Troops could fall out of control after a besieged town was taken by storm through a breach. Some officers considered attacks on civilians abhorrent and tried to restore order. Others treated the sack as a reward for troops who had endured the assault and as intimidation intended to make future towns surrender. The Seven Years' War therefore included deliberate coercion of civilian populations alongside formal battles between armies. Its difference from later wars lay chiefly in technological scale, since targeting civilians was already part of warfare.
Notable Point · 59:47-1:01:10
Siege warfare and violence against civilians
The treatment of a town after a successful assault depended on commanders who either restored discipline or accepted violence as reward and intimidation.