Frederick the Great, Baron Von Steuben, and the Value of Practice, Practice, Practice
Von Steuben proved Frederick’s methods with Washington’s army. But what struck me was the simple power of establishing and maintaining good habits that promote, practice, enable coping with dynamic environments, and the exploitation individual curiosity and action. Frederick institutionalized his “self-culture” into his meta-culture and so did Von Steuben in turn.
This type of practicing; the continual maintenance of good habits will help ensure a competitive posture in just about any field. Further, Frederick practiced ad hoc—wherever he was, he was thinking through the lens of his profession and asking relevant questions of himself and his subordinates—further lessons for today’s leaders, regardless the profession.
Looking, paying attention, and thinking is free—so even in declining budgets we should follow the example set by Frederick and Baron Von Steuben in his turn.
Cross-posted at To Be or To Do.
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seydlitz89:
April 3rd, 2012 at 11:59 pm
Scott-
Interesting post on von Steuben, but I don’t think we can speak of a “Prussian General Staff”, much less a vaunted one, at the time of Frederick the Great. That only comes about later, with the efforts of Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and others . . .
J. Scott Shipman:
April 4th, 2012 at 12:04 am
Hi Seydlitz,
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Perhaps you are right. The book was written in 1930. Palmer did introduce the Kriegs Akademie as the first source of “the trained tactical officers who were to form the Prussian General Staff.” Thanks for the correction.
zen:
April 4th, 2012 at 3:01 am
Query to Seydlitz89,
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Frederick and Prussian officers like von Steuben seem to have kept tactical and strategic practice fluid through “thought experiments” and tweaking/improvisation/experimentation.
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When did the Prussian system ossify into the kind of rote, unthinking and ritualistic “paradomania” drill with an overemphasis on ceremonial trivia and synchronized movement? Frederick William II or III?
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That version of Prussian military culture is what the Russians imported as “the Gatchina system” under the mad Tsar Paul and Alexander I, ultimately to Russia’s detriment later in the 19th century (though presumably the need to turn illiterate conscripted state serfs into functional soldiers made this form of training attractive by giving the illusion of a disciplined army)
seydlitz89:
April 4th, 2012 at 7:06 pm
Zen-
Frederick inherited a well-trained army and then put it to good use. I think the reputation of the Prussian Army dates from his successes. Prior to that they were just another force of a second rate European power. So Prussian military success stood on the shoulders of Frederick and once he was gone so began the inevitable process of deterioration. Over the next 20 years after his death they didn’t accomplish much, but the image and reputation remained, which impressed the Russians and others I suppose, although the actions of France after say 1799 showed only contempt for Prussia.
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The famous Preußische Kriegsakademie dates from 1810. Steuben it seems was selected for training as a staff officer for the King himself, who acted essentially as his own Chief of Staff. The actual General Staff dates from the reform period post 1806.