Warmatrix

Frederick the Great was king in/of Prussia, a great reformer who doubled Prussia's size and elevated the country to the rank of 5th greatest power in Europe, though at the cost of ¼ million Prussian lives.
Frederick was born in 1712 CE. He had a bad relation with his father, Frederick William I, who laid the foundations of the strong Prussian army. Frederick William strove to raise his children with a disciplined, not royal education. He had a violent temper and often beat his son. Frederick junior struck back by diverting his energies to music and poetry rather than military matters. During his life he wrote 30 books, many poems and composed music. When he was 18, he tried to flee to his grandfather in Britain together with his best friend. His father caught them, forced Frederick to renounce his succession to the throne and had the friend beheaded. The young prince was subjected to a year of rigorous schooling and discipline, though soon after was more or less reconciled with his father. He was married to Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern, but there was no love between them. In 1736 CE his father gave him a palace and money and for four years Frederick enjoyed more freedom than he ever had before, or would after.
In 1740 CE Frederick William died and his son succeeded as Frederick II. At the time Prussia was a patchwork of territories. Frederick, despite his interest in culture and civil work, suddenly showed that he had inherited more from his father than many had thought. The new king reasoned that to avoid being gobbled up by greater powers, Prussia had to become one itself. He set out by contesting the possessions of Maria Theresa of Austria, thus starting the War of Austrian Succession. Prussia mostly fought over the rich province of Silesia, while other great powers battled over other areas. In two Silesian wars, after defeating the Austrians most of the time, Frederick gained Silesia for Prussia in 1745 CE.
Besides waging war, Frederick spent a lot of time reforming his country. He ruled as an absolute king, completely sidelining the nobility. His father had had him read Machiavelli; Frederick in response wrote what on first sight seemed a refutation, the "Anti-Machiavel". On closer inspection he largely agreed with the Italian, adapting his theories to the 18th century CE. Frederick stated that people should be judged by their intelligence and skills, not their ancestry. He weeded out almost all corruption and transformed the state bureaucracy to an efficient machine. Education, arts and science were promoted and the country was made very tolerant of all religions. Nonetheless Prussia was mainly a war machine; around 3/4 of the state budget was spent on the army.
As was expected of leaders at the time, Frederick personally led his armies to victory many times, most notably at Hohenfriedberg, Rossbach and Leuthen. He was also noted for bravery, reputedly having six horses shot down from under him throughout his career. But there are also accounts of tactical blunders and him leaving the battlefield under dubious circumstances. Most of his reputation as a no-nonsense hero who shared his men's dangers and hardships stems from his later wars.
Frederick was at his best in reforming the army and using it in the way it had been trained for. He had a keen insight into terrain and often was in the right time and the right place to prevent enemy armies joining forces. The main tactic was to quickly maneuver the army into a position of advantage and then striking hard. He avoided wars of attrition, as Prussia could not afford them, and fought aggressively to decide conflicts early. This did not always work; sometimes his enemies managed to force him into a static battle, where casualties ran high.
In 1756 CE Frederick, feeling threatened by shifting alliances around him, made a pre-emptive attack on Saxony, starting the Seven Years' War. This was a grave mistake. It angered the great powers, all of whom except Britain were against Prussia. Frederick's country was invaded many times and he suffered several severe defeats. His army dwindled in both size and quality, yet managed to retain its cohesion. After a few years Prussia was on the brink of collapse, but in 1762 Russia stepped out of the war. This turned the tables, as the other powers were exhausted too. A year later Frederick was able to sign a peace treaty without loss of territory, yet many Prussians had perished.
After the Seven Years' War, the king let Prussia have several decades of peace, but that did not mean there was no fighting. Frederick saw himself as an 'enlightened despot', though had a very low opinion of his Polish neighbors. He wanted to add Polish territories, which were inhabited by both Poles and a German minority, to Prussia. Instead of launching another open war, he fought an economic battle with Poland and frequently violated the border. From 1770 CE he started to carve the country up, together with Russia, in blatant imperialism, though he himself saw it as civilizing the area.
In his last years, his health deteriorated and he became increasingly solitary. However he remained committed to the work of ruling the state. He died in 1786 CE, leaving behind a strong state that would from the nucleus of later Germany.