Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, "Armour Plates" to "Arundel, Earls of"

31. _Frederick the Great._--The military career of Frederick the Great

648 words | Chapter 39

is very different from those of his predecessors. With an army organized on the customary system, and trained and equipped, better indeed, but still on the same lines as those of his rivals, the king of Prussia achieved results out of all proportion to those imagined by contemporary soldiers. It is to his campaigns, therefore, that the student must refer for the real, if usually latent, possibilities of the army of the 18th century. The prime secret of his success lay in the fact that he was his own master, and responsible to no superior for the uses to which he put his men. This position had never, since the introduction of standing armies, been attained by any one, even Eugene and Leopold of Dessau being subject to the common restriction; and with this extraordinary advantage over his opponents, Frederick had further the firmness and ruthless energy of a great commander. Prussia, moreover, was more strictly organized than other countries, and there was relatively little of that opposition of local authorities to the movement of troops which was conspicuous in Austria. The military successes of Prussia, therefore, up to 1757, were not primarily due to the system and the formal tactics, but were the logical outcome of greater energy in the leading, and less friction in the administration, of her armies. But the conditions were totally different in 1758-1762, when the full force of the alliance against Prussia developed itself in four theatres of war. Frederick was driven back to the old methods of making war, and his men were no longer the soldiers of Leuthen and Hohenfriedberg. If discipline was severe before, it was merciless then; the king obtained men by force and fraud from every part of Germany, and had both to repress and to train them in the face of the enemy. That under such conditions, and with such men, the weaker party finally emerged triumphant, was indeed a startling phenomenon. Yet its result for soldiers was not the production of the national army, though the dynastic forces had once more shown themselves incapable of compassing decisive victories, nor yet the removal of the barrier between army and people, for the operations of Frederick's recruiting agents made a lasting impression, and, further, large numbers of men who had thought to make a profession of arms were turned adrift at the end of the war. On the contrary, all that the great and prolonged _tour de force_ of these years produced was a tendency, quite in the spirit of the age, to make a formal science out of the art of war. Better working and better methods were less sought after than systematization of the special practices of the most successful commanders. Thus Frederick's methods, since 1758 essentially the same as those of others, were taken as the basis of the science now for the first time called "strategy," the fact that his opponents had also practised it without success being strangely ignored. Along with this came a mania for imitation. Prussian drill, uniforms and hair-powder were slavishly copied by every state, and for the next twenty years, and especially when the war-trained officers and men had left active service, the purest pedantry reigned in all the armies of Europe, including that of Prussia. One of the ablest of Frederick's subordinates wrote a book in which he urged that the cadence of the infantry step should be increased by one pace per minute. The only exceptions to the universal prevalence of this spirit were in the Austrian army, which was saved from atrophy by its Turkish wars, and in a few British and French troops who served in the American War of Independence. The British regiments were sent to die of fever in the West Indies; when the storm of the French Revolution broke over Europe, the Austrian army was the only stable element of resistance.

Chapters

