In order to recruit enough soldiers, the Prussian royal family resorted to unscrupulous means. Recruiters extended their activities to other German states, in fact, they seized manpower in an organized way. As the most powerful army in German states at that time, many ambitious foreign youths were attracted to serve in Pujun, including a generation of famous soldiers like scharnhorst. By this way of recruiting soldiers from different countries, the fragmented German nation strengthened its internal ties, and the Prussian army became a veritable link to integrate national strength.
With the rapid growth of the Prussian army, Friedrich II urged the army to have iron discipline and high mobility, and raised "strict military discipline" to the height of "military soul". The cavalry he trained could keep neat formation and run long distances, and quickly regrouped after charging. Pu Jun soon became the most efficient army in Europe. Engels later commented that Friedrich II's military organization was "the best at that time, and all other European governments enthusiastically followed suit". At that time, Friedrich II focused on cultivating the loyalty and obedience of officers and the sense of honor of soldiers, and controlled the whole army through them and strict military laws. The training of soldiers is extremely strict, and the cruel military methods of flogging and clubbing are flooding the whole army.
When Friedrich II ascended the throne, the weapons and equipment of the Prussian army could not be self-sufficient and had to be imported from abroad at a high price. In order to get rid of this unfavorable situation of being controlled by others, he began to develop military industry in the second year of his reign, exempting taxes and giving subsidies. With the official support, Prussia's military production continued to succeed. In addition to the increase in quantity, the performance of weapons has also been greatly improved.
Innovation Friedrich II's technological innovation is often matched with tactical reform. He increased the firing speed of muskets and adjusted the infantry fighting formation accordingly. He invented the diagonal battle sequence according to the wedge array in ancient Greece and the firearms performance of his own army. Friedrich II attached great importance to the cooperative combat capability of various arms and services, pioneered the riding and shooting artillery, and equipped the cavalry with light artillery, which perfectly combined the high mobility of cavalry with the powerful firepower of artillery. In the aspect of military system reform, the General Administration of Attendants established during the reign of Friedrich II, together with the former General Administration of Munitions, laid the foundation of the later General Staff System.
In addition to improving the command system, Friedrich II further carried forward the Prussian military tradition and truly established a national defense mobilization system in which all the people were soldiers. At that time, Prussia described it this way: for other countries, the country has an army; For Prussia, the army owned a country.
Friedrich II attached great importance to military logistics. In order to ensure the huge material supply in wartime, he broke the traditional mode of relying solely on military stations for replenishment and replaced it with a new compound security system. The specific methods are: individual soldiers carry three days' self-use rations, the regiment-owned supply motorcade carries eight days' bread rations, and the highest-level military supply motorcade carries one month's food supply for the whole army. At the same time, warehouses are set up in transportation hubs such as Berlin to reserve a large number of war preparation materials in advance. As a result, Pu Jun formed a set of strict, efficient and flexible logistics support system, which provided strong material support for frequent dynasty wars.
Friedrich II believed that "might is right". Under his iron fist rule, Prussia's national strength rose rapidly, and in a very short time, it jumped among the European powers. On this basis, Friedrich II continued to wage foreign wars and expand his territory. By the time he died 1786, Prussia's territory had expanded 1.6 times, and its population had increased from 3 million to 5 million. The rapid rise of Prussia laid the foundation for the unification and revival of Germany in the second half of the19th century.