Sometimes in life, you have no choice but to fight on, and hope that tomorrow will be better. When the odds are against you (which they usually will be), those who continue to fight will always be rewarded. The outcome may different from what you anticipate, but it will usually also be better than you anticipate.
One historical example makes this point.
Frederick II of Prussia (“The Great”) was perhaps the most capable and militarily astute European king of the eighteenth century. His domain, Prussia, was not geographically contiguous; it had parts scattered here and there in northern Europe, and by necessity required a competent army to defend its borders. Geography is the mother of history.
Prussia’s population in 1756 was four million, a large part of which was located in Silesia, a region he had seized by force. He was surrounded by a ring of hostile states. France, Austria, Russia, and even other German states were alarmed by the growth of his power, which threatened to upset the existing balance in central Europe. Maria Theresa, the Austrian monarch, disliked him intensely. He returned the feeling.
Frederick was thus forced to live on his wits, daring, and military aptitude. He was a remarkable man for any era. His youthful years seemed to mark him out as a worthless dandy, but he remade himself by relentless discipline into a king who actually led, rather than reigned. He believed in the need for enlightened authoritarianism, and in his case he was absolutely correct.
His army, bequeathed to him by his father, had grown from 100,000 men to 150,000 men. He had trained it to a level of perfection, such that it could maneuver en masse under combat conditions. He deployed spies in great number among his enemies, knowing that awareness of their moves would be a matter of life and death for him.
Sensing the cordon around him beginning to tighten, he resolved to strike one of them first, in order to deprive them the benefit of combined offensive action. He sought assurances from Austria that he would not be attacked. He received a vague reply, which he expected. He then ordered his forces to occupy Saxony as a measure to protect his western border, officially inaugurating the Seven Years’ War.
Europe branded him the aggressor. He was not concerned. A ruler in his position could not sit idly by while hostile powers conspired to dismember his country. Captured Saxon documents did, in fact, confirm its participation in the anti-Prussian alliance.
Europe’s alliance system now drew in other powers committed to destroying Prussia. England at first signed an agreement supporting Prussia, but when William Pitt was dismissed, London balked in making good on the promise.
Armies were now moving against him from all sides. Francis I, Maria Theresa’s husband, publicly declared Frederick an outlaw. He had only 145,000 men at arms, and would have to fend off 105,000 Frenchmen, 20,000 hostile Germans, 133,000 Austrians, 60,000 Russians, and 16,000 Swedish. Thus the stage was set for one of the most desperate fights for survival in modern European history.
His plan was to attack the weaker states first, and then deal with the stronger ones. He first defeated the Austrians on May 6, 1757 at a desperate battle near Prague. But in response, a huge Russian force invaded East Prussia, and Swedish forces landed in Pomerania. Frederick contemplated suicide, and to the end of the war carried with him a vial of poison.
But Frederick won the Battle of Rossbach, and restored his nerve. Other victories followed, as armies from various nations maneuvered here and there. The war degenerated into a brutal slogging match , as the various belligerents hammered away at each other. Time was not on Frederick’s side; despite his brilliant generalship and tactical genius, he could not long contend with the array of nations against him.
Diplomacy began in 1761, initiated by the British. Popular opinion there was against the war, and Pitt came under strong pressure to cut Frederick loose and leave him to his fate. Pitt resigned on October 5, 1761. His successor and all of Europe thought Frederick was as good as dead.
Even his venerated army was turning against him. A bloody but Pyrrhic victory against the Austrians at Torgau on the Elbe had left 13,120 Prussians dead, and this proved to be nearly the last straw. Frederick led his men personally in battle, and had three horses shot out from under him. His soldiers threatened to mutiny, and if pressed to fight, told him they would surrender to the enemy.
And now there occurred an event that can only be described as a miracle. The Russian empress, Czarina Elizaveta, died suddenly on January 5, 1762. She, along with Maria Theresa, had been his most bitter antagonist. The new czar, Peter III, was a warm admirer of Frederick, seeing him as something of a philosopher-king.
Peter concluded a separate peace with Prussia, followed by Sweden. Russia then actually changed sides and fought alongside Frederick; Peter admired Frederick so much that he put on a Prussian uniform and placed himself at Frederick’s command. Although Peter was later deposed and murdered, Russia had been neutralized.
Peace followed soon after. Europe was exhausted and drowning in debt, but Frederick had accomplished a miracle by surviving. He entered Berlin in triumph, and was hailed as a hero.
