Jump to content

Prussian Army

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromPrussian army)

For the succeeding German army of the Weimar Republic (1919–1935), seeReichsheer.
Prussian Army
War ensign of Prussia
Active1701–1919
CountryKingdom of PrussiaKingdom of Prussia
AllegianceHouse of Hohenzollern
BranchArmy
TypeLand forces
SizeRanging between70,000and700,000during the period.
Garrison/HQPotsdam
PatronKing of Prussia
EngagementsWar of the Spanish Succession
Great Northern War
War of the Austrian Succession

Seven Years' War

War of the Bavarian Succession
French Revolutionary Wars

Napoleonic Wars

First Schleswig War
Second Schleswig War
Austro-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
World War I
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Frederick William I
Frederick the Great
Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz
Gerhard von Scharnhorst
Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg
August Neidhardt von Gneisenau
Carl von Clausewitz
Kaiser Wilhelm I
Moltke the Elder
Albrecht von Roon
Friedrich Karl
Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz
Paul von Hindenburg
August von Mackensen
Erich Ludendorff
Erich von Falkenhayn
Attack of Prussian Infantry, 4 June 1745,byCarl Röchling

TheRoyal Prussian Army(1701–1919,German:Königlich Preußische Armee) served as thearmyof theKingdom of Prussia.It became vital to the development of Prussia as a European power.

The Prussian Army had its roots in the coremercenaryforces ofBrandenburg-Prussiaduring theThirty Years' Warof 1618–1648. ElectorFrederick Williamdeveloped it into a viablestanding army,while KingFrederick William I of Prussiadramatically increased its size and improved its doctrines. KingFrederick the Great,a formidable battle commander, led the disciplined Prussian troops to victory during the 18th-centurySilesian Warsand greatly increased the prestige of the Kingdom of Prussia.

The Prussian army had become outdated and under-resourced by the beginning of theNapoleonic Wars,andFrancedefeated Prussia in theWar of the Fourth Coalitionin 1806. However, under the leadership ofGerhard von Scharnhorst,Prussian reformers began modernizing the Prussian Army, which contributed greatly to the defeat ofNapoleonduring theWar of the Sixth Coalition.Conservatives halted some of the reforms, however, and the Prussian Army subsequently became a bulwark of the conservative Prussian government.

In the 19th century, the Prussian Army fought successful wars againstDenmark,Austria,andFrance,allowing Prussia tounify Germany,establishing theGerman Empirein 1871. The Prussian Army formed the core of theImperial German Army,which was replaced by theReichswehrafter World War I.

The Great Elector[edit]

Creation of the army[edit]

Growth ofBrandenburg-Prussia,1600–1795

The army of Prussia grew out of the united armed forces created during the reign of ElectorFrederick WilliamofBrandenburg(1640–1688).HohenzollernBrandenburg-Prussiahad primarily relied uponLandsknechtmercenariesduring theThirty Years' War,in which Brandenburg was devastated.SwedishandImperialforces occupied the country. In the spring of 1644, Frederick William started building astanding armythroughconscriptionto better defend his state.

Frederick William,the Great Elector

By 1643–44, the developing army numbered only 5,500 troops, including 500musketeersin Frederick William's bodyguard.[1]The elector's confidant Johann von Norprath recruited forces in theDuchy of Clevesand organized an army of 3,000Dutchand German soldiers in theRhinelandby 1646. Garrisons were also slowly augmented in Brandenburg and theDuchy of Prussia.[2]Frederick William sought assistance from France, the traditional rival ofHabsburg Austria,and began receiving French subsidies. He based his reforms on those ofLouvois,theWar Ministerof KingLouis XIV.[3]The growth of his army allowed Frederick William to achieve considerable territorial acquisitions in the 1648Treaty of Westphalia,despite Brandenburg's relative lack of success during the war.

The provincial estates desired a reduction in the army's size during peacetime, but the elector avoided their demands throughpolitical concessions,evasion and economy.[4]In the 1653Brandenburg Recessbetween Frederick William and the estates of Brandenburg, the nobility provided the sovereign with 530,000thalersin return for affirmation of their privileges. TheJunkersthus cemented their political power at the expense of the peasantry.[5]Once the elector and his army were strong enough, Frederick William was able to suppress the estates ofCleves,MarkandPrussia.[6]

Frederick William attempted to professionalize his soldiers during a time when mercenaries were the norm. In addition to individually creating regiments and appointing colonels, the elector imposed harsh punishments for transgressions, such as punishing byhangingforlooting,andrunning the gauntletfordesertion.Acts of violence by officers against civilians resulted in decommission for a year.[3]He developed a cadet institution for the nobility; although the upper class was resistant to the idea in the short term, the integration of the nobility into theofficer corpsallied them with the Hohenzollern monarchy in the long term.[7]Field Marshals of Brandenburg-Prussia includedDerfflinger,John George II,SpaenandSparr.The elector's troops traditionally were organized into disconnected provincial forces. In 1655, Frederick William began the unification of the various detachments by placing them under Sparr's overall command. Unification also increased through the appointment ofGeneralkriegskommissarPlatenas head of supplies. These measures decreased the authority of the primarily mercenary colonels who had been so prominent during the Thirty Years' War.[8]

Campaigns of the Great Elector[edit]

Brandenburg troops of the infantry regiment ofLeopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessauin 1698, byRichard Knötel

Brandenburg-Prussia's new army survived its trial by fire through victory in the 1656Battle of Warsaw,during theNorthern Wars.Observers were impressed with the discipline of the Brandenburger troops, as well as their treatment of civilians, which was considered more humane than that of their allies, theSwedish Army.[9]Hohenzollern success enabled Frederick William to assume full sovereignty over theDuchy of Prussiain the 1657Treaty of Wehlau,by which Brandenburg-Prussia allied itself with thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.Despite having expelled Swedish forces from the territory, the elector did not acquireVorpommernin the 1660Treaty of Oliva,as thebalance of powerhad been restored.

