“Frederick the Great on the Art of War” is a wonderful compendium of thought put together by military historian Jay Luvaas. Here, Luvaas brilliantly sorts Frederick’s various writings and notes into ten categorical chapters: 1. Frederick and the Art of War, 2. The Sovereign and the Study of War, 3. The Military Instrument, 4. The Army on Campaign, 5. The Anatomy of Battle, 6. First Lessons in Tactics, 7. From the Pages of History, 8, The New War of Positions, 8. Strategy, 10. Generalship as an Art. This is supplemented with an appendix that includes: glossary of some 18th-century military terms and pertinent dates in the life of Frederick the Great. In addition, Luvaas complements Frederick’s work with insightful comments, references, and helpful maps, diagrams, and images. In one intriguing example of Luvaas' wide-ranging commentary, he includes a snippet from Voltaire’s “Candide,” where Candide is impressed (no pun intended) through trickery into the Prussian army by two of Frederick’s henchmen.
To give you an idea as to the challenge Luvaas faced as a translator and editor of Frederick’s numerous writings: To somewhat outdo Marshal Saxe ("Reveries") and Guibert ("Essai Général De Tactique"), Frederick wrote a number of military treatises: "Instructions of Frederick the Great to His Generals" (1747); "Principes Généraux" (1748), "Testament Politique" (1752), "Testament Militaire" (1768), and "Elements de Castrametrie [process of laying out camps] et de Tactique" (1771).
In reading the book, I came away with the fact that it was not the battles won by King of Prussia Frederick II (the Great) that made him a great general, but rather his political acumen and his conforming strategy with political reality. Frederick never stopped urging his generals to ceaseless vigilance over drill, in war and peace.
Discipline, training, quick march, and oblique order yielded many victories for Frederick. BTW, from my research outside the book, one report has Frederick’s incessantly trained troops being able to fire their muskets six times per minute, versus a seemingly almost unbeatable four times per minute by the very best modern reenactors. Also of note: Baron von Steuben reportedly served as a captain on Frederick the Great’s staff. Von Steuben took his knowledge to America, where he trained a cadre of Washington’s soldiers, whom he, in turn, used to teach the whole of Washington’s army.
In "Instructions of Frederick the Great to His Generals," Frederick wrote, “It is axiomatic that you must secure your own flanks and rear, and turn those of the enemy. This may be done in a variety of ways, although all are manifestations of the same principle. … The choice of ground is my first concern; the arrangement for the battle itself is second. Here my Oblique Order of battle can be employed to good advantage. By refusing or holding back one wing to the enemy and reinforcing the attacking wing, you can hit the enemy wing that you wish to take in flank with the bulk of your force. An army of 100,000 that is outflanked will soon resign itself to the inevitable.”
Bottom line: Well-written and well-researched, this is a must-have book for anyone interested in military strategy.
Check out some of William J. Bahr’s books: Strategy Pure and Simple: Essential Moves for Winning in Competition and Cooperation and
George Washington's Liberty Key: Mount Vernon's Bastille Key – the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul, a best-seller at Mount Vernon. “Character is Key for Liberty!”
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- Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2020
- Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2009
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- Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2023
Top reviews from other countries
- EricReviewed in Brazil on December 5, 2021
Not just a military manual, but a historical record of the military science of the period.
- sudhir kalaReviewed in India on February 19, 2018
Appears v Good, but yet to complete reading the book
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2018
An amazing scholarly work and compilation of der Alte Fritz‘s cacophony ...
