<P> After his victory at Minden the Duke of Brunswick continued to lead the Anglo - German army which received increasing resources and reinforcements from Britain . Brunswick was now facing several large French armies under the overall command of Victor - François, 2nd duc de Broglie which tried to envelop the west German frontier . The French still hoped to offset their losses to the British in other parts of the globe by capturing Hanover--- which could be used as a bargaining chip in any peace negotiations . The French continued to invest large numbers of troops--which were badly needed elsewhere . In 1761 Brunswick won another major victory over Broglie at the Battle of Villinghausen . </P> <P> The French made a final attempt to invade Hanover in 1762 which was defeated at the Battle of Wilhelmsthal . Brunswick then went on the attack, driving the French southwards and capturing Cassel before the war was halted by an armistice . </P> <P> Bute began to champion the idea that Britain should disentangle itself from the German war, and suggested to Frederick the Great that he might make peace with Austria by giving them back Silesia . Frederick rejected the proposal, although Prussian fortunes were at a low ebb by 1761 following defeats on several fronts . Debates began in London about cancelling all British subsidies to Frederick entirely . </P> <P> By early 1762--despite the success of Brunswick's army in Western Europe--Russian troops were poised to capture Berlin and a partition of Prussia was actively planned . Frederick was spared by the sudden death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia, who was succeeded by the pro-Prussian Peter III . He was an ardent admirer of Frederick and immediately switched Russia from an enemy of Prussia to an ally--withdrawing the threat from Berlin and sending his troops against the Austrians . This dramatically shifted the balance of power in Europe--suddenly handing Frederick the initiative . He recaptured southern Silesia and forced Austria to the negotiating table . </P>

For most of the seven years' war spain