of the army maintained the feudal agrarian economic structure. However everyone was a citizen of the state, including the King: “ I am first a servant of the state.” However, everyone was under the King. Frederick William’s contribution to Prussian History was making the machine work at maximum efficiency.Equipped with a military embodying a well-oiled machine, Frederick II, or Frederick the Great came to power in 1740 with the goal of increasing Prussia’s power in Europe. Frederick was very different from his Hohenzollern ancestors in his love for the refined and interest in higher education. Frederick William thought that his son lacked the leadership qualities necessary, but Frederick II exhibited excellent leadership skills upon his accession to the throne in 1740. Frederick invaded Silesia without warning during the Austrian Succession while offering his aid to Maria Theresa if she ceded a portion of Silesia to him at the same time. He was brilliant in his military campaigns and maintained the attitude is predecessors had of acting only for the good of Prussia; this trait made him a rather unreliable ally. Silesia was in dispute during the Seven Years War while Maria Theresa attempted to recover her lost territory. Austrian and Russian forces occupied Berlin in 1760, however the accession of his admirer Peter III of Russia took Russia out of the war and cleared the path to Frederick’s victory. The peace of Hubertus burg allowed Frederick to retain his previous conquests and made Prussia the foremost military power in Prussia. The military tactics he employed were studied and admired by Napoleon and have wielded a great influence on the art of warfare.During the first half of the nineteenth century Prussia contended with Austria for influence in the German Confederation with Prussia emerging victorious in the 1860s. Otto von Bismarck became chief minister in 1862, provoking and winning wars with Denma...