1. Chapter 1 2. 1. _Stone Age._--One of the chief problems which have perplexed 3. 2. _Bronze Age._--It is impossible to assign any date as the beginning 4. 3. _Early Greek Weapons._--The character of the weapons used by the 5. 4. _Greek, Historical._--The equipment does not differ generically from 6. 5. _Roman._--The equipment of the Roman soldier, like the organization 7. 6. _English from the Norman Conquest._--It is unnecessary here to trace 8. 7. _Fire-arms._ (For the development of cannon, see ARTILLERY and 9. 1. _Early Armies._--It is only with the evolution of the specially 10. 2. _Persia._--Drawn from a hardy and nomadic race, the armies of Persia 11. 3. _Greece._--The Homeric armies were tribal levies of foot, armed with 12. 4. _Sparta._--So much is common to the various states. In Sparta the 13. 5. _Greek Mercenaries._--The military system of the 4th century was not 14. 6. _Epaminondas._--Not many years after this, Spartan oppression roused 15. 7. _Alexander._--The reforms of Alexander's father, Philip of Macedon, 16. 8. _Carthage._--The military systems of the Jews present few features of 17. 9. _Roman Army under the Republic._--The earliest organization of the 18. 10. _Characteristics of the Roman Army._--Such in outline was the Roman 19. 11. _Roman Empire._--The essential weaknesses of militia forces and the 20. 12. _The "Dark Ages."_--In western Europe all traces of Roman military 21. 13. _The Byzantines_ (cf. article ROMAN EMPIRE, LATER).--While the west 22. 14. _Feudalism._--From the military point of view the change under 23. 15. _Medieval Mercenaries._--It was natural, therefore, that a sovereign 24. 16. _Infantry in Feudal Times._--These mercenary foot soldiers came as a 25. 17. _The Crusades._--It is an undoubted fact that the long wars of the 26. 18. _The Period of Transition_ (1290-1490).--Besides the infantry 27. 19. _The Condottieri._--The immediate result of this confused period of 28. 20. _The Swiss._--The best description of a typical European army at the 29. 21. _The Landsknechts._--The modern army owes far more of its 30. 22. _The Spanish Army._--The tendencies towards professional soldiering 31. 23. _The Sixteenth Century._--The battle of St Quentin (1557) is usually 32. 24. _Dutch System._--The most interesting feature of the Dutch system, 33. 25. _The Thirty Years' War._--Hitherto all armies had been raised or 34. 26. _The Swedish Army._--The Swedish army was raised by a carefully 35. 27. _The English Civil War_ (see GREAT REBELLION).--The armies on either 36. 28. _Standing Armies._--Nine years after Nordlingen, the old Spanish 37. 29. _Character of the Standing Armies._--A peculiar character was from 38. 30. _Organization in the 18th Century._--All armies were now almost 39. 31. _Frederick the Great._--The military career of Frederick the Great 40. 32. _The French Revolution._--Very different were the armies of the 41. 33. _The Conscription._--In 1793, at a moment when the danger to France 42. 34. _Napoleon._--Revolutionary government, however, gave way in a few 43. 35. _The Grande Armee._--In 1805-1806, when the older spirit of the 44. 36. _The Wars of Liberation._--The Prussian defeat at Jena was followed 45. 37. _European Armies 1815-1870._--The events of the period 1815-1859 46. 38. _Modern Developments._--Since 1870, then, with the single exception 47. 39. The main principles of all military organization as developed in 48. 40. _Compulsory Service._--Universal liability to service (_allgemeine 49. 41. _Conscription_ in the proper sense, i.e. selection by lot of a 50. 42. _Voluntary Service._--Existing voluntary armies have usually 51. 43. The militia idea (see MILITIA) has been applied most completely in 52. 44. _Arms of the Service._--Organization into "arms" is produced by the 53. 45. _Command._--The first essential of a good organization is to ensure 54. 46. A _brigade_ is the command of a brigadier or major-general, or of a 55. 47. A _division_ is an organization containing troops of all arms. Since 56. 48. _Army Corps._--The "corps" of the 18th century was simply a large 57. 49. _Constitution of the Army Corps._--In 1870-71 the III. German army 58. 50. _Army._--The term "army" is applied, in war time, to any command of 59. 51. _Chief Command._--The leading of the "group of armies" referred to 60. 52. The _Chief of the General Staff_ is, as his title implies, the chief 61. 53. _First and Second Lines._--The organization into arms and units is 62. 54. _War Reserves._--In war, the reserves increase the field armies to 63. 55. The military characteristics of the various types of regular troops 64. 56. The transfer of troops from the state of peace to that of war is 65. 57. _Territorial System._--The feudal system was of course a territorial 66. 58. _Army Administration._--The existing systems of command and 67. 59. _Branches of Administration._--In these circumstances the only 68. 60. Prior to the Norman Conquest the armed force of England was 69. 61. It is difficult to summarize the history of the army between the 70. 62. The first years of the Great Rebellion (q.v.) showed primarily the 71. 63. James II., an experienced soldier and sailor, was more obstinate 72. 64. Under William the army was considerably augmented. The old regiments 73. 