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New Publications on Hohenzollern Strategy and the Third Silesian War

Ernst Wentzelmann: Dank- und Siegespredigt..., SPSG, Flugschrift, KnF_1758_01Dr Adam Storring has recently published two chapters on war and strategy in Prussia in the reign of Frederick II (1740-86).

In ‘Hohenzollern Strategy under Frederick II’, published in The Cambridge History of Strategy, Storring places Frederick firmly within the broader context of his dynasty’s strategy over the preceding generations. As one of a series of middle-ranking German dynasties seeking aggrandisement, the Hohenzollerns sought to profit from advantageous circumstances, often during periods when the Austrian Habsburgs – the hegemonic power in the German lands – were temporarily weak. Frederick II’s invasion of the Austrian province of Silesia in 1740 thus reflected not only the king’s own risk-taking personality but also the policy of his family over generations.

Storring’s chapter on ‘The Third Silesian War’, published in The Oxford Handbook of the Seven Years War, re-examines the conflict in central Europe between 1756 and 1763, which saw Prussia surprisingly survive undefeated despite facing a huge coalition of Austria, France, Russia, Sweden and many states of the Holy Roman Empire. The Russians called it ‘the Prussian war’, and it has also been a ‘Prussian war’ in the way historians have written about it, with much less consideration given to non-Prussian participants. Even from the Prussian side, there has been an overwhelming focus on the personality of King Frederick II. Storring emphasizes the need instead to examine the broader Prussian high command within which the king operated.

Prussia has typically been seen as a resource-poor state whose scattered territories left it exposed to attack. Storring argues, however, that the example of the Seven Years War shows that Prussia’s geographical position was not as disadvantageous as might be thought. While outlying possessions were quickly occupied, the scattered nature of the Hohenzollern territories was actually an advantage, as French and Russian armies found it logistically very difficult to cover the great distances necessary to reach the Prussian heartland. The Prussians benefitted from good river communications and mountain barriers, while the central position of the Prussian state allowed Frederick to move troops on interior lines to confront one adversary after another. Recent research has meanwhile shown that Prussia was much better at mobilising resources and bringing them to the theatre of war than its immediate opponents. Scholars have argued that, throughout its history, Prussia’s exposed geography repeatedly obliged it to take the offensive in wars. Storring explains, however, that Frederick actually survived the Seven Years War because of the defensive advantages he enjoyed.

Adam Storring was RECS-Voltaire-Fellow at the Stiftung Preußischer Schlösser und Gärten in 2018. He is currently Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London. His PhD, completed at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Sir Christopher Clark, was awarded the André Corvisier Prize for the best dissertation on military history defended at any university anywhere in the world.

“Our Age”: Frederick the Great, Classical Warfare, and the Uses and Abuses of Military History

Adam Storrings Article “Our Age”: Frederick the Great, Classical Warfare, and the Uses and Abuses of Military History, published / erschienen in International Journal of Military History and Historiography is now available Open-Access / ist jetzt Open-Access verfügbar.

Adam Storring was a RECS-Voltaire-Fellow in December 2018. Currently, he is Lecturer in War Studies at King’s College London.

NEUERSCHEINUNG: ‘Subjective Practices of War: The Prussian Army and the Zorndorf Campaign, 1758’ – Adam L. Storring

Dr Adam Storring’s article ‘Subjective Practices of War: The Prussian Army and the Zorndorf Campaign, 1758’, published in History of Science, uses the figure of King Frederick II of Prussia to integrate the history of military theory – and the practical history of military campaigns and battles – with the history of knowledge. Placing the military treatises read and written by the king alongside the practical example of the Prussian army’s campaign against the Russians in summer 1758 at the height of the Seven Years War (1756–1763), it challenges ideas that the new natural philosophy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (the so-called Scientific Revolution) fostered attempts to make warfare mathematically calculated, and it builds on work showing that seventeenth- and eighteenth-century natural philosophy was much more subjective than previously thought. It shows that both the theory and practice of war – like other branches of knowledge in the long eighteenth century – were fundamentally shaped by the contemporary search for intellectual order, but that the inability to achieve this in practice led to a reliance on subjective judgment and individual, local knowledge. Whereas historians have noted attempts in the eighteenth century to calculate probabilities mathematically, this article shows that war continued to be conceived as the domain of fortune, subject to incalculable chance. Moreover, the examples of Frederick and his subordinate Lieutenant General Count Christoph zu Dohna reveal sharply different contemporary ideas about how to respond to uncertainty in war. Whereas Dohna sought to be ready for chance events and react to them, Frederick actively embraced uncertainty and risk-taking, making chance both a rhetorical argument and a positive choice guiding strategy and tactics.

The article can be viewed in full here – https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0073275320958950 – and the manuscript is available open-access here – https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/310831.

