The 1930s (pronounced "nineteen-thirties" and commonly abbreviated as " the '30s " or " the Thirties ") was a decade that began on January 1, 1930, and ended on December 31, 1939. In the United States, the Dust Bowl led to the nickname the "Dirty Thirties".
163-717: Seven Years' War War of the Bavarian Succession French Revolutionary Wars Napoleonic Wars The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, German : Königlich Preußische Armee ) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia . It became vital to the development of Prussia as a European political and military power and within Germany . The Royal Prussian Army had its roots in the core mercenary forces of Brandenburg-Prussia during
326-529: A French Invasion of Hanover . The convention removed Hanover from the war, leaving the western approach to Prussian territory extremely vulnerable. Frederick sent urgent requests to Britain for more substantial assistance, as he was now without any outside military support for his forces in Germany. Things were looking grim for Prussia now, with the Austrians mobilising to attack Prussian-controlled soil and
489-568: A Mexican art movement that took place primarily in the 1930s. The movement stands out historically because of its political undertones, the majority of which of a Marxist nature, or related to a social and political situation of post-revolutionary Mexico. Also in Latin America Symbolism and Magic Realism were important movements. In Europe during the 1930s and the Great Depression , Surrealism , late Cubism ,
652-531: A military decoration by King Frederick William III in 1813. After the publication of his book On War , Clausewitz became a widely studied philosopher of war. The Prussian General Staff , which developed out of meetings of the Great Elector with his senior officers and the informal meeting of the Napoleonic Era reformers, was formally created in 1814. In the same year Boyen and Grolman drafted
815-655: A standing army through conscription to better defend his state. By 1643–44, the developing army numbered only 5,500 troops, including 500 musketeers in Frederick William's bodyguard. The elector's confidant Johann von Norprath recruited forces in the Duchy of Cleves and organized an army of 3,000 Dutch and German soldiers in the Rhineland by 1646. Garrisons were also slowly augmented in Brandenburg and
978-555: A Russian army of 43,000 commanded by Count William Fermor . Both sides suffered heavy casualties—the Prussians 12,800, the Russians 18,000—but the Russians withdrew, and Frederick claimed victory. The American historian Daniel Marston described Zorndorf as a "draw" as both sides were too exhausted and had taken such losses that neither wished to fight another battle with the other. In the undecided Battle of Tornow on 25 September,
1141-689: A Swedish army repulsed six assaults by a Prussian army but did not push on Berlin following the Battle of Fehrbellin . 1930s The decade was defined by a global economic and political crisis that culminated in the Second World War . It saw the collapse of the international financial system, beginning with the Wall Street Crash of 1929 , the largest stock market crash in American history. The subsequent economic downfall, called
1304-526: A battle, Russian generals did not wish to risk another battle knowing resupply would be a long time coming. This long-standing weakness was evident in the Russian-Ottoman War of 1735–1739, where Russian battle victories led to only modest war gains due to problems supplying their armies. The Russian quartermasters department had not improved, so the same problems reoccurred in Prussia. Still,
1467-507: A chief of staff trained at the academy to each field commander. Some reforms were opposed by Frederician traditionalists, such as Yorck, who felt that middle class officers would erode the privileges of the aristocratic officer corps and promote the ideas of the French Revolution . The army reform movement was cut short by Scharnhorst's death in 1813. The shift to a more democratic and middle-class military began to lose momentum in
1630-546: A combined French and Reichsarmee force under Prince Soubise approaching from the west. The Reichsarmee was a collection of armies from the smaller German states that had banded together to heed the appeal of the Holy Roman Emperor Franz I of Austria against Frederick. However, in November and December 1757, the whole situation in Germany was reversed. First, Frederick devastated Soubise's forces at
1793-699: A commander in the Prussian Army), regrouped his army and launched a series of offensives that drove the French back across the River Rhine . Ferdinand's forces kept Prussia's western flank secure for the rest of the war. The British had suffered further defeats in North America, particularly at Fort William Henry . At home, however, stability had been established. Since 1756, successive governments led by Newcastle and Pitt had fallen. In August 1757,
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#17327647387581956-465: A law for universal conscription, by which men would successively serve in the standing army, the Landwehr and the local Landsturm until the age of 39. Troops of the 156,000-strong standing army served for three years and were in the reserves for two, while militiamen of the 163,000-strong Landwehr served a few weeks annually for seven years. Boyen and Blücher strongly supported the civilian army of
2119-491: A minute, three times as fast as most armies. Punishments were draconian in nature, such as running the gauntlet, and despite the threat of hanging, many peasant conscripts deserted when they could. Uniforms and weaponry were standardized. Pigtails and, in those regiments which wore it, facial hair were to be of uniform length within a regiment; soldiers who could not adequately grow beards or moustaches were expected to paint an outline on their faces. Frederick William I reduced
2282-455: A mostly native-born army, Frederick II wanted to have a mostly foreign-born army, preferring to have native Prussians be taxpayers and producers. The Prussian Army consisted of 187,000 soldiers in 1776, 90,000 of whom were Prussian subjects in central and eastern Prussia. The remainder were foreign (both German and non-German) volunteers or conscripts. Frederick established the Gardes du Corps as
2445-659: A photographer) among several others were particularly influential. The Works Progress Administration part of the Roosevelt Administration 's New Deal sponsored the Federal Art Project , the Public Works of Art Project , and the Section of Painting and Sculpture which employed many American artists and helped them to make a living during the Great Depression . Mexican muralism was
2608-668: A program of broad-scale social reforms and stimulus plans called the New Deal in response to the crisis. The Soviet Union 's second five-year plan gave heavy industry top priority, putting the Soviet Union not far behind Germany as one of the major steel-producing countries of the world, while also improving communications. First-wave feminism made advances, with women gaining the right to vote in South Africa (1930, whites only) , Brazil (1933) , and Cuba (1933) . Following
2771-547: A series of complicated formations and deployments hidden from the Austrians, the Prussians successfully struck their enemy's flank at Leuthen , with Friedrich once again directing the battle; the Austrian position in the province collapsed, resulting in a Prussian victory even more impressive than the one at Rossbach. Frederick's maneuvers were unsuccessful against the Russians in the bloody Battle of Zorndorf , however, and Prussian forces were crushed at Kunersdorf (1759). Like
2934-596: A small French force at Jumonville Glen on 28 May 1754 killing ten, including commander Joseph Coulon de Jumonville . The French retaliated by attacking Washington's army at Fort Necessity on 3 July 1754 and forced Washington to surrender. These were the first engagements of what would become the worldwide Seven Years' War. Britain and France failed to negotiate a solution after receiving news about this in Europe. The two countries eventually sent regular troops to North America to enforce their claims. The first British action
3097-600: A squadron of life guards . Disregarding the Pragmatic Sanction , Frederick began the Silesian Wars shortly after taking the throne. Although the inexperienced king retreated from the battle, the Prussian Army achieved victory over Austria in the Battle of Mollwitz (1741) under the leadership of Field Marshal Schwerin . The Prussian cavalry under Schulenburg had performed poorly at Mollwitz;
3260-511: A strong proponent of war game training for officers and introduced the breech-loading needle gun to troops, which allowed them to fire significantly faster than their adversaries. Moltke took advantage of the railroad , guiding the construction of rail lines within Prussia to likely places of deployment. Because modern armies had become too large and unwieldy for a single commander to control, Moltke supported multiple and independent smaller armies in concentric operations. Once one army encountered
