75016 PRUSSIAN INFANTRY SOLDIER-SECOND SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN WAR 1864

The Prussian army from the end of the 1850s, thanks to its Chief of General Staff, Gen. Helmut von Moltke the Elder, underwent a number of changes and reforms that had a very positive impact on its combat abilities. First of all, new technological solutions have been introduced on a large scale, such as threaded sniper-loaded guns, telegraph communication or the use of railroads to transport mobilized troops. It is also worth adding that the Prussian infantry - from the end of the 1840s - was armed with threaded sniper-loaded rifles designed by Nikolaus vov Dreyse, which significantly improved the rate of fire and its accuracy. Helmut von Moltke the elder also definitely improved the mobilization techniques of the Prussian army, which meant that although Prussia had a smaller population than France and slightly less than Austria, it was able to field a larger army at the very beginning of the conflict! For example, when the war with Austria began in 1866, they raised an army of about 470,000. people in regular troops (including 81 regiments of infantry) and 130 thousand. people in Landwer. After 1866, the Prussian army grew even more - with an additional 18 regiments of infantry and jegrs, and more cavalry regiments. When it came to war with France in 1870, the Prussian army and its German allies issued a total of approx. people in regular and further units, approx. 205 thousand. soldiers in Landwer! Moreover, this large army was well commanded and proved its worth in the battles of Sadowa (1866) or Sedan (1870) or during the siege of Metz (1870).