In the early 1670s, Frederick William supported Imperial attempts to reclaimAlsaceand counter the expansion of Louis XIV of France. Swedish troops invaded Brandenburg in 1674 while the bulk of the elector's forces were inFranconia'swinter quarters. In 1675 Frederick William marched his troops northward and surroundedWrangel's troops. The elector achieved his greatest victory in theBattle of Fehrbellin;although a minor battle, it brought fame to the Brandenburg-Prussian Army and gave Frederick William the nickname "the Great Elector". After Sweden invaded Prussia in late 1678, Frederick William's forces expelled the Swedish invaders during the "Great Sleigh Drive"of 1678–79;Thomas Carlylecompared the wintertime Swedish retreat to that ofNapoleonfrom Moscow.[10]

Frederick William built the Hohenzollern army up to a peacetime size of 7,000 and a wartime size of 15,000–30,000.[7]Its success in battle against Sweden and Poland increased Brandenburg-Prussia's prestige, while also allowing the Great Elector to pursueabsolutistpolicies against estates and towns.[1]In his political testament of 1667, the elector wrote, "Alliances, to be sure, are good, but forces of one's own still better. Upon them one can rely with more security, and a lord is of no consideration if he does not have means and troops of his own".[11]

The growing power of the Hohenzollerns in Berlin led Frederick William's son and successor, Elector Frederick III (1688–1713), to proclaim theKingdom of Prussiawith himself as KingFrederick Iin 1701. Although he emphasizedBaroqueopulence and the arts in imitation ofVersailles,the new king recognized that the importance of the army and continued its expansion to 40,000 men.[12]

The Soldier-King[edit]

Frederick William I,the Soldier-King, painting bySamuel Theodor Gericke

Frederick I was succeeded by his son,Frederick William I(1713–1740), the "Soldier-King" obsessed with the army and achieving self-sufficiency for his country. The new king dismissed most of the artisans from his father's court and granted military officers precedence over court officials. Ambitious and intelligent young men began to enter the military instead of law and administration.Conscriptionamong the peasantry was more firmly enforced, based on the Swedish model.[13]Frederick William I wore his simple blue military uniform at court, a style henceforth imitated by the rest of the Prussian court and his royal successors. In Prussia, pigtails replaced the full-bottomed wigs common at most German courts.

Frederick William I had begun his military innovations in hisKronprinzregiment during theWar of the Spanish Succession.His friend,Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau,served as the royal drill sergeant for the Prussian Army. Leopold introduced the ironramrod,increasing Prussian firepower, and the slow march, orgoose-step.He also vastly increased the role ofmusicin the Army, dedicating a large number of musician-troops, especially drummers and fifers, to use music for increasingmoralein battle. The usefulness of music in battles was first recognized in the Thirty Years' War by the Brandenburger and Swedish armies. The new king trained and drilled the army relentlessly, focusing on theirflintlockmuskets' firing speed and formation maneuverability. The changes gave the army flexibility, precision, and arate of firethat was mostly unequalled for that period.[14]Through drilling and the iron ramrod, each soldier was expected to fire six times a minute, three times as fast as most armies.[15]

Punishments weredraconian[16]in nature, such as running the gauntlet,[17]and despite the threat of hanging, many peasant conscripts deserted when they could. Uniforms and weaponry were standardized.[14]Pigtails and, in those regiments which wore it, facial hair were to be of uniform length within a regiment;[18]soldiers who could not adequately grow beards or moustaches were expected to paint an outline on their faces.[15]

Frederick William I reduced the size of Frederick I's gaudyroyal guardto a single regiment, a troop of taller-than-average soldiers known as thePotsdam Giantsor more commonly theLange Kerls(long fellows), which he privately funded.[19]Thecavalrywas reorganized into 55squadronsof 150 horses; the infantry was turned into 50battalions(25regiments); and the artillery consisted of two battalions. These changes allowed him to increase the army from 39,000 to 45,000 troops;[19]by the end of Frederick William I's reign, the army had doubled in size.[20]The General War Commissary, responsible for the army and revenue, was removed from interference by the estates and placed strictly under the control of officials appointed by the king.[21]

Frederick William I restricted enrollment in the officer corps toGermans of noble descentand compelled theJunkers,the Prussian landedaristocracy,to serve in the army,[20]Although initially reluctant about the army, the nobles eventually saw the officer corps as its natural profession.[22]Until 1730 the common soldiers consisted largely ofserfsrecruited orimpressedfromBrandenburg,PomeraniaandEast Prussia,leading many to flee to neighboring countries.[23]In order to halt this trend, Frederick William I divided Prussia intoregimental cantons.Every youth was required to serve as a soldier in these recruitment districts for three months each year; this met agrarian needs and added troops to bolster the regular ranks.[24]

The General Directory which developed during Frederick William I's reign continued the absolutist tendencies of his grandfather and collected the increased taxes necessary for the expanded military.[25]Themiddle classof the towns was required to quarter soldiers and enroll in the bureaucracy. Because theexcise taxwas only applied in towns, the king was reluctant to engage in war, as deployment of his expensive army in foreign lands would have deprived him of taxes from the town-based military.[26]