3423-641: A successful flanking attack, he asserted that concentration could only take place after the commencement of a battle. This was a development of the Scharnhorst concept of "March Divided, Fight United." Seven Years%27 War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict involving most of the European great powers , fought primarily in Europe and the Americas . One of the opposing alliances
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#17327647387583586-689: Is called the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). In French-speaking Canada, it is known as La guerre de la Conquête (the War of the Conquest ). Swedish historiography uses the name Pommerska kriget (the Pomeranian War ), as the Sweden–Prussia conflict between 1757 and 1762 was limited to Pomerania in northern central Germany. The Third Silesian War involved Prussia and Austria (1756–1763). On
3749-593: The Zieten Hussars . For his great services at Hohenfriedberg Hans Karl von Winterfeldt , a good friend of King Frederick, rose to prominence. Austria allied with its traditional rival, France, in the Diplomatic Revolution (1756); Austria, France, and Russia were all aligned against Prussia. Frederick preemptively attacked his enemies with an army of 150,000, beginning the Seven Years' War . The Austrian Army had been reformed by Kaunitz , and
3912-586: The Junkers , the Prussian landed aristocracy , to serve in the army, Although initially reluctant about the army, the nobles eventually saw the officer corps as its natural profession. Until 1730 the common soldiers consisted largely of serfs recruited or impressed from Brandenburg , Pomerania and East Prussia , leading many to flee to neighboring countries. In order to halt this trend, Frederick William I divided Prussia into regimental cantons . Every youth
4075-450: The 1848 revolution , the king reluctantly agreed to the creation of a civilian defense force ( Bürgerwehr ) in his capital. A national assembly to write a constitution was convened for the first time, but its slowness allowed the reactionary forces to regroup. General Friedrich Graf von Wrangel led the reconquest of Berlin, which was supported by a middle class weary of a people's revolution. Prussian troops were subsequently used to suppress
4238-508: The 1920s and early 1930s . The army of Prussia grew out of the united armed forces created during the reign of Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg (1640–1688). Hohenzollern Brandenburg-Prussia had primarily relied upon Landsknecht mercenaries during the Thirty Years' War , in which Brandenburg was devastated. Swedish and Imperial forces occupied the country. In the spring of 1644, Frederick William started building
4401-545: The 1935 Quetta earthquake (30,000–60,000 deaths) and the 1939 Erzincan earthquake (32,700–32,968 deaths). With the advent of sound in 1927, the musical —the genre best placed to showcase the new technology—took over as the most popular type of film with audiences, with the animated musical fantasy film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) becoming the highest-grossing film of this decade in terms of gross rentals. In terms of distributor rentals, Gone with
4564-558: The Allegheny and Monongahela rivers meet to form the Ohio River in present-day Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania. Peaceful British attempts to halt this fort construction were unsuccessful, and the French proceeded to build the fort they named Fort Duquesne . British colonial militia from Virginia accompanied by Chief Tanacharison and a small number of Mingo warriors were sent to drive them out. Led by George Washington , they ambushed
4727-405: The Battle of Domstadtl that wiped out a supply convoy destined for Olmütz, Frederick broke off the siege and withdrew from Moravia. It marked the end of his final attempt to launch a major invasion of Austrian territory. In January 1758, the Russians invaded East Prussia , where the province, almost denuded of troops, put up little opposition. East Prussia had been occupied by Russian forces over
4890-519: The Battle of Rossbach on 5 November 1757 and then routed a vastly superior Austrian force at the Battle of Leuthen on 5 December 1757. Rossbach was the only battle between the French and the Prussians during the entire war. At Rossbach, the Prussians lost about 548 men killed while the Franco- Reichsarmee force under Soubise lost about 10,000 killed. Frederick always called Leuthen his greatest victory, an assessment shared by many at
5053-731: The Convention of Tauroggen with Russia, breaking the Franco-Prussian alliance. Stein arrived in East Prussia and led the raising of a Landwehr , or militia to defend the province. With Prussia's joining of the Sixth Coalition out of his hands, Frederick William III quickly began to mobilize the army, and the East Prussian Landwehr was duplicated in the rest of the country. In comparison to 1806,
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5216-574: The Diplomatic Revolution . In the War of the Austrian Succession , which lasted from 1740 to 1748, Prussian King Frederick II , known as Frederick the Great, seized the prosperous province of Silesia from Austria. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria had signed the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 in order to gain time to rebuild her military forces and forge new alliances. The War of
5379-487: The Duchy of Prussia . Frederick William sought assistance from France, the traditional rival of Habsburg Austria , and began receiving French subsidies. He based his reforms on those of Louvois , the War Minister of King Louis XIV . The growth of his army allowed Frederick William to achieve considerable territorial acquisitions in the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia , despite Brandenburg's relative lack of success during
5542-588: The Fantastic War . Spain lost Havana in Cuba and Manila in the Philippines to Britain, but they were returned in the 1763 Treaty of Paris . In Europe, the large-scale conflict that drew in most of the European powers was centred on the desire of Austria to recover Silesia from Prussia. The Treaty of Hubertusburg ended the war between Saxony, Austria, and Prussia in 1763. France's supremacy in Europe
5705-669: The Great Depression , had traumatic social effects worldwide, leading to widespread poverty and unemployment , especially in the economic superpower of the United States and in Germany , which was already struggling with the payment of reparations for the First World War . The Dust Bowl in the United States (which led to the nickname the "Dirty Thirties") exacerbated the scarcity of wealth. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt , who took office in 1933, introduced
5868-399: The Landwehr , which was to unite military and civilian society, as an equal to the standing army. During a constitutional crisis in 1819, Frederick William III recognized Prussia's adherence to the anti-revolutionary Carlsbad Decrees . Conservative forces within Prussia, such as Wittgenstein , remained opposed to conscription and the more democratic Landwehr . Frederick William III reduced
6031-692: The Napoleonic Wars , and rise of the First French Empire of France under Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), defeated Prussia in the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806–1807. However, under the subsequent leadership of Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755-1814), Prussian military reformers began modernizing the Royal Prussian Army, which contributed greatly to the later final defeat and exile of Napoleon during
6194-472: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Despite having expelled Swedish forces from the territory, the elector did not acquire Vorpommern in the 1660 Treaty of Oliva , as the balance of power had been restored. In the early 1670s, Frederick William supported Imperial attempts to reclaim Alsace and counter the expansion of Louis XIV of France. Swedish troops invaded Brandenburg in 1674 while
6357-796: The Second French Empire of France , led by Emperor Napoleon III ; which allowing Prussia to lead and dominate in the Unification of Germany , establishing the German Empire in 1871. The Royal Prussian Army formed the core of the new larger Imperial German Army , which was replaced by the Reichswehr after the defeat in World War I ( 1914 - 1918 ), in the First German Republic (Weimar Republic) during
6520-782: The War of the Sixth Coalition . Conservatives halted some of the reforms, however, and the Prussian Army subsequently became a bulwark of the conservative Prussian royal government. In the 19th century, the Prussian Army fought successful wars against Kingdom of Denmark in the Second Schleswig War of 1864; versus the Austrian Empire ( Austria ) in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866; and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 with
6683-589: The War of the Spanish Succession . His friend, Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau , served as the royal drill sergeant for the Prussian Army. Leopold introduced the iron ramrod , increasing Prussian firepower, and the slow march, or goose-step . He also vastly increased the role of music in the Army, dedicating a large number of musician-troops, especially drummers and fifers, to use music for increasing morale in battle. The usefulness of music in battles