There will be many times in our lives when we will be faced with struggle against seemingly impossible odds. The outcome will be in doubt. In such situations, we can only hold on and move forward. We can never know when a stroke of good luck will come.
Sooner or later, everyone’s luck changes who stays in the fight long enough.
Read More: Charles Bukowski: Literature For Men
And the £650,000 per year subsidy the Empire was giving Frederick for his war effort.
And at the same moment I’m writing something to commemorate the Battle of Agincourt, which could be seen as the same thing.
Important, virile leadership is recognized in both cases. And that’s something we lack today. But we may soon get it back.
worth looking at two similar battles where English archers saw off the French Knights, once again in far greater numbers and fighting on their own soil. Crecy 1346 and Poitiers 1356.
Libertas
“And at the same moment I’m writing something to commemorate the Battle of Agincourt, which could be seen as the same thing”
Not so.I do not know why everybody sees that battle as a good example.English cheated and did not fight by the rules, they fought like pussies that they were, used archers against mounted knights.English cowards.
We live in cowardly times where any pussy can take a pot shoot at you from far, far away.Anyone who uses a ranged weapon is a pussy in my book.On the other hand, it takes a man, a real man with heart and courage to face another man with a blade, then it gets up close and personal, as it should be in a fight to the death, not this I put an arrow or abullet through you at 300 yards cowardly bullshit.
Blades are for pussies.
A real man uses his hands and his teeth.
You’d probably have a different opinion if you were one of those men on the field.
If Frederick looks vaguely familiar, he was Britain’s King George III’s first cousin once removed, or something like that. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/George_III_of_the_United_Kingdom-e.jpg
They were all so tightly related that it’s not even funny, across Europe and into Russia even. Talk about an open conspiracy of an elite ruling class. While I’m not all for American jingoism, it is at this period in time, the 1800’s through the early 1900’s that America was the true “exception to the rule” in a very, very positive way.
The aristocracy of old entered the battlefields and personally led the commoners to victory or defeat. That was the justification of their privilege. The modern ruling class hides behind you and your sons while they and their pampered offspring enjoy the spoils of war.
Haha! Now the manosphere is celebrating 18th Century faggots. Who’s next? Boy George?
He simply had greater priorities than women.
Another victim of the feminist poison today is that masculine chastity is laughed at, and the feeling that woman is the evil influence in man’s life is no longer understood, and men are not ashamed of their own lust.
Actually there was plenty of homoerotic banter in his court that we know of and he surely didn’t make a secret of disdaining women. He also, I believe, had a falling out with Voltaire, who wrote about his homosexuality and Frederick did *not* deny it when questioned (nor confirm it).
While not damning, there may be more than “greater priorities than women” at play here. I believe there is actually enough real historical evidence to account for to consider the charge at least plausible.
Like I said the greatest victim of feminism is that very few men have the courage to acknowledge their chastity, preferring to pretend that they are regular Don Juans. Sexual excess is held to be the most desirable characteristic of a man, and sexuality has attained such pre-eminence that a man is doubted unless he can, as it were, show proofs of his prowess.
I’m sure that was the case with Frederick.
It really isn’t something I’m very concerned about, just noting that he has a lot more than blank speculation going on in this regard. That said, it has nothing to do with his achievements, so we can learn good lessons by attending to those achievements and the methods used to obtain them.
Agreed.
Although, I believe those speculations are futile. We can not judge or understand the people from the past. Men back then wore fancy wigs which by today’s ideas would be considered as a mark of effeminacy and yet they would put most men today at shame on the battle field.
I remember back in the 1980s there as a trend of pointing out just about every great artist, general, inventor, etc. and saying “he was gay”.
The idea was to condition people. All the greats were gay! Of course they just had to be, because they spent all that time on their art or science! If they had a woman they would not have been able to do that. Lack of time you see.
So, little betas (that message was), you need a woman or you’re gay. And when she wants to be a black hole for your time and resources, you will put up with that or you’re gay. And if you decide to dedicate your agency to some outside pursuit instead of worshipping at the pussy pedestal, then you’re gay. That’s the rule. You will even be gay even if you don’t want to be. You’ll suck dick even against your own will, crying the whole time too.
So put that computer/book/tool/pen down and go get that pussy.
Or you’re gay.
Frederic’s homosexuality was common knowledge so your comment is off topic.
Excuse me while I pretend to give a fuck. Troll.
