war

Tomorrow, the “free world’s” price cap on Russian oil is set to begin. This reminds me of another historical event. On 9 October, 1806, Prussia declared hostilities against France, and so began the War of the Fourth Coalition. Absolutely confident in their martial abilities, Prussian officers gloatingly sharpened their swords on the steps of the French embassy in Berlin. Napoleon crushed the Prussian army in less than a week. On 27 October, he captured Berlin, and then paraded surviving Prussian officers past the embassy they had mocked. There’s an obvious moral lesson here about not being overconfident, but today I want to talk about WHY the Prussians up as cannon fodder against Napoleon.