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6846-541: The cuirassiers , originally trained on heavy horses, were subsequently retrained on more maneuverable, lighter horses. The hussars and dragoons of General Zieten were also expanded. These changes led to a Prussian victory at Chotusitz (1742) in Bohemia , and Austria conceded Silesia to Frederick with the Peace of Breslau. In September 1743, Frederick held the first fall maneuver ( Herbstübung ). The different branches of
7009-599: The early modern period was characterised by the widespread adoption of firearms in combination with more traditional bladed weapons . Eighteenth-century European armies were built around units of massed infantry armed with smoothbore flintlock muskets and bayonets . Cavalrymen were equipped with sabres and pistols or carbines ; light cavalry were used principally for reconnaissance , screening and tactical communications , while heavy cavalry were used as tactical reserves and deployed for shock attacks . Smoothbore artillery provided fire support and played
7172-473: The many German states , but the conservative government used the army to repress liberal and democratic tendencies during the 1830s and 1840s. Liberals resented the usage of the army in essentially police actions. King Frederick William IV (1840–61) initially appeared to be a liberal ruler, but he was opposed to issuing the written constitution called for by reformers. When barricades were raised in Berlin during
7335-576: The rise of Adolf Hitler and the emergence of the NSDAP as the country's sole legal party in 1933, Germany imposed a series of laws which discriminated against Jews and other ethnic minorities. Germany adopted an aggressive foreign policy, remilitarizing the Rhineland (1936) , annexing Austria (1938) and the Sudetenland (1938) , before invading Poland (1939) and starting World War II near
7498-618: The 1656 Battle of Warsaw , during the Northern Wars . Observers were impressed with the discipline of the Brandenburger troops, as well as their treatment of civilians, which was considered more humane than that of their allies, the Swedish Army . Hohenzollern success enabled Frederick William to assume full sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia in the 1657 Treaty of Wehlau , by which Brandenburg-Prussia allied itself with
7661-464: The 1930s: Social realism became an important art movement during the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930s. Social realism generally portrayed imagery with socio-political meaning. Other related American artistic movements of the 1930s were American scene painting and Regionalism which were generally depictions of rural America, and historical images drawn from American history. Precisionism with its depictions of industrial America
7824-401: The Army tested new formations and tactics; the fall maneuvers became annual traditions of the Prussian Army. Austria tried to reclaim Silesia in the Second Silesian War. Although successful in outmaneuvering Frederick in 1744, the Austrians were crushed by the king himself in the Battle of Hohenfriedberg and the Battle of Soor (1745). The Prussian cavalry excelled during the battle, especially
7987-426: The Austrian Succession had seen the belligerents aligned on a time-honoured basis. France's traditional enemies, Great Britain and Austria , had coalesced just as they had done against Louis XIV. Prussia , the leading anti-Austrian state in Germany, had been supported by France. Neither group, however, found much reason to be satisfied with its partnership: British subsidies to Austria produced nothing of much help to
8150-464: The British, while the British military effort had not saved Silesia for Austria. Prussia, having secured Silesia, came to terms with Austria in disregard of French interests. Even so, France concluded a defensive alliance with Prussia in 1747, and the maintenance of the Anglo-Austrian alignment after 1748 was deemed essential by the Duke of Newcastle , British secretary of state in the ministry of his brother Henry Pelham . The collapse of that system and
8313-477: The Dutch wished to remain fully neutral. Despite the huge disparity in numbers, the year had been successful for the Prussian-led forces on the continent, in contrast to the British campaigns in North America. On 18 April 1757, Frederick II again took the initiative by marching into the Kingdom of Bohemia , hoping to inflict a decisive defeat on Austrian forces. After winning the bloody Battle of Prague on 6 May 1757, in which both forces suffered major casualties,
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#17327647387588476-458: The Elder , who entered the cabinet in 1756, had a grand vision for the war that made it entirely different from previous wars with France. As prime minister, Pitt committed Britain to a grand strategy of seizing the entire French Empire, especially its possessions in North America and India. Britain's main weapon was the Royal Navy, which could control the seas and bring as many invasion troops as were needed. He also planned to use colonial forces from
8639-439: The European war went well, by its end France had few counterbalancing European successes. The British—by inclination as well as for practical reasons—had tended to avoid large-scale commitments of troops on the continent. They sought to offset the disadvantage of this in Europe by allying themselves with one or more continental powers whose interests were antithetical to those of their enemies, particularly France. By subsidising
8802-400: The Imperial Russian Army was a new threat to Prussia. Not only was Frederick forced to break off his invasion of Bohemia, he was also now forced to withdraw further into Prussian-controlled territory. His defeats on the battlefield brought still more opportunistic nations into the war. Sweden declared war on Prussia and invaded Pomerania with 17,000 men. Sweden felt this small army was all that
8965-422: The Indian subcontinent, the conflict is called the Third Carnatic War (1757–1763). The term " Second Hundred Years' War " has been used in order to describe the almost continuous level of worldwide conflict between France and Great Britain during the entire 18th century, reminiscent of the Hundred Years' War of the 14th and 15th centuries. The boundary between British and French possessions in North America
9128-402: The Ottoman Empire. They also agreed to a secret clause that promised the restoration of Silesia and the countship of Glatz (now Kłodzko , Poland) to Austria in the event of hostilities with Prussia. Their real desire, however, was to destroy Frederick's power altogether, reducing his sway to his electorate of Brandenburg and giving East Prussia to Poland, an exchange that would be accompanied by
9291-399: The Prussian Army during his tenure. He expanded the General Staff, creating peacetime subdivisions such as the Mobilization, Geographical-Statistical and Military History Sections. In 1869, he issued a handbook for warfare on the operational level, Instructions for Large Unit Commanders , writing, "The modern conduct of war is marked by the striving for a great and rapid decision". Moltke was
9454-433: The Prussian Army has a state. The army was maintained with a budget of five million thalers (out of a total state budget of seven million thalers). Frederick William I was succeeded by his son, Frederick II (1740–86). Frederick immediately disbanded the expensive Potsdam Giants and used their funding to create seven new regiments and 10,000 troops. The new king also added sixteen battalions, five squadrons of hussars , and
9617-403: The Prussian populace, especially the middle class, was supportive of the war, and thousands of volunteers joined the army. Prussian troops under the leadership of Blücher and Gneisenau proved vital at the Battles of Leipzig (1813) and Waterloo (1815). Later staff officers were impressed with the simultaneous operations of separate groups of the Prussian Army. The Iron Cross was introduced as
9780-416: The Prussian state, General Gerhard von Scharnhorst began to reform the military. He led a Military Reorganization Committee, which included Generals August von Gneisenau , Karl von Grolman , and Hermann von Boyen as well as the civilian vom Steinen. Prussian military officer, Carl von Clausewitz assisted with the reorganization as well. Dismayed by the populace's indifferent reaction to the 1806 defeats,
9943-470: The Prussians forced the Austrians back into the fortifications of Prague. The Prussian army then laid siege to the city . In response, Austrian commander Leopold von Daun collected a force of 30,000 men to come to the relief of Prague. Following the battle at Prague, Frederick took 5,000 troops from the siege at Prague and sent them to reinforce the 19,000-man army under the Duke of Brunswick-Bevern at Kolín in Bohemia. Daun arrived too late to participate in
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#173276473875810106-404: The Russians under Field Marshal Apraksin besieged Memel with 75,000 troops. Memel had one of the strongest fortresses in Prussia. However, after five days of artillery bombardment, the Russian army was able to storm it. The Russians then used Memel as a base to invade East Prussia and defeated a smaller Prussian force in the fiercely contested Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf on 30 August 1757. In