I wasn’t doing that though. I recognize the trend you are talking about, I got to hear it droned at college in the very early 1990’s. Every single white male who did something great was “suspected to be gay” without a shred of evidence.
This was exactly my point.
Feminism is responsible for extreme homophobia. Not so long ago, two men could walk down the road with one man’s arm over another man’s shoulder without fearing to be seen as a homosexual couple.
This post is gay.
Think this was upvoted for the wrong reason…
I know you were being sarcastic but it was still funny.
That’s not true. Great Artists can be married heterosexual men with families too. I’m a huge admirer of J.S Bach for example. He was one of the most prolific and creative composers of all time, and some of his compositions are truly sublime and are at the very highest pinnacles of western art. In today’s milieu, it’s impossible to compare any creative artist who has this degree of pure craftsmanship and professionalism that he dedicated to his art.
However, in addition to his greatness as an artist, he was dutiful and devoted husband, who sired over 20 children, although 10 died before their adolescent years. He was court composer to many Monarchs, including Fredrick the Great as well as being full time Kappleirmaster in Saint Thomas’s in Leipzig. What I love about Bach is his energy and his modesty combined with an acute and generous religious sensibility that can convey more to us about the transcendental in our world than any words could hope to capture. I don’t think our age is capable of creating men in even a half note that stacks up against him.
Of course we can’t have another Bach.
Try being married and a father these days.
I see all those guys out there, trying it. I expect to see the vampire fang marks on their necks.
Maybe Mike thought it was faaaaaaaaaabulous!!
You are not doing it, but I knew you would remember the big “gay push”.
Bach’s oldest son C.P.E. Bach was the court composer to Frederick, and of course Bach wrote the famous “Musical Offering” for him after the king played him a melody on the keyboard, which Bach then developed.
Yes, it was Bach senior who was the court composer to Fredrick the Great’s father, although the young Fredrick the Great remembered J.S Bach senior when he was a child in his father’s palace.
Sluts and ho’s do a bit of namecalling. Men who are below alpha in sexual prowess can get branded ‘fag’ or ‘gay’ by a promiscuous woman. Prostitutes never judge. The betas are their bread and butter.
Any conquerer or military commander has to be a bit brutal and Machiavellian. When men are goring out the enemy brutally in battle, it’s a different world. Women are the farthest thing from their mind. Frederick knew men. He had to. He wasn’t likely ‘gay’ in the modern queer drag queen sense. Maybe he just wasn’t ready to conquer woman. He was a prodigy with leading men in battle. A woman’s psyche doesn’t mix with bloody battle. He mgtow’ed all the way in that direction. A beautiful woman hauled in as spoils of battle he probably wouldn’t know what to do with. That would only scramble his thinking and his plans.
Frederick also hated his strict father as did other prodigies of the day like Beethoven, a renouned father hater. In fact Frederick’s father beheaded his best friend in front of him for aiding his attempt to run away from his strict father.
Germanic elite women could be big mouthed ‘Brunhildes’. Frederick’s mother Sophia played him against his father making the father colder and stricter. Frederick also liked his big sister Willhelmina. Who knows who was responsible for signing to whack his dick but the bitches ruled the roost by deception. Willhelmina remained his shoulder to cry on until the end but she never turned him on to her hot friends. They were all elite manipulative bitches as well.
Fred should have gracefully put his mom and sister in their place and instituted burkas. Germans can make godly delicious sausage out of pig tripe. Surely they could artfully mix Catholicism with a shut em up head bag.
Dude! This guy wept on the death of his lover, he obviously never touched his wife and he never denied Voltaire’s comments about his parade of male lovers. What else do you need?
Having priorities BESIDES women is a healthy attitude. Never touching any of them is just being a faggot.
As for his relationship with Voltaire this is what Wikipedia has to say:
The correspondence between Frederick and Voltaire, which spanned almost 50 years, was marked by mutual intellectual fascination. In person, however, their friendship was often contentious, as Voltaire abhorred Frederick’s militarism.
As for Voltaire’s alleged speculation, he obviously was just bitter because:
Frederick burnt Voltairs pamphlet (against Maupertuis) publicly and put Voltaire under house arrest.
And as far as his sex life with his wife is concerned, we don’t know enough although he might have a very good reason:
Frederick’s physician, Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann, claimed that the king let rumors of homosexuality appear to be true in order to avoid the public knowing that his genitalia were harmed by “a cruel surgical operation” to save his life from an unnamed venereal disease.
