In a newly-published article in War on the Rocks, BCMH member Adam Storring describes how the experience of the German state of Prussia during the Seven Years War of 1756-63 offers important perspectives for the current conflict in Ukraine. Despite facing much larger adversaries, Prussia not only survived a long struggle but even ended up militarily on the front foot, and this example offers hope for Ukraine today.
Moreover, the Prussian experience shows that there is more than one way of fighting the kind of war of attrition that we currently see in Ukraine and that, crucially, it is not necessarily vital to out-kill the enemy in order to win. Whereas the stronger side will take the offensive to grind down its opponent, even the side with fewer resources can still win a war of attrition by conserving its strength and waiting for other factors to turn to its advantage. To illustrate this, the article presents the example of Prince Henry of Prussia, who for years carefully husbanded the lives of his outnumbered troops, dragging out the war until circumstances turned in Prussia’s favour, and then counter-attacking to win a key battle that helped bring peace. It argues that Ukraine can seek to emulate this.
This was the most-read article on War on the Rocks last week, and it can be read in full here:
Image: Prince Henry of Prussia (1726-1802) (meisterdrucke.uk)