After countless discussions and research, William discovered that the economic foundation of the Kingdom of Prussia was a backward serfdom economy. The nobles fixed the peasants on the manor, and the peasants were dependent serfs without personal freedom. Agricultural productivity was low. Despite this, capitalist industry and commerce
It has overcome various obstacles and entered the initial stage of development - the stage of cottage industry and handicraft workshops dominated by merchants.
The bourgeoisie were increasingly dissatisfied with the status quo. Politically, the autocratic king had supreme power. "I am the king, so I should do whatever I want." This was the motto of Friedrich William I, which was also respected by all the Prussian monarchs.
Almost all state offices are held by nobles. The Kingdom of Prussia, which started by force, is "not a country with an army, but an army with a country."
In the original history, the Prussian army, which was once dominant for a while, had fallen behind by the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. First of all, the Prussian army was not a national army composed of free citizens, but a mercenary army. The recruitment of soldiers mainly relied on buying, cheating, and robbing.
The royal recruiting officers recruited notorious ruffians from Prussia and other German states into the army, and implemented a brutal punishment system in order to maintain order in the army. Secondly, officers were promoted based on their birthplace and length of service rather than on merit.
Children of the aristocracy almost monopolized all officer positions in the Prussian army. The aristocratic officers brought Juncker's arrogance and class prejudice into the army, causing serious antagonism between officers and soldiers. The decadent officer promotion system blocked those civilian soldiers who were both wise and courageous and had outstanding achievements.
The road to promotion is limited, and the children of the nobles can rise to the top even if they are timid and incompetent. This annihilates the fighting enthusiasm and dedication of the soldiers, leads to the aging of the officer corps, leads to a decadent life, and encourages a conservative culture.
Thirdly, the company manager system was relatively strict in the era of Friedrich William I, but by the time of Friedrich II, it took an extremely harmful form: the king would distribute the annual military pay to the company at once, with a monthly salary of 3 towers per person.
Le 5 Grosin. The training period was 3 months at the beginning, and was later reduced to 2 months. In the remaining 10 months, the company commander gave 60 of the company's 70 local soldiers a leave, and only kept the usual 60 foreign soldiers at full capacity.
Since soldiers were not paid during the holidays, the money went into the pockets of the company commander. The company manager system made starvation of pay prevalent in the army, and the shortage of troops was serious.
In addition, the line tactics pursued by the Prussian army were outdated. The Prussian army was trained with sticks and was a heavy war machine that ran accurately. The only form of combat that these soldiers could use was line tactics. "This tactic was used in Fri.
It reached its most perfect state in the era of Derich II. "All the infantry lined up in three lines, forming a long, narrow and hollow quadrilateral. They moved in combat formation as a whole. The marching speed was 75 steps per minute. They could only fight on flat terrain.
Win with superior firepower and a single assault.
However, everything is lost and everything flows. The update of weapons and equipment and the changes in army organization have made line tactics outdated. However, the elite group in the Prussian army is still blindly optimistic and does not want to reform. In short, the economy is backward, the politics is reactionary and the army
The corruption caused Prussia, which seemed powerful in its original history, to be defeated by Napoleon.
After careful consideration, William thought:
We must arouse the independent sentiments of the people, and give them the opportunity to know themselves and take charge of themselves... Our noble field of activity is nothing more than smashing all kinds of old forms, getting rid of the shackles of prejudice, directing, promoting the work of rejuvenation, and making the
to develop freely without hindrance." That is to say, use bourgeois freedom, equality, and fraternity as ideological weapons to arouse the patriotism and dedication of the people, break through the shackles of feudal concepts, smash the old system, and revitalize Prussia.
A series of reforms were carried out under William's leadership.
First of all, rectify and transform the officer corps and improve the quality of the officer corps. Army construction involves people (officers and soldiers), weapons and equipment, establishment systems and military academics. Among them, people are the main link, and the construction of the officer corps is the core of the main link. Officers
It is not only responsible for the organic integration of soldiers and weapons and equipment, but also for the implementation of flexible and mobile command. Without well-trained and flexible commanding excellent officers, brave soldiers, excellent equipment, and clever strategies and tactics, it will be difficult to fully exert their effect.
The aging officers only know how to pamper themselves and cling to their disabilities, thus aggravating the tendency of the Prussian army to stick to the old ways. The Prussian military reform started with the rectification and transformation of the officer corps. Punishing and eliminating officers who performed poorly during the war was one of the important contents of reforming the officer corps.
In response to this, William's preliminary draft "Regulations on the Selection of Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery Officers for Senior Officer Positions" stipulates:
Only educated and knowledgeable people in peacetime, and only those who show extraordinary bravery, initiative and foresight in wartime, can be promoted to officers.
At the same time, William abolished the regulations for promoting senior officers based on years of service, and announced that promotion of officers must pass an examination, covering both military and cultural aspects. The company manager system was also abolished. Military education and training is an important way to improve the quality of the officer corps.
William, Henry and Prince Ferdinand paid special attention to this. Prince Ferdinand presided over the revision of the teaching content of the old military school and suggested to William that three new military schools should be built in Berlin, Breslau and Königsberg. Candidate officers
He no longer trains as a corporal but as a private to strengthen his training.
Secondly, William ordered the cancellation of the barbaric punishments prevalent in the Prussian army. The Prussian army was composed of mercenaries. The mercenaries had no enthusiasm for service and had poor military discipline. Barbaric punishments were prevalent in the army. Criminal soldiers were subject to 5 penalties depending on the severity of their crimes.
——30 times of whipping. According to Prussian military law, whipping was carried out by 200 people. Before execution, the regimental law enforcement captain gave each soldier a long hazel or birch branch soaked in salt water. Let the criminal take it with him.