By the end of Frederick William I's reign, Prussia had the fourth-largest army (80,000 soldiers) in Europe but was twelfth in population size (2.5 million). This led to the famous quote ofVoltaire:Where some states have an army, the Prussian Army has a state.The army was maintained with a budget of five million thalers (out of a total state budget of seven million thalers).[27]

Frederick the Great[edit]

Silesian Wars[edit]

Storming of the breach by Prussian troops during theBattle of Leuthen,1757,by Carl Röchling

Frederick William I was succeeded by his son,Frederick II(1740–86). Frederick immediately disbanded the expensive Potsdam Giants and used their funding to create seven new regiments and 10,000 troops. The new king also added sixteen battalions, five squadrons ofhussars,and a squadron oflife guards.[28]

Disregarding thePragmatic Sanction,Frederick began theSilesian Warsshortly after taking the throne. Although the inexperienced king retreated from the battle, the Prussian Army achieved victory overAustriain theBattle of Mollwitz(1741) under the leadership of Field MarshalSchwerin.The Prussian cavalry underSchulenburghad performed poorly at Mollwitz; thecuirassiers,originally trained on heavy horses, were subsequently retrained on more maneuverable, lighter horses. The hussars anddragoonsof GeneralZietenwere also expanded. These changes led to a Prussian victory atChotusitz(1742) inBohemia,and Austria conceded Silesia to Frederick with the Peace of Breslau.[29]

In September 1743, Frederick held the first fall maneuver (Herbstübung). The different branches of the Army tested new formations and tactics; the fall maneuvers became annual traditions of the Prussian Army. Austria tried to reclaim Silesia in the Second Silesian War. Although successful in outmaneuvering Frederick in 1744, the Austrians were crushed by the king himself in theBattle of Hohenfriedbergand theBattle of Soor(1745). The Prussian cavalry excelled during the battle, especially theZietenHussars.For his great services at HohenfriedbergHans Karl von Winterfeldt,a good friend of King Frederick, rose to prominence.

Frederick the Great,painting byWilhelm Camphausen

Third Silesian War[edit]

Further information:Seven Years' War

Austria allied with its traditional rival, France, in theDiplomatic Revolution(1756); Austria, France, andRussiawere all aligned against Prussia. Frederick preemptively attacked his enemies with an army of 150,000, beginning theSeven Years' War.The Austrian Army had been reformed byKaunitz,and the improvements showed in their success over Prussia atKolín.Frederick achieved one of his greatest victories, however, atRossbach,where the Prussian cavalry ofFriedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitzsmashed a larger Franco-Imperial army with minimal casualties, despite being outnumbered two to one. Frederick then rushed eastward to Silesia, where Austria had defeated the Prussian army under the Duke of Bevern. After a series of complicated formations and deployments hidden from the Austrians, the Prussians successfully struck their enemy's flank atLeuthen,with Friedrich once again directing the battle; the Austrian position in the province collapsed, resulting in a Prussian victory even more impressive than the one at Rossbach.

ThePour le Mérite,introduced by King Frederick the Great in 1740

Frederick's maneuvers were unsuccessful against the Russians in the bloodyBattle of Zorndorf,however, and Prussian forces were crushed atKunersdorf(1759). Like the results after theBattle of Hochkirch,though, in which the Prussians had to withdraw, the Austrian and Russian Allies did not follow up on their victory. Within the week, the Russian force began a withdrawal eastward; Austrians retreated southward.

Prussia was ill-suited for lengthy wars, and a Prussian collapse seemed imminent on account of casualties and lack of resources, but after two more years of campaigning, Frederick was saved by the "Miracle of the House of Brandenburg"— the Russian exit from the war after the sudden death of EmpressElizabethin 1762. Prussian control of Silesia was confirmed in theTreaty of Hubertusburg(1763). Severe casualties had led the king to admit middle class officers during the war, but this trend was reversed afterwards.[30]

The offensive-minded Frederick advocated theoblique orderof battle, which required considerable discipline and mobility. This tactic failed at Kunersdorf primarily because of the terrain, which could not be used to an advantage. The Russians had arrived early and fortified themselves on the high ground. Frederick used oblique order to great success at Hohenfriedberg and later Leuthen.[31]After a few initialvolley fire,the infantry was to advance quickly for abayonetcharge. The Prussian cavalry was to attack as a large formation with swords before the opposing cavalry could attack.[32]

An army with a country[edit]

Death's Headhussar,print by Richard Knötel

The firstgarrisonbegan construction in Berlin in 1764. While Frederick William I wanted to have a mostly native-born army, Frederick II wanted to have a mostly foreign-born army, preferring to have native Prussians be taxpayers and producers.[33]The Prussian Army consisted of 187,000 soldiers in 1776, 90,000 of whom were Prussian subjects in central and eastern Prussia. The remainder were foreign (both German and non-German) volunteers or conscripts.[34]Frederick established theGardes du Corpsas the royal guard. Many troops were disloyal, such as mercenaries or those acquired through impressment, while troops recruited from the canton system displayed strong regional, and nascent national pride.[35]During the Seven Years' War, the elite regiments of the army were almost entirely composed of native Prussians.[36]By the end of Frederick's reign, the army had become an integral part of Prussian society. It numbered 200,000 soldiers, making it the third-largest in Europe after the armies of Russia and Austria. The social classes were all expected to serve the state and its military — the nobility led the army, the middle class supplied the army, and the peasants composed the army.[30]MinisterFriedrich von Schrötterremarked that, "Prussia was not a country with an army, but an army with a country".[37][38]

The Napoleonic Wars[edit]

Astandardof the Prussian Army used before 1807
Main article:Royal Prussian Army of the Napoleonic Wars

