Book Review

Frederick the Great
By David Fraser

Reviewed By Neil Cogswell


ISBN 0-713-99377-4.

Hardback with 703 pages including illustration, Notes, Bibliography and Index. Published by Allen lane, The Penguin Press 2000 (Sir General David Fraser has had a distinguished military career of his own.) at £25.

This biographer has concentrated on the writings of Frederick himself – not so much his histories, but his privately circulated "position papers" written to help the King and his advisors to formulate policies. His greatest contribution is in clarifying much of the diplomacy of the King, an area for which his subject has received much criticism. Whilst not entirely condoning the actions of the King, David Fraser does much to justify him within the context of his age. Frederick, as the servant of the people of Prussia, worked tirelessly for what he perceived as their good.

General Fraser is a distinguished soldier. As such, I especially looked forward to what he would have to say of Frederick on campaign. "Depictions on canvas or in the theatre of eighteenth-century battles can convey an elegant, an almost ceremonious scene, uniforms colorful and graceful, troop formations symmetrical; scenes made for accompanying music whether of triumph or disaster by Handel, by Telemann. In reality, the eighteenth century battlefield was, as in other centuries, a horrible place. . . ." (396-397)

In spite of frequent references to the "moving walls" of the Prussian infantry, the battlefield is a confused and confusing place. Rather than emphasizing grand tactics, General Fraser sees that, for the most part, opportunism and initiative decided the day. This was the work of subordinate and regimental commanders. Fraser is fulsome in his praise of Frederick for fostering a climate that encouraged such initiative. He also emphasizes the moral ascendancy that the King gained over his opponents by his being willing to attack in almost any circumstance.

This work is helpful at the strategic level. By referring back to the draft plans for the 1757 invasion of Bohemia, General Fraser shows how the original plan had been for the King and Schwerin to unite their armies at Leitmeritz. The junction outside Prague shows how the King modified his plans in the light of changing circumstance.

In the battlefield maps, simplicity and clarity are taken to an extreme: uniformly sized blocks represent anything from skirmishing Croats to an entire Wing of cavalry; topographical detail is sparse.

I studied General Fraser's accounts of the actions with interest and had several surprises. For example (page 323): "The taking of the Lobosch feature itself was, to an extent, a repetition of the assault on the Granerkoppe at Soor". Now it does happen that the Lobosch at 570m and the Granerkoppe at 554m are a similar height above sea level. But, whereas the former is a vineyard strewn 1 in 4 slope towering 370m above the main battlefield, the latter is only at most a 1 in 10 slope whose crest is some 35m above the main battlefield. The Lobosch was defended by skirmishing Croats; the Granerkoppe was held by regular formed troops. The extent to which those actions were similar - apart from the ferocity of the fighting - is not clear to me. Such challenges are not unwelcome, they oblige one to re-evaluate ones own conceptions. The enigma of Frederick remains. There will certainly be other biographies in future, and I shall almost certainly always return to that of Carlyle.

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© Copyright 2000 by James J. Mitchell

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