This work is a contribution to the column of the Museum of History, representing only the personal views of the author; this work is not a rigorous historical academic research, for reference only; unauthorized, prohibited second transmission, violators will be investigated.
Author: Jiang Shangke
Artistic Youth
The most remarkable meeting of the 18th century was the encounter between Voltaire and Frederick the Great. Voltaire, repeatedly invited by Frederick the Great, came to The Prussian capital Berlin. In addition to feeling sorry for each other, the two spent the night talking at Sanssouci Palace. But the honeymoon ended quickly. "My dear child, the weather here is getting colder." —Voltaire's letter to his niece in France. "There are absolutely no sources of information here, just a large number of bayonets." Voltaire discovered that this was not the enlightened paradise he imagined, and wrote an article satirizing Frederick the Great, and the two finally fell apart. Frederick denounced Voltaire as a despicable and shameless writer, and Voltaire returned home in anger.
Frederick, who insulted Voltaire, may have forgotten that when he was young, he was also a slash youth, and even envied Voltaire's life.
Frederick's accession to the throne coincided with a time of change. The empires of the old era have declined, and the empires of the new era are rising with new military ideas and technologies.
Frederick inherited the kingdom of only two generations of kings. The Holy Roman Empire was torn apart after the Thirty Years' War, and Frederick III of the Hohenzollern family took the opportunity to crown Frederick I, King of Prussia, opening the prelude to the Kingdom of Prussia. The land under the royal family of Brandenburg was poor in soil and far less wealthy than elsewhere. In order to absorb the population to fill the ruined territory, Frederick recruited people of all faiths to Brandenburg.
After the death of Frederick I, his son Frederick. William succeeded to the throne. He was violent, arbitrary, and energetic, a childhood nightmare for the young Frederick the Great, but a vital presence for Prussia. His home was not in a lavish palace but in a military barracks, and he pursued a militaristic policy, and he stomped his feet far more than he had read. He also has a well-known hobby of kidnapping big men from all over the world to form giant grenade regiments, even women, to give birth to giant babies with giant soldiers.
But history has played a joke on him, and his crown prince, our protagonist Frederick the Great, is exactly the opposite of his father's personality. The queen of the grumpy soldier king bore him 14 children, the fourth of whom was our Frederick the Great. Due to the early death of the first prince, the prince holding in the rough hands brought tears to the eyes of the military king. But the military king did not spoil his little prince. The little prince recited prayers every day, wore a simple military uniform, slept in a small bed, and studied and exercised according to a detailed schedule. As he grew older, the little prince had to follow his father and officers to a military conference in the smoke-filled barracks.
The little prince could not have liked this kind of life, and so could his mother. The little prince's mother, Queen Sophia of the Military King, was a princess of the Hanover royal family and the sister of King George II of England. It's hard to imagine how she shared a bed with her salty and rough husband, who was so smoky and salty. Influenced by his mother, the little prince liked art, music, literature, poker, and other things that were chased by high society. On more than one occasion, the king humiliated the prince, domestic violence (pulling his hair, throwing plates), and insulting him in the hope that he would convert himself to righteousness.
But the adolescent calf does not know how to fear, and the more oppressive, the more rebellious. Finally, at the age of 18, he and his friend Carter fled the court. Not long after breathing in the free air, they were caught at the border. The prince is imprisoned, and the hapless Carter is the victim of this escape. On the morning of November 6, 1730, the prince was forced to watch the execution, and his friend Carter was beheaded in the courtyard.
The blood of his friend extinguished the prince's enthusiasm for adolescence, and although he had experienced a rain of bullets in the future, he was probably the most profound than this. The prince gave in and started at the grassroots level. The prince's pen did not flow with beautiful words, but strict and efficient military orders. The prince lacked neither cleverness nor the spirit of hard work, and the military king was quite pleased with him and allowed him to establish a small court, a paradise that could be decorated with music, flowers, and oil paintings instead of guns. The military king did not interfere in the life of the prince again, for he was convinced that the prince was a man who could sustain Prussia, a qualified king.