65. Before passing to the great French Revolutionary wars, from which a 74. 66. The first efforts of the army in the long war with France did not 75. 67. The period which elapsed between Waterloo and the Crimean War is 76. 68. The Indian Mutiny of 1857, followed by the transference of the 77. 69. The period of reform commences therefore with 1870, and is connected 78. 70. Historically, the Indian army grew up in three distinct divisions, 79. 71. _Madras._--The first armed force in the Madras presidency was the 80. 72. _Bombay._--The island of Bombay formed part of the marriage 81. 73. _Consolidation of the Army._--In 1796 a general reorganization 82. 74. _The Army before the Mutiny._--The officering and recruiting of 83. 75. _The Reorganization._--By the autumn of 1858 the mutiny was 84. 76. _The Modern Army._--The college at Addiscombe was closed in 1860, 85. 77. In the earliest European settlements in Canada, the necessity of 86. 78. The _Landsknecht_ infantry constituted the mainstay of the imperial 87. 79. The Austrians, during the short peace which preceded the war of 88. 80. The Austrian system has conserved much of the peculiar tone of the 89. 81. The French army (see for further details FRANCE: _Law and 90. 82. The artillery had been an industrial concern rather than an arm of 91. 83. The last half of the 17th century is a brilliant period in the 92. 84. If Louis was the creator of the royal army, Carnot was so of the 93. 85. One of the first acts of the Restoration was to abolish the 94. 86. At the outbreak of the Franco-German War (q.v.) the French field 95. 87. The German army, strictly speaking, dates only from 1871, or at 96. 88. The bitter humiliation and suffering endured under the French yoke 97. 89. The _Saxon Army_ formerly played a prominent part in all the wars of 98. 90. The _Bavarian Army_ has perhaps the most continuous record of good 99. 91. _Wurttemberg_ furnishes one army corps (XIII.; headquarters, 100. 92. The old _Hanoverian Army_ disappeared, of course, with the 101. 93. The old conscription law of the kingdom of Sardinia is the basis of 102. 94. The history of the Russian army begins with the abolition of the 103. 95. The feudal sovereignties of medieval Spain differed but little, in 104. 96. With the Italian wars of the early 16th century came the 105. 97. The military history of Spain from 1650 to 1700 is full of 106. 98. The writers who have left the most complete and trustworthy 107. 99. The regular army of the United States has always been small. From 108. 100. _Dutch and Belgian Armies._--The military power of the "United 109. 101. _Swiss Army._--The inhabitants of Switzerland were always a hardy 110. 102. The _Swedish Army_ can look back with pride to the days of 111. 103. The existing Army of _Portugal_ dates from the Peninsular War, 112. 104. The _Rumanian, Bulgarian_ and _Servian_ armies are the youngest 113. 1804. Arnault died at Goderville on the 16th of September 1834. 114. 1848. In 1861 he became a member of the Lower Austrian diet and in 1869 115. 1785. After being educated at a convent school in Fritzlar, she lived 116. 1822. When it is said that he was the son of the famous Dr Arnold of 117. 1827. In June 1828 he received priest's orders; in April end November of 118. 4. Spike of fruits. Showing in succession (from below) female flowers, 119. 3000. It lies in a pleasant undulating country at an elevation of 900 120. introduction of European spirits and methods of manufacture is gradually 121. 500. This was soon transferred to Cambrai, but brought back to its 122. 1. Warrants are ordinarily granted by justices of the peace on 123. 2. The officers who may arrest without warrant are,--justices of the 124. 3. A private person is bound to arrest for a felony committed in his 125. 4. The arrest by hue and cry is where officers and private persons are 126. 1826. They are under the direction of maritime prefects, who, by a 127. 1. Daughter of Lysimachus, king of Thrace, first wife of Ptolemy II. 128. 2. Daughter of Ptolemy I. Soter and Berenice. Born about 316 B.C., she 129. 3. Daughter of Ptolemy III. Euergetes, sister and wife of Ptolemy IV. 130. 4. Youngest daughter of Ptolemy XIII. Auletes, and sister of the famous 131. 819. The streets of the town were widened and improved in 1869. 132. 1. Brother of Darius I., and, according to Herodotus, the trusted 133. 2. Vizier of Xerxes (Ctesias, _Pers_. 20), whom he murdered in 465 B.C. 134. 3. A satrap of Bactria, who revolted against Artaxerxes I., but was 135. 4. ARTABANUS I., successor of his nephew Phraates II. about 127 B.C., 136. 