10269-472: The Saxons. At the Battle of Lobositz on 1 October 1756, Frederick stumbled into one of the embarrassments of his career. Severely underestimating a reformed Austrian army under General Maximilian Ulysses Browne, he found himself outmanoeuvred and outgunned, and at one point in the confusion even ordered his troops to fire on retreating Prussian cavalry. Frederick actually fled the field of battle, leaving Field Marshall Keith in command. Browne, however, also left
10432-498: The Swedish invaders during the " Great Sleigh Drive " of 1678–79; Thomas Carlyle compared the wintertime Swedish retreat to that of Napoleon from Moscow. Frederick William built the Hohenzollern army up to a peacetime size of 7,000 and a wartime size of 15,000–30,000. Its success in battle against Sweden and Poland increased Brandenburg-Prussia's prestige, while also allowing the Great Elector to pursue absolutist policies against estates and towns. In his political testament of 1667,
10595-448: The Swedish invasion. In short order, the Prussian army drove the Swedes back, occupied most of Swedish Pomerania , and blockaded its capital Stralsund . George II of Great Britain , on the advice of his British ministers after the battle of Rossbach, revoked the Convention of Klosterzeven, and Hanover reentered the war. Over the winter the new commander of the Hanoverian forces, Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick (until immediately before
10758-432: The Wind (1939), an epic historical romance film , was the highest-grossing film of this decade and remains the highest-grossing film (when adjusted for inflation) to this day. Popularity of comedy films boomed after the Silent era with popular comedians The Three Stooges and Marx Brothers . Popular novels of this decade include the historical fiction novels The Good Earth , Anthony Adverse and Gone with
10921-486: The Wind , all three of which were best-selling novels in the United States for 2 consecutive years. Cole Porter was a popular music artist in the 1930s, with two of his songs, " Night and Day " and " Begin the Beguine " becoming No. 1 hits in 1932 and 1935 respectively. The latter song was of the Swing genre, which had begun to emerge as the most popular form of music in the United States since 1933. The world population increased from 2.05 to 2.25 billion people during
11084-414: The additional funds. Although the Landtag was opposed to these actions, William maintained the new regiments with the guidance of Manteuffel . The liberal and middle-class Landwehr was thus subordinated in favor of the regular army, which was composed mostly of peasantry loyal to the Hohenzollern monarchy and conservative Junkers . Moltke the Elder , Chief of the General Staff from 1857–88, modernized
11247-401: The aged Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick , and the army began to degrade in quality. Led by veterans of the Silesian Wars, the Prussian Army was ill-equipped to deal with Revolutionary France . The officers retained the same training, tactics and weaponry used by Frederick the Great some forty years earlier. In comparison, the French Revolutionary Army , especially under Napoleon ,
11410-428: The aligning of France with Austria and of Great Britain with Prussia constituted what is known as the " Diplomatic Revolution " or the "reversal of alliances". In 1756 Austria was making military preparations for war with Prussia and pursuing an alliance with Russia for this purpose. On 2 June 1756, Austria and Russia concluded a defensive alliance that covered their own territory and Poland against attack by Prussia or
11573-598: The armies of continental allies, Britain could turn London's enormous financial power to military advantage . In the Seven Years' War, the British chose as their principal partner the most brilliant general of the day, Frederick the Great of Prussia, then the rising power in central Europe, and paid Frederick substantial subsidies for his campaigns. This was accomplished in the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, in which Britain ended its long-standing alliance with Austria in favour of Prussia, leaving Austria to side with France. In marked contrast to France, Britain strove to prosecute
11736-560: The army a larger reserve of 30,000–150,000 extra troops. The Krümpersystem was also the beginning of short-term (3 years') compulsory service in Prussia, as opposed to the long-term (5 to 10 years') conscription previously used since the 1650s. Because the occupying French prohibited the Prussians from forming divisions, the Prussian Army was divided into six brigades , each consisting of seven to eight infantry battalions and twelve squadrons of cavalry. The combined brigades were supplemented with three brigades of artillery. Corporal punishment
11899-405: The army from 39,000 to 45,000 troops; by the end of Frederick William I's reign, the army had doubled in size. The General War Commissary, responsible for the army and revenue, was removed from interference by the estates and placed strictly under the control of officials appointed by the king. Frederick William I restricted enrollment in the officer corps to Germans of noble descent and compelled
12062-515: The army—while the populace had risen from 10 million to 18 million since 1820, the annual army recruits had remained 40,000. Although Bonin opposed Roon's desired weakening of the Landwehr , William I was alarmed by the nationalistic Second Italian War of Independence . Bonin resigned as Minister of War and was replaced with Roon. The government submitted Roon's army reform bill in February 1860. The Landtag opposed many of its provisions, especially
12225-484: The arts in imitation of Versailles , the new king recognized that the importance of the army and continued its expansion to 40,000 men. Frederick I was succeeded by his son, Frederick William I (1713–1740), the "Soldier-King" obsessed with the army and achieving self-sufficiency for his country. The new king dismissed most of the artisans from his father's court and granted military officers precedence over court officials. Ambitious and intelligent young men began to enter
12388-600: The attempt to satisfy Austria at the time, Britain gave their electoral vote in Hanover for the candidacy of Maria Theresa's son, Joseph II , as the Holy Roman Emperor, much to the dismay of Frederick and Prussia. Not only that, Britain would soon join the Austro-Russian alliance, but complications arose. Britain's basic framework for the alliance itself was to protect Hanover's interests against France. At
12551-453: The battle of Prague, but picked up 16,000 men who had escaped from the battle. With this army he slowly moved to relieve Prague. The Prussian army was too weak to simultaneously besiege Prague and keep Daun away, and Frederick was forced to attack prepared positions. The resulting Battle of Kolín was a sharp defeat for Frederick, his first. His losses further forced him to lift the siege and withdraw from Bohemia altogether. Later that summer,
12714-533: The beginning of the late 18th century into the early 19th century era to meet the challenge from the west beginning in the political and social upheaval in the French Revolution of 1789–1793, overthrowing of the French monarchy , execution of King Louis XVI , and the Royal House of Bourbon . The continuing strife spilling over French borders of the following French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802), and then
12877-569: The border of Saxony, one of the small German states in league with Austria. He intended this as a bold pre-emption of an anticipated Austro-French invasion of Silesia. He had three goals in his new war on Austria. First, he would seize Saxony and eliminate it as a threat to Prussia, then use the Saxon army and treasury to aid the Prussian war effort. His second goal was to advance into Bohemia, where he might set up winter quarters at Austria's expense. Thirdly, he wanted to invade Moravia from Silesia, seize
13040-660: The brief occupation of Düsseldorf , he was compelled by the successful manoeuvering of larger French forces to withdraw across the Rhine. By this point Frederick was increasingly concerned by the Russian advance from the east and marched to counter it. Just east of the Oder in Brandenburg- Neumark , at the Battle of Zorndorf (now Sarbinowo, Poland), a Prussian army of 35,000 men under Frederick on 25 August 1758, fought
13203-583: The bulk of the elector's forces were in Franconia's winter quarters. In 1675 Frederick William marched his troops northward and surrounded Wrangel 's troops. The elector achieved his greatest victory in the Battle of Fehrbellin ; although a minor battle, it brought fame to the Brandenburg-Prussian Army and gave Frederick William the nickname "the Great Elector". After Sweden invaded Prussia in late 1678, Frederick William's forces expelled
13366-461: The bureaucracy. Because the excise tax was only applied in towns, the king was reluctant to engage in war, as deployment of his expensive army in foreign lands would have deprived him of taxes from the town-based military. By the end of Frederick William I's reign, Prussia had the fourth-largest army (80,000 soldiers) in Europe but was twelfth in population size (2.5 million). This led to the famous quote of Voltaire : Where some states have an army,