"No, I can't be completely naked, I'm going to put on my uniform," said the dying soldier King Frederick. The last words of William I on his deathbed. He left behind 80,000 well-trained standing armies and efficient war machines, and soon his life's work would burst into flames in his son's hands.
Young Frederick the Great
Silesia, my beloved
The Virgin Queen Elizabeth I never married, and perhaps for her, power was her lover. The prince who succeeded to the throne, our protagonist, Frederick the Great, married a beautiful bride, Elizabeth Christina, from Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. However, this Elizabeth was also unfortunate, frederick II was not very close to her, and even Frederick's sister could not look down, bluntly saying that it was a monastery.
But Frederick also had no mistresses, and there were even rumors that Frederick was interested in men. But we also found no evidence, either because the pain of his porphyria made him reluctant to let his descendants endure such pain, or because he was not naturally interested in women.
If it is his only beloved, it is probably Silesia.
On 31 May 1740, Frederick was inaugurated King of Prussia. The new king looked at his hands, and he had a lean army at his disposal, an efficient bureaucracy. Ten years of sharpening a sword, the shining saber aimed at the rich Silesia.
First, let's take a look at the background. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, was childless and had only a well-behaved daughter. The daughter grew up carefree, but the father could not watch the throne cede to others without worry, so in 1713 he signed the Edict of State, which stipulated the daughter Mary in a document. Theresia's inheritance. However, immediately after his death, many countries refused to recognize Theresia's succession, and France took the lead in opposing it in order to split the strength of its old rival Austria. Frederick first sent the Count of Gautel to the Queen of Theresia to recognize his succession, provided he was allowed to occupy Silesia. Theresa looked at the bulging belly, thought of the fetus in her belly, and categorically refused.
"Driven by a mysterious instinct, I led my army into Silesia. I hope to see my name published in the newspapers and in the annals of history in the future."
On 16 December 1740, the Prussians crossed the Silesian border and the War of the Austrian Succession broke out. The initial battle did not go well, Frederick also escaped from the battlefield for a while, but by virtue of the excellent quality of prussian soldiers, he won the Battle of Morviz, and then defeated the Austrian army at Hortusice and allied with France. Theresa had no choice but to make peace with Frederick.
Theresia came to Hungary with her swaddled baby, and no one would refuse their request, in the midst of embattled circumstances, with tears in her eyes, and babies waiting to be fed. "Now I can only rely on the help of the Hungarians," the Hungarian nobles drew their swords in allegiance. Theresa finally reversed the tide and gained a foothold. Later, although there were also attempts to retake Silesia, they were ultimately in vain.
On Christmas Day 1745, Queen Theresia signed the Treaty of Dresden, recognizing the Prussian occupation of Silesia. Prussia suddenly increased its territory by 30% and a population of 1 million, and when Frederick the Great returned to Berlin, he was greeted by a cry that resounded through the air, and people revered him as the Emperor.
Young Theresia
golden age
Berlin is now the pearl of Germany, but the Berlin of Frederick the Great is far from being comparable to Vienna, Paris, and London. Frederick the Great of Kurama Lawton began large-scale nation-building after his return. The first was the expansion of Berlin, which had a population of 100,000. In Sanssouci Palace, it seems that time has turned back again, and he has become the slash youth again, wandering in the temple of art. He composed music, played music, and the beautiful music went around the beams. He spoke French and talked and laughed with artists and writers. Candlelight shone on golden silk fabrics, wines of comparable color to rubies, and Frederick the Great played more than 300 of his repertoire.
Frederick the Great never gave up his diligence. He opened public warehouses and lowered the price of bread; vigorously developed trade and industry, encouraged commercial development; and gave more freedom to the press and the press. "If newspapers are lively and interesting, then they will be unrestricted", but he never relaxed the censorship of books and newspapers.
