How Successful Were Maria Theresa Of Austria's Army Reforms?

The result was some improvement but it was not as great as Maria Theresa would have hoped. It was able to fight much better in the Seven Years War, even winning some battle but eventually loosing out to Prussian superiority. Thee were a number of reasons for this lack of success.

Maria Theresa showed misplaced loyalties towards commanders, notably her husband. The army was also incompetent and overcautious in battle. Daun, one of the commanders, kept his job even though a more competent replacement was found in Marshal Loudon. Some provinces, notably Hungary, insisted on keeping all recruitment and organisation in their own hands. Commanders had to seek approval of the War Council in Vienna before making an offensive. This stifled initiative. Reform was carried out at the same time fighting with Fredrick II's forces was occurring. In short, the reforms had gone somewhere but, faced with the most formidable general of the 18th Century, they would never get chance to demonstrate them or get Silesia back.