13529-462: The cession of the Polish Duchy of Courland to Russia. Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin , grand chancellor of Russia under Empress Elizabeth , was hostile to both France and Prussia, but he could not persuade Austrian statesman Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz to commit to offensive designs against Prussia so long as Prussia was able to rely on French support. The Hanoverian King George II of Great Britain
13692-443: The cold season, resuming their campaigns with the return of spring. For much of the eighteenth century, France approached its wars in the same way. It would let colonies defend themselves or would offer only minimal help (sending them limited numbers of troops or inexperienced soldiers), anticipating that fights for the colonies would most likely be lost anyway. This strategy was to a degree forced upon France: geography, coupled with
13855-426: The continent, hoping for victories closer to home. The plan was to fight to the end of hostilities and then, in treaty negotiations, to trade territorial acquisitions in Europe to regain lost overseas possessions (as had happened in, e.g. , the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ). This approach did not serve France well in the war, as the colonies were indeed lost, and although much of
14018-579: The curves of the natural female body. Fashion trendsetters in the period included The Prince of Wales (King Edward VIII from January 1936 until his abdication that December) and his companion Wallis Simpson (the Duke and Duchess of Windsor from their marriage in June 1937), socialites like Nicolas de Gunzburg , Daisy Fellowes and Mona von Bismarck , and Hollywood movie stars such as Fred Astaire , Carole Lombard , and Joan Crawford . Typical fashions in
14181-414: The decade, with about 750 million births and 550 million deaths. Prominent assassinations include: Many technological advances occurred in the 1930s, including: The best-selling books of every year in the United States were as follows: ( $ 32,000,000 ) The most popular music of each year was as follows: The most characteristic North American fashion trend from the 1930s to 1945 was attention at
14344-467: The defeats of Jena-Auerstedt. Prussia submitted to major territorial losses, a standing army of only 42,000 men, and an alliance with France in the Treaty of Tilsit (1807). The defeat of the disorganized army shocked the Prussian establishment, which had largely felt invincible after the Frederician victories. While Baron vom Stein and Prime Minister Karl August von Hardenberg began modernizing
14507-472: The disciplined Prussian troops to victory during the 18th century Silesian Wars and greatly increased the prestige and military reputation throughout Europe and among the hodge-podge array of various German states kingdoms, duchies, principalities and free cities of the leadership in the East of the rising Kingdom of Prussia. However the Prussian Army had become outdated and under-resourced decades later by
14670-536: The elector wrote, "Alliances, to be sure, are good, but forces of one's own still better. Upon them one can rely with more security, and a lord is of no consideration if he does not have means and troops of his own". The growing power of the Hohenzollerns in Berlin led Frederick William's son and successor, Elector Frederick III (1688–1713), to proclaim the Kingdom of Prussia with himself as King Frederick I in 1701. Although he emphasized Baroque opulence and
14833-614: The end of the decade. Italy likewise continued its already aggressive foreign policy, defeating the Libyan resistance (1932) before invading Ethiopia (1935) and then Albania (1939) . Both Germany and Italy became involved in the Spanish Civil War , supporting the eventually victorious Nationalists led by Francisco Franco against the Republicans , who were in turn supported by the Soviet Union . The Chinese Civil War
14996-539: The enemy and pinned it down, a second army would arrive and attack the enemy's flank or rear. He advocated a Kesselschlacht , or battle of encirclement. It was in Moltke's Instructions for Large Unit Commanders and his concept of separated armies that we begin to see the emergence of modern German doctrine. The system of moving units separately and concentrating as an army before a battle resulted in more efficient supply and lower vulnerability to modern firepower. To enable
15159-546: The existence of the Secret du Roi —a system of private diplomacy conducted by King Louis XV. Unbeknownst to his foreign minister, Louis had established a network of agents throughout Europe with the goal of pursuing personal political objectives that were often at odds with France's publicly stated policies. Louis's goals for le Secret du roi included the Polish crown for his kinsman Louis François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti , and
15322-462: The expense of the peasantry. Once the elector and his army were strong enough, Frederick William was able to suppress the estates of Cleves , Mark and Prussia . Frederick William attempted to professionalize his soldiers during a time when mercenaries were the norm. In addition to individually creating regiments and appointing colonels, the elector imposed harsh punishments for transgressions, such as punishing by hanging for looting , and running
15485-406: The face of the reactionary government. The reformers and much of the public called for Frederick William III to ally with the Austrian Empire in its 1809 campaign against France. When the cautious king refused to support a new Prussian war, however, Schill led his hussar regiment against the occupying French, expecting to provoke a national uprising. The king considered Schill a mutineer , and
15648-537: The field, in a vain attempt to meet up with an isolated Saxon army holed up in the fortress at Pirna. As the Prussians technically remained in control of the field of battle, Frederick, in a masterful coverup, claimed Lobositz as a Prussian victory. The Prussians then occupied Saxony; after the siege of Pirna , the Saxon army surrendered in October 1756, and was forcibly incorporated into the Prussian army. The attack on neutral Saxony caused outrage across Europe and led to
15811-527: The first British troop commitment on the continent and a reversal in the policy of Pitt. Ferdinand's Hanoverian army, supplemented by some Prussian troops, had succeeded in driving the French from Hanover and Westphalia and re-captured the port of Emden in March 1758 before crossing the Rhine with his own forces, which caused alarm in France. Despite Ferdinand's victory over the French at the Battle of Krefeld and
15974-480: The fortress at Olmütz, and advance on Vienna to force an end to the war. Accordingly, leaving Field Marshal Count Kurt von Schwerin in Silesia with 25,000 soldiers to guard against incursions from Moravia and Hungary, and leaving Field Marshal Hans von Lehwaldt in East Prussia to guard against Russian invasion from the east, Frederick set off with his army for Saxony. The Prussian army marched in three columns. On
16137-635: The gauntlet for desertion . Acts of violence by officers against civilians resulted in decommission for a year. He developed a cadet institution for the nobility; although the upper class was resistant to the idea in the short term, the integration of the nobility into the officer corps allied them with the Hohenzollern monarchy in the long term. Field Marshals of Brandenburg-Prussia included Derfflinger , John George II , Spaen and Sparr . The elector's troops traditionally were organized into disconnected provincial forces. In 1655, Frederick William began
16300-423: The improvements showed in their success over Prussia at Kolín . Frederick achieved one of his greatest victories, however, at Rossbach , where the Prussian cavalry of Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz smashed a larger Franco-Imperial army with minimal casualties, despite being outnumbered two to one. Frederick then rushed eastward to Silesia, where Austria had defeated the Prussian army under the Duke of Bevern. After
16463-613: The inconclusive Battle of Lake George . The British also harassed French shipping beginning in August 1755, seizing hundreds of ships and capturing thousands of merchant seamen while the two nations were nominally at peace. Incensed, France prepared to attack Hanover, whose prince-elector was also the King of Great Britain and Menorca . Britain concluded a treaty whereby Prussia agreed to protect Hanover. In response France concluded an alliance with its long-time enemy Austria, an event known as
16626-460: The island was captured on 28 June (for which Admiral Byng was court-martialed and executed). Britain formally declared war on France on 17 May, nearly two years after fighting had broken out in the Ohio Country . Frederick II of Prussia had received reports of the clashes in North America and had formed an alliance with Great Britain . On 29 August 1756, he led Prussian troops across
16789-465: The leading role in siege warfare . Strategic warfare in this period centred around control of key fortifications positioned so as to command the surrounding regions and roads, with lengthy sieges a common feature of armed conflict. Decisive field battles were relatively rare. The Seven Years' War, like most European wars of the eighteenth century, was fought as a so-called cabinet war in which disciplined regular armies were equipped and supplied by
