For the succeeding German army of the Weimar Republic (1919–1935), see Reichsheer.
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Prussian Army
War ensign of Prussia
Active
1701–1919
Country
Kingdom of Prussia
Allegiance
House of Hohenzollern
Branch
Army
Type
Land forces
Size
Ranging between 70,000 and 700,000 during the period.
Garrison/HQ
Potsdam
Patron
King of Prussia
Engagements
War of the Spanish Succession Great Northern War War of the Austrian Succession
First Silesian War
Second Silesian War
Seven Years' War
Third Silesian War
War of the Bavarian Succession French Revolutionary Wars
First Coalition
Napoleonic Wars
Fourth Coalition
Sixth Coalition
Seventh Coalition
First Schleswig War Second Schleswig War Austro-Prussian War Franco-Prussian War World War I
Commanders
Notable commanders
Frederick William I Frederick the Great Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg August Neidhardt von Gneisenau Carl von Clausewitz Kaiser Wilhelm I Moltke the Elder Albrecht von Roon Friedrich Karl Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz Paul von Hindenburg August von Mackensen Erich Ludendorff Erich von Falkenhayn
Military unit
Attack of Prussian Infantry, 4 June 1745, by Carl Röchling
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 power.
The Prussian Army had its roots in the core mercenary forces of Brandenburg-Prussia during the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648. Elector Frederick William developed it into a viable standing army, while King Frederick William I of Prussia dramatically increased its size and improved its doctrines. King Frederick the Great, a formidable battle commander, led the disciplined Prussian troops to victory during the 18th-century Silesian Wars and greatly increased the prestige of the Kingdom of Prussia.
The Prussian army had become outdated and under-resourced by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, and France defeated Prussia in the War of the Fourth Coalition in 1806. However, under the leadership of Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian reformers began modernizing the Prussian Army, which contributed greatly to the defeat of Napoleon during 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 government.
In the 19th century, the Prussian Army fought successful wars against Denmark, Austria, and France, allowing Prussia to unify Germany, establishing the German Empire in 1871. The Prussian Army formed the core of the Imperial German Army, which was replaced by the Reichswehr after World War I.
The Royal PrussianArmy (1701–1919, German: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development...
country as a European great power through the victories of the powerful PrussianArmy. Prussia made attempts to unify all the German states (excluding the...
The Royal PrussianArmy was the principal armed force of the Kingdom of Prussia during its participation in the Napoleonic Wars. Frederick the Great's...
the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. Prussia formed the North German Confederation and the treaty provided for the maintenance of a Federal Army and a Federal...
as the Anglo-allied army or Wellington's army). The other comprised three corps (the 1st, 2nd and 4th corps) of the Prussianarmy under Field Marshal...
the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (German: Großer Generalstab), was a full-time body at the head of the PrussianArmy and...
the 18th century, Prussian blue was the predominant uniform coat color worn by the infantry and artillery regiments of the PrussianArmy. As Dunkelblau (dark...
secured the flanks and supply lines of Napoleon's army and in 1806-7 they forced several Prussian forts to surrender. Bavaria was awarded the Austrian...
under Napoleon occupied Prussia, pursued the remnants of the shattered PrussianArmy, and captured Berlin. They then advanced all the way to East Prussia...
the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, expanding its size with the PrussianArmy. Prussia, with its capital at Königsberg and then, when it became the...
the second-highest general officer rank, below field marshal, in the PrussianArmy as well as in the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1921–1933)...
necessary amount of armaments for the army marked the definite end of government-owned army workshops. The PrussianArmy infantry had 270,000 Dreyse needle...
the Armée du Nord under the command of Napoleon I defeated part of a Prussianarmy under Field Marshal Blücher, was fought on 16 June 1815 near Ligny in...
Prussianism comprises the practices and doctrines of the Prussians, specifically the militarism and the severe discipline traditionally associated with...
centuries, as Prussia's military consistently concentrated on the PrussianArmy. The Prussian Navy was dissolved in 1867 when Prussia joined the North German...
between the French Army of the North and two Seventh Coalition armies, an Anglo-allied army and a Prussianarmy. Initially the French army had been commanded...
the only enlisted rank until 1918 within the Royal PrussianArmy and respectively the imperial army of the German Empire to which an exceptional enlisted...
Deutsch-Dänischer Krieg or German Danish War), also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War, was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein...
blunders and King Frederick II of Prussia fled the battlefield, but the PrussianArmy still managed to attain victory. This battle cemented Frederick's authority...
The 1st Prussian Infantry Regiment (von Kunheim) (German: 1. Preußisches Infanterieregiment) was a line infantry regiment of the Old PrussianArmy which...
The East Prussian offensive was a strategic offensive by the Soviet Red Army against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front (World War II). It lasted...
responsibility. Since the ancient time of PrussianArmy, the non-commissioned officers or subofficers of German armies are distinguished into Unteroffiziere...
The Prussian uprisings were two major and three smaller uprisings by the Old Prussians, one of the Baltic tribes, against the Teutonic Knights that took...
shape the new army. A number of European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who taught PrussianArmy tactics and...
Global Information
Kingdom of Prussia