Prussian army

Prussian Army
War ensign of Prussia
Active	1701–1919
Country	Kingdom of Prussia
Allegiance	House of Hohenzollern
Branch	Army
Type	Land Forces, Navy
Size	Ranging between 70,000 and 700,000 during the period.
Garrison/HQ	Potsdam
Patron	King of Prussia
Engagements	War of the Spanish Succession Great Northern War War of the Austrian Succession First Silesian War Second Silesian War Seven Years' War War of the Bavarian Succession French Revolutionary Wars First Coalition Napoleonic Wars Fourth Coalition Sixth Coalition Seventh Coalition First Schleswig War Second Schleswig War Austro-Prussian War Franco-Prussian War World War I
Commanders
Notable commanders	Frederick William I Frederick the Great Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg Carl von Clausewitz Moltke the Elder Albrecht von Roon Friedrich Karl Paul von Hindenburg Erich Ludendorff Erich von Falkenhayn

War of the Spanish Succession
Great Northern War
War of the Austrian Succession

Seven Years' War
War of the Bavarian Succession
French Revolutionary Wars

Napoleonic Wars

The Royal Prussian Army (German: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.

The Prussian Army had its roots in the core mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648. Elector Frederick William developed it into a viable standing army, while King Frederick William I of Prussia dramatically increased its size and improved its doctrines. King Frederick the Great, a formidable battle commander, led the disciplined Prussian troops to victory during the 18th-century Silesian Wars and greatly increased the prestige of the Kingdom of Prussia.

The army had become outdated by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, and France defeated Prussia in the War of the Fourth Coalition. However, under the leadership of Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian reformers began modernizing the Prussian Army, which contributed greatly to the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte during the War of the Sixth Coalition. Conservatives halted some of the reforms, however, and the Prussian Army subsequently became a bulwark of the conservative Prussian government.