5. ARTABANUS II. c. A.D. 10-40, son of an Arsacid princess (Tac. _Ann_. 137. 18. 9). In A.D. 35 he tried anew to conquer Armenia, and to establish 138. 6. ARTABANUS III. reigned a short time in A.D. 80 (on a coin of this 139. 7. ARTABANUS IV., the last Parthian king, younger son of Vologaeses IV., 140. 1. ARTAXERXES I., surnamed _Macrocheir, Longimanus_, "Longhand," because 141. 2. ARTAXERXES II., surnamed _Mnemon_, the eldest son of Darius II., whom 142. 3. ARTAXERXES III. is the title adopted by Ochus, the son of Artaxerxes 143. 1876. Since 1905 the Art Collections Fund, a society of private 144. part ii. of Lankester's _Treatise on Zoology_). 145. 5. Lankester, "Observations and Reflections on the Appendages and 146. 1622. Of the numerous later editions, the best is that of Achille le 147. 1. _Early Artillery._--Mechanical appliances for throwing projectiles 148. 2. _The Beginnings of Field Artillery._--It is clear, from such evidence 149. 3. _The 16th Century._--In the Italian wars waged by Charles VIII., 150. 4. _The Thirty Years' War._--Such, in its broadest outlines, is the 151. 5. _Personnel and Classification._--More than 300 years after the first 152. 6. _The English Civil War._--Even in the English Civil War (Great 153. 7. _Artillery Progress, 1660-1740._--Cromwell's practice of relegating 154. 8. _Artillery in the Wars of Frederick the Great._--By the time of 155. 9. _Gribeauval's Reforms._--At the commencement of the 18th century, 156. 10. _British Artillery, 1793-1815._--Meanwhile the numbers of the 157. 11. _French Revolutionary Wars._--During the long wars of the French 158. 12. _Napoleon's Artillery Tactics._--During the war the French artillery 159. 13. _Artillery, 1815-1865._--Henceforward, therefore, the history of 160. 14. _The Franco-German War, 1870-71._--In the next great war, that of 161. 15. _Results of the War._--The tactical lessons of the war, so far as 162. 16. _Quick-firing Field Guns._--In 1891, a work by General Wille of the 163. 17. _Time Shrapnel._--The power of modern artillery owes even more to 164. 18. _Heavy Field, Siege and Garrison Artillery._--Amongst other results 165. 19. _Field Artillery Organization._--A _battery_ of field artillery 166. introduction of the quick-firing gun, the tendency towards small 167. 20. _Ammunition._--The vehicles of a battery include (besides guns and 168. 21. _Interior Economy._--The organization and interior economy of a 169. 22. _Special Natures of Field Artillery._--_Horse Artillery_ differs 170. 23. _Heavy Ordnance._--_Heavy Field Artillery_, officially defined as 171. 24. _Higher Organization of Artillery._--The higher units, in almost 172. 25. _Grouping of the Artillery._--The "corps artillery" (formerly the 173. 26. _General Characteristics of Field Artillery Action._--The duty of 174. 27. _Occupation of a Position._--This depends primarily upon 175. introduction of the shield. A great advantage of retired positions is 176. introduction of the shield. The disadvantage of extra weight and 177. 28. _Laying._--"Elevation" may be defined as the vertical inclination of 178. 29. _Ranging_[4] (except on the French system alluded to below) is, 179. 30. An example of the ordinary method of ranging, adapted from _Field 180. 31. _Observation of Fire_, on the accuracy of which depends the success 181. 32. _Fire._--Field Artillery ranges are classed in the British service 182. 33. _Projectiles Employed._--"Time shrapnel," say the German Field 183. 34. _Tactics of Field Artillery._--On the march, the position and 184. 35. Field artillery in _defence_, which would presumably be inferior to 185. 36. _Marches._--The importance of having the artillery well up at the 186. 37. _Power and Mobility._--It will have been made clear that every gun 187. 38. _Concentration and Dispersion._--The use of their artillery made by 188. 39. _Horse Artillery_ is to be regarded as field artillery of great 189. 40. _Field Howitzers_ are somewhat less mobile than field guns; they 190. 41. _Heavy Field Artillery_, alternatively called _Artillery of 191. 1. As regards the teeth, we have the passage of a simply tubercular, or 192. 2. As regards the limbs. Reduction of the ulna from a complete and 193. 3. Change of form of the odontoid process of the second or axis 194. 4. Development of horns or antlers on the frontal bones, and gradual 195. 5. By inference only, increasing complication of stomach with ruminating 196. 1907. In every direction there has been a tendency to increase prices 197. 1884. The Artists' Society, formed in 1830, has for its object the

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