Mises Daily
Author:
Ralph Raico
Online Publish Date:
[Introduction to Great Wars and Great Leaders (2010).] The king of Prussia, Frederick II (”the Great”), confessed that he had seized the province of Silesia from the Empress Maria Theresa in 1740 because, as a newcomer to the throne, he had to make a name for himself. This initiated a war with Austria that developed into a worldwide war (in North