Seven Years War Tactics

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One of the greatest contributors of the Seven Years War, Frederick II of Prussia was a military genius, mediocre poet, and strategist; other countries saw him as a monster who could easily deceive others into doing his dirty work. This made Frederick a complete menace because he could get under their skin. Although he was an antagonist of the Seven Years War, Frederick showed that if the Seven Years War was a game of chess, he’d win because of fear, terror, and obedience. Out of three, Frederick’s greatest tactic was fear. The tactics Frederick used to make him an enemy to European empires even though he was a part of a truce that kept the countries at bay. This truce came to an end when Fredrick took control of Silesia after the death of…show more content…
The fire started in his childhood with his father, Frederick William I, “a Calvinist who ruled his household and kingdom with a stern, paternal intolerance of frivolity.” “When the young Frederick showed talents for music and languages, his father prescribed military training.” “At age 18 Frederick attempted to escape to England—where his maternal grandfather, George I was king—in search of personal freedom and a new Prussian alliance with the British. He was caught, court-martialed and forced by his father to watch as his best friend was decapitated.” Frederick’s fear of his father helped him establish a new age of military tactics such as public executions, aggressive battle strategies, and complete enemy surrender. The fear tactic would be later exemplified by countless dictators such as Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Saddam Hussein. During the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763), Frederick secret to win the war was fear. This includes taking battle tactics from different countries, making the first move, and the enforcement of fear. With tactics like these, Frederick would be…show more content…
The terror that Frederick used is based on his autocratic military training. According to Essential Histories, Frederick’s Prussian Army “was achieved by a thorough training in the tactics of marching, extending into line and fire control, and the oblique order employed at Leuthen in 1757 was the high-water mark of this very detailed and disciplined system.” This shows how dedicated Frederick was to winning the Seven Years’ War, but never took it easy on his cadets or their officers. Frederick’s terror tactic came to effect during the Battle of Rossbach on November 5, 1757, where he defeated the French, Holy Roman Empire, and Austria in a three against one
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