Adam Storring completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Sir Christopher Clark. From October to December 2015, he was Stipendiat of the Bühler-Bolstorff-Stiftung Berlin and the Stiftung Preußischer Schlösser und Gärten (SPSG), and he returned to the SPSG as RECS-Voltaire-Fellow in December 2018. He is currently Early Career Fellow at the Lichtenberg-Kolleg – The Göttingen Institute for Advanced Study.

Buchbesprechung: Adam L. Storring reviews ‘Marcus Warnke, Logistik und friderizianische Kriegsführung’

Adam L. Storring reviews Marcus Warnke’s book Logistik und friderizianische Kriegsführung. Eine Studie zur Verteilung, Mobilisierung und Wirkungsmächtigkeit militärischrelevanter Ressourcen im Siebenjährigen Krieg am Beispiel des Jahres 1757 (Berlin 2018).

Adam Storring was Stipendiat of the Bühler-Bolstorff-Stiftung Berlin and the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten (SPSG) from October to December 2015, and returned to the SPSG as RECS-Voltaire-Fellow in December 2018. He is currently Early Career Fellow at the Lichtenberg-Kolleg – The Göttingen Institute for Advanced Study.

NEUERSCHEINUNG: ‘‘The Age of Louis XIV‘‘: Frederick the Great and French Ways of War – Adam L. Storring

Johann Georg Ziesenis: Friedrich der Große, um 1763, Copyright: SPSG, GK I 1216, Foto: Wolfgang Pfauder

Dr Adam Storring’s article ‘‘The Age of Louis XIV‘‘: Frederick the Great and French Ways of War, published in German History, demonstrates that the military ideas of King Frederick the Great of Prussia up to the Seven Years War (1756–1763) were primarily inspired by France, and particularly by the towering figure of King Louis XIV. It examines the intellectual inspirations for Frederick’s military ideas, showing that French military influence reflected the strength of French cultural influence in the long eighteenth century and the importance of Louis XIV as a model for monarchical self-representation. Frederick’s famous personal command of his armies reflected the Enlightenment concept of the ‘great man’ (grand homme), but Frederick thereby sought primarily to outdo the Sun King, whom Voltaire had criticized for merely accompanying his armies while his generals won battles for him. The example of Frederick thus demonstrates that not only rulers but also enlightened philosophers often looked backwards toward older monarchical examples.

Frederick sought to create his own ‘Age of Louis XIV’ in the military sphere by imitating the great French generals of the Sun King. Frederick’s famous outflanking manoeuvres followed the example of famous French generals, reflecting the practice of the more mobile armies of the mid-seventeenth century. Frederick used French practice to justify his attacks with the bayonet, and his ‘short and lively’ wars reflected French strategic traditions. The evidence of French influence on Frederick seriously challenges concepts of a ‘German Way of War’, and indeed of supposed national ‘ways of war’ in general, emphasizing the need for a transnational approach to the history of military thought.

The article can be viewed in full here – https://academic.oup.com/gh/article-abstract/38/1/24/5560167.

Adam Storring completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Sir Christopher Clark. From October to December 2015, he was Stipendiat of the Bühler-Bolstorff-Stiftung Berlin and the Stiftung Preußischer Schlösser und Gärten (SPSG), and he returned to the SPSG as RECS-Voltaire-Fellow in December 2018. He is currently Early Career Fellow at the Lichtenberg-Kolleg – The Göttingen Institute for Advanced Study.

BildGeschichte #25: Anna Dorothea Therbuschs (geb. von Lisiewska) Hans Joachim von Zieten

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Es gibt wohl keine Persönlichkeit der friderizianischen Geschichte des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts, deren Lebensbeschreibung stärker von Legenden und Anekdoten durchzogen und geprägt ist, als die des Generals der Kavallerie Hans Joachim von Zieten. Berühmt ist er vor allem als „Zieten aus dem Busch“, ein Bild, das ihn mit der für die Husarenwaffe im Krieg so wichtigen Kühnheit, Verwegenheit und Überraschung personifiziert. Wann dieser ehrenvolle Name zum ersten Mal gefallen ist, lässt sich vor dem Hintergrund der leider nur spärlichen Überlieferung nicht mit Bestimmtheit sagen. Doch das Gerücht geht, es sei 1744, zu Beginn des Zweiten Schlesischen Krieges gewesen.

Anna Dorothea Therbusch (geb. von Lisiewska), Hans Joachim von Zieten, Schloss Rheinsberg, Copyright: SPSG, Foto: Roland Handrick

„Joachim Hans von Zieten / Husarengeneral / Dem Feind die Stirne bieten / Er tat’s wohl hundertmal; / Sie haben’s all’ erfahren, / Wie er die Pelze wusch / Mit seinen Leibhusaren, / Der Zieten aus dem Busch.“ Theodor Fontanes Ballade „Der alte Zieten“ aus dem Jahr 1846 hat den General weit über die Grenzen Preußens hinaus populär gemacht. „BildGeschichte #25: Anna Dorothea Therbuschs (geb. von Lisiewska) Hans Joachim von Zieten“ weiterlesen

RECS Voltaire-Fellow wins International Prize – Congratulations, Adam Storring!