In order to attract immigrants, Prussia has always adopted a policy of religious tolerance, both Catholics and Protestants can share the sky of freedom in Prussia, and even Frederick the Great wanted to build a mosque.
But Frederick never relaxed his scepter, even in his sleep. "The more civilians, the more thieves," he did not trust the bureaucrats who made promises to him, but let them spy on each other, putting the entire complex ruling clique under his control. The Junker aristocracy was his object of reliance, nearly monopolizing high-ranking positions in the military and government, while allowing Junkers to maintain their own courts. In this way, Juncker also maintained his authority in the countryside.
Diligence is not easy for the monarch. Louis XV of France, obsessed with fun, even said: "Even if the flood is terrible after I die." But for Frederick the Great, decades of diligence were particularly difficult. Frederick the Great suffered from porphyria, gout and stomach problems that accompanied him throughout his life. The golden morning light sprinkled in front of the window, and it was when Frederick the Great began to work dragging his sick body. It is for this reason that Frederick the Great appears unusually old.
Sanssouci Palace
Mountains and rivers burn
"This copper-headed troll, the devil of war, only wants to drink blood and destroy." —Frederick the Great commented on war, but he had a fervent desire for war: "We should not only ridicule war, but eradicate it, as a physician treats fever." "Frederick the Great was not only a soldier, a monarch, but also a philosopher. Perhaps the discovery of contradictions is a commonality of philosophers.
Frederick the Great offended three of the most powerful women—Louis XV's mistress, Madame Pompidou, The Tsarist Empress Elizabeth, and Queen Maria Theresia of Austria. "I'd rather sell my last dress than give up Silesia!" --Queen Theresia remains obsessed with the loss of Silesia, as if she had lost her husband or child. Aware of these dangers, Frederick the Great signed a new agreement with England in 1756. At this time, France, Russia and Austria formed a new alliance. Austria wanted to retake Silesia, Russia wanted to take East Prussia, and France saw this as an extension of the Anglo-French struggle on the European continent. At the same time, the war between Britain and France also spread to North America and the Indian colonies. In August 1756, Frederick the Great led an army to attack neutral Saxony, and the Franco-Austrian alliance was so enraged that it decided to send a large army to crush Prussia. Soon, Sweden and a number of German states joined Austria, and a Europe-wide war, the Seven Years' War, broke out.
Frederick the Great captured Dresden, the capital of Saxony, on 10 September, and then besieged Prague. On 18 June 1757, Marshal Dawn, frederick the great's nemesis, led an army to defeat Frederick the Great, who retreated after losing 13,000 men. About 390,000 troops of Prussia were pressed towards Prussia, and after several confrontations between the two sides, Prussia's strategic disadvantage became more and more obvious.
Battle of Rothbard
On November 5, 1757, the Battle of Rothbard broke out, with 22,000 Prussians and 42,000 French-Austrian troops. The battlefield of the two sides was an open plain, lacking trees and hedges, and the village of Rosbach was located on a low hillock where Frederick's Prussian army could clearly see the Franco-Austrian army. At 2 p.m. that day, the Prussians noticed that the French were rotating toward the Prussian left flank, and Frederick the Great climbed onto the roof and immediately judged; the French intended to attack him from the Prussian flank and rear and drive him out of the line of communication. At 2:30 p.m., he gave the order that at 3:00 the camp curtains would be dismantled and loaded, and the troops would move. The Prussians moved very quickly, describing the French officers as "as if changing the set in an opera", which made the French commander Sobais think that the Prussians were retreating, so he hurriedly ordered the vanguard to advance on the Janas Hill. The coalition forces had no reconnaissance of the terrain and no avant-garde, and the whole army seemed to be advancing blindly. At 3:30 p.m., the Prussian Sidriz led 4,000 cavalry to attack the French-Austrian front, like a strong wall, advancing at a very high speed, and after four sprints, the enemy retreated toward Freiberg. At the same time, the artillery of Mount Janas also opened fire on the French-Austrian forces, and prince Henry of prussia commanded 7 infantry battalions to advance rapidly, and by 4:30 p.m., the victory or defeat had been decided. The Prussians lost 165 men and wounded 376. The coalition suffered 3,000 casualties and 5,000 captured, including 8 generals and 300 officers.
