In December 1740, Prussia invaded the Austrian province of Silesia, whose mining, weaving and dyeing industries provided 10% of total Imperial income. France, Saxony and Bavaria occupied Habsburg territories in Bohemia, while Spain joined the war, hoping to regain possessions in Northern Italy lost to Austria in 1713. By early 1742, Austria's position seemed desperate; Britain agreed to send a naval squadron to the Mediterranean and 17,000 troops to the Austrian Netherlands, under the Earl of Stair.
