Military instructions to King of Prussia to General -Wikipedia

『 Military instructions to the King of Prussia to the general (Prussia Koku no Shogun, Gunjiro, English, English: The King of Prussia’s Military Instruction to his Generals ) Is a military operation command written by King Prussia in 1747 by King Prussia Friedrich II. It has also been referenced as a classic book of a military student.

Friedrich II was born as a child of Friedrich Wilhelm I, a soldier who fought the Great Northern War in the military reform. He became more interested in military issues since his throne, and instructed the War of the Prussian Army, which was strategically inferior in the Austrian succession war and seven -year wars. He respects Marshal Maurice de Sachs, a French military scholar, and has led the Prussian army to victory in the battle of Rosbach and the Reiten. The book was written in French in 1747 during the Austrian Succession War and the Seven -Year War, and was copied in 1748, entitled “General Principles of War.” In 1758, only 50 copies were distributed to officers, and strict secret was ordered that they should never carry them on the battlefield. But in the 1760 battle of Kosdorf Ernst Heinrich von Chet Litz （ German version ） Written by a prisoner of the Austrian Army, a copy of the book was discovered in German in 1761, and in the same year, it was translated in French and in 1762 in English.

This book shows Friedrich II’s views on tactical issues that the commander should take into account. Those who have the high fighting power of the Prussian army are considered as strict discipline and officers’ insights of soldiers. In other words, the officer argues that the officer must have an insight to identify the relationship between the operation of the terrain and the force, and the military value of the terrain, and also select the battlefield in encounters, judge the enemy, and find weaknesses.

This book has a discussion of tactics to contribute to the command of the commander. He evaluates the usefulness of the attack and the superiority of defense, and argues that absolute defense is impossible from the viewpoint of enemy siege motion, loss of rear lines, and a decrease in morale. It is more important to carefully judge the enemy’s situation in order to advance the attack and operate the force based on accurate topography. However, instead of uniformly adopting a typical formation in which cavalry units are placed on both wings while placing infantry in the center, cavalry units are placed in plains that can maximize mobility by observing the terrain, and infantry unit. Be careful not to be able to make an effective attack instead of the base or village. Furthermore, we will always be able to ensure the background to ensure the backward safety, and then. Friedrich II emphasized the importance of the rear lines on the principle of war, and said that betraying the enemy’s forecast by surrounding the enemy’s side and back by various means will lead to victory.

In the military philosophy of Friedrich II, this book was an intellectual result obtained in the seven -year war, and later 1768 also considered the guidance of the restricted war in the military will. He has been evaluated as an exemplary military leader by military personnel and military scholars such as Napoleon Bonapartes and Karl von Krawzevitz, for example, Napoleon, Gaius Julius Caesar, Hannibal, Hanni de Terenne, Prinz Ogen. It is positioned as a soldier in line.

references [ edit ]

• Brig. Gen. Thomas R. Phillips, Roots of Strategy: The 5 Greatest Military Classics of All Times, Stackpole Books.
• Supervised by Toru Maehara “Strategic Thinker Encyclopedia” Fuyo Shobo Publishing, 2003