Defeat[edit]

Frederick the Great's successor, his nephewFrederick William II(1786–97), relaxed conditions in Prussia and had little interest in war. He delegated responsibility to the agedCharles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick,and the army began to degrade in quality. Led by veterans of the Silesian Wars, the Prussian Army was ill-equipped to deal withRevolutionary France.The officers retained the same training, tactics and weaponry used by Frederick the Great some forty years earlier.[39]In comparison, theFrench Revolutionary Army,especially underNapoleon,was developing new methods of organization, supply, mobility, and command.[40]

Prussia withdrew from theFirst Coalitionin thePeace of Basel(1795), ceding the Rhenish territories to France. Upon Frederick William II's death in 1797, the state was bankrupt and the army outdated. He was succeeded by his son,Frederick William III(1797–1840), who involved Prussia in the disastrousFourth Coalition.The Prussian Army was decisively defeated in the battles ofSaalfeld,Jena and Auerstedtin 1806[41]andNapoleon occupied Berlin.The Prussians' famed discipline collapsed and led to widescale surrendering among infantry, cavalry and garrisons. While some Prussian commanders acquitted themselves well, such asL'EstocqatEylau,GneisenauatKolberg,andBlücheratLübeck,they were not enough to reverse the defeats of Jena-Auerstedt. Prussia submitted to major territorial losses, a standing army of only 42,000 men, and an alliance with France in theTreaty of Tilsit(1807).

Reform[edit]

Meeting of the reformers inKönigsbergin 1807, by Carl Röchling

The defeat of the disorganized army shocked the Prussian establishment, which had largely felt invincible after theFredericianvictories. WhileBaron vom Steinand Prime MinisterKarl August von Hardenbergbegan modernizing the Prussian state, GeneralGerhard von Scharnhorstbegan to reform the military. He led a Military Reorganization Committee, which included GeneralsAugust von Gneisenau,Karl von Grolman,andHermann von Boyenas well as the civilian vom Steinen.[42]Prussian military officer,Carl von Clausewitzassisted with the reorganization as well. Dismayed by the populace's indifferent reaction to the 1806 defeats, the reformers wanted to cultivatepatriotismwithin the country.[43]Stein's reforms abolishedserfdomin 1807 and initiated local city government in 1808.[44]

Gerhard von Scharnhorst

The generals of the army were completely overhauled – of the 143 Prussian generals in 1806, only Blücher andTauentzienremained by theSixth Coalition;[45]many were allowed to redeem their reputations in the war of 1813.[46]The officer corps was reopened to the middle class in 1808, while advancement into the higher ranks became based on education.[42][47]King Frederick William III created theWar Ministryin 1809, and Scharnhorst founded an officers training school, the laterPrussian War Academy,in Berlin in 1810.

Scharnhorst advocated adopting thelevée en masse,the universal military conscription used by France. He created theKrümpersystem,by which companies replaced 3–5 men monthly, allowing up to 60 extra men to be trained annually per company.[45]This system granted the army a larger reserve of 30,000–150,000 extra troops.[42]TheKrümpersystemwas also the beginning of short-term (3 years') compulsory service in Prussia, as opposed to the long-term (5 to 10 years') conscription previously used since the 1650s.[48]Because the occupying French prohibited the Prussians from forming divisions, the Prussian Army was divided into sixbrigades,each consisting of seven to eight infantry battalions and twelve squadrons of cavalry. The combined brigades were supplemented with three brigades of artillery.[49]

Corporal punishmentwas by and large abolished, while soldiers were trained in the field and intirailleurtactics. Scharnhorst promoted the integration of the infantry, cavalry, artillery, and engineers (sappers) throughcombined arms,as opposed to their previous independent states. Equipment and tactics were updated in respect to the Napoleonic campaigns. The field manual issued byYorckin 1812 emphasized combined arms and faster marching speeds.[50]In 1813, Scharnhorst succeeded in attaching a chief of staff trained at the academy to each field commander.

Some reforms were opposed by Frederician traditionalists, such as Yorck, who felt that middle class officers would erode the privileges of the aristocratic officer corps and promote the ideas of theFrench Revolution.[51]The army reform movement was cut short by Scharnhorst's death in 1813. The shift to a more democratic and middle-class military began to lose momentum in the face of the reactionary government.

Wars of the Sixth And Seventh Coalition[edit]

TheIron Cross,introduced by KingFrederick William IIIin 1813
Prussianhussarsat theBattle of Leipzig,1813

The reformers and much of the public called for Frederick William III to ally with theAustrian Empirein its1809 campaignagainst France. When the cautious king refused to support a new Prussian war, however,Schillled his hussar regiment against the occupying French, expecting to provoke a national uprising. The king considered Schill amutineer,and the major's rebellion was crushed atStralsundby French allies.[52]TheTreaty of Paris (24 February 1812)forced Prussia to provide 20,000 troops to Napoleon'sGrande Armée,first under the leadership ofGrawertand then under Yorck. The French occupation of Prussia was reaffirmed, and 300 demoralized Prussian officers resigned in protest.[53]

During Napoleon'sretreat from Russiain 1812, Yorck independently signed theConvention of Tauroggenwith Russia, breaking the Franco-Prussian alliance. Stein arrived in East Prussia and led the raising of aLandwehr,or militia to defend the province. With Prussia's joining of theSixth Coalitionout of his hands, Frederick William III quickly began to mobilize the army, and the East PrussianLandwehrwas duplicated in the rest of the country. In comparison to 1806, the Prussian populace, especially the middle class, was supportive of the war, and thousands of volunteers joined the army. Prussian troops under the leadership of Blücher and Gneisenau proved vital at the Battles ofLeipzig(1813) andWaterloo(1815). Later staff officers were impressed with the simultaneous operations of separate groups of the Prussian Army.

