What did Frederick the Great mean by saying that a successful general starves the enemy?

When Frederick the Great remarked that "the masterpiece of a successful general is to starve his enemy," he was reflecting the strategic and logistical realities of 18th-century European warfare.1

During this period, military operations were characterized by sluggish, formalized maneuvers where commanders sought to avoid direct, costly battles. Instead, strategy focused on controlling territory, defending lines of communication, and securing fortified bases. By effectively cutting off an opponent's access to food, forage, and supply depots—often referred to as magazines—a general could force the enemy to retreat, surrender, or suffer a collapse in military capacity without the need for a decisive, high-risk engagement.1

This approach prioritized the systematic management of logistics over the immediate destruction of enemy forces, viewing the exhaustion of the enemy's resources as the ultimate indicator of a commander's strategic skill.1