Die preußische Armee zwischen Ancien Régime und Reichsgründung (review)

Military history has experienced a surge of scholarly interest in Germany since the mid-1990s, shifting the subject from the periphery to the academic mainstream. This change is evident in the way military themes are now routinely incorporated within other areas of research, as well as a rapid growth in specialist studies, many of them sponsored by the Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt since its relocation from Freiburg to Potsdam. The findings from two conferences on the Prussian army in 2002 and 2004 are brought together in the present volume surveying development from the accession of Frederick William I in 1713 to the immediate aftermath of German unification in 1871. As the editors admit, the result is more a taking stock of research than of presenting original findings. The fourteen papers by twelve contributors are arranged chronologically and split evenly in two halves by the seminal date of Prussia's defeat by Napoleon in 1806.

Four themes stand out. The problematic relationship of the Prussian army to state and society predominates, indicating that this long-standing issue remains unresolved. All the contributors agree in challenging the cliché of Prussian militarism that persists even in some scholarly works, whilst remaining firmly entrenched in the popular imagination. Their conclusions suggest a more nuanced, varied picture with the army remaining influential, but not invariably the dominant factor in Prussian development. Wolfgang Neugebauer stresses the point that the Prussian state was hierarchical, rather than centralised, leaving its monarch reliant on local landowners. Rolf Straubel and Sabrina Müller provide succinct summaries of their research that appeared in substantial monographs in 1998 and 1999 respectively. Müller explains why, despite revolutionary agitation, the army remained generally loyal to the monarchy in 1848. Straubel convincingly demolishes the 'militarisation of the civil administration' thesis by demonstrating that while former soldiers formed a sizeable proportion of Prussia's civil servants, they remained overwhelmingly confined to the lowest paid and least influential positions during the eighteenth century. Elements of the established view are nonetheless confirmed, notably by Harald Müller who argues the financial arrangements agreed at the Reichstag in 1874 represented a defeat for parliamentary control over the army.

The issue of reform forms a second theme. In two substantial papers, Michael Sikora sketches the general context following the French Revolution and examines Prussia's response to the defeat of 1806. In both he underscores the point that the new French and Prussian recruitment methods rationalised earlier practice without solving the tensions inherent in military-civil relations. While Prussian reforms remained improvised and eclectic, they nonetheless achieved their basic goal of broadening popular support for the army and its national role. Heinz Stübig's two papers examine the contribution of individual reformers, and the development of the general staff, perhaps the most influential development to emerge from the reforms. The role of individuals features in several other papers. Wolfgang Petter reconsiders General Albrecht von Roon's integration of the Landwehr with the army reserve during his time as war minister (1859-73), arguing the Landwehr never entirely disappeared. Peter Baumgart offers a brief survey of Frederick William I, downplaying his sobriquet as 'soldier king' by arguing that finance and administration formed equal weight with the army in his concept of kingship. The king's principal general, Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau, is discussed in Michael Rohrschneider's interesting paper reappraising his role in transmitting Dutch ideas of discipline to Prussia at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

While the main focus of the book is on the army in its domestic setting, the last group of papers offer some comparisons with other parts of Europe. Bernhard Kroener does this for the social origins, motivation and professionalism of eighteenth-century Prussian, Austrian and French officers. Christoph Allmayer-Beck surveys Austrian attitudes to the Prussian army from the Seven Years War [End Page 947...