Dude. Everybody despises Wikipedia in the Historian community.
When I did exposés on Military history, I had to spend hours in the library checking books written by renowned experts on the very topic. That’s what is vaguely considered serious research.
Then you have to expose your sources for further scrutiny. By simply saying, I read more books than you did does not prove anything.
Neither does quoting Wikipedia!
If nothing else, wikipedia would want to make him look homosexual as it fits with the modern narrative but the info on his sexuality is quite balanced.
Who is Wikipedia exactly? I wrote many Wikipedia articles and I didn’t have any agenda.
Wikipedia is to knowledge what McDonalds is to catering. If you want something fast and cheap, go to wiki. If you want quality, you have to take your time and do serious research.
I like wikipedia and I use it for more trivial topics (sports, video games, etc.) but I don’t take it seriously.
Dude.
Dude.
Dude.
I use wikipedia with caution too but like I said you’re welcomed to present your more reliable sources and let us decide.
If you can be bothered …
This poem written by Frederic to the young vice earl of Keyserling might be of interest. The king invites him to his palace where “they can both enjoy pure freedom” and “no sin will be considered against nature there”.
Dans ce nouveau palais de noble architecture,
Nous jouirons tous deux de la liberté pure
Dans l’ivresse de l’amitié.
L’ambition, l’inimitié
Seront les seuls péchés taxés contre nature.
The rest can be found here:
https://books.google.fr/books?id=O3kOAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA121&lpg=RA1-PA121&dq=%22Dans+ce+nouveau+palais+de+noble+architecture%22&source=bl&ots=NO4UEDlsD3&sig=6MZ4FVhO5wFqrAFqWAMgMUzFF94&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=RGcJT9mfDMeX8gOTvZnEAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Dans%20ce%20nouveau%20palais%20de%20noble%20architecture%22&f=false
The same quote is used in the french version of the wikipedia article. Should we then disregard it as serious historians?
Maybe we should, because in the French version they mention about his first mistress Anna Orzelska whereas in the English version this fact is spared.
Do what you want. I gave you a reliable source (his own poems) where he writes a booty call to another guy.
If you want to deny even what he wrote himself, be my guest. Personnally I can’t argue with people who can’t accept the most obvious truth.
Frederick most likely had some issue with his genitals that caused him not to be able to have an erection, and like most men who might have a similar condition, it became a defining feature of his life….the clue to his situation comes from Frederick himself when he named the palace that he designed as SANS, SOUCI. The words mean “without worry” and are placed right over the front door of his palace…but there is more to it, the secret to Frederick’s situation is hidden in the use of punctuation and in the way the words are written above the door.
Now its common knowledge that Frederick was exceptionally attuned to language, speech and wit…so what do the comma and period usage in his spelling of SANS, SOUCI. mean? There was no way they were just put up there for no reason, and after all who uses punctuation anyhow when you put a door sign over the front door of your house? Well if you think about it and given his very detailed love of language, it was likely he was trying to make the following point: Without (Sans in french), and then the comma, which was laughed at during the 18th century by writers because it has the general appearance of male genitals…the comma has a ball and then the hanging forward part somewhat like a male penis, something Frederick, as an avid reader and linguist would most certainly have known…so he says it as, without, comma meaning a penis, worry (Souci), and then the period. which as we all know means “stop” in language. So in essence the way Frederick had it written above his door was “without penis worry stops.” or SANS, SOUCI. It would seem to be a clever play on words that the vast majority of people would never get…and instead just read it simply as “without worry.”
What an amazing post! Well done and thank you!
His possible impotence came up in his bio by Robert Asprey. His father offered to let him leave Prussia and tour the capitals of Europe if he fathered a child with his new wife. He wanted to travel more than anything at the time. If he was capable he probably would have fathered a child, regardless of any preferences.
Hitler had one testicle resulting in a dick that hooked to the right and he had only nominal natural game skill.
Frederick the Great was the greatest king of his era, and the greatest military genius of his era. For that alone, his career is worth study.
You’re referring to the king’s alleged homosexuality, I guess. This should not be a concern. Assuming he was, it was strictly a private matter for him.
Many great men in history (leaders, generals, writers, artists, statesmen, explorers, sailors) have had dubious personal morality. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore them.
Fred was a great general, but dont sell short the contributions of the General Staff and the Prussian military mindset. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Moltke built upon the solid foundation of the General Staff and his own theory.
