Wikipedia:Today's featured article/July 27, 2013

The War of the Bavarian Succession (July 1778 – May 1779) was fought between the Habsburg Monarchy and a Saxon–Prussian alliance to prevent the Habsburg acquisition of the Duchy of Bavaria. There were only a few minor skirmishes, but several thousand soldiers died from disease and starvation. It began after Maximilian Joseph (pictured) died, leaving no children. Charles IV Theodore, his heir, also had no children to succeed him; Charles II August had a claim as Charles Theodore's heir presumptive. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II wanted Bavaria, to expand his family's influence. For Frederick II of Prussia, Joseph's claim threatened the Hohenzollern ascendancy in German politics, but he saw no point in pursuing hostilities. Frederick Augustus I of Saxony wanted to preserve the territorial integrity of the Duchy for his brother-in-law, Charles August, and had no interest in seeing the Habsburgs acquire additional territory on his borders. France became involved to maintain the balance of power. Finally, Catherine II of Russia's threat to intervene on the side of Prussia with 50,000 Russian troops forced Joseph to reconsider his position, leading to the Treaty of Teschen in May 1779. (Full article...)