16952-470: The liberals' plan to unite Germany through Prussia encouraged reactionary forces. In 1856 during peacetime Prussian Army consisted of 86,436 infantrymen, 152 cavalry squadrons and 9 artillery regiments. After Frederick William IV suffered a stroke, his brother William I became regent (1858) and king (1861–88). He desired to reform the army, which conservatives such as Roon considered to have degraded since 1820 because of liberalism. The king wanted to expand
17115-404: The long religious strife of the Thirty Years' War of 1618 – 1648 . Elector Frederick William (1620–1688, reigned 1640–1688), developed it into a viable standing army , while King Frederick William I of Prussia (1688–1740, reigned 1713–1740), dramatically increased its size and improved its doctrines. King Frederick the Great (1712–1786, reigned 1740–1786), a formidable battle commander, led
17278-592: The maintenance of Poland, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire as French allies in opposition to Russian and Austrian interests. Frederick saw Saxony and Polish west Prussia as potential fields for expansion, but could not expect French support if he started an aggressive war for them. If he joined the French against the British in the hope of annexing Hanover, he might fall victim to an Austro-Russian attack. The hereditary elector of Saxony, Frederick Augustus II ,
17441-718: The major grain-producing areas of the Soviet Union between 1930 and 1933, leading to 5.7 to 8.7 million deaths. Major contributing factors to the famine include: the forced collectivization in the Soviet Union of agriculture as a part of the First Five-Year Plan , forced grain procurement, combined with rapid industrialization, a decreasing agricultural workforce, and several severe droughts. A famine of similar scope also took place in China from 1936 to 1937, killing 5 million people. The 1931 China floods caused 422,499–4,000,000 deaths. Major earthquakes of this decade include
17604-427: The major's rebellion was crushed at Stralsund by French allies. The Treaty of Paris (24 February 1812) forced Prussia to provide 20,000 troops to Napoleon's Grande Armée , first under the leadership of Grawert and then under Yorck. The French occupation of Prussia was reaffirmed, and 300 demoralized Prussian officers resigned in protest. During Napoleon's retreat from Russia in 1812, Yorck independently signed
17767-653: The middle class in 1808, while advancement into the higher ranks became based on education. King Frederick William III created the War Ministry in 1809, and Scharnhorst founded an officers training school, the later Prussian War Academy , in Berlin in 1810. Scharnhorst advocated adopting the levée en masse , the universal military conscription used by France. He created the Krümpersystem , by which companies replaced 3–5 men monthly, allowing up to 60 extra men to be trained annually per company. This system granted
17930-522: The military instead of law and administration. Conscription among the peasantry was more firmly enforced, based on the Swedish model. Frederick William I wore his simple blue military uniform at court, a style henceforth imitated by the rest of the Prussian court and his royal successors. In Prussia, pigtails replaced the full-bottomed wigs common at most German courts. Frederick William I had begun his military innovations in his Kronprinz regiment during
18093-430: The militia's size and placed it under the control of the regular army in 1819, leading to the resignations of Boyen and Grolman and the ending of the reform movement. Boyen's ideal of an enlightened citizen soldier was replaced with the idea of a professional military separate or alienated from civilian society. By the middle of the 19th century, Prussia was seen by many German liberals as the country best-suited to unify
18256-515: The new threat on their doorstep, and Austria was anxious to regain Silesia , lost to Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession . Along with France, Russia and Austria agreed in 1756 to mutual defence and an attack by Austria and Russia on Prussia, subsidized by France. Westphalia, Hesse and Lower Saxony Electoral Saxony Brandenburg Silesia East Prussia Pomerania Iberian Peninsula Naval Operations William Pitt
18419-496: The next five years. Between 10 and 17 October 1757, a Hungarian general, Count András Hadik , serving in the Austrian army, executed what may be the most famous hussar action in history. When the Prussian king, Frederick, was marching south with his powerful armies, the Hungarian general unexpectedly swung his force of 5,000, mostly hussars, around the Prussians and occupied part of their capital, Berlin, for one night. The city
18582-416: The outbreak of the French and Indian War in 1754. Following the realignment of traditional alliances in the so-called 1756 Diplomatic Revolution , Prussia allied with Britain, while the long running French–Habsburg rivalry ended when Austria signed a treaty with France. Spain entered the war on the French side in 1762, unsuccessfully attempting to invade Britain's ally Portugal in what became known as
18745-481: The parties hoped to achieve lasting peace and stability in Europe. The carefully coded word in the agreement proved no less catalytic for the other European powers. The results were absolute chaos. Empress Elizabeth of Russia was outraged at the duplicity of Britain's position. Not only that, but France was enraged and terrified by the sudden betrayal of its only ally, Prussia. Austria, particularly Kaunitz, used this situation to their utmost advantage. Now-isolated France
18908-454: The peace table, but she was determined not to negotiate until she had re-taken Silesia. Maria Theresa also improved the Austrians' command after Leuthen by replacing her incompetent brother-in-law, Charles of Lorraine , with Daun, who was now a field marshal. Calculating that no further Russian advance was likely until 1758, Frederick moved the bulk of his eastern forces to Pomerania under the command of Marshal Lehwaldt, where they were to repel
19071-418: The preparation was directed against Prussia, was more than happy to obey the request of the British. Unbeknownst to the other powers, King George II also made overtures to the Prussian king, Frederick, who, fearing the Austro-Russian intentions, was also desirous of a rapprochement with Britain. On 16 January 1756, the Convention of Westminster was signed, whereby Britain and Prussia promised to aid one another;
19234-414: The reformers wanted to cultivate patriotism within the country. Stein's reforms abolished serfdom in 1807 and initiated local city government in 1808. The generals of the army were completely overhauled – of the 143 Prussian generals in 1806, only Blücher and Tauentzien remained by the Sixth Coalition ; many were allowed to redeem their reputations in the war of 1813. The officer corps was reopened to
19397-437: The results after the Battle of Hochkirch , though, in which the Prussians had to withdraw, the Austrian and Russian Allies did not follow up on their victory. Within the week, the Russian force began a withdrawal eastward; Austrians retreated southward. Prussia was ill-suited for lengthy wars, and a Prussian collapse seemed imminent on account of casualties and lack of resources, but after two more years of campaigning, Frederick
19560-538: The revolution in many other German cities. At the end of 1848, Frederick William finally issued the Constitution of the Kingdom of Prussia . The liberal opposition secured the creation of a parliament , but the constitution was largely a conservative document reaffirming the monarchy's predominance. The army was a praetorian guard outside of the constitution, subject only to the king. The Prussian Minister of War
19723-696: The right was a column of about 15,000 men under the command of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick . On the left was a column of 18,000 men under the command of the Duke of Brunswick-Bevern . In the centre was Frederick II, himself with Field Marshal James Keith commanding a corps of 30,000 troops. Ferdinand of Brunswick was to close in on the town of Chemnitz . The Duke of Brunswick-Bevern was to traverse Lusatia to close in on Bautzen . Meanwhile, Frederick and Keith would make for Dresden . The Saxon and Austrian armies were unprepared, and their forces were scattered. Frederick occupied Dresden with little or no opposition from
19886-506: The royal guard. Many troops were disloyal, such as mercenaries or those acquired through impressment, while troops recruited from the canton system displayed strong regional, and nascent national pride. During the Seven Years' War, the elite regiments of the army were almost entirely composed of native Prussians. By the end of Frederick's reign, the army had become an integral part of Prussian society. It numbered 200,000 soldiers, making it
20049-531: The same time, Kaunitz kept approaching the French in the hope of establishing just such an alliance with Austria. Not only that, France had no intention to ally with Russia, who, years earlier, had meddled in France's affairs during Austria's succession war. France also saw the dismemberment of Prussia as threatening to the stability of Central Europe. Years later, Kaunitz kept trying to establish France's alliance with Austria. He tried as hard as he could to avoid Austrian entanglement in Hanover's political affairs, and