WhIle I wouldn’t want to sell Frederick short, I think the achievements of Moltke and Bismark during the Victorian Era are more impressive (although not as much as those of those Great Britons of the time)
I agree on this one! Bismarck is definitely a much greater role model than Frederic. He understood the concept of balance of power and he knew how to game his enemies.
Yes, absolutely right. Frederick did have Europe’s best generals, and this was decisive in his outcome. A helping hand is always key.
Great point, Tory.
‘But that doesn’t mean we should ignore them.’
Why shouldn’t we? There are so many straight role models we could consider: Napoleon, Julius Caesar, Peter the Great, etc.
I’ve written about them too. It’s funny you would mention Julius Caesar and Napoleon, since you claim to be such an expert in history.
Caesar was rumored (reliably) to be bisexual, and Napoleon was cuckolded by Josephine.
Should we ignore them too? Apparently by your standards, we should.
Someone’s private sexual preferences to me are somewhat tolerable as long as they do not preach those ideas in public or seek to overturn the established morality.
“It’s funny you would mention Julius Caesar and Napoleon, since you claim to be such an expert in history.”
I never claimed to be an expert. I just said that I did some research on the Franco-Prussian war back in Military academy which led me to learn a bit about German military history. That’s it.
“Caesar was rumored (reliably) to be bisexual.”
You said it : RUMOURED. One thing is fore sure: that guy had his fair share of pussy.
“Napoleon was cuckolded by Josephine.”
and he dumped the creole bitch to marry Marie Louise of Austria. We should definitely learn more about him.
That’s exactly it: giving the “Matthew Shepherd” treatment to every homosexual you see and “letting live, but keeping it quiet” are two different things. Some great men were homosexual, but as Quintus says, they didn’t try to overturn the established morality. Great men that were homosexual were probably secure enough in their sexuality that they didn’t need the established morality to validate them as men. Because they were already conquering nations and building empires.
It is too bad people always look to Napoleon or Caesar for great leadership or great generalship. Napoleon left the Grand Armee to freeze to death on the retreat from Russia, after he fled to Paris in a stagecoach. Caesar had a few delusional moments of grandeur.
In contrast, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, defeated Napoleon at Waterloo with the aid of the Prussian von Blucher late in the battle. Wellington avoided the hero-worship and lamented the loss of life (at Badajoz and Waterloo particularly). More importantly, he had a far better strategic vision, discipline and tactical sense than Napoleon.
Generals like Robert E. Lee, Napoleon and Hannibal often seem much sexier or manly than generals like Grant, Wellington or Scipio Africanus. However, if masculinity is about anything, its about winning. And in the end, none of the aforementioned generals won. They were defeated by steadier, wiser and possibly even less sexy men who were better men, but with less flash.
How does it go, that now, Homosexuals suddenly find out that numerous historical figures, shared in their depravity,all based on some flimsy piece of shit?
Just off the top of my head now
Alexander
Demosthene
Scipio Africanus
Agreed, same rumors swirled for Alexander. He conquered most of the known world by his death at 32
What the OP is trying say is, “I’m an ignorant beta who does not read history or understand the broad, and long-lasting influence of past events. No do I recognize the example that past leaders such as Frederick, Wellington, Nelson and others set is worth of recognition today. I am a feminized beta who lets others do my thinking for me on the rare occasion when I engage my brain.”
Dude! I studied Military history in Military academy and I even made a exposé on the Franco-Prussian War. Besides, I did my tour in Afghanistan. Therefore, I don’t consider myself neither ignorant or beta.
What are YOUR achievement besides insulting people you know nothing about?
I recall that during his last days in the bunker, Hitler would stare at the portrait of Frederick the Great in hopes of some miracle.
Say what you may, but the Germans fought to the bitter end and many continued to fight for years after 1945.
Sometimes it’s better to surrender than die fighting.
that may be true, but if you’re not smart enough to dismount a dead horse, well then, you get to suffer the consequences of your lack of common sense……..that of which hitler had very little of
How many wars and revolutions were won simply by keeping an army in the field that refuses to give up? That’s what Washington did.
All of them .
It’s a tactic mentioned several times in Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
Interesting article, have always been fascinated with great military leaders in history. Who would you consider the top 5 greatest military leaders(pre-20th Century) ?
I think the variables would be too many to calculate that as the weapons,cultures,and defenses were all different for each continent and era. Also, naval and ground combat were two very different things.
