charles Theodore ceded Lower Bavaria to Austria and Austrian troops occupied the area. Charles Theodore had no legitimate issue, but his heir presumptive, Duke Charles of Zweibrücken, on the advice of Frederick II of Prussia, protested the transfer of this portion of his inheritance. Prussia, allied with Saxony, declared war on Austria and invaded Bohemia. No serious engagement took place, and the war ended with the Congress of Teschen (1779). Austria renounced its claims but retained the Inn quarter, a small but fertile and densely populated triangle of land along the border between Bavaria and Austria. Prussia's claims to Ansbach and Bayreuth were recognized, and Saxony received monetary compensation. The conflict has been called the Potato War because Prussian troops spent time picking potatoes in the fields.

Bavarian Succession, War of the (1778–79) A war between Austria and Prussia resulting from JOSEPH II's ambition to add Bavaria to the HABSBURG dominions. The childless Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria (died 1777) had designated Karl Theodore, Elector Palatine, as his heir. He was a weak man with illegitimate sons to provide for and in January 1778 he agreed to sell a third of Bavaria to Joseph. FREDERICK II headed the opposition to this and the “Potato War” (so called because the Prussian troops occupied their time by picking potatoes) took place in Bohemia: no battles were fought. Russia advanced into Poland, France offered mediation, and the Peace of Teschen was signed, under which Austria gained only the very small area of Innviertel.