On August 3, 1770, the Kingdom of Prussia welcomed a monarch like no other, Frederick William III. In this land of iron-blooded monarchs, he stands out with his unique personality and skill.
However, his childhood was not smooth, and his father's indifference to him made him develop a polite, kind, and even somewhat indecisive character under the cultivation of his governess.
However, it was this seemingly moderate monarch who, for nearly half of his king's career, succeeded in thwarting Napoleon's ambition to dominate Europe and elevate Prussia from an ordinary European country to a powerful continental power.
Let's take a closer look at how this monarch persevered against Napoleon in the mess of his predecessors and finally achieved the rise of Prussia.
Frederick II held a flute recital at Sanssouci Palace, and although he earned the name of "the Great" for his victory in the Seven Years' War, the war almost drained Prussia's blood and left a country full of wounds for posterity.
However, his father, Frederick the Fatty, took the opposite approach, reviving and developing Prussia's economy by reducing military spending and carrying out economic reforms, but the country's defense strength also declined rapidly.
In his confrontation with Napoleon, Frederick William III spent 18 of his 43-year reign as king against his lifelong enemy. Although he tried to form an anti-French alliance with **, Napoleon crushed the main Prussian army and stormed Berlin in only 13 days from the declaration of war.
Frederick William III fled to Moscow in a hurry, and a year later made peace with France, ceding almost all of the territory gained by Frederick the Great's invasion and paying huge war reparations.
The victorious French humiliated Prussia and even spread rumors that Frederick would not hesitate to let Queen Louise out of the horse in order to keep the land, and privately interceded with Napoleon.
Queen Louise was a well-known beauty in Europe, and during her negotiations with Napoleon, Frederick William III could not help but walk in, and Napoleon smiled and said to him: "You have come too early, and if you come a little later, I will almost agree to leave Margot Fort to you!" ”
At that time, Frederick William III was regarded as a king without dignity. However, he proved to be a king who was both civil and military. He seized on Napoleon's mistakes and defeated France in one fell swoop.
In 1812, Napoleon asked Prussia to send 20,000 troops to help him invade Russia, and as a result, this large-scale war of conquest of Russia ended in Napoleon's defeat, and less than 30,000 of the 670,000 French troops withdrew.
This was undoubtedly the perfect opportunity for Prussia to counterattack the French, and Frederick William III immediately called up General Blucher, who had been excluded because of his insistence on fighting against France, and put all the Prussian troops of 90,000 under his command.
Blucher lived up to expectations, won consecutive battles in **, and captured Paris all the way, and Napoleon was forced to abdicate. After Napoleon's restoration, Blucher once again led the Prussian army into battle, and in cooperation with Wellington at Waterloo, he completely defeated Napoleon.
Since then, Prussia has not only regained its former territory, but has also succeeded in weakening its most important rival on the continent, France.
He learned from the experience of his ancestors that it is necessary to achieve both military and institutional building. In order to correct the embarrassing situation of insufficient troops caused by his father's reduction of the army, he vigorously promoted nationalist ideas at home, and followed the example of France in implementing universal military service, requiring men between the ages of 20 and 40 to serve in the standing army for three years before transferring to the reserve army to serve in the reserve.
At the same time, he took advantage of the democratic wave of the time and promised to promote the unification of the German Confederation and the establishment of a democratic constitution, which attracted a large number of young people to join the army. This reform allowed Prussia to have an adequate supply of troops and quickly reversed its military weakness.
In addition, he did not repeat the mistake of reckless militarism, but actively devoted himself to the cause of education and culture. He advocated the use of education and knowledge to help the country out of material poverty, and with the strong support of Frederick Wilhelm III, he established the Humboldt University of Berlin, known as the "mother of modern universities".
Prior to Humboldt, most universities followed the monastic tradition, focusing on the training of clergy and public officials, neglecting research. Humboldt University, on the other hand, adheres to the philosophy of "education is freedom" and encourages academic research and teaching.
The radical development of education gave Prussia a large reserve of cutting-edge talents in various fields, and Germany became a paradise for European scholars at that time, with Schelling, Hegel, Fichte and others all studying or teaching at Humboldt University.
In the end, however, he became a conservative king who opposed the spread of the flame of the French Revolution in Europe.
The Metternich era ended the Napoleonic Wars and made Clemens Metternich, Prime Minister of the Austrian Empire, one of the most prominent diplomats of the 19th century. His Congress of Vienna consolidated order in Europe, but at the same time upheld monarchy on the continent and swept away the aftermath of the French Revolution.
He concluded a treaty of alliance with Austria and the Tsar**, allowing Prussia, Austria and the Tsar** to cooperate against the European threat. Although his actions led to a massive demonstration among the students of the Prussian Confederation demanding a unified and democratic federal parliament, Frederick Wilhelm III immediately cooperated with Austria to suppress the movement for three years, and personally extinguished the flame of democracy that had been ignited by himself.
Although his paradoxical behavior in the early and late years of his reign was not spiritual, his choice deprived Prussia of the opportunity to move from a monarchy to a democracy.
This once again verifies the law of hostility in history.