Genesis Khan, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Moses, and…
No Hannibal?
Only if he still likes Chianti with his fava beans.
Or his popular nemesis, Scipio Africanus?
One of the best in a long line of great Roman generals. It had been battle loss after battle loss for the Romans as Hannibal had marauded his way through Italy. The Roman plan was to attack Carthage itself and force Hannibal back home. The plan worked and Hannibal met the Romans in that fateful battle at Zama on Oct. 2, 202 BC. The Romans called upon Scipio to lead their army that day, and under his leadership the Romans were ready to tackle each of Hannibal’s previous strengths, particularly his well known use of war elephants, that Scipio cleverly rendered ineffective at Zama. Hannibal’s army was crushed under the Roman onslaught and Rome was saved. Scipio was triumphant and was given the honorary title “Africanus” by a thankful Roman Senate.
Napoleon B fo sho
Frank B.,
I was thinking the Ancients. Too much technological dependence from the Moderns for my liking.
The American Military Industrial Complex. Even Cyrus or Alexander would be stunned……literally….
Sir Isaac Brock, Admiral Nelson, Hannibal Barca, Marcus Aurelius, Henry V of England.
Pompey, Horatio Nelson, Ghengis Khan, Andrew Jackson,…
toss up between gaius marius and ho chi minh
scratch ho chi minh on further review…
substitute william henry harrison
Hannibal Barca, Spartacus, Saladin, El Cid, Napoleon Bonaparte.
Perseverance is a virtue treasured by all the world’s philosophical and metaphysical worldviews. Though it must be tempered by wisdom to avoid a cataclysmic Pyrrhic victory, perseverance has always been one of the universal virtues of the movers and shakers of this world.
Apt counsel,Quintus, as always. Party on.
Actually, this is a rather bad example, Quintus. The Prussians designed the modern state of education that bends creativity and individuality to the bland and soulless blank state that is useful for the state. And of course, the Prussians won because the Russian monarch was a fan of Prussia-a stroke of luck. Had that not been the case, Prussia would be gone.
Also, he was rather fond of the intimate company of men, something ROK insists is unmasculine.
Oh, Lord, don’t remind me. They truly are the “Sparta of the North”.
War is the plaything of great wits.
In essence, dig deep and keep pulling the trigger. For we must soldier on or perish.
Digging deep? What if you were in a pit?
Digging deep is not just good enough.
It would be classic bad strategy. At the Somme and Passchendaele, British General Douglas Haig led an entire generation of British and Dominion Youths to their deaths. Hundreds of Thousands of Young men were flung at machine gun fortifications to gain a piece of useless ground.
In the face of problems instead, We need
1) A Diagnosis
why are things not going as we expect? whts the market telling us here? what can we learn afresh ? what are we missing?
2) A Guiding Policy
The approach to solving the challenges before us now
3) Coherent action
It wasn’t all in vain the British developed the tank.
Your points are bit daft.
Dig deep. Within yourself, as you have chosen not to flee, but fight, and need to prepare yourself mentally and spiritually. Understand your own strengths and limitations and become knowledgeable with the tools at your disposal. Metaphorically, or physcially, preapare the ground your are have chosen to fight on. You will need the protection from the slings, arrows, scorn and hate your enemies will hurl at you.
Your WWI battles have made my point for me. Rushing fortified positions is death. Their enemies were dug in.
“Diagnosis, policy and action plan.” Sounds like a freshman introductory course to business. Good luck with that. I would recommend just reading Sun Tsu and Clausewitz.
To quote Shit My Dad Says “Its not the size of the asshole you worry about, it’s how much shit comes out of it.” So thanks to Frederick, Prussia would shit all over Europe for generations to come.
Not entirely fair is it?
Of course at the end of the day, the Soviets and the Poles split Prussia at the end of WW2, and the Allies abolished it completely. At some point, Frederick’s asshole got plugged shut for good.
Yep. And the superior German engineering, the jets and the rocket engines, fell into less capable hands, otherwise Man would have walked on the Moon in the fifties and on Mars in the sixties.
Touche.
Bahahahahahahahahaha.
I don’t know if you can call it luck, but the point is that you simply do not know what will happen in life. Even though your current circumstances suck, and the negative emotions are so immediate, things could be drastically different one, five, seven or how many ever years from now.
