One of the few generals to earn the title “the Great,” Frederick II led the Prussian army for more than twenty-five years against a host of enemies that nearly always outnumbered his forces. Boldness and audacity marked Frederick’s operations; preemptive at¬tacks characterized his means of making war. “Old Fritz” established Prussia as a great military power and as the dominant European nation for a half century. Not until NAPOLEON I [2] would the accomplishments of Frederick be surpassed, and even the French general at the height of his glory paid tribute to the late Prussian leader at his Potsdam tomb, where he remarked, “Were he still alive, we should now not be here in Prussia.”
Frederick’s childhood, after his birth on January 24, 1712, in Berlin, offered no clue of his future military prowess. Considered a weakling by his father, King Frederick William I, for his interest in philosophy and art, he suffered both mental and physical abuse. Under duress, Frederick accepted a commission in his father’s personal-bodyguard unit of grenadiers, which did nothing to advance his opinion of the military. At age twenty, Frederick, with a fellow officer, attempted to desert to France but were apprehended, and Frederick was forced to watch the execution of his friend before being jailed.
While incarcerated, Frederick resigned himself to his desdny and after eighteen months behind bars reconciled with his father. In 1732 he accepted a commission as a colonel in the Ruppin Infantry Regiment and two years later joined Prussian troops under the command of Prince EUGENE OF SAVOY [27] in the War of the Polish Succession. From Eugene, the young Frederick learned many of the principles of war which he would build upon in the future. While he studied the art of war, Frederick also condnued his education in music and the arts and began a lasting correspondence with Voltaire.
Three days after his father’s death, on May 28, 1740, Frederick assumed the throne of Prussia and the leadership of its army. He immediately began making civil and military reforms and instituted individual rights by abolishing censorship and guaranteeing freedom of the press. He also outlawed the torture of civilian prisoners.
Within the military Frederick quickly established that he, and he alone, would be its leader. To a gathering of senior generals appointed by his father, he announced, “In this kingdom, I am the only person to exercise authority.”
Frederick inherited an army eighty thousand-strong and ample military funds. Professional officers rigorously trained the soldiers, most of whom were from the lowest classes. Despite its strength, however, the Prussian army faced formidable foes. Enemies, including France, Austria, and Russia, surrounded Prussia, and Frederick’s empire lacked any great natural barriers, such as mountains or waterways, to provide defenses. Within months of assuming the leadership of the Prussian army, Frederick decided on tack against Saxony. While his stated purpose was to destroy an adversary before it could be well prepared, there is evidence that Frederick had harbored a long-term hatred for the Saxons ever since he had contracted a sexually transmitted disease during a visit to their court as a youth.
In spite of initial successes, Frederick soon found himself op¬posed by much larger forces from Austria, France, and Russia. In¬stead of fighting on a wide front, Frederick concentrated his army to attack each enemy force in turn. He used the terrain to hide his forces as he massed for attack and succeeded in defeating a much larger joint Franco-Austrian army at Rossbach on November 5,
1757. A month later, he feinted an assault in one direction while moving the rest of his army behind hills to attack and destroy an Austrian weak point at Leuthen. Using basically the same tactics, the Prussians defeated the Russians at Zorndorf on August 25,
1758.
Despite victories over all three of his enemies, war for Fred¬erick was far from over. While his tactics proved superior, even in victory Frederick suffered losses which he could not easily replenish and which weakened his army. From 1759 to 1761, Fred¬erick maneuvered his weary troops across Europe without gaining decisive victories. By maintaining an army in the field, he was ensuring the survival of his country, but that was all he was accomplishing.
Just when things were at their bleakest, Frederick demonstrated that luck is also an important characteristic of a great military leader. By 1762, Frederick’s army had become so weak he could no longer assume the offensive, and it appeared he would soon be defeated by the Russians. However, Czarina Elizabeth died, and Peter III, who admired Frederick, assumed the Russian throne. He withdrew Russia from former alliances and signed’ a separate peace treaty with Frederick. After several more indecisive campaigns, Austria and France agreed to sign the Peace of Hubertusburg on January 16, 1763, ending the Seven Years’ War.
Frederick returned home to rebuild his country and improve the quality of life for its residents with the same enthusiasm that he had approached batde. He also continued his study of music and art until his death at age seventy-four at his palace, Sans Souci, on August 17, 1786. Even without his direct leadership, the Prus¬sian army remained dominant. Not until the next century and the emergence of Napoleon would they know defeat.
Despite the decline of the Prussian army in the final days of the Seven Years’ War, the conflict solidified Frederick’s reputation as the greatest military leader of his day. His leadership sustained his country and established it as a European power for the next half century. Frederick truly was “the Great”—the most influential military leader between the time of MARLBOROUGH [31] and Napoleon.