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Chapter 68: William's Reflections (I)


The battle at Savannah, later known as the Second Battle of Savannah, changed the landscape of the North American colonies, and the defeat of the American forces in the South greatly weakened the resistance of the entire North American region.

Although the Continental Congress later sent another 4,000 troops to Greene, 4,000 men were not enough to subvert the Anglo-American balance of power in the entire South.

It can be said that the Battle of Savannah allowed the British to regain their upper hand throughout North America.

At the same time, the Continental Congress was forced to send envoys to Paris to ask France to send troops again to aid the anti-British fighting in the North American colonies.

Not to mention the strangulation of the American forces led by Count Brünecke after Savannah, and look back at Prussia.

The two-month military reform was only the beginning, and Wilhelm's ambition to turn the Prussian army into the basis of his hegemony in Europe was also to the detriment of a large number of Prussian military aristocrats.

These aristocrats told William more than once about their dissatisfaction, but William believed that any reform throughout history would always hurt the interests of some people, but it would undoubtedly play a role in promoting the interests of the whole country and the whole society.

Of course, Wilhelm could not ignore the enormous influence of these nobles, and if the interests of these nobles were not dealt with, then what awaited Prussia would be social unrest and in order to appease the discontent of the major military aristocracy, Wilhelm made concessions.

During the Austro-Prussian War, William ceded some of the benefits of Bohemia and Prussian Poland to the nobles at home, and Wilhelm allowed them certain privileges.

At the same time, Wilhelm also ordered the establishment of a military university in Brandenburg.

Wilhelm personally named the academy the Brandenburg Military Academy, and its first director was Count Hans Ernst Karten, and although the elder Ziten was already eighty-one years old this year, Wilhelm hoped that the old Ziten would continue to exert his spare energy and provide more military talents for Prussia.

At the same time, in order to let the students in the academy have a considerable understanding of the war, William also made Marshal Dessau the chief instructor of the military academy.

One of the purposes of Wilhelm's establishment of the Military Academy was to improve the military literacy of the Prussian army in line with the military reform program.

On the other hand, William asked the major military nobles to send the school-age young people in their respective families to military universities for transformation and study, so that the major military nobles could share the fruits of military reform.

Wilhelm had high hopes for the Brandenburg Military Academy, and he pinned his dream of European domination on it, so admission to the academy was very troublesome.

There are three pathways to the college: If you are a soldier, you must get a recommendation from the commander of your battalion, while also taking an exam.

Generally, a battalion can recommend four places a year, and four people can go to the academy together to take the exam, but the passing rate of the entire Prussian army soldier examination is a quarter, that is, each battalion in the Prussian army can send four soldiers to take the exam, maybe all four can be admitted, maybe a battalion can not be examined.

Second, if you are from a military aristocracy, then William promised to give a hundred places to military aristocratic families every year, but Prussia has countless military aristocrats, large and small, and how to get one of these hundred places depends on their own ability.

Thirdly, all adult men in Prussia could take the exam, but only between the ages of eighteen and thirty, and the pass rate was only a pitiful one-tenth.

After consulting with the elder Qi Teng and others, William preliminarily decided to start the entrance examination of the Brandenburg Military Academy every year, and because this year is the first year of the school's establishment, the first entrance examination is tentatively scheduled for February, so that after William's will is issued, anyone who intends to take the examination can participate.

Looking at the infinite autumn mood outside the window, William tightened the collar of his shirt, although he was full of confidence in military reform, but after all, his identity was different now.

He is no longer the bitter ** silk, he is the king of Prussia, his words and deeds will affect the whole country, and even the slightest mistake will cause immeasurable damage to Prussia.

It was already November, and there had been no conclusion on the disposition of Poland and Moravia between Austria and Russia, and the envoys had been going back and forth from country to country, and it was the envoys of both sides who were the first to reach friendship between the three countries.

Of course, in this month, William was about to leave for Poland, and after the efforts of the envoys, William and Joseph II agreed to go to Poland to meet with Catherine II to determine the question of the ownership of the regions.

Prince Henry and Locks had repeatedly advised Wilhelm not to risk his life, but Wilhelm felt that Prussia had to maintain a sufficient respect for the Russian behemoth.

His current front has been stretched too long, domestic reforms, the desire for Denmark, a series of problems entangled with William, at this time, he must not let Russia make trouble for himself behind his back.

After thinking for a while, William thought of North America again, the second batch of troops sent to North America had already set out, so that the Prussian army in North America would reach 10,000 men, and the third and final group was planned to be sent to North America in May next year, and I don't know if Bruneke could have an effective solution to the mess in North America during this time.

William looked down on the militia in the North American colonies, William was worried about the French troops, you must know that the current France has not experienced the chaos of the Revolution, and France still has a large number of veterans and soldiers who can fight well.

It was the French army that could threaten the Prussian army, and the reason why the North American War in later generations was the victory of the colonies, and the intervention of France played an immeasurable role.

Soon after the start of the war, France's declaration of war on Britain involved the vast majority of Britain's forces, and France and Britain had vast colonies all over the world.

At the same time, France itself made money at a loss, and sent troops to the North American continent to help the Continental Congress fight the British army.

As far as William knew, the French had more ground military forces directly involved in the thirteen North American states than the Royal French Navy sailors and officers, but only the naval officers and men who directly participated in the Battle of Yorktown surpassed them What kind of concept is this, the reason why Washington is called the father of the country, the most important point is that he led the Battle of Yorktown, the American army won a big victory, but if it was not for the French to participate in the war, with the strength of the American army, he could force Cornwallis to surrender with 8,000 British troops?

Dream big.

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