Foto: privat

RECS is delighted to congratulate Dr Adam Storring, who has been awarded the André Corvisier Prize by the International Commission of Military History (ICMH) for the best doctoral dissertation on military history defended anywhere in the world in 2018.

Dr Storring completed his dissertation – ‘Frederick the Great and the Meanings of War: 1730 – 1755’ – at St. John’s College, University of Cambridge, under the supervision of the Regius Professor of History, Sir Christopher Clark. The key stage of his archival research in Berlin was funded by a joint fellowship from the Stiftung Preußischer Schlösser und Gärten and the Bühler-Bolstorff-Stiftung Berlin. In December 2018, he returned to RECS as Gastwissenschaftler für Foschungen zur friderizianischen Geschichte.

The Jury praised Dr Storring’s dissertation as ‘an ambitious but not reckless effort to re-interpret King Frederick the Great of Prussia as military commander and military thinker, and, from the perspective of his personality to cast new perspectives on the warfare of his time’.  It noted that, ‘the author maintains that Frederick’s “personal rule” of his army looked not only backwards toward the age of Louis XIV but also forwards toward the Enlightenment and the public sphere.  Dr Storring’s balanced, well-argued and documented conclusion is that certainly Frederick was an able commander, but military histories overwhelmingly focusing on the King himself must be corrected, since the development of Prussian military ideas was a collective effort, as shown by the monarch’s unpublished manuscript correspondence with his generals.’

Dr Storring will be presented with the prize at the ICMH Congress, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 18 to 23 August.

Texte des RECS #33: Die verlorene Ehre des Prinzen von Preußen

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Jürgen Luh (RECS)

Antoine Pesne, Werkstatt: August Wilhelm Prinz von Preußen, Copyright: SPSG, GK I 908, Foto: Wolfgang Pfauder

Der Prinz von Preußen August Wilhelm starb am 12. Juni 1758 auf zweifache Weise: Er starb an Atemnot, an einem „Catarrhe suffocativ“, wie seine Schwester Amalie bezeugte.[1] Und er starb aus Gram über die Behandlung, die er durch seinem Bruder Friedrich erdulden musste, wie ein Gerücht besagte, das sich bis in den Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts hielt. Dass aber Krankheit und Tod des Prinzen die Nachwelt stärker beschäftigten als sein Leben, lag an den Umständen, die dem Ende August Wilhelms vorausgegangen waren. Denn die letzten zwölf Monate seines Lebens wiesen mehr Dramatik auf als die vorausgegangenen fünfunddreißig Jahre. Sie boten reichlich Stoff für Diskussionen, in deren Mittelpunkt das Verhalten des Königs und die Ehre des Prinzen standen. Das Geschehen, Friedrichs Verhalten, August Wilhelms Charakter und Verteidigung sollen in den folgenden vier Kapiteln neu betrachtet und bewertet werden. „Texte des RECS #33: Die verlorene Ehre des Prinzen von Preußen“ weiterlesen

Texte des RECS #28: Überlegungen zu Wirkung und Wesen Friedrichs des Großen

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Jürgen Luh, RECS

Joseph Uphues, Statue Friedrichs II., Rückfront, Standort vor Gartendirektionsgebäude im Park Sanssouci, 1889, Copyright: SPSG, Skulpt.slg. 554, Foto: Hans Bach

Über die spannende Persönlichkeit Friedrichs II. von Preußen, den bereits viele Zeitgenossen und ein beträchtlicher Teil der Nachwelt den Großen nannten, lässt sich noch immer Neues herausfinden. Das liegt zuallererst an der Rezeption. Denn seine Geschichte ist zuallererst die Geschichte seiner Wirkung. Erst danach, erst in zweiter Linie ist sie die seines Wesens. Und zu diesem Phänomen hat Friedrich selbst bedeutend beigetragen. „Texte des RECS #28: Überlegungen zu Wirkung und Wesen Friedrichs des Großen“ weiterlesen

Flugschriften aus der Zeit des Siebenjährigen Krieges

In einem gemeinsamen Projekt des RECS mit dem Urban Complexity Lab (UCLAB) der Fachhochschule Potsdam sind 208 Flugschriften aus der Gerhard-Knoll-Forschungsbibliothek der Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg aufbereitet, erschlossen und visualisiert worden. Sie stehen nun online zur Verfügung:

https://vikusviewer.fh-potsdam.de/recs/

Gefördert wurde das Projekt durch die Bühler-Bolstorff-Stiftung Berlin.