succeeded in retiring to Cheb (Eger) after a difficult and perilous march across Bohemia in mid-winter. A small French garrison under Chevet, which for a time remained in Prague, was finally obliged to capitulate, but as the French general threatened to blow up the town, together with his own positions within it, he obtained favourable conditions. He was allowed to retire with his forces to Cheb and secured the promise of an amnesty for the adherents of Charles VII—a promise that was not kept by the Austrian authorities. On September 7, 1743, the French evacuated Cheb, the last Bohemian town that had remained in their possession.
Even before that date Maria Theresa determined to visit Bohemia. She well knew the great importance which Bohemians attach to the coronation of their sovereigns, and she was therefore crowned at Prague on May 11. The Queen declared the capitulation signed on Chevet's departure to be invalid, and a considerable number of Bohemian noblemen and citizens were arrested. The principal adherents of King Charles were severely punished, but it is uncertain whether any capital executions took place. Maria Theresa's experiences at the beginning of her reign in Bohemia undoubtedly influenced her mind against the inhabitants of that country, which she always somewhat neglected in favour of her beloved Viennese. This dislike to the Bohemians can be traced in all the new regulations and enactments which the Queen published during the later years of her reign. During her short stay at Prague the Queen received the news of great victories of her armies. After driving the enemy from Lower and Upper Austria the—mainly Hungarian—forces of Maria Theresa had victoriously occupied Munich and the whole of Bavaria. Charles VII had sought refuge in Frankfurt, and the French troops were gradually retiring across the Rhine. Frederick the Great thought a new intervention on his part necessary. He had never wished to increase the French influence in Germany nor to render assistance to the dynastic ambitions of Bavaria or Saxony, but he rightly thought if the series of Austrian victories continued, that country might endeavour to regain Silesia also. When therefore Charles VII appealed to Prussia for help, Frederick concluded a treaty with him by which he promised to assist him in recovering the kingdom of Bohemia, while the Emperor promised to cede to Prussia the part of the kingdom situated on the right