Battle of Loyten
On 5 December, the Battle of Leutten broke out, with 36,000 Prussians and 60,000-80,000 Austrians. At 5 o'clock in the morning, Frederick summoned all the generals of the army and said: "If I want the Austrians to occupy Silesia, I think I will have nothing to do." Now I will tell you that I have decided to attack Prince Carl's forces, against all the laws of the art of war, even though he is almost three times ours. I must take the risk of taking this step, or it will be all over; we must defeat the enemy or we will all die under their fire. That's what I think, and that's what I do. Now go back and convey to the regiments what I have said. ”
"I will do my duty, my position is given by you, I will work happily and bravely, and when I work like this, I will be able to succeed!" Marching military bands played music all the way, and soldiers sang military songs aloud.
The Prussians occupied the village of Porny, and a small number of troops on the left flank approached the Right Flank of the Austrian Army, causing the Austrians to weaken the left flank and replenish the right flank; the elevated terrain instead obscured the march of the prussian main force. Shortly after noon, the main Prussian force reached the left flank of the Austrian army and immediately launched an overwhelming attack. At 1:30 a.m., the Austrian left flank collapsed, and the Austrians moved the right flank back to hold Loyten. Prussian left-wing Guards cavalry came in, forcing the Austrians to abandon Leutten. Prussian heavy artillery swept the Austrian infantry back. St. Paul said: "These terrible artillerymen contributed more to the victory of this battle than the Prussian infantry." In this battle, the Prussians suffered 6,000 casualties, the Austrians 10,000, and 21,000 prisoners. Frederick estimated that the Austrians lost 41,442 men in the battle. The Battle of Loyten was the pinnacle of slash tactics, integrating movement, concentration, surprise attack, and strike, and the perfect fusion of the three arms had long been such a great victory.
However, the victory of the campaign did not change the strategic dilemma. Frederick the Great, dressed in a faded blue military uniform and crumpled military boots, wrinkles deeply carved into his emaciated face, gray hair topped with a worn-out military hat, pondered bitterly by the campfire. In Torgos, Frederick was hit in the chest by a bullet, but the bullet was miraculously embedded in a snuff box, and Frederick survived. Once in a bloody battle, the Prussians suffered heavy casualties, frederick drove his horse and shouted: "Why are there no bullets hitting me!" ”
The goddess of fate strangled Frederick by the neck again, and Prussia lost British support. "I tell you, I suffer every day... I'm much older, and you'll barely recognize me. The hair on my right side was completely gray, my teeth were shattering and falling out, my face was covered with deep wrinkles like a lady's skirt, and my back was bent like a bow. I staggered around melancholy, withering like an ascetic monk. Frederick wrote to his friend. He even prepared poison, ready to commit suicide by taking poison when the mountains and rivers were exhausted.
But the goddess of destiny let go of her tight hand. In 1762, Empress Elizabeth of Tsarist Russia died, and her successor, Peter III, was a brain-dead fan of Frederick the Great. So Russia withdrew from the Alliance and lent the Prussians an army. Soon after, Sweden also withdrew from the alliance. The Prussians were relieved and expelled the Faon army. In February 1763, the two sides concluded a contract to restore the original border of 1756.
Prussia suffered great losses in the Seven Years' War, with about 500,000 of the more than 4 million people killed, captured or fleeing during the war. Thousands of houses were destroyed and many areas were devastated and reduced to rubble. After the war, prussia's livelihood was poor and prices were extremely high. The financial crisis caused by the ginflex measures of the Amsterdam bankers bankrupted the credit companies in Berlin.
