Biography: Frederick the Great.

Born: 24 January 1712.

Died: 17 August 1786.

Frederick the Great (1712-1786)

 Frederick the Great was one of the most admired military commanders of the eighteenth century. His campaigns during the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War established his reputation as one of the greatest generals in history. However, he was also an admirer of the arts that flourished during the Age of Enlightenment and was a patron of philosophers and musicians. Indeed, in many ways, his military career was forged for him by his father, Frederick William I, who used harsh discipline to prepare him for his role as a Prussian monarch.

Historical Background

Frederick II was born on 24 January 1712 in Berlin to parents Frederick William I and Sophia Dorothea. In 1732, at the age of 20, Frederick was made colonel of an infantry regiment before accompanying Prince Eugene of Savoy in the War of the Polish Succession in 1734. Upon his father’s death in 1740, Frederick became king of Prussia and invaded Silesia, winning major victories at Mollwitz (1741) and Hohenfriedberg (1745). Having acquired Silesia by military action, Frederick spent the next ten years preparing for another war with Austria, whom he had made his sworn enemy. In 1756, Frederick began the Seven Years War by invading Saxony, which brought Austria, France and Russia into the conflict. After winning two brilliant victories at Rossbach and Leuthen (1757), Frederick won a pyrrhic victory against Russia at Zorndorf (1758), then was defeated by Austria at Kunersdorf (1759). After losing Berlin in 1760, Frederick was able to stave off defeat when Russia withdrew from the war, leading to the Treaty of Hubertusburg in 1763. Frederick spent the rest of his reign rebuilding his country’s shattered economy, with only one further war being fought in 1778: the War of the Bavarian Succession. He died on 17 August 1786 at the age of 74.

Historical Influences

Frederick was influenced by the arts, Frederick William I and Epaminondas. From a young age, Frederick was deeply loved by his mother, Sophia Dorothea, and his elder sister, Wilhelmine, who cultivated his love for music, literature and philosophy. As pointed out by Christopher Duffy, “Frederick discovered more pleasure than ever in music, a recreation that was to sustain him through the trials of his military life” (Duffy, 1988, p.18). Indeed, his military career was forced upon him by King Frederick William I, who often physically abused Frederick to toughen him up for the task of conducting wars against Prussia’s enemies. He left his son a well-stocked treasury, a standing army of 80,000 men and an efficient system of civil administration. When Frederick did confront France, Austria and Russia in battle, he often employed the Oblique Order manoeuvre, which Epaminondas (410-362 BCE) had first used to defeat a Spartan army at the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE. As explained by David Chandler, “The oblique order of attack was designed to offset his numerical inferiority. Instead of attacking all along the line, he used a small force to engage the attention of the enemy and massed his attack, wave after wave, against a single flank to gain local superiority and roll up the enemy line” (Chandler, 2000, p.142).

Key Battle

Frederick’s signature battle was the Battle of Leuthen (1757). On 5 December, Frederick ordered his cavalry to make a feint attack on the Austrian army’s right wing while the rest of the Prussian army marched behind some hills and redeployed south of the village of Leuthen opposite the Austrian left wing. The Prussian army then advanced in oblique order, which forced Charles of Lorraine to redeploy his army in and around Leuthen to meet the Prussian advance. After an Austrian cavalry attack was repulsed, Frederick ordered the Prussian left wing to attack the Austrian army in the flank and rear, which caused the Austrian army to rout. Napoleon Bonaparte would call the Battle of Leuthen, “a masterpiece of manoeuvre and resolution. It would suffice by itself to immortalize Frederick and rank him amongst the greatest generals” (Chandler, 2000, p.147).

Leuthen (1757)

Historical Significance

Frederick was one of the most admired figures of eighteenth-century Europe. In the words of Christopher Duffy, he was “a spiritual Frenchman stranded in the remotest corner of Germany, a ruler who was at once a cynical exponent of power-politics, a prince of the Enlightenment, and a lover of the arts who maintained a distance between his inner self and the bloody work in which he engaged” (Duffy, 1988, p.xi). Although he became a national hero for his military campaigns during the Seven Years War, modern scholars have since questioned his reputation as a military genius. Although he won some brilliant victories in 1757, these came at the cost of Prussian manpower, which led him to recruit foreign mercenaries throughout the duration of the war. However, while his military system was conventional, the quality of his soldiers was excellent, and he was the first to introduce horse artillery, which showed he understood the importance of mobility. Ultimately, Frederick’s reign marked the emergence of the Prussian state as a military power, which would culminate in the unification of Germany between 1864 and 1871.

Bibliography

Auktionen, Hampel. “Portrait of Frederick the Great.” Wikimedia Commons. Last revised January 2, 2012. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Friedrich_ii_campenhausen.jpg

Chandler, David G. The Art of Warfare on Land. Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 2000.

Duffy, Christopher. Frederick the Great: A Military Life. London, Routledge, 1988.

Grant, R.G. Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2005.

Grant, R.G. Commanders: History’s Greatest Military Leaders. London, Dorling Kindersley, 2010.