TheIron Crosswas introduced as amilitary decorationby King Frederick William III in 1813. After the publication of his bookOn War,Clausewitz became a widely studied philosopher of war.[54]

19th century[edit]

Bulwark of conservatism[edit]

Expansion of Prussia, 1807–1871

ThePrussian General Staff,which developed out of meetings of the Great Elector with his senior officers[3]and the informal meeting of the Napoleonic Era reformers, was formally created in 1814. In the same year Boyen and Grolman drafted a law for universal conscription, by which men would successively serve in the standing army, theLandwehrand the localLandsturmuntil the age of 39.[55]Troops of the 156,000-strong standing army served for three years and were in the reserves for two, while militiamen of the 163,000-strongLandwehrserved a few weeks annually for seven years.[56]Boyen and Blücher strongly supported the civilian army of theLandwehr,which was to unite military and civilian society, as an equal to the standing army.[57]

During a constitutional crisis in 1819, Frederick William III recognized Prussia's adherence to the anti-revolutionaryCarlsbad Decrees.Conservative forces within Prussia, such asWittgenstein,remained opposed to conscription and the more democraticLandwehr.Frederick William III reduced the militia's size and placed it under the control of the regular army in 1819, leading to the resignations of Boyen and Grolman and the ending of the reform movement. Boyen's ideal of an enlightened citizen soldier was replaced with the idea of a professional military separate or alienated from civilian society.[58]

The storming of the Frankfurt barricades by Prussian-supported Hessian troops in 1848

By the middle of the 19th century, Prussia was seen by many Germanliberalsas the country best-suited to unify themany German states,but the conservative government used the army to repress liberal and democratic tendencies during the 1830s and 1840s. Liberals resented the usage of the army in essentially police actions. KingFrederick William IV(1840–61) initially appeared to be a liberal ruler, but he was opposed to issuing the written constitution called for by reformers. When barricades were raised in Berlin during the1848 revolution,the king reluctantly agreed to the creation of a civilian defense force (Bürgerwehr) in his capital.[59]A national assembly to write a constitution was convened for the first time, but its slowness allowed the reactionary forces to regroup. GeneralFriedrich Graf von Wrangelled the reconquest of Berlin, which was supported by a middle class weary of a people's revolution.[60]Prussian troops were subsequently used to suppress the revolution in many other German cities.

At the end of 1848, Frederick William finally issued theConstitution of the Kingdom of Prussia.The liberal opposition secured the creation of aparliament,but the constitution was largely a conservative document reaffirming the monarchy's predominance. The army was apraetorian guard[61]outside of the constitution, subject only to the king.[62]The Prussian Minister of War was the only soldier required to swear an oath defending the constitution, leading ministers such asStrotha,BoninandWalderseeto be criticized by either the king or the parliament, depending on their political views.[63]The army's budget had to be approved by thePrussian House of Representatives.Novels and memoirs glorifying the army, especially its involvement in the Napoleonic Wars, began to be published to sway public opinion. The defeat atOlmützof the liberals' plan to unite Germany through Prussia encouraged reactionary forces. In 1856 during peacetime Prussian Army consisted of 86,436 infantrymen, 152 cavalry squadrons and 9 artillery regiments.[64]

After Frederick William IV suffered a stroke, his brotherWilliam Ibecame regent (1858) and king (1861–88). He desired to reform the army, which conservatives such asRoonconsidered to have degraded since 1820 because of liberalism. The king wanted to expand the army—while the populace had risen from 10 million to 18 million since 1820, the annual army recruits had remained 40,000.[65]Although Bonin opposed Roon's desired weakening of theLandwehr,William I was alarmed by the nationalisticSecond Italian War of Independence.Bonin resigned as Minister of War and was replaced with Roon.

Bismarck,RoonandMoltkein the 1860s

The government submitted Roon's army reform bill in February 1860. The Landtag opposed many of its provisions, especially the weakening of theLandwehr,and proposed a revised bill that did away with many of the government's desired reforms. The Finance Minister,Patow,abruptly withdrew the bill on 5 May and instead simply requested a provisional budgetary increase of 9 million thalers, which was granted.[66]William had already begun creating 'combined regiments' to replace theLandwehr,a process which increased after Patow acquired the additional funds. Although the Landtag was opposed to these actions, William maintained the new regiments with the guidance ofManteuffel.The liberal and middle-classLandwehrwas thus subordinated in favor of the regular army, which was composed mostly of peasantry loyal to the Hohenzollern monarchy and conservativeJunkers.

Moltke the Elder[edit]

Moltke the Elder,Chief of the General Staff from 1857–88, modernized the Prussian Army during his tenure. He expanded the General Staff, creating peacetime subdivisions such as the Mobilization, Geographical-Statistical and Military History Sections.[67]In 1869, he issued a handbook for warfare on theoperationallevel,Instructions for Large Unit Commanders,writing, "The modern conduct of war is marked by the striving for a great and rapid decision".[68]Moltke was a strong proponent ofwar gametraining for officers[68]and introduced the breech-loadingneedle gunto troops, which allowed them to fire significantly faster than their adversaries. Moltke took advantage of therailroad,guiding the construction of rail lines within Prussia to likely places of deployment.[69]Because modern armies had become too large and unwieldy for a single commander to control, Moltke supported multiple and independent smaller armies in concentric operations. Once one army encountered the enemy and pinned it down, a second army would arrive and attack the enemy's flank or rear.[68]He advocated aKesselschlacht,or battle of encirclement.

