Prussia

Prussia (German:  Preußen ) (Polish: Prusy) was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centered on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised and effective army. Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 moved to Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership. In November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, a state of Germany from 1918 until 1933. From 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its "Gleichschaltung" laws in pursuit of a unitary state. With the end of the Nazi regime, the division of Germany into allied-occupation zones and the separation of its territories east of the Oder–Neisse line, which were incorporated into Poland and the Soviet Union, the State of Prussia ceased to exist de facto in 1945. Prussia existed de jure until its formal liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No. 46 of 25 February 1947.

Preußens Gloria

Preußens Gloria, Armeemarschsammlung II, 240, is a well-known military march of the 19th century, composed by Johann Gottfried Piefke (1817–1884).

"Preußens Gloria" ("The Glory of Prussia" or "Prussia's Glory") was written in 1871 after the Kingdom of Prussia's victory in the Franco-Prussian War, which led to the unification of the German states into the new Prussian-led German Empire. As part of the victory parade of the returning troops, the march was performed for the first time in public in Frankfurt (Oder), where Piefke's garrison was based.

As Piefke only performed it on important occasions, the march was unknown to a broader public for a long time. In 1909 the manuscript of the almost forgotten tune turned up and was reworked by army-musical inspector Prof. Grawert. Shortly afterwards it was included in the collection of Prussian army marches.

Today it is one of the best known German army marches. It is often played by the Bundeswehr at official ceremonies and state visits. It is also a standard tune in many international military bands. In Germany it is often played by non-professional bands due to its popularity. It has also been adopted by units in other armies, for example by the First Squadron, Honourable Artillery Company. The song is often played by marching bands in Northern Ireland. Also, it is played in the Militar Parades of Chile, performed by the Chilean Army.

Total war

Total war is warfare that includes any and all civilian-associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, and typically involves the use of weapons and tactics that result in significant civilian or other non-combatant casualties, whether collateral damage or not. American-English Dictionary defines "total war" as "war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objectives pursued, especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded." The term can also be applied when the war effort requires significant sacrifices by most of the friendly civilian population.

In the mid-19th century, scholars identified "total war" as a separate class of warfare. In a total war, to an extent inapplicable to less total conflicts, the differentiation between combatants and non-combatants diminishes and even sometimes vanishes entirely as opposing sides can consider nearly every human resource, even that of non-combatants, as nevertheless part of the war effort.

Napoleon: Total War

Napoleon: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. Napoleon was released in North America on 23 February 2010, and in Europe on 26 February. The game is the sixth stand-alone installment in the Total War series. The game is set in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Players assume the role of Napoleon Bonaparte, or one of his major rivals, on a turn-based campaign map and engage in the subsequent battles in real-time. As with its predecessor, Empire: Total War, which included a special United States storyline, Napoleon features three special campaigns that follow the general's career.

Napoleon received generally favourable reviews from video game critics. Reviews praised the game's visuals, story driven campaigns, and new gameplay features. Some reviewers were critical of the game's weak AI, high system requirements, and its limited scope - while others considered Napoleon overly similar to Empire, its immediate predecessor in the series.