20212-496: The shoulder, with butterfly sleeves and banjo sleeves, and exaggerated shoulder pads for both men and women by the 1940s. The period also saw the first widespread use of man-made fibers, especially rayon for dresses and viscose for linings and lingerie , and synthetic nylon stockings . The zipper became widely used. These essentially U.S. developments were echoed, in varying degrees, in Britain and Europe. Suntans (called at
20375-550: The size of Frederick I's gaudy royal guard to a single regiment, a troop of taller-than-average soldiers known as the Potsdam Giants or more commonly the Lange Kerls (long fellows), which he privately funded. The cavalry was reorganized into 55 squadrons of 150 horses; the infantry was turned into 50 battalions (25 regiments ); and the artillery consisted of two battalions. These changes allowed him to increase
20538-677: The state to conduct warfare on behalf of the sovereign's interests. Occupied enemy territories were regularly taxed and extorted for funds, but large-scale atrocities against civilian populations were rare compared with conflicts in the previous century. Military logistics was the decisive factor in many wars, as armies had grown too large to support themselves on prolonged campaigns by foraging and plunder alone. Military supplies were stored in centralised magazines and distributed by baggage trains that were highly vulnerable to enemy raids. Armies were generally unable to sustain combat operations during winter and normally established winter quarters in
20701-496: The strengthening of the anti-Prussian coalition. The Austrians had succeeded in partially occupying Silesia and, more importantly, denying Frederick winter quarters in Bohemia. Frederick had proven to be overly confident to the point of arrogance and his errors were very costly for Prussia's smaller army. This led him to remark that he did not fight the same Austrians as he had during the previous war. Britain had been surprised by
20864-467: The sudden Prussian offensive but now began shipping supplies and £670,000 (equivalent to £125.9 million in 2023) to its new ally. A combined force of allied German states was organised by the British to protect Hanover from French invasion, under the command of the Duke of Cumberland . The British attempted to persuade the Dutch Republic to join the alliance, but the request was rejected, as
21027-461: The superiority of the British navy, made it difficult for the French navy to provide significant supplies and support to overseas colonies. Similarly, several long land borders made an effective domestic army imperative for any French ruler. Given these military necessities, the French government, unsurprisingly, based its strategy overwhelmingly on the army in Europe: it would keep most of its army on
21190-519: The terrain, which could not be used to an advantage. The Russians had arrived early and fortified themselves on the high ground. Frederick used oblique order to great success at Hohenfriedberg and later Leuthen. After a few initial volley fire , the infantry was to advance quickly for a bayonet charge. The Prussian cavalry was to attack as a large formation with swords before the opposing cavalry could attack. The first garrison began construction in Berlin in 1764. While Frederick William I wanted to have
21353-534: The third-largest in Europe after the armies of Russia and Austria. The social classes were all expected to serve the state and its military — the nobility led the army, the middle class supplied the army, and the peasants composed the army. Minister Friedrich von Schrötter remarked that, "Prussia was not a country with an army, but an army with a country". Frederick the Great's successor, his nephew Frederick William II (1786–97), relaxed conditions in Prussia and had little interest in war. He delegated responsibility to
21516-403: The thirteen American colonies, working under the command of British regulars, to invade New France. In order to tie the French army down he subsidized his European allies. Pitt was head of the government from 1756 to 1761, and even after that the British continued his strategy. It proved completely successful. Pitt had a clear appreciation of the enormous value of imperial possessions, and realized
21679-585: The time "sunburns") became fashionable in the early 1930s, along with travel to the resorts along the Mediterranean , in the Bahamas , and on the east coast of Florida where one can acquire a tan, leading to new categories of clothes: white dinner jackets for men and beach pajamas, halter tops, and bare midriffs for women. Revolutionary designer and couturier Madeleine Vionnet gained popularity for her bias-cut technique, which clung, draped, and embraced
21842-493: The time as the Austrian Army was considered to be a highly professional force. With these victories, Frederick once again established himself as Europe's premier general and his men as Europe's most accomplished soldiers. However, Frederick missed an opportunity to completely destroy the Austrian army at Leuthen; although depleted, it escaped back into Bohemia. He hoped the two smashing victories would bring Maria Theresa to
22005-424: The two men agreed to a political partnership and formed a coalition government that gave new, firmer direction to the war effort. The new strategy emphasised both Newcastle's commitment to British involvement on the continent, particularly in defence of its German possessions, and Pitt's determination to use naval power to seize French colonies around the globe. This "dual strategy" would dominate British policy for
22168-469: The unification of the various detachments by placing them under Sparr's overall command. Unification also increased through the appointment of Generalkriegskommissar Platen as head of supplies. These measures decreased the authority of the primarily mercenary colonels who had been so prominent during the Thirty Years' War. Brandenburg-Prussia's new army survived its trial by fire through victory in
22331-550: The vulnerability of the French Empire. The British prime minister, the Duke of Newcastle , was optimistic that the new series of alliances could prevent war from breaking out in Europe. However, a large French force was assembled at Toulon , and the French opened the campaign against the British with an attack on Minorca in the Mediterranean. A British attempt at relief was foiled at the Battle of Minorca , and
22494-407: The war actively overseas, taking full advantage of its naval power . The British pursued a dual strategy—naval blockade and bombardment of enemy ports, and rapid movement of troops by sea. They harassed enemy shipping and attacked enemy colonies, frequently using colonists from nearby British colonies in the effort. The Russians and the Austrians were determined to reduce the power of Prussia,
22657-434: The war. The provincial estates desired a reduction in the army's size during peacetime, but the elector avoided their demands through political concessions , evasion and economy. In the 1653 Brandenburg Recess between Frederick William and the estates of Brandenburg, the nobility provided the sovereign with 530,000 thalers in return for affirmation of their privileges. The Junkers thus cemented their political power at
22820-421: The weakening of the Landwehr , and proposed a revised bill that did away with many of the government's desired reforms. The Finance Minister, Patow , abruptly withdrew the bill on 5 May and instead simply requested a provisional budgetary increase of 9 million thalers, which was granted. William had already begun creating 'combined regiments' to replace the Landwehr , a process which increased after Patow acquired
22983-596: The western borders of their colonies. They felt the French would encourage their tribal allies among the North American natives to attack them. Also, the British settlers wanted access to the fertile land of the Ohio River Valley for the new settlers that were flooding into the British colonies seeking farmland. The most important French fort planned was intended to occupy a position at "the Forks", where
23146-649: The winter and would remain under their control until 1762, although it was far less strategically valuable to Prussia than Brandenburg or Silesia. In any case, Frederick did not see the Russians as an immediate threat and instead entertained hopes of first fighting a decisive battle against Austria that would knock them out of the war. In April 1758, the British concluded the Anglo-Prussian Convention with Frederick in which they committed to pay him an annual subsidy of £670,000. Britain also dispatched 9,000 troops to reinforce Ferdinand's Hanoverian army,
23309-405: The words of the American historian Daniel Marston , Gross-Jägersdorf left the Prussians with "a newfound respect for the fighting capabilities of the Russians that was reinforced in the later battles of Zorndorf and Kunersdorf". However, the Russians were not yet able to take Königsberg after using up their supplies of cannonballs at Memel, and Gross-Jägersdorf retreated soon afterwards. Logistics
