tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post9010086168091688735..comments2023-07-06T10:55:44.311+02:00Comments on Attempted Essays: Frederick the GreatFrancis Hunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00422476000328664994noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-31040920594075728952012-03-26T23:21:47.833+02:002012-03-26T23:21:47.833+02:00On a lighter side, I just discovered a distant cou...On a lighter side, I just discovered a distant cousin in Berlin Thomas Vargas von Rentzell who uses a variation on that same portrait of Frederich the Great for his profile picture on facebook.Willyvon1https://www.blogger.com/profile/02217162707836778858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-12251405480943329082012-02-01T16:08:52.659+01:002012-02-01T16:08:52.659+01:00Thanks for your information!Thanks for your information!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-49940316860659342592012-01-28T01:24:18.495+01:002012-01-28T01:24:18.495+01:00I have a feeling that modern schooling started und...I have a feeling that modern schooling started under this Fred. It was for boys only, highly regimented and produced model students for a Model Army.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-31214727940011430662012-01-27T21:21:48.453+01:002012-01-27T21:21:48.453+01:00Yes, Gina and usually at the same ghastly price - ...Yes, <b>Gina</b> and usually at the same ghastly price - the destruction of parts of the personality and creation of a desperately unhappy individual.Francis Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00422476000328664994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-1285580129943375572012-01-27T19:12:56.312+01:002012-01-27T19:12:56.312+01:00I had another thought about this article and perha...I had another thought about this article and perhaps it goes without saying...<br /><br />Frederick's father was probably quite aware of Frederick's "sensitive" tendencies as being unmanly and he tried to force it out of him by turning him into a soldier; a "real man". <br /><br />Not unlike what still sometimes happens today when a father notices a son who is perhaps into dance or acting and takes great pains to force that kid to play football or join the armed services.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17296223961815248113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-46418497295747635262012-01-26T03:18:12.641+01:002012-01-26T03:18:12.641+01:00Your comment to Gina was as fascinating to me as t...Your comment to Gina was as fascinating to me as the original article so I'm very glad I arrived when I did and not a little earlier. Now I'm aware of a part of history I hadn't seen in that particular way before and I'm grateful for your reintroduction to Frederick the Great as a portal to understanding the conflicts of the 20th century.susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16747450215034568033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-86923009555855789252012-01-25T19:08:38.505+01:002012-01-25T19:08:38.505+01:00I have a problem with the overall premise of your ...I have a problem with the overall premise of your article but I still think its really informative. I really like your other posts. Keep up the great work. If you can add more video and pictures can be much better. Because they help much clear understanding. :) thanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-59487396079068935622012-01-24T23:56:46.003+01:002012-01-24T23:56:46.003+01:00Ah Gina, you've seen through to some of the co...Ah Gina, you've seen through to some of the core of Frederick, as I see him. He was frequently a tortured soul.<br /><br />And yes, he too did contemplate suicide - the execution of his beloved tutor, Katte (on orders from his father, Frederick was forced to watch the beheading from the window of his cell), drove him into temporary madness. Following his greatest military defeat, at the Battle of Kundersdorf in 1759, during the Seven Years War (a real World War, fought on three continents, Europe, India/Asia and North America) he wrote:<br /><br />" This morning at 11 o'clock I have attacked the enemy. ... All my troops have worked wonders, but at a cost of innumerable losses. Our men got into confusion. I assembled them three times. In the end I was in danger of getting captured and had to retreat. My coat is perforated by bullets, two horses of mine have been shot dead. My misfortune is that I am still living ... Our defeat is very considerable: To me remains 3,000 men from an army of 48,000 men. At the moment in which I report all this, everyone is on the run; I am no more master of my troops. Thinking of the safety of anybody in Berlin is a good activity ... It is a cruel failure that I will not survive. The consequences of the battle will be worse than the battle itself. I do not have any more resources, and - frankly confessed - I believe that everything is lost. I will not survive the doom of my fatherland. Farewell forever!"<br /><br />Fortunately for Fritz, his Austrian and Russian enemies failed to take advantage from that particular victory and Frederick and his kingdom survived to fight on, eventually fighting his powerful enemies (France, Austria and Russia) to a standstill.<br /><br />The only real victors of the Seven Years War were Frederick's British allies, who managed to throw the French out of India, Canada and the American Colonies - where one of their best commanders was a young Major of the Virginia Regiment, a certain George Washington. The war forms the background for <i>The Last of the Mohicans</i>Francis Hunthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00422476000328664994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1911334903016795718.post-81239122266006326992012-01-24T22:57:13.375+01:002012-01-24T22:57:13.375+01:00What a fascinating man. He must have suffered ter...What a fascinating man. He must have suffered terribly and yet he gave to his kingdom that which he himself was denied by his father.<br /><br />It can only be imagined (I don't know much more than what I've read here) how difficult it must have been for him to wages wars and sacrifise the lives of so many people. He must have been very strong. Many in his position would perhaps have taken their own life. <br /><br />I always learn new things here. Thank you.<br />:-)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17296223961815248113noreply@blogger.com