Frederick the Great: They Don't Call Him Great for Nothing

Once every few generations a leader emerges who has the ability to restructure the paradigm of his society. Such a leader was Frederick the Great. Through the clarity of his vision, the force of his personality and the enormity of his talents he single-handily raised Prussia from a second rate power to one of the great powers of Europe. In the course of this lifetime project, Frederick demonstrated a mastery of every level of military operations from tactics to strategy as well as an uncanny understanding of national strategy and its elements of power. This paper provides a brief biography of the Prussian king and examines the contributions he made at the various levels to military thought and their relevance to current thought.