January 24 is a big day in the history of modern warfare in the world. Several major battles of World War I were fought on this day. Several World War II war criminals were born on this day. However, a battlefield icon admired by many modern celebrities was born in the Prussian Palace on January 24, 1712. The son of King William I of Prussia was born in -.
This child was Frederick II, a generation of iron-blooded emperors in modern European history. He personally turned Prussia into a new military power in modern times. Of course, many die-hard admirers in modern times even gave him an honorific title: Frederick the Great!
At first glance, Frederick II was born for war. His father, William I, called himself the "King of War" and always paid close attention to Prussia's military. The boy Frederick II, of course, was still Prince Frederick at the time, but he seemed to have little military potential. Many warlike Prussian ministers and generals even sighed in their hearts when they saw this prince, fearing that the Kingdom of Prussia, which was still focusing on military affairs at this time, would be destroyed by this prince in the future.
Because, at that time, Prince Frederick and his Predator father were simply two different people. It was not that he was not interested in military affairs, but he was a literary young man who loved poetry and music, and often enthusiastically praised a peaceful life.
1. The rebellious literary youth
Although he was born into the Prussian royal family who was fanatical about martial arts and grew up under the strict education of his father William I, the young Frederick loved literature and art. Determination was once as firm as eating a weight.
At that time, Frederick, who was playing art, had a lot of fun. A prince, he fanatically admired the Enlightenment thinkers of the same period and was also a die-hard fan of Bach, the father of European piano. As I got older, I became obsessed with writing poetry and singing. Whenever I had free time, I would play music with my young friend Captain Carter. But his father William I, whose goal was to establish a military power, could not tolerate his son's carefree life. He immediately lowered his face and acted cruelly, forcing Frederick to study military affairs seriously, but even Frederick's rebellious temper was fully exposed: He won't let me play music? What does it mean to be a prince?
So, the determined Frederick and his good friend Captain Carter staged a crazy scene in modern European history: he voluntarily gave up his title of prince, eloped in a carriage with Captain Carter, and planned to escape freely to In the legendary Britain, pursue your artistic dream. But before he reached the border, he was captured by his father, William I.
At this time, William I, the famous "Soldier King" in Europe, fought the decisive battle of his life. This time, he used an almost cold-blooded method to deal with the court scandal: he dragged Captain Carter, who had been with Frederick day and night, to the execution ground and brutally executed him in front of Frederick. At that moment in "Where Will You Go", the dripping blood donation finally made the literary young man Frederick feel excited.
From then on, the people of the Prussian royal family finally discovered that Frederick had changed. The once high-spirited young man became taciturn. Not only did he study military affairs seriously in accordance with his father's requirements, he also served as an assistant to the famous Prince Eugen. Life also became submissive, and she accepted the marriage arranged by her father without hesitation. The once rebellious young people seemed to have turned into well-behaved children.
But few people realized at the time that Frederick, who had begun to compromise in the face of reality, had amazing military talents after he really began to study military affairs seriously, as if he had opened a magic box. Seeing the army in full swing, my father, who was watching with cold eyes, had already drawn up a brand new military blueprint in his heart. The strict management of his father William I not only suppressed his rebellious son, but also awakened a sleeping monster!
Sure enough, William I died in 1740, and 28-year-old Frederick II officially succeeded to the throne. Just when many neighboring countries were full of hope, thinking that this always weak young emperor would change Prussia's military national policy, they were caught off guard: on the fifth day after taking office, he introduced a new conscription system, abolishing all the various military policies of his father's era. This conscription regulation opened up private conscription and more quickly brought a group of corrupt officers in the Prussian army to justice. Just like that, I suddenly declared to the whole of Europe with a strong face: I am serious about fighting!
Second, the military changes that changed the modern territory.
During the reign of Frederick's father, William I, all European countries were surprised by Prussia's bellicosity. However, Frederick II who ascended the throne surprised all countries: I am the real warlike person!