It was in Moltke'sInstructions for Large Unit Commandersand his concept of separated armies that we begin to see the emergence of modern German doctrine. The system of moving units separately and concentrating as an army before a battle resulted in more efficient supply and lower vulnerability to modern firepower. To enable a successful flanking attack, he asserted that concentration could only take place after the commencement of a battle. This was a development of the Scharnhorst concept of "March Divided, Fight United."

A major consequence of this innovation was the commander's loss of overall control of his forces due to his available means of communication which, at that time, were visual (line-of-sight) or couriers, either mounted or on foot. The traditional concept of the elimination of uncertainty by means of "total obedience" was now obsolete and operational initiative, direction and control had to be assigned to a point further down the chain of command. In this new concept, commanders of distant detachments were required to exercise initiative in their decision making and von Moltke emphasized the benefits of developing officers who could do this within the limits of the senior commander’s intention.

At the same time Moltke had worked out the conditions of the march and supply of an army. Only one army corps could be moved along one road in the same day; to put two or three corps on the same road meant that the rear corps could not be made use of in a battle at the front. Several corps stationed close together in a small area could not be fed for more than a day or two. Accordingly, he inferred that the essence of strategy lay in arrangements for the separation of the corps for marching and their concentration in time for battle. In order to make a large army manageable, it must be broken up into separate armies or groups of corps, each group under a commander authorized to regulate its movements and action subject to the instructions of the commander-in-chief as regards the direction and purpose of its operations.

Moltke's main thesis was that militarystrategyhad to be understood as a system of options since only the beginning of a military operation was plannable. As a result, he considered the main task of military leaders to consist in the extensive preparation of all possible outcomes. His thesis can be summed up by two statements, one famous and one less so, translated into English asNo plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength(no plan survives contact with the enemy).[70]andStrategy is a system of expedients.[70]

However, as can be seen from the descriptions of his planning for the war with Austria and the war with France, his planning for war was very detailed and took into account thousands of variables. It is a mistake to think that Moltke thought war plans were of no use (which a simple reading of "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy" would seem to indicate). He accomplished this by means of directives stating his intentions, rather than detailed orders, and he was willing to accept deviations from a directive provided that it was within the general framework of the mission. Moltke held this view firmly and it later became a fundamental of all German military theory.

Wars of unification[edit]

The battle of Königgrätz, 3rd July, 1866,by Georg Bleibtreu

The Prussian Army crushedDanishforces in theBattle of Dybbølduring theSecond Schleswig War(1864), allowing Prussia and Austria to claimSchleswigandHolstein,respectively. Disputes orchestrated by thePrussian Minister President,Otto von Bismarck,led to theAustro-Prussian War(1866). TheDreyse needle gunsof the Prussian infantry were highly successful against the Austrians, who were defeated atKöniggrätz.Under the leadership of Moltke, the Prussian Army then proved victorious overFrancein theFranco-Prussian War(1870). Unlike the Austrians, the French had the powerfulChassepotrifle, which outclassed the Dreyse needle gun. However, the Prussian artillery was effective against the French, who were frequently flanked or surrounded by the mobile Prussians. Patriotism in Prussia from the victories began to undermine liberal resistance to absolutism.[71]

The battlefield successes of Prussia allowed theunification of Germany,in 1871 and theproclamationof King William I of Prussia asWilliam I, German Emperor.The Prussian Army formed the main component of theReichsheer,the army of theGerman Empire.

Imperial Germany[edit]

KaiserWilhelm IIreviewing Prussian troops, byCarl Röchling

The Imperial German Army inherited much of the traditions and concepts of the Prussian Army, which was its largest component army. According to article 61 of the Imperial constitution, the Prussian military code was to be introduced throughout the German Reich.[72]TheBavarian,Saxon,andWürttembergkingdoms continued to retain their own armies, which came under Imperial control in wartime. The conservative leaders of the army took an ever-increasing role in both domestic and foreign policies.

By the end of the 19th century, most Prussian officers could be divided into two groups: those who argued for boldness and self-sacrifice, and those who advocated technology and maneuver in order to minimize casualties.[73]First encountered during theFranco-Prussian War,new technological military innovations such as themachine gunincreased the power of defensive units. For the Prussians, who advocated offensive operations, infantry attacks would risk becoming sacrificial assaults.

With regard to a possible future two-front war,Alfred von Schlieffen,the Chief of the General Staff from 1891–1906, had suggested a deployment scheme that became known as theSchlieffen Plan.Modified byMoltke the Younger,its intention of quickly defeating France proved impossible to achieve. In the actual event of theFirst World War,on theWestern Frontthe German advance stalled intotrench warfareafter theFirst Battle of the Marne.On theEastern Front,however, the Prussian operations succeeded in encircling and smashing the Russians atTannenberg.Though developinginfiltration tacticsas a way of re-introducing maneuver to modern warfare, they were unable to achieve a decisive breakthrough in theirGerman spring offensiveon the Western Front in the last year of the war, and the Germans lost the war of attrition.