Handcuffed and shackled, naked to the waist walked through a terrifying alleyway lined with 200 people. The soldiers who were tortured often died or were maimed. The morale of the soldiers was low. Escape incidents were common. The citizens and civilians of the country were unwilling to serve their country in the army that used such punishment.
William believed that in order to establish a national army that came from his own country and was full of strong will to liberate the motherland from alien rule, it must implement the spirit of freedom, equality, and fraternity, replace feudal punitive doctrine with bourgeois humanitarianism, and abolish barbarism.
punishment.
William canceled the whipping punishment in the newly drafted "Military Punishment Regulations" and "Officer Punishment Regulations"; deserters were no longer shot and only sentenced to ten years in prison; all major criminal cases must be submitted to the temporary military court for judgment, and the death penalty was submitted to the king for approval.
However, the punishment of private soldiers is still carried out by officers and sergeants.
Third, the military service system was reformed and an armed force system was established that combined the standing army, reserve army and national army. The core is to implement a universal compulsory military service system, and on this basis, establish an armed force system suitable for Prussia's national conditions. The universal compulsory military service system is a modern
The result of industrial development, the expansion of the size of the army and the scale of war. The replacement of the mercenary system by the universal compulsory military service is a historical progress. However, some ministers regard the universal compulsory military service as a scourge.
The new military service system stipulates that all citizens must serve in the military for three years and then continue to serve in the reserve service for two years; they cannot be exempted from military service by paying taxes; educated young people who can pay for equipment can only serve in active service for one year, but they must be in the national army.
Complete five years of total service in the military.
The standing army is composed of soldiers who are still in training. After three years of active service, the soldiers are transferred to the reserve army and continue to serve in the army for two years. The standing army is responsible for field tasks and is organized into independent regiments and battalions. The reserve army is composed of the first type reserve army and the second type reserve army.
The first-category reserve army and the standing army jointly perform field missions. The second-category reserve army performs guard duties during wartime, so that the standing army and the first-category reserve army can go all out for field operations. The National Army protects communication lines when the enemy invades. It implements strong walls and clears the country, and cooperates with them.
Standing armies fight.
The three-combination armed force system implements the principle of deploying troops among the people and integrating them in peacetime and war, which facilitates the cooperation between the three. It not only helps the standing army and the first reserve army to eliminate worries and carry out mobile operations, but also enhances military potential. This is beneficial to small countries with few people.
It is very advantageous for Prussia to maintain strong military strength and potential.
Fourth, reorganize the central military agencies and strengthen the unified command and management of the army. The multi-disciplinary government and the disordered command system are another reason why William is eager for reform. Without an efficient and unified central military agency, it will be difficult to implement military reforms.
Measures. William initially planned to establish a military department with a military bureau and a military economics bureau to coordinate military work across Prussia.
Fifth, break away from traditional concepts and develop military theory. The development of production technology, the update of weapons and equipment, and changes in the military organization system will inevitably put forward new requirements for strategy and tactics and promote the development of military theory. Military academics in the era of Friedrich the Great
Principles are outdated. When the world changes, things will change. When things change, prepare for changes. Being complacent will affect the future of a country.
William believed that military reform must draw on the advanced experience of foreign armies on the basis of full consideration of national conditions and military conditions. In the military, the advanced often win and the laggards lose. The urgency of military reform generally comes from the country's military backwardness. Prussian military reform
It was carried out with the aim of defeating the army in error.
Historically, the Prussian reformers always relied on Napoleon as their teacher, trying to implement the French bourgeois revolutionary principles of freedom, equality, and fraternity and the new military service system, organization, strategies and tactics into military reform measures. A universal compulsory military service system was implemented.
, the abolition of aristocratic privileges and the barbaric punishment system and the adoption of new strategies and tactics are all the results of learning from France.
However, if learning from foreign armies is not combined with national conditions and military conditions, it will be difficult to implement reform measures and achieve results. While learning from France, the military reformers implemented an armed force system that combined the standing army, reserve army and national army.
The result of national conditions and military conditions. In addition, the reformists also paid attention to stimulating people's patriotism and improving the "spiritual combat effectiveness" of the army based on the situation at the time. Generally speaking, the first stage of reform focused on "learning from barbarians", and the second stage of reform focused on "learning from barbarians".
The main purpose is to create good strategies for "controlling barbarians" based on the combination of national conditions and military conditions. Taking the victors as teachers, reforming, coming from behind, and thus turning defeat into victory, there are countless examples at home and abroad in ancient and modern times. The Prussian military reform is a clear proof. To turn defeat into victory, grasp it well.
It is very necessary to learn from foreign countries, combine it with national conditions, and focus on improvement.
William emphasized that military reform must focus on improving the overall combat effectiveness of the army. Properly solving the priorities of each link in the military system according to their respective circumstances is an important way to improve the overall combat effectiveness. The military system involves people (officers and soldiers), weapons, establishment and military
There are four major academic subsystems. Among them, people and weapons are hardware systems. Military academics are software systems. The preparation is based on military academic principles to ensure the best combination of people and weapons. However, people are both material factors and spiritual factors in war. Therefore,
Any military reform must first pay attention to mobilizing people's enthusiasm and improving the morale of officers and soldiers.
The Prussian military reform centered on the above four major subsystems, but with some emphasis. William believed that it was necessary to always focus on improving the military quality and spiritual quality of officers and soldiers throughout the reform process.
PS: This chapter is a copy. Hehe, I just got home tonight and I was very excited. I drank a little too much and there is nothing in my brain. I hope you all can understand it. Please give me your support.