This article was very encouraging for me. I started my first business last year and it failed. Started another earlier this year and it did pretty well till the loonie crashed, it failed that stress test. I’m starting another this winter and hopefully it will do better. Just gotta keep going, keep standing and keep swinging. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Great article.
Good luck mate
Thanks I’ll need it. The left wing party got elected today. Never a better time to move abroad perhaps.
Never a better time to cash in. Lefties like spending other peoples money.. If you know what you are looking for there are countless government contracts that yield such great margins you will feel like you are cheating. As they say, fools and their money are quickly parted.. Lefties are fools.
Even if you just go south to America that’s a considerable upgrade at this time, and it is much easier to open a business down here. There are so many options from Korea to Brazil to Italy as well.
I must correct you, here in Brazil we are facing crisis. If you’re willing, you can start some business here but the risks are way too high.
Sometimes luck does not come through in the end, despite fighting to the last. However, the fact that he was eventually victorious is not the quality to be celebrated; the fact that Frederick continued to fight with everything he had right until what but for a stroke of luck would have been the end is. For me, that’s the inspirational part.
Reminds me of a prayer I learned from a Gunny that I used to say constantly if we were really going to be getting into the shit…”Lord, don’t let me fuck this up. And if it’s my time, let me die in a pile of brass.”
Poof!
Military situational awareness par excellence at the Battle of Leuthen in 1757. Frederick with an army of 33,000 attacked using full force on the Austrian left, but then pulled back. The Austrians, with an army of 65,000 began moving troops from the right and center to cover the attack. Meanwhile Frederick, and the bulk of his force, had already taken a hard right turn, quick marched 5 kilometers to the other side of the battle field, cleverly using his intimate knowledge of the local terrain with the rolling hills and battle smoke hiding his moves from the Austrian command. The Prussians then popped up totally unexpectedly on the far Austrian right. Frederick funneled the bulk of his army through a small gap in the hills by advancing in an oblique order (troops arranged in tight blocks resembling a set of stairs to advance through a relatively small space) that the Prussians had been practicing over and over again and now finally had the opportunity to use in battle. The Prussians fell upon the now weakened Austrian right side with overwhelming force. As the Austrians began falling back in response, they soon collapsed back chaotically in on their own center, and the rout was on. The spectacular move allowed the Prussians to win the day, advance their political aims during the Seven Years War, and is considered one of those very great moves in military history.
I myself have contemplated suicide during a particularly tough session of Empire: Total War.
Oh my, that’s dreadful. Did you carry through with it then?
Several times.
That siege bug had me smash my head on the wall a few times as well.
If only the Muslims showed this kind of resilience when they captured Spain between 711-1492…
Huh?
By the time we stick it out long enough to win, the robots will have taken over. Interesting: at the 36 minute mark he calls a volunteer to the stage who’s wearing a neo-masculine Red Pill T-shirt. Read what it says: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9GVjTmIqnc
What does the small print say?
Bullshit.
A lot of time in history stupid commanders were forcing the issue with disastrous results.They were decimated on the field of battle, and their people and nations were gone forever because they didn’t know when to fall back, or go with the flow.
One of the best examples is Scotland and Battle of Cullode 1745, when they chose to fight superior force, and lost with disastrous results for their entire nation.The English broke their colective backs, and thei did it over the knee.
Scotland never recovered from that battle.Because some idiots choose to fight when they shouldn’t have.
And someone here said that Hitler did something good.Hitler choose to fight entire world, and the result after their capitualation, american soldiers “buying” starved german pussy for a candy bar, and russian soldiers “took” it for free.End result, devided country, and 2 milion turkish mosslims that germans had to accept in to their country because of american interests in the middle east.All that, because someone choose poorly.
Some times you need to know when to cut back your loses and quit.When you hit the wall, you do not hit it with your head, if you can, you go around it or over it, but some times, there is no way but turn back.You can’t win all the time.We are pople and we make misstakes, some time we will engage in fight when we shouldn’t do so, but crucial thing is to know when to retreat, do not go all in, because all in can mean all lost.
So, do not go all in, ever.Only fools put them selfs and their men in head through the wall or die situation, where luck plays important role.Be smart, plan, have contingency solution for every possible outcome.
What’s her name?
A king may have all the resources of state to stay in the wars long enough for change to happen! A business losing money and clients hand over fist is at the mercy of banks. Point taken but I wouldn’t take it to the bank!
Most gamblers have been at it for years with oogatz to show for it 🙂
Frederick. A gay guy who kicked ass.