The Imperial German Army was replaced after World War I with the volunteerReichswehrof theWeimar Republic.Although theTreaty of Versaillesattempted to disarm Germany, theReichswehrdiscreetly maintained many of the traditions of the Prussian Army. TheGeneral Staffwas camouflaged as a non-descriptTruppenamt(troop office), while the War Academy was replaced with decentralized divisional schools.[74]Hans von Seeckt,the head of theReichswehr,designated the new military's battalions as successors of the traditions of Prussian regiments.[75]

During theinterwar era,German officers contemplated how to apply maneuver warfare after the experiences of theGreat War.Innovations inarmorandairpowerwere adopted to infiltration tactics, resulting in the doctrine known asBlitzkrieg.[76][77]

Characteristics[edit]

From the 17th century, the army of Brandenburg-Prussia was characterized by its initiative, maneuverability, and aggressive command at theoperational level of war.The Hohenzollern state often had fewer resources and manpower than its rivals, and thus the Prussians focused on quickly achieving decisive victories to avoid wars of attrition.[78]The Prussians practiced what became known asBewegungskrieg,orwar of movement,in an attempt tostrike at the flanksor rear of the enemy.[79]The Prussian emphasis on decisive battles instead of on wars of attrition led to inexperience insiege warfare,at which the Prussians have been considered incompetent.[80]

The Great Elector practiced many of the concepts applied to the Prussian Army in later centuries, including flank attacks atWarsawand, atFehrbellin,the willingness to attack when outnumbered.[81]The elector advocated "short and lively" campaigns.[82]

During the 1740s, Frederick the Great issued a series of new regulations and documents regarding his army's experiences during the first two Silesian wars and how they would relate to future wars. The doctrines he espoused focused on speed and offense. Lighter and faster cavalry were preferred over heavy cavalry; while Frederick William I had treated hussars as luxury troops, his son made them an integral part of the army. The artillery was to use light three-pound guns which made up for their lack of power with versatility.[83]After being outmaneuvered by the Austrians in the Second Silesian War, Frederick began emphasizing an overwhelming attack instead of a war of attrition. Rather than frontal attacks, the Prussian king tried to apply theoblique order,by which his army's strongest wing focused against the enemy's weakest wing or flank, while restraining his own weaker wing.[84]Frederick the Great summed up the Prussian style of war atLeuthen,advocating an attack on the enemy "even if he should be on top of theZobtenberg".[85]

The Prussian emphasis on attack was well-ingrained in its officer corps. In 1866Fliesunsuccessfully went on the offensive in theBattle of Langensalza,despite being outnumbered by theHanoveriansand havingFalckenstein'stroops nearby.[86]Similarly, in 1870Kirchbachwas willing to endure excessive casualties atWörthwithout waiting for reinforcements.[87]Moltke wanted a quick campaign inBohemiaagainst Austria so that Russia or France would not become involved in the Austro-Prussian war. Although Moltke considered PrinceFrederick Charles' march through Bohemia to be too slow,Hans Delbrückfound the "Red Prince's" eventual attack atKöniggrätzto have been in the Prussian tradition, "which, by daring to lose a battle, wins it".[88]

Otto von Bismarck,a civilian, wearing a cuirassier officer's metalPickelhaube

The Prussian-style war of movement and quick strikes was well-suited for campaigns using the developed infrastructure of Western and Central Europe, such as in thewars of unification,but failed when theGerman Armyapplied it to theSoviet Unionor inNorth Africa.[89]The Prussian (and later, German) systems were regarded as weak inintelligence,counterintelligence,andlogistics,but during the First World War the German Army was often able to lay its hands on British and French battle plans. If the enemy successfully endured the initial operational attacks, the Prussian system had great difficulty inStellungskrieg,orwar of position,though during the First World War such initial attacks were not as pronounced.

The Prussian Army is often considered to have used the flexible command ofAuftragstaktik(mission tactics), by which subordinate officers led using personal initiative. This developed out of the relationship between theJunkeraristocracy (who made up most of the officer corps) and the monarchy. In return for political support from the nobles, the monarchs granted them greater privileges on their estates and greater initiative on the battlefield. According to the theory ofAuftragstaktik,the commander would issue a mission to his subordinate officers, who were to pursue the directive as they saw fit. Gneisenau was an early proponent ofAuftragstaktik,[90]and Moltke interpreted the theory as "the higher the authority, the shorter and more general" the orders;[91]considerable leeway was granted to subordinates in order to pursue the goal.[92]19th-century historians sawLeuthenas one of the best examples ofAuftragstaktik[93]and an early example ofcombined arms.[94]

The Prussian Army acquired a reputation for strict and savagemilitary discipline.[95][96][97]

Often stereotypically associated with the Prussian Army was thePickelhaube,or spiked helmet, in use in the 19th and early-20th centuries. Victorious battles were celebrated withmilitary marches,such as theHohenfriedberger Marsch,allegedly written by Frederick the Great afterHohenfriedberg,and theKöniggrätzer Marsch,by the march-composerPiefke.The PrussianGroßer Zapfenstreichmilitary tattoois still in use by the modernBundeswehr.TheIron Cross,adopted by the German Empire and its successor states, is also still used[citation needed]as a symbol of theBundeswehr.

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toColors of prussian infantry pre 1806.

