Reform of the Brandenburg Army

The Elector Friedrich Wilhelm (1640-1688), known as the Great Elector, had been one of the major winners of the Thirty Years War, increasing the size of his Prussian realm by nearly a third. His major achievement was to achieve the administrative unity and the setting up of a small professional army of 24,000 men. He also managed to get his country free of Polish lordship over Prussia, and to welcome 20,000 French Protestant refugees. On 28th June 1675, his army fought a tactical stalemate with the Swedes at the battle of Fehrbellin. The Swedes were unable to go on the offensive due to poor preparations, and thus lost the war. That Sweden was unable to carry the sword of Gustavus Adolphus had a striking resonance all over Europe and Prussia occupied Swedish Pomerania until 1679.