Prussia reenters the war against France in…
1804 CE to 1815 CE
Prussia reenters the war against France in 1806, but its forces are badly beaten at the Battle of Jena this same year.
Prussia is abandoned by its ally Russia and loses territory as a result of the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807.
These national humiliations motivate the Prussians to undertake a serious program of social and military reform.
The most noted of the reformers—Karl vom Stein, Karl August von Hardenberg, Wilhelm von Humboldt, and Gerhard von Scharnhorst, along with many others—improve the country's laws, education, administration, and military organization.
Scharnhorst, responsible for military reforms, emphasizes the importance to the army of moral incentives, personal courage, and individual responsibility.
He also introduces the principle of competition and abandons the privileges accorded to nobility within the officer corps.
A revitalized Prussia joins with Austria and Russia to defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in late 1813 and drive him out of Germany.
Prussian forces under General Gebhard von Blucher are essential to the final victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.