Frederick the Great: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''I'm [[Frederick the Great]] I am. [[Frederick the Great]] I am, I am.''<br />

''I got married to a gal I don't love. War is all I've time for thinking of.''<br />

''I wrote a book on strategy. I built a gaudy palace at Potsdam.''<br />

''I'm the great I am, I'm Frederick. [[Frederick the Great]] I am.''|Parody of ''[[wikipedia:Ichr(27)I'm Henery the Eighth, I Am|I'm Henery the Eighth I Am]],'' from an obscure historical club.}}

Friedrich ([[Everything Sounds Sexier in French|or ''Frédéric'']], [[It Is Pronounced "Tro -PAY"|as he preferred to be known]]) II, or, as he has come to be known in English, '''Frederick the Great''', was the [[Prussian Kings|king]] of [[The Sixteen Lands of Deutschland|Prussia]] in the [[The Cavalier Years|mid-eighteenth century]]. Something of a dark horse in the realm of [[Gambit Pileup|dynastic politics]], in his youth he was fond of French culture, to a degree that his boorish and possibly insane father, Frederick William I, thought him effeminate. However, he would grow into a notable figure in German martial history, and as such, became an iconic figure of success in the Prussian-dominated German Reich. His reputation is perhaps unfairly stained by imperialists such as [[wikipedia:Heinrich von Treitschke|Treitschke]] or (far worse) [[Adolf Hitler]], who invoked him to justify their ruthless ''Realpolitik''. To consider Frederick a proto-Hitler, however, is absurd. Frederick (a devout Gallophile) would have regarded [[Those Wacky Nazis|Hitler & Co.]] as typically barbaric Germans overdue for an appointment with [[A Taste of the Lash|the knoutmaster]].

In domestic policy Frederick was a great reformer. He was able to rebuild his kingdom due to the fact that he had –- or was at least prepared to exert -- moreexert—more authority than most of his contemporaries (though even so-called "absolute monarchs" or "enlightened despots," had no more power then a typical modern government has, as special interests were stronger and [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|Obstructive Bureaucrats]]s even more obstructive then). He instituted economic reforms and imposed religious toleration. Naturally enough, he also improved the Prussian army and helped give Prussia a recognized place as a great power.

Probably not a good idea to confuse him with the [[Cloudcuckoolander]] portrayal of him in [[Frederick the Great (Webcomicwebcomic)|his titular webcomic]]. Though doing so with his ''other,'' more fatherly portrayal in ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' is more understandable.

* [[Beneath the Mask]]: Frederick spent his youth battling with his father over whether he should be an artistic philosopher (whom he wanted to be) or an ascetic, ruff soldier (what his father wanted him to be). While the adult Fredrick seems to have been both, he was mentally damaged by his ordeals, and felt need to appeal to people by putting on a mask and playing a role to them. He admitted to a close friend he felt himself to be "a mirror, afraid to be what the nature had made it to be".

* [[Cool Versus Awesome]]: [[Frederick the Great]] ''vs.'' [[Maria Theresa]].

** It wasn't just a wing, it was the bulk of the army -- andarmy—and ironically, the Austrian front had been so long ''because'' the commander was attempting to prevent a Prussian flanking! Frederick had some of his cavalry feint on the Austrian right flank, causing the Austrian commander (coincidentally, Maria Theresa's brother-in-law) to commit his reserve ''and'' cavalry to that direction, while the Prussian army moved behind the cover of hills until it was at a right angle to the now-weakened Austrian left flank... not only was it quickly rolled up, but it took ''over an hour'' for Austrian troops on the right flank to reposition, and when the Austrian cavalry attempted to take the Prussian army's own left flank, the Austrian cavalry were themselves outflanked by the now-charging Prussian cavalry.

** On the other hand, he famously said that the great German mediæval epic, the ''[[Nibelungenlied (Literature)|Nibelungenlied]]'', wasn’t "worth a shot of powder" and said he wouldn't have such trash in his personal library. This may be explained for his passionate dislike of old German culture.

** Curiously there is a town in Pennsylvania called ''King-of-Prussia''. According to one legend it was a patriotic celebration of an ally in the [[Seven Years' War]]. Another version was that there was a tavern there that served German Auxiliaries during [[The American Revolution]] and some of these had served in Frederick's army.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: Prussia would later unite most of the German lands into a North German Empire.

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Famously suffered one when [[Forced to Watch|forced to watch]] his best friend Katte being executed by beheading. He fell unconscious for a few days, and his personality may have been permanently altered by the experience.

* [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Gold]]: Sort of. He was unlikable personally but at least was not selfish and was as ruthless with himself as with others.

* [[Overshadowed Byby Awesome]]: Old Fritz's court musician was Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, who was widely regarded as the greatest composer of his day (Mozart and Haydn both acknowledged their debt to him). Unfortunately, the only piece of music that anyone remembered for ''the last century and a half'', was a small group of pieces composed by CPE's father: [[Johann Sebastian Bach]]. To be fair, these pieces, entitled ''A Musical Offering'', are among the greatest pieces of keyboard music ever written.

* [[Pet the Dog]]: He was famous for his fondness for his hounds.

* [[Reverse Psychology]]: Fritz wanted to introduce the potato to Prussia, but knew that people were scepticalskeptical towards new things. So he had potatoes planted on several fields and guarded by soldiers. But at night, the soldiers would leave, and the curious people would dig out the potato plants and plant them on their own fields, [[JustAll AsAccording Plannedto Plan]].

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