23472-525: Was a recurring problem for the Russians throughout the war. The Russians lacked a quartermaster's department capable of keeping armies operating in Central Europe properly supplied over the primitive mud roads of eastern Europe. The tendency of Russian armies to break off operations after fighting a major battle, even when they were not defeated, was less about their casualties and more about their supply lines; after expending much of their munitions in
23635-596: Was also a popular art movement during the 1930s in the USA. During the Great Depression the art of photography played an important role in the Social Realist movement. The work of Dorothea Lange , Walker Evans , Margaret Bourke-White , Lewis Hine , Edward Steichen , Gordon Parks , Arthur Rothstein , Marion Post Wolcott , Doris Ulmann , Berenice Abbott , Aaron Siskind , Russell Lee , Ben Shahn (as
23798-505: Was also elective King of Poland as Augustus III, but the two territories were physically separated by Brandenburg and Silesia. Neither state could pose as a great power. Saxony was merely a buffer between Prussia and Austrian Bohemia , whereas Poland, despite its union with the ancient lands of Lithuania, was prey to pro-French and pro-Russian factions. A Prussian scheme for compensating Frederick Augustus with Bohemia in exchange for Saxony obviously presupposed further spoliation of Austria. In
23961-545: Was by and large abolished, while soldiers were trained in the field and in tirailleur tactics. Scharnhorst promoted the integration of the infantry, cavalry, artillery, and engineers (sappers) through combined arms , as opposed to their previous independent states. Equipment and tactics were updated in respect to the Napoleonic campaigns. The field manual issued by Yorck in 1812 emphasized combined arms and faster marching speeds. In 1813, Scharnhorst succeeded in attaching
24124-403: Was decisively defeated in the battles of Saalfeld , Jena and Auerstedt in 1806 and Napoleon occupied Berlin . The Prussians' famed discipline collapsed and led to widescale surrendering among infantry, cavalry and garrisons. While some Prussian commanders acquitted themselves well, such as L'Estocq at Eylau , Gneisenau at Kolberg , and Blücher at Lübeck , they were not enough to reverse
24287-596: Was developing new methods of organization, supply, mobility, and command. Prussia withdrew from the First Coalition in the Peace of Basel (1795), ceding the Rhenish territories to France. Upon Frederick William II's death in 1797, the state was bankrupt and the army outdated. He was succeeded by his son, Frederick William III (1797–1840), who involved Prussia in the disastrous Fourth Coalition . The Prussian Army
24450-491: Was even willing to trade Austrian Netherlands for France's aid in recapturing Silesia. Frustrated by this decision and by the Dutch Republic 's insistence on neutrality, Britain soon turned to Russia. On 30 September 1755, Britain pledged financial aid to Russia in order to station 50,000 troops on the Livonian-Lithuanian border, so they could defend Britain's interests in Hanover immediately. Bestuzhev, assuming
24613-422: Was first recognized in the Thirty Years' War by the Brandenburger and Swedish armies. The new king trained and drilled the army relentlessly, focusing on their flintlock muskets' firing speed and formation maneuverability. The changes gave the army flexibility, precision, and a rate of fire that was mostly unequalled for that period. Through drilling and the iron ramrod, each soldier was expected to fire six times
24776-507: Was forced to accede to the Austro-Russian alliance or face ruin. Thereafter, on 1 May 1756, the First Treaty of Versailles was signed, in which both nations pledged 24,000 troops to defend each other in the case of an attack. This diplomatic revolution proved to be an important cause of the war; although both treaties were ostensibly defensive in nature, the actions of both coalitions made the war virtually inevitable. European warfare in
24939-965: Was halted due to the need to confront Japanese imperial ambitions, with the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party forming a Second United Front to fight Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War . Lesser conflicts included interstate wars such as the Colombia–Peru War (1932–1933) , the Chaco War (1932–1935) and the Saudi–Yemeni War (1934) , as well as internal conflicts in Brazil (1932) , Ecuador (1932) , El Salvador (1932) , Austria (1934) and British Palestine (1936–1939) . Severe famine took place in
25102-643: Was halted, while Prussia confirmed its status as a great power, challenging Austria for dominance within the Holy Roman Empire , thus altering the European balance of power . In the historiography of some countries, the war is named after combatants in its respective theatres. In the present-day United States, the conflict is known as the French and Indian War (1754–1763). In English-speaking Canada—the balance of Britain's former North American colonies—it
25265-542: Was largely undefined in the 1750s. France had long claimed the entire Mississippi River basin. This was disputed by Britain. In the early 1750s the French began constructing a chain of forts in the Ohio River Valley to assert their claim and shield the Native American population from increasing British influence. The British settlers along the coast were upset that French troops would now be close to
25428-525: Was led by Great Britain and Prussia . The other alliance was led by France and Austria , backed by Spain , Saxony , Sweden , and Russia . Related conflicts include the 1754 to 1763 French and Indian War , and 1762 to 1763 Anglo-Spanish War . The War of the Austrian Succession ended in 1748, but failed to resolve ongoing tensions between the European powers. Continuing colonial disputes between Britain and France in North America resulted in
25591-469: Was needed to occupy Pomerania and felt the Swedish army would not need to engage with the Prussians because the Prussians were occupied on so many other fronts. This problem was compounded when the main Hanoverian army under Cumberland, which include Hesse-Kassel and Brunswick troops, was defeated at the Battle of Hastenbeck and forced to surrender entirely at the Convention of Klosterzeven following
25754-556: Was passionately devoted to his family's continental holdings, but his commitments in Germany were counterbalanced by the demands of the British colonies overseas. If war against France for colonial expansion was to be resumed, then Hanover had to be secured against Franco-Prussian attack. France was very much interested in colonial expansion and was willing to exploit the vulnerability of Hanover in war against Great Britain, but it had no desire to divert forces to Central Europe for Prussia's interest. French policy was, moreover, complicated by
25917-444: Was required to serve as a soldier in these recruitment districts for three months each year; this met agrarian needs and added troops to bolster the regular ranks. The General Directory which developed during Frederick William I's reign continued the absolutist tendencies of his grandfather and collected the increased taxes necessary for the expanded military. The middle class of the towns was required to quarter soldiers and enroll in
26080-580: Was saved by the " Miracle of the House of Brandenburg " — the Russian exit from the war after the sudden death of Empress Elizabeth in 1762. Prussian control of Silesia was confirmed in the Treaty of Hubertusburg (1763). Severe casualties had led the king to admit middle class officers during the war, but this trend was reversed afterwards. The offensive-minded Frederick advocated the oblique order of battle, which required considerable discipline and mobility. This tactic failed at Kunersdorf primarily because of
26243-481: Was spared for a negotiated ransom of 200,000 thalers. When Frederick heard about this humiliating occupation, he immediately sent a larger force to free the city. Hadik, however, left the city with his hussars and safely reached the Austrian lines. Subsequently, Hadik was promoted to the rank of marshal in the Austrian Army. In early 1758, Frederick launched an invasion of Moravia and laid siege to Olmütz (now Olomouc , Czech Republic). Following an Austrian victory at
26406-592: Was the assault on Acadia on 16 June 1755 in the Battle of Fort Beauséjour , which was immediately followed by their expulsion of the Acadians . In July, British Major General Edward Braddock led about 2,000 army troops and provincial militia on an expedition to retake Fort Duquesne, but the expedition ended in disastrous defeat. In further action, Admiral Edward Boscawen fired on the French ship Alcide on 8 June 1755 , capturing it and two troop ships. In September 1755, British colonial and French troops met in
26569-598: Was the only soldier required to swear an oath defending the constitution, leading ministers such as Strotha , Bonin and Waldersee to be criticized by either the king or the parliament, depending on their political views. The army's budget had to be approved by the Prussian House of Representatives . Novels and memoirs glorifying the army, especially its involvement in the Napoleonic Wars, began to be published to sway public opinion. The defeat at Olmütz of
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