⚔️ 1756–1763 Seven Years War, Battle Studies

Reconstructing Seven Years War (French and Indian War) battlefields through terrain analysis, primary sources and on-site research

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Walking the battlefields of the Seven Years War

The Seven Years War (1756–1763) was the first truly global conflict—fought simultaneously in Europe, North America, the Caribbean, India and West Africa. No earlier war saw so many armies manoeuvring across such diverse theatres, from the forests and lakes of North America to the sugar islands of the Caribbean and the open plains of central Europe. Although sparked by dynastic tensions, it became a struggle for continental dominance, imperial expansion and control of global trade routes.

Global theatres of the Seven Years War

In Europe, Frederick the Great fought for Prussia’s survival against an encircling coalition of Austria, France, Russia, Sweden and the Reichsarmee. Here, in Silesia and Bohemia, the war unfolded across villages, vineyards, low ridgelines and river valleys—terrain that became the proving ground for mid-18th century manoeuvre warfare. BattlefieldTravels focuses particularly on this theatre, walking the ground at places such as Lobositz, Chotusitz, Kolín, Leuthen, Hohenfriedberg and others, combining period maps, contemporary accounts and modern GIS tools to understand how these battles were fought and why they unfolded as they did.

But the Seven Years War was far more than a European struggle. In North America, British, French and Indigenous forces clashed at Fort Necessity, Monongahela, Lake George, Fort William Henry, Ticonderoga, Bushy Run, Oswego, Louisbourg and dozens of frontier positions. I have walked and studied many of these sites, examining how dense forests, waterways, ravines and fortifications shaped tactics and outcomes. These studies explore how European armies adapted (or failed to adapt) to irregular terrain, indigenous fighting methods and long-distance campaigning.

In the Caribbean, sieges and amphibious operations turned fortified harbours such as Fort San Carlos and Fort Charlotte into strategic prizes, while naval and land actions in West Africa formed part of the same contest for maritime supremacy.

Methodology for battlefield analysis

Rather than treating the Seven Years War as a sequence of victories and defeats, the BattlefieldTravels methodology is to examine how organisation, command culture, weapons, doctrine, logistics and terrain interacted across very different environments. Each battlefield study blends on-site photography, annotated maps, 3D terrain visualisations and a wide range of primary and secondary sources, providing not just a narrative of each action but a clear understanding of why events unfolded the way they did.