An Army Without a Country: Prussia’s Cult of the Military and the Road to World War One

Almost no society worshipped its military as much as the German state of Prussia in the 1700s-1800s (outside of ancient Sparta). Prussia was famously described as not a country with an army but an army with a country. That's because during the 18th century when other European states spent 20-30 of their annual budget on the military, the Prussian army regularly accounted for as much as three-quarters of public expenditure — even in times of peace. And this expenditure was widely accepted in all levels of Prussian society.

In this episode we will look at:
• How Prussia was a hinge point between medieval and modern armies
• How militaries evolved from aristocratic officers who treated enlisted men like slaves into the army being a great equalizer that unites a nation.
• Why Frederick the Great was a military genius that Napoleon worshipped.
• Why the Prussian military was the forge that created Germany and created a militaristic society that led to World War One.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.