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In spite of its reputation as a powerful fighting nation, Prussia withdrew from the First Coalition as an active opponent of the French Revolution and remained on the sidelines until the Fourth Coalition in 1806. The Prussian Army, formidable on paper, was the product of an outdated system that had not altered since the Seven Years’ War. In late 1806 Napoleon crushed the hapless Prussian military machine. The humiliation of military defeat and being forced to cede much of its territories forced the Prussian king, Frederick William III, into much-needed military reform. In 1813 Prussia rejoined the war against Napoleonic France and the Prussian army under Blücher, although sometimes playing second fiddle to Austria, Russia and Great Britain, was a major force in bringing an end to Napoleon Bonaparte’s rule. In 1815 Napoleon returned to meet the English and Prussians, which would lead to his Waterloo. Prussia’s reward in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna was the recovery of her lost territories, as well as the whole of the Rhineland and Westphalia and other territories. Prussia, therefore, emerged from the Napoleonic Wars Welcome and Enjoy! |
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