Thomas Nora on Frederick the Great and the Seven Years

Herbert J. Redman. Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, 1756-1763. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014. 608 pp. $39.95, paper, ISBN 978-0-7864-7669-5. Reviewed by Thomas Nora Published on H-War (October, 2016) Commissioned by Margaret Sankey (Air University) Herbert J. Redman’s Frederick the Great and Maxen (chapter 37). Additional European battles the Seven Years’ War, 1756-1763 provides a tradi‐ involving neither the Prussian king nor his army tional military history of the Prussian king’s last are summarized as necessary to contextualize great war. As made clear in the preface, this Eng‐ Frederick’s maneuvers, whereas overseas con‐ lish-language account of the Seven Years’ War is flicts receive only passing mention. intended to revitalize a topic left dormant for For this volume, Redman relies on solid sec‐ much of the prior century. Redman explicitly tar‐ ondary sources. The bibliography reveals substan‐ gets an American audience more familiar with tial and significant English-language works, in‐ the concurrent French and Indian War. Beyond cluding several important biographies. Unfortu‐ filling this historical gap, Redman notes the con‐ nately, Tim Blanning’s Frederick the Great: King flict’s long-term importance in promoting both in Prussia (2016) was published too recently to be Frederick’s and Prussia’s martial reputations, thus included. Classic military monographs by Christo‐ fostering German militarism that endured pher Duffy and Dennis Showalter were consulted. through World War II. German histories from the eighteenth, nineteenth, Redman’s narrative is highly detailed. Follow‐ and early twentieth centuries are also prominent. ing a brief introductory chapter, the book pro‐ Leaning heavily on these older works, Red‐ ceeds methodically across ffty-two chapters di‐ man provides a dense, traditional narrative of the vided into eight parts. Each part covers a single Seven Years’ War. True to his intention, he de‐ campaign season from the invasion of Saxony in scribes both Frederick’s victories and disasters in 1756 through the stalemate of 1762, with the ex‐ minute detail, with pages relating individual bat‐ ception of parts 2 and 3, which together relate the talions’ triumphs and rewards, as well as their exceptionally eventful campaign of 1757. The costs and defeats. Peppering these accounts are chapters in turn focus on Frederick’s annual ma‐ familiar but entertaining anecdotes, such as Fred‐ neuvers, the resultant battles, and the actions’ af‐ erick’s speech before Leuthen and his despairing termath, including political developments among dispatches following Kunersdorf. Though lacking the warring states. A few chapters cover signifi‐ the same level of detail presented in the text, cant Prussian engagements not directly involving forty-two maps helpfully appear at the end of the Frederick, such as the Battles of Gross-Jägersdorf book to complement Redman’s battle accounts. (chapter 13), Züllichau/Paltzig (chapter 30), and H-Net Reviews While there is much to be found in the book, conservative opponents, yet the latter’s difficulty there are serious issues. First, the volume would mimicking such celebrated tactics as the Prus‐ have benefited from additional editing. Footnotes sians’ oblique order is relegated to an endnote (p. sometimes appear almost arbitrarily, scattered 52n22). By not contextualizing Frederick’s deci‐ among chapter titles, paragraphs, and individual sions and innovations, the book does not suffi‐ sentences. Works are often quoted unnecessarily. ciently support its periodic assertion that he was In addition to a few typographical errors, there arguably “the greatest tactician of modern histo‐ are a large number of sentence fragments that ry” (pp. 167, 206). make the writing appear choppy. Although the Third, the book does not fully engage recent publisher and copy editor should receive part of literature on this era, instead following the inter‐ the blame, the author is ultimately responsible. pretation of older German works. As the volume Second, the lengthy battle narratives leave lit‐ still incorporates some new material, the result‐ tle room for discussing related topics of varying ing synthesis produces a disjointed narrative. For importance. The book notes that it is not a diplo‐ example, Hans Joachim von Zieten’s performance matic history, but its framing of political develop‐ at Torgau and the controversy surrounding Fred‐ ments outside the campaigns is unusually brief. erick’s verbal orders are treated at some length. The introduction offers a mere three pages of Following earlier works’ assumption that Freder‐ background information before Frederick invades ick probably sought unified action, the volume Saxony, and it mischaracterizes the 1756 Conven‐ forcefully blames Zieten’s delayed movement for tion of Westminster as a bellicose subsidy treaty the Prussians’ devastating casualties, only to sub‐ rather than an attempt at neutralizing Germany. sequently cite a more recent work when noting Similarly, the Treaties of Paris and Hubertusburg how the monarch twice embraced the hussar in appear only briefly in the fnal three paragraphs thanks for his belated attack. In the endnotes of the whole book. Passages on logistical and ad‐ readers will fnd many moderate admirers of the ministrative machinery can be equally cursory. king’s tactics, as well as one of Frederick’s most While the volume notes some of Frederick’s fscal vocal critics, Franz Szabo, yet such provocative expedients, readers seeking a clearer picture of modern perspectives are not addressed in the Prussian fnances are directed to a hundred-page text. section of a nineteenth-century German history. This abstention from recent debates leads to What is more regrettable is the treatment of the fourth and most regrettable issue: the book early modern military practice as a narrative gar‐ does not address Frederick’s military legacy allud‐ nish rather than a topic deserving its own chap‐ ed to in the preface. His place in history is not ex‐ ter. References to Frederick’s notorious exploita‐ plored much beyond such passing references as tion of occupied Saxony are explicitly balanced by Roßbach’s appeal to German nationalists and the accounts of similar taxation following Saxony’s king’s general appeal to the likes of Napoleon imperial “liberation” (p. 324); however, these ex‐ Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler. The inclusion of more tortions would have been better addressed recent works, like Robert Citino’s The German through a focused discussion of contributions. Way of War: From the Thirty Years’ War to the Roßbach is presented as proof of linear forma‐ Third Reich (2005) and Christopher Clark’s Iron tions’ superiority over columns without describ‐ Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, ing the logic or development behind either form 1600-1947 (2008), would have been useful in de‐ of troop deployment. Frederick’s aggressive pin- scribing Frederick’s role in Germany’s militariza‐ and-flank maneuvers contrast with those of his tion. Instead of concluding remarks on Frederick’s 2 H-Net Reviews accomplishments and legacy, the book simply stops after the last salvoes of 1762. Due to these drawbacks, this book is less suit‐ able for those seeking historiographical debate or new perspectives of the Seven Years’ War than it is for traditional military history enthusiasts with a preexisting knowledge of Frederick the Great. For uninitiated readers, Dennis Showalter’s Fred‐ erick the Great: A Military History (2012) and Christopher Duffy’s Frederick the Great: A Mili‐ tary Life (1985) remain detailed, highly readable entry points. For well-informed readers who wish to dig deeper into Frederick’s Seven Years’ War campaigns without slogging through multivolume German histories, Redman’s Frederick the Great presents a single-volume English alternative. If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the network, at https://networks.h-net.org/h-war Citation: Thomas Nora. Review of Redman, Herbert J. Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, 1756-1763. H-War, H-Net Reviews. October, 2016. URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=46654 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 3.

Load more