Frederick the Great, 51, returned to Berlin. Under the setting sun, the earth was blood-colored, and the tears that fell dripped into the earth like blood.
Frederick the Great
Soldier Immortal Commander
"The more in times of crisis, the greater his greatness is revealed, and this is the highest praise we can say to him." What makes Frederick stand out most is not his athletic skills, but his boldness. Many of the things he did were things I didn't dare to do. He would abandon his lines of battle, sometimes as if he didn't understand the art of war at all. Within seven years, Prussia alone stood in the way of the three most powerful states in Europe. This was not the strength of the Prussian army, but the credit of Frederick the Great alone. --Napoleon
Before Frederick the Great took the throne, the Prussians had a technical advantage – the iron push bar, a device that allowed the shooter to shoot twice in a unit of time, while his opponent could only shoot once. After Frederick the Great succeeded to the throne, he deepened the position of artillery, creating the first real cavalry artillery unit, from 1759 onwards, and within 30 years, only Prussia in Europe had already had a cavalry artillery. At the same time, he also advocated the use of more howitzers to destroy the enemy troops on the top of the mountain.
Frederick the Great is best known for his slash tactics. Frederick the Great explained as follows: "You face the enemy, retract a wing, and strengthen the one that is ready to attack." Using the latter's strength, try to flank one of the enemy's flanks. When an army of 100,000 men is attacked by only 30,000 men on the flank, it may also be crushed in a very short time. The advantages of this deployment can be summarized as follows: 1) a small force can fight a more powerful force, 2) it attacks the enemy at a decisive point, and 3) if you are defeated, it is only a part of your strength, and you have 3/4 of the troops still intact to cover your retreat. ”
Although the meaning of slash tactics is not difficult, it is difficult for other countries to apply it freely. Unless frederick's spirit and rigorous discipline were present, this method of warfare might not have been able to be applied freely and victorious.
Long river sunset
The Old Emperor
After the Seven Years' War, Frederick set out to revive the withered Prussian economy. He developed mines, encouraged new commercial ventures, and advocated reclamation programs. At the same time, he provided financial assistance to the Junker landlords to compensate for the war losses and promote agricultural revival. He also built new towns and gathered the population to settle in new towns. Prussia spared no effort to recruit new immigrants, recruiting people abroad, promising to pay for travel, exempt from military service, and own land and livestock. Frederick the Great also founded the Royal Bank and the Exchange of Power in Berlin, and directly invested in porcelain factories and cutting tool factories.
In 1772, at the suggestion of Frederick the Great, Prussia, Austria and Russia divided Poland for the first time. Prussia acquired "West Prussia", connecting East Prussia with the heartland of the kingdom. Frederick the Great called it "an extremely advantageous trophy."
On August 15, 1786, Frederick the Great, who had a high fever, woke up at 11 a.m. During the day he also took care of some official duties and wrote letters to his sister and wife. Of course, everyone knows that Frederick's limit is coming. At about 9 p.m. on the 16th, after drinking the most commonly drunk fennel, he continued to cough.
The fire in the fireplace crackled. At midnight on August 17, he noticed the cold shivering of the dog on the edge of the stool, "Throw him a quilt", which was Frederick the Great's last words, and died of illness - 74 years and 6 months and 24 days.
Frederick the Great was not buried in the tomb of the Sanssouci Palace he had built, and two medics washed his body and prepared for the burial with dignity: at 8 p.m. that night, frederick the Great's body, dressed in the uniform of the First Guard Battalion, lay in a hearse, escorted to Potsdam by eight horses and twelve guards. All stood on the street; The soldiers spontaneously lined up and followed the hearse; Many rough faces could not help but burst into tears.
In the silence of midnight, people could hear nothing but whimpers and murmurs everywhere, "Oh, my God!"
bibliography:
[1] Thomas Carlyle:History of Friedrich II of Prussia, Called Frederick the Great
[2] Charles Fuller: Military History of the Western World
[3] Kittridge: Biography of Frederick the Great