Army of Frederick the Great

by Christopher Duffy

some of Duffy's best work

Genres: Military History, History, Germany, Nonfiction, 18th Century, Military Fiction, War

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1974

About the author

Christopher Duffy (born 1936) is a British military historian. Duffy read history at Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1961 with the PhD. Afterwards, he taught military history at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the college of the British General Staff. He was secretary-general of the British Commission for Military History and vice-president of the History Society of Ireland. From 1996 to 2001, he was research professor at the De Montfort University, Leicester. Today he lives and works as a freelance author.

Duffy's special interest is the military history of the European modern age, in particular the history of the German, Prussian and Austrian armed forces. He is most famous for his writings about the Seven Years' War and especially Frederick the Great, which he called self-ironically "a product of the centuries-old British obsession with that most un-British of creatures". Duffy is fluent in six languages and has published some twenty books about military history topics, whereof several were translated into German.

Reviews

[Dimitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weapons and uniforms of the three arms. Recruitment, training and tactics. The unusual stuff for "the army of.." Duffy, the practicing military historian, starts to shine when he walks from the "teeth" to the "tail": logistics, finances and the miserly medical services.

Are his battle descriptions unsurpassed? Not quite.

Perhaps the 1970s were too early to fashionably walk the grounds of every battlefield over 7 years in the same season and hours, especially with the Iron Curtain in place..

.. Yet he tells us how the gaiter is fastened in practice, how the grenadier hat sits, how narrow the hilt of the Hussar sabre as you wring your hand into it, how the horses' diet differs from modern recommendations, how 30 kg of luggage strapped around your tight ovetcoat weighs down on a summer march, where concentric rings of cavalry spy in every direction...

All together, he comes close to ripping the veil of the snow-covered fields around Leuthen, where the stooped figure on the great grey horse fixes you with a blue eye.

Frederik's contemporaries speak for themselves on what happens next in terms of carnage and the aftermath.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher Duffy, one of the true experts on 18th century European warfare examines the structure, men, weapons and actions of that era's best army: the Prussian army of Frederick the Great in this classic work. Without going into too many details, it should be noted that this army has the reputation of being a carefully-controlled array of automatons, when actually the role of the individual soldiers and commanders was an important component in it's best period. One should not get too teary-eyed about this: Old Fritz was not a nice guy, Prussia was an absolute monarchy and his aggression against his neighbors help set Germany down the path of a militaristic Prussian domination, which in the end created a catastrophe. But that, I admit, is something of an anachronism; Frederick was a character of his own time, and was perfectly suited to a Europe that didn't enjoy the pleasures of mass politics or media. His army was recruited, to a great degree, from foreign mercenaries, who weren't much interested in the political questions of the day. Duffy handles all this with aplomb, and the volume is well-written, well-illustrated and copiously supplied with well-drawn maps. I think he pays a bit too much attention to uniform and hat colors, but I know that there are those who enjoy such detail, so I'll let it slide. A very good book indeed on one of history's great armed forces.

[Forrest · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid history of the King of Prussia's army and it's times. Duffy touches on all aspects of the army's components. From recruitment to retirement (or, more likely, post-service destitution), The Army of Frederick the Great outlines the career trajectory of the common soldier, NCO, and noble officers that served under their warrior-king. The social and economic aspects of the army are also explored, showing that, since the 18th-Century, at least, military service hasn't changed a lot. I should know - I was raised as an Air Force brat.

The last section of the book covers some of the major actions of the Seven Years' War, but is a little short on detail.

While I appreciate a good, solid history, I felt that this book could have been so much more. I wanted to hear more of the soldiers' voices, more of their recollections, and less of Duffy's explanations. A good historian explains; a great historian lets the past speak for itself from the primary source material, acting as a co-observer more than a lecturer. I had picked this book up to provide me with reading material while I did edits on my novel Heraclix & Pomp, which takes place in 18th-Century Central Europe (but only peripherally involves Prussia). I'm through with this book, but not through with my edits. Thus, I am left now to look for other accounts of the Seven Years' War which are, alas, in short supply.

[Sean Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another insightful Duffy work. The Prussian army of this age was a mass of contradictions. They had superb infantry and cavalry, but mediocre artillery and siege tactics. Frederick II favored nobles to an extreme degree and his medical service was poor; old veterans of all ranks could not expect anything like the medical care the French and Austrians were offering. Yet, Frederick had a good rapport with his men and made sure they were well fed and clothed. Even the infantry was a contradiction. They were held together by iron discipline and were masters of rapid fire, but proved to be terrible shots and had to use one of the worst muskets in all of Europe.

I want to frame the last three lines of the book on my wall.

