Where did the name of the Kingdom of Prussia come from? Are all people in this nation descended from Prussians?
The answer is obviously no. In fact, ancient Prussia was just a minority living in the Baltic Sea region. They were brave, persevering, advocating peace, and the religion they believed in was also the primitive religion of Northern Europe.
The Grand Duchy of Poland at that time had been trying to invade this land, but it could not resist the bravery and fighting skills of the Prussian natives, so it could not be conquered for a long time!
In order to win, the Duke of Mazovia, the Grand Duke of Poland, kept luring the wolves into the house and borrowed the Teutonic Knights to invade the Prussians. At that time, the Teutonic Knights were frustrated in the Crusades and did not know where to go. Once they saw that they had a place to stay, they naturally began to The plan was to turn away from customers.
The Teutonic Knights possessed advanced European military technology and systems at the time, as well as spiritual cohesion such as religious belief. In the war with the Prussians, the Teutonic Knights gradually gained the initiative.
After sixty years of fighting, the Teutonic Knights finally conquered the Prussian natives. This also shows that these Prussians were indeed tenacious enough to fight against one of the three major European knights for sixty years. The fighting capacity of this nation is evident.
Over the past sixty years, the Prussians gradually changed their beliefs, chose Christianity, and closely integrated themselves with the rigorous military system of the Knights, which eventually became the foundation of the national spirit of the Kingdom of Prussia.
The anti-customer Teutonic Knights gradually ceased to obey Poland's orders. The former employers and employees became enemies, and a series of wars broke out between the two sides.
In a series of wars, Poland gradually defeated the Teutonic Knights and redivided the Prussian land, but Poland did not completely drive the Teutonic Knights out of the Baltic Sea.
At this time, a German family appeared, that is, the famous Hohenzollern family in later generations! At that time, the land controlled by this family was today's German state of Brandenburg.
After all, the Hohenzollern family is a traditional nobleman with a background. They are proficient in internal affairs, finance, diplomacy, and various conspiracies, and can properly handle the relationship with the Holy See.
The Brandenburg region quickly became wealthy under their rule, and then they set their sights on Prussia, using various means, including money, diplomacy, marriage, and even religious influence, over the course of hundreds of years. Penetrating influence into Prussia.
Until finally, in 1511, a knight from the Hohenzollern family branch was successfully elected as the leader of the Teutonic Knights, which completely completed the merger of the two regions.
This knight's name was Albrecht. It was through his efforts that the Teutonic Knights officially announced the establishment of a secular kingdom and abandoned the ancient religious knighthood system.
Although at this time, the Kingdom of Brandenburg and the Kingdom of Prussia were two countries that existed in parallel, the two countries had been integrated together in many aspects such as economy, culture, politics, blood, etc.!
Until Albrecht's son died due to mental illness, the Kingdom of Prussia, which had no heir, chose the king's son-in-law, King Sigismund of the Kingdom of Brandenburg, to inherit Prussia.
From this time on, Prussia and Brandenburg were officially united!
The Hohenzollern family annexed Prussia, but in order to unite the hearts of the Prussian people forever and inherit the martial spirit of Prussia, this family merged the two lands and called them the Kingdom of Prussia to the outside world!
In fact, according to historical documents at the time, the full name of this country should be the Electorate of Brandenburg - the Kingdom of Prussia!
But the common people call it Prussia. On the contrary, the name of the Electorate of Brandenburg is gradually forgotten!
Through this period of history, we can see clearly that the structure of the Prussian nation was formed. The genetic heritage left by the Teutonic Knights and the ancient Prussian nation is tenacity, order, bravery, integrity... but it is too easy to break!
The genetic legacy left by the Kingdom of Brandenburg controlled by the Hohenzollern family is the soft power of nobility, culture, economy, politics, diplomacy, etc.!
The balance of yin and yang, the balance of hardness and softness, is the fundamental reason for the ups and downs of the Prussian nation and its ultimate rise!
The name of a battleship is actually called Brandenburg. What does this mean? This shows that the Prussian royal family's expectations for this battleship are terrifyingly high.
Brandenburg is originally the code name of the ruler. The glory of this name within the kingdom is actually higher than that of Prussia!
Because in the end it was Brandenburg that annexed Prussia, not the other way around!
The meaning of naming an ironclad battleship Brandenburg is really intriguing. Maybe this is William I's ambition for the ocean!
In his mind, why doesn't he want to have a Brandenburg counterattack on the ocean? Is it possible to annex and digest more colonies on the sea?
The answer is yes. This name has actually subconsciously exposed the Prussians' ambitions for maritime interests. No matter how well they disguise themselves now, there are still flaws in their disguise, even if it is just the name of a battleship!
The Brandenburg is a replica and brother ship of the Reach. It was built at the Szczecin Shipyard at the same time. From the beginning, this battleship has been kept in a state of high confidentiality in the kingdom.
In order to hide it from the French and British spies, all the funds used by Bismarck and William I to build this battleship were the royal family's private money.
For this battleship, William I has not filled out a gorgeous dress and carriage for three years, and even the repair work on his holiday villa has been suspended.
This battleship has been hidden in Port William since it was launched. All training missions were conducted at night, and the battleship also wore multiple sets of camouflage.
It is precisely because of the strictest confidentiality system that European countries do not know the existence of this battleship at all!
Even the British naval intelligence department only speculated that Prussia was preparing to copy a battleship like the Zhiyuan, but never thought that such a battleship actually existed in the world.
The Battle of East Frisia finally forced William I to take action. His silence in Berlin was just weighing the pros and cons. What he was afraid of was the warship on which everyone had placed their hopes. What if it missed?
If the Brandenburg failed in its first battle, it would undoubtedly be a major blow to the development of the Prussian navy. At the critical moment, he would not dare to gamble as much as Bismarck!
Until the end, the army in Port Wilhelm actually attacked and attacked Spike Island without his orders!
There was no choice anymore. Even if William I wanted to save Hamburg from war, he had to send troops!
At four o'clock in the morning, Wilhelm Naval Port received a secret telegram from the king. William I finally ordered that the Brandenburg and the sixteen various warships parked in the military port all anchored to support the East Frisian Islands!
Five hours later, the Brandenburg had visually sighted the stranded Zhiyuan. The indignant Prussian troops immediately opened fire without hesitation, and high-explosive bombs exploded in mid-air at the bow of the Zhiyuan.
The heavy rain of shell fragments smashed all the French marines who had just boarded the ship into sieves!
The French flag was torn into pieces and turned into rags floating into the sea!