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^abCitino, p. 6.
  2. ^Koch, p. 49.
  3. ^abcKoch, p. 59.
  4. ^Craig, p. 3.
  5. ^Citino, p. 7.
  6. ^Craig, p. 5.
  7. ^abKoch, p. 60.
  8. ^Craig, p. 6.
  9. ^Citino, p. 8.
  10. ^Citino, p. 28.
  11. ^Craig, p. 2.
  12. ^Craig, p. 7.
  13. ^MacDonogh, p. 18.
  14. ^abCraig, p. 12.
  15. ^abReiners, p. 17.
  16. ^MacDonogh, p. 23.
  17. ^Reiners, p. 265.
  18. ^Sandro Wiggerich (2011),Der Körper als Uniform. Die Normierung der soldatischen Haartracht in Preußen und in der Bundesrepublik,in: Sandro Wiggerich, Steven Kensy (eds.),Staat Macht Uniform. Uniformen als Zeichen staatlicher Macht im Wandel?(=Studien zur Geschichte des Alltags29). Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag, pp. 161–183.ISBN978-3-515-09933-2.
  19. ^abKoch, p. 79.
  20. ^abKoch, p. 86.
  21. ^Koch, p. 83.
  22. ^Craig, p. 11.
  23. ^Clark, p. 97.
  24. ^Koch, p. 88.
  25. ^Craig, pp. 14–15.
  26. ^Koch, p. 89.
  27. ^Koch, p. 100.
  28. ^MacDonogh, p. 141.
  29. ^Koch, p. 111.
  30. ^abCraig, p. 17.
  31. ^Koch, p. 108.
  32. ^Koch, p. 121.
  33. ^Craig, p. 22.
  34. ^Koch, p. 133.
  35. ^Ritter, p. 133.
  36. ^Ritter, p. 134.
  37. ^Blackbourn, p. 17.
  38. ^Fulbrook, p. 52.
  39. ^Citino, p. 110.
  40. ^Citino, pp. 108–109.
  41. ^Hoyer, Katja (2021).Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire(1st ed.). New York: Pegasus Books.ISBN9781643138381.
  42. ^abcCitino, p. 128.
  43. ^Craig, p. 40.
  44. ^Craig, p. 41.
  45. ^abKoch, p. 183.
  46. ^Craig, p. 42.
  47. ^Koch, p. 181.
  48. ^Dierk, Walter.Preussische Heeresreformen 1807–1870: Militärische Innovation und der Mythos der "Roonschen Reform".2003, in Citino, p. 130.
  49. ^Craig, p. 46.
  50. ^Citino, p. 130.
  51. ^Koch, p. 186.
  52. ^Koch, pp. 190–191.
  53. ^Craig, p. 58.
  54. ^Citino, p. 143.
  55. ^Craig, p. 69.
  56. ^Koch, p. 216.
  57. ^Craig, p. 70.
  58. ^Craig, p. 80.
  59. ^Craig, p. 106.
  60. ^Craig, p. 120.
  61. ^Clark, p. 603.
  62. ^Craig, p. 123.
  63. ^Craig, p. 125.
  64. ^Lech Trzeciakowski,Posłowie polscy w Berlinie 1848–1928,p. 68.
  65. ^Craig, p. 139.
  66. ^Craig, p. 148.
  67. ^Citino, p. 148.
  68. ^abcCitino, p. 150.
  69. ^Citino, p. 151.
  70. ^abOriginally in Moltke, Helmuth, Graf Von,Militarische Werke.vol. 2, part 2., pp. 33–40. Found in Hughes, Daniel J. (ed.)Moltke on the Art of War: Selected Writings.(1993). Presidio Press: New York.ISBN0-89141-575-0.pp. 45–47
  71. ^Craig, pp. 190, 217.
  72. ^Clark, p. 558.
  73. ^Geoffrey Wawro.Franco-Prussian War.2003, in Citino, p. 190.
  74. ^Citino, p. 239.
  75. ^Citino, p. 243.
  76. ^Corum, James S. (1992).The Roots of Blitzkrieg: Hans von Seeckt and German Military Reform.Lawrence: University Press of Kansas. p. 30.ISBN978-0-7006-0541-5.
  77. ^Citino, Robert M. (2007).The Path to Blitzkrieg: Doctrine and Training in the German Army, 1920–39.Stackpole Books. p. 16.ISBN978-0-8117-3457-8.
  78. ^Citino, preface xiii.
  79. ^Citino, preface xiv.
  80. ^Jeremy Black.European Warfare, 1660–1815,1945, in Citino, p. 69.
  81. ^Citino, p. 30.
  82. ^Citino, p. 102.
  83. ^Citino, p. 49.
  84. ^Citino, p. 51.
  85. ^Citino, p. 103.
  86. ^Citino, p. 159.
  87. ^Citino, p. 181.
  88. ^Hans Delbrück.Friedrich Karl,in Citino, p. 173.
  89. ^Citino, p. 305.
  90. ^Craig, p. 63.
  91. ^Citino, p. 152.
  92. ^Citino, p. 172.
  93. ^Citino, p. 89.
  94. ^Citino, p. 90.
  95. ^ Bartov, Omer(1992) [1991]. "The Perversion of Discipline".Hitler's Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the Third Reich.New York: Oxford University Press. p. 59.ISBN9780195313512.Retrieved29 July2022.Harsh military discipline had a long tradition in Germany, stretching back to the days of corporeal punishment in the old Prussian army.
  96. ^ Gilbert, Adrian,ed. (2013) [2000]."Warfare in the 18th Century".Encyclopedia of Warfare: From the Earliest Times to the Present Day.London: Routledge. p. 100.ISBN9781135956905.Retrieved29 July2022.Through harsh discipline and endless drill the Prussians achieved a high state of military efficiency.
  97. ^ Möbius, Katrin; Möbius, Sascha (2019).Prussian Army Soldiers and the Seven Years' War: The Psychology of Honour.London: Bloomsbury Publishing (published 2021). p. 31.ISBN9781350081581.Retrieved29 July2022.It seems that like in many other cases of early modern military justice [...], it was mainly the threat of brutal corporal punishments and the death penalty that kept the men in line than an actual lavish use of them by the authorities.

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMilitary of Prussia.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prussian_Army&oldid=1229102067"