Frederick reached a higher level than his father's unremitting military training. ——Not only must we focus on techniques and tactics, but we must also focus on our thinking. From then on, the "military soul" education of the Prussian army began, and the education of soldiers' sense of honor ran through the Prussian army. The steely willpower and strong sense of honor of the future German army are actually the cornerstones!
These two ideas of army building were considered genius ideas in Europe in the mid-18th century. Frederick II, who was one step ahead, quickly established a huge iron army in just a few years. But the biggest improvement was another breakthrough he had been researching all his life: a tactical revolution!
Frederick, who was extremely disgusted with military affairs when he was young, really began to reform his combat methods, but he continued to innovate. The first is the equipment reform. The Prussian army's muskets and artillery equipment were technologically advanced rapidly during Frederick's era. Then there was a brand-new fighting method, Frederick's original oblique shooting combat sequence, which ensured that the Prussian army equipped with new muskets could launch fire strikes more quickly and effectively. Even in the 18th century, this was the most advanced shooting tactic in the world.
However, Frederick, who developed this advanced shooting tactic, did not lose too much blood. In a typical Seven Years' War in 1756, Frederick, who fought across Austria, France, and Russia, was once torn apart by the powerful Russian cavalry. Even the capital Berlin fell into Russian hands for a time. If it hadn't been for Russia's defection, Prussia, which was at the end of its rope at that time, would have been almost a disaster.
However, throughout this life-or-death test, Frederick's creativity remained intact and he learned lessons from the painful experience. He not only formed a powerful artillery unit, but even updated the modern tactics of artillery to cover cavalry charges. He not only called on the Prussian army to continue to upgrade, but was also carried forward by Napoleon later.
This "Seven Years' War" was just a test in Frederick's military life. Since ascending the throne in 1740, he has been involved in the Austrian Succession War, which lasted for 5 years. Then, in 1756, he fought in the Seven Years' War. At the cost of being on the verge of national subjugation, he finally survived by chance. Nine years after the war ended, he launched a war to carve up Poland and joined forces with Russia to carve up Poland. It was from this time on that he gave himself a self-proclaimed name: Frederick the Great!
Looking at this war experience, you will know that Prussia’s wars have never stopped since its rule. Often when a war ends, it will continue to be fought a few years later. The price is also very high. In the Battle of Silesia alone, Prussia suffered as many as 500,000 casualties. But for such a war madman, contemporary thinkers of the European Enlightenment not only rarely felt bad feelings, but instead all praised him with rave reviews.
Because the literary young man Frederick likes to "show off" in a literary and artistic way, even if he is fighting with an entire army.
Three: Frederick the Great loved to show off.
Frederick, who frequently fought earth-shattering battles, did not change his writing style when he was not fighting. In addition to his inherent interest in music and poetry, Frederick became obsessed with philosophy and design after he ascended the throne. He often invites scholars from all over Europe to visit the palaces he designed and discuss art and life together. His biggest idol Bach, as well as the thinker Voltaire, both had close contacts with him.
Such an enthusiastic attitude is also well known to many European thinkers. They basically turned a blind eye to Frederick's bloody war, especially actions such as the partition of Poland. On the contrary, he spared no effort to praise his political achievements, such as Prussia's internal affairs, economic and legal reforms, and the popularization of education. In particular, Voltaire told Frederick a touching story about "not demolishing the miller's house in order to respect the law", which won Frederick a glorious image.
But in terms of military history, Frederick was indeed brilliant. His military reforms not only led the trend of modern development. Prussia, which was once weak, expanded its territory by 1.6 times in his hands and became an emerging power in Europe. The great cause of unifying Germany in the future, Germany, which was extremely bellicose in modern history, was laid in his hands!
What is more worth remembering is the famous saying of this "enlightened" emperor: "If you are satisfied with other people's territory, then you can bring them here. Defense lawyers can always be found."
"Comparing the history of colonial expansion in modern Western countries, isn't it what Frederick said about so many barbaric invasions in the name of "civilization"? In this sense, this war madman, a literary young man, is still a real