How were soldiers recruited for Frederick II’s army?

Under Frederick II (the Great), the Prussian army was recruited primarily from the countryside, as the state relied on the peasantry to fill its ranks while exempting townsmen, who were expected to contribute through taxes.1

The army consisted of two main groups:
* Prussian Subjects: These men were recruited through the "canton system," a method established by Frederick’s father, Frederick William I, which made young men of the lower classes liable for military service.21
* Foreign Recruits: A significant portion of the force—roughly 110,000 of the 190,000 soldiers by the end of Frederick’s reign—consisted of foreigners, many of whom were obtained through outright kidnapping.1

The officer corps was drawn almost exclusively from the Junker landowning nobility, who viewed military service as a primary duty. To ensure a steady supply of recruits, Frederick occasionally issued decrees to prevent peasants from being treated so harshly by their landlords that they would flee the country. During peacetime, soldiers were often integrated into society by spending part of the year working in agriculture or urban trades.1