<P> Within a short time Prussia was being attacked on four fronts, by Austria from the south, France from the west, Russia from the east, and Sweden from the north . Frederick fought defensive actions trying to blunt the invaders, losing thousands of men and precious resources in the process . He began to send more urgent appeals to London for material help on the continent . </P> <P> When the war with France had commenced, Britain had initially brought Hessian and Hanoverian troops to defend Britain from a feared invasion scare . When the threat of this receded, the German soldiers were sent to defend Hanover along with a small contingent of British troops under Duke of Cumberland, the King's second son . The arrival of British troops on the continent was considered a rarity, as the country preferred to make war by using its naval forces . As with the Prussians, Cumberland's army was initially overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the French attacks . Following the disastrous Battle of Hastenbeck Cumberland was forced to sign the Convention of Klosterzeven by which Hanover would withdraw from the war - and large chunks of its territory would be occupied by the French for the duration of the conflict . </P> <P> Prussia was extremely alarmed by this development and lobbied hard for it to be reversed . In London too, there was shock at such a capitulation and Pitt recalled Cumberland to London where he was publicly rebuked by his father, the King, and forced to relinquish his commission . The terms of Klosterzeven were revoked, Hanover re-entered the war - and a new commander was selected to command the Allied Anglo - German forces . Ferdinand of Brunswick was a brother - in - law of Frederick the Great, and had developed a reputation as a competent officer . He set about trying to rally the German troops under his command, by emphasising the extent of the atrocities committed by the French troops who had occupied Hanover, and launched a counter-offensive in late 1757 driving the French back across the Rhine . </P> <P> Despite several British attempts to persuade them, the Dutch Republic refused to join their former allies in the war and remained neutral . Pitt at one point even feared that the Dutch would enter the war against Britain, in response to repeated violations of Dutch neutrality by the Royal Navy . Similarly the British were wary of Denmark joining the war against them, but Copenhagen followed a policy of strict neutrality . </P>

What caused the british reverses in the opening stage of the war