[Robert Neil Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher Duffy, The Army of Frederick the Great, 2nd Edition (Helion, 2020)
It might seem odd to review a book first written in 1974, but Christopher Duffy makes it clear this new edition is not a rehash but a ‘radical refashioning’ of what was already a seminal work on the Prussian Army under its greatest commander. In the thirty years since its release, Duffy has continued studying Frederick the Great’s army, reviewed his earlier findings, and revised his thinking on some key aspects: that is how the practice of history is supposed to work.
After surveying the historical background of Prussia and the pivotal role of the military in its survival and success, Duffy examines each element of the already impressive army that Frederick inherited. He begins with Frederick as King and Commander; how he managed and led his army through vigilance and discipline. Duffy works his way through the command structure in characteristic detail then recruitment, training, and conditions of service. Frederick also bent the Prussian economy to the service of the military and the State, which became synonymous for the most part. Each of the main elements of the army comes under Duffy’s careful gaze, beginning with the all important Infantry. He takes us through their organization, equipment, and tactical formations and practice, recognizing their strengths and deficiencies. The brilliant Prussian Cavalry is next with Duffy stressing that this was Frederick’s creation rather than his inheritance. Frederick’s understanding of artillery, however, proved a great weakness. He also had little time for his Navy, but the King’s grasp of engineering and logistics enabled Frederick to gain the strategic advantage for most of his campaigns.
It was Frederick’s application of concentration of force, iron discipline, and extraordinary energy that made him so effective strategically and tactically, and Duffy highlights this through a narrative description of Frederick’s wars and battles. The King was not always successful, of course, and the procession of battles inevitably weakened the army, but Prussia survived the onslaughts of the Seven Years War, a major achievement in itself. The stalemate that ended the War of the Bavarian Succession, however, demonstrated the decay that had set into the Prussian Army for what was Frederick’s last campaign. Duffy concludes with a consideration of Frederick’s military legacy that did not survive intact in practical terms through Napoleon’s military revolution, but there is no doubt surrounding his greatness in his own lifetime.
The Army of Frederick the Great is a detailed and comprehensive work that is essential reading for anyone interested in 18th Century warfare. Duffy covers everything you need to know about Frederick’s army and then some. This new edition is well written, with effectively deployed quotes from Prussian and foreign observers, placing Frederick’s army in its European context. The text is liberally sprinkled with illustrations and maps, though some colour plates might have been helpful. Duffy’s use of bullet points is also a bit irritating, and avoidable, as are the occasional typos. Nevertheless, what was a pivotal work in 1974 remains so today in its upgraded version, and I suspect will continue to be that way in the future. Highly recommended.

[TS Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frederick the Great has always had a place in my own little pantheon of heroes. There is a bust of him on my mantle, similar to the one at Washington's Mount Vernon, but smaller. I still love Gerhard Ritter's apologetic biography of him, based on the thirty volumes of his oeuvre and his extensive correspondence with philosophes. But Duffy's work forced me to re-assess the Old Fritz. As a soldier, Frederick the Great was an ugly and unlikable man. He was unspeakably and unnecessarily cruel: his main source of intelligence was the torture of peasants and he ordered his doctors to allow soldiers whose wounds would leave them crippled to die. He had no sympathy, or even tolerance, for those who could not serve him. His vaunted army, moreover, was fit for purpose but far from excellent. Frederick "delighted in the whimsical and arbitrary" and his subordinates adopted his attitudes. His famous maneuvers were really ceremonials dedicated to himself of limited training value. A shocking number of his officers were illiterate. Their "noble" lives were still gilded: in the 1770s Frederick spent one and a half million thalers on jeweled snuff boxes for them (compared to eight million thalers spent on all fortifications). A man's flaws, perhaps, are most visible when viewed from the perspective of his subordinates, and so this detailed military biography lays bare Frederick's numerous failings.

[Peter Corrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly excellent summary of the Frederican Army by a British historian and expert on the 18th century European armies. Despite some inherently dry material on the organization, composition, training, discipline, uniforms and methods of the Mid-1700s Prussian Army, the book flows well and is leavened with small bits of humor here and there. I cannot bring myself to 5-stars just due to some of the material itself, but for what it attempts you could not do much better and in a concise and readable way. If you have ever wondered about the difference between hussars, dragoons, and curassiers in the cavalry or between fusiliers, garde and grenadiers among the infantry, this is the book for you! There are numerous interesting line drawings (B&W, which is both a plus and minus) and sketches of key leaders, uniforms, formations and tactics and a slew of simple but very useful maps on the major battles of the Silesian Wars and the 7-years. In fact, the maps depictions of infantry and cavalry units on various battlefields shaded according to their losses was something I have never seen and extremely useful to understanding what happened. The great leaders of Frederick's war engine are profiled briefly, but often with surprising humor including 'The Old Dessauer', v. Winterfeldt, v. Zieten, v. Seydlitz and v. Schwerin among others. The appendices are also extremely useful with brief histories of apparently every regiment in the Prussian Army! For a wargame designer there could not be a more useful summary. He has also has written extensively on the Austrian Army of the era, fortification warfare, a bio of Frederick, and other random books on military history. I actually read another of Duffy's books 'Red Storm on the Reich' years ago it turns out. This will not be my last Christopher Duffy book I hope!

[Kevin Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I was a bit surprised with how the King (Frederick) treated people. To hold a grudge forever is hard for most people to do. But the King seemed to do this all the time. This book is not an easy read, but if you have interest in the age and or style of warfare this book is perfect to start. I did like the way the book broke down the items of the Army (Officer, Training, Recruitment, Food, and everything else) into chapters. So it was easy to follow a lad from a farm hand to a trainee to a war machine cog. Mr. Duffy did a good job.

[Chris Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent maps, very informative. Missing couple battle maps and campaign map.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book on Fred the Great. Would give it a higher ratings but my interest in 18th Century warfare is limited and the book is less a detailed analysis of the Frederick the Great's army than a narrative military history. Probably my favorite chapter was the last one "Frederick and War" which contains Duffy's thought's on Frederick's greatness as a Military leader. I was suprised to learn how big armies were back in the 18th century. Per Duffy in 1772 the Russian Prussian, and Austrians armies were all in the 200 thousand range. Which is astounding when you realize the Us army was 16,000 in 1860! He also disproves the common belief that 18th century warfare was "clean and honorable". Almost 500,000 civilians in Prussia wither fled or died durng the Seven years war. That's out of total population of 4.5 million.

[Bettie]

to look into further but the stats look good don't they!?

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful discussions of the army. Plus nice maps at the end. Very little you can't find elsewhere, however.