User Profile

Character Name: Gilbert Weillschmidt (Kingdom of Prussia)

Character Series: Axis Powers Hetalia

Age: If we’re going by history from around the time the Teutonic Knights conquered the Old Prussians, he’s around five hundred years old. However, history doesn’t seem to determine age in Hetalia, since America is somehow near the same age as England (they’re both in their twenties), so that’s pretty irrelevant. Prussia’s appearance suggests he’s in his early twenties, but his age is never specified in his profile.

Background: Prussia’s name comes from a group of Baltic tribes called the Old Prussians (or, sometimes, the Baltic Prussians) whom the Teutonic Knights tried for the longest time to conquer. Eventually, they fell and Prussia came into being as a part of the Teutonic Order. Not long afterward he began to conquer and assimilate other military orders. He was doing quite well for himself. Unfortunately, this did not last. On July 15, 1410, he was defeated through the combined efforts of Poland and Lithuania. The Teutonic Knights never really regained their former power after this.

Two centuries later, Albert Frederick’s daughter Anna married John Sigismund, Margrave of Brandenburg, forming the state of Brandenburg-Prussia. That same year, the Thirty Years' War began. The newly-formed state of Brandenburg-Prussia fought with Sweden, Bohemia, Denmark-Norway, the Dutch Republic, France, England, Saxony, the Electoral Palatinate, Transylvania, and a few Hungarian anti-Hapsburg rebels on his side, against the Holy Roman Empire and the Spanish Empire. There was no main reason for the fighting, but the religious tension between the Catholics and the Protestants and conflict over politics and the balance of power in the Holy Roman Empire were definitely factors. However, as other countries joined in, it became less about religion and more about the rivalries between the countries.

During the war, Prussia’s geologically disconnected lands were constantly marched across. He did not have enough military strength to do much about it at the time, much to his dismay. Luckily, this soon changed. Frederick William, his next ruler, reformed his army in order to help defend his land. It is due to his influence that Prussia believes military strength to be so important, as he constantly stressed the need for a powerful army to protect the nation's disconnected lands.

After Frederick William’s death in 1688, his son Frederick III became King Frederick I. He upgraded Prussia from the status of duchy to kingdom. Prussia was very poor at the time, as he still not recovered from the Thirty Years’ War. To make matters worse, Prussia himself became very ill as more than one-third of his population contracted the bubonic plague. It spread and spread, but receded before reaching the capital, Berlin, much to his relief.

King Frederick I was later succeeded by his son, Frederick William I. He did not care much for art, but he was incredibly practical. He is often called “the Soldier-King” (der Soldatenkönig) and is credited for turning the Prussian army into one of the most powerful ones in all of Europe. Frederick William I was opposed to spending money that had little or nothing to do with the army, believing it to be superfluous. His influence on Prussia is evident, as the nation himself began to live for fighting and care for little else. Ironically enough, despite the fact that Frederick William cared so much for the army and worked so hard to polish Prussia’s, he himself was a peaceful man. This did not, however, mean that he was a pushover; quite the opposite, actually, as he was strict and controlling to the point of being tyrannical. He forced his son Frederick II to train vigorously so he could become a fine soldier, although his son wished to learn about the arts. In 1940, said son succeeded him as king.

Frederick II, often called Frederick the Great, was absolutely adored by Prussia—so much that the kingdom even decided to affectionately give him the nickname of Old Fritz. His love for Fritz is quite understandable, too, as he is the one who transformed Prussia from an incredibly backwater kingdom to one with a very strong economy. Plus, he politically reformed the kingdom, reorganized its system of indirect taxes, promoted trade, introduced a general civil code, and established the principle that the crown would not interfere in matters of justice. He was also considered to be one of the greatest tactical geniuses of all time—his presence alone in battle was thought to equal that of 400,000 soldiers.

During his very first year as king, he ordered the army to march into Silesia and seize it from Habsburg Austria due to a dispute over a treaty of succession; he did not feel that Maria Theresa, a woman, was fit to lead. He succeeded in obtaining Silesia and held on to it all throughout the three Silesian Wars.

The Seven Years’ War began with his invasion of Saxony. During the Seven Years’ War, which involved all of the major European powers, Prussia proved just how fearsome he was in combat with Frederick II leading him. At first, things looked very grim for them, with the Austrians attacking and the French quickly approaching. But miraculously, they managed to turn the situation around completely in only a month’s time: Fritz completely devastated France’s attempt at invading at the Battle of Rossbach, and he diverted the Austrians off-course during the Battle of Leuthen.

From then on, odds continued to favor Prussia and Britain greatly up until the Battle of Hochkirch, where Fritz lost over 9,000 men in battle (meme not intended) and the Austrians 8,300. He had become just a little too confident, felt just a little too comfortable. It was one of the worst defeats he suffered. Fortunately, he was able to retreat with little problem, thanks to the dense woodland.

Prussia continued to lose men in 1749. 26,000 Prussian troops fell at Russian hands at the Battle of Kay, 13,000 were forced to surrender in the Battle of Maxen, and in the worst defeat of his entire military career, Fritz lost over half of his army in the Battle of Kunersdorf. He barely managed to escape with his life himself—two horses were shot from under him, and his coat was riddled with bullet holes. After Kunersdorf, Frederick II lost all hope and was driven to the brink of suicide. It was a misfortune, he said, that he survived the battle. Prussia could not be more thankful for such a "misfortune," though, distraught as he was at seeing his leader in such a hopeless state.

The two's fortunes did not improve with the disasters in 1760. The Prussian general Fouqué was defeated at the Battle of Landshut. The French seized Marburg and the Swedes a portion of Pomerania. The Austrians captured Glatz, part of Silesia. However, the year wasn’t entirely composed of defeats. Fritz managed to scrape together a victory at the Battle of Warburg, despite the fact that he was outnumbered three to one. He was also able to defeat general Daun in the Battle of Torgau, although he suffered from numerous casualties.

In 1761 Spain joined the war after Britain declared war against him. After the Russians stormed Kolberg and the Austrians Schweidnitz, Great Britain threatened to stop supporting Prussia in the war. With the Prussian army greatly weakened and dwindled down to only 60,000 men, their chances looked incredibly grim. Once again, Fritz contemplated suicide. But then, just when all seemed lost, the Miracle of the House of Brandenburg happened: Russia’s Empress Tsaritsa Elizabeth died and was succeeded by her incredibly pro-Prussian nephew Peter III, who withdrew the troops without asking for a thing in return. With the Russians out of the way, Fritz quickly drove the Austrians out of Silesia.

On Febuary 10, 1763, the Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed, ending the war. Silesia remained part of Prussia, and Prussia became known as a major European power. There were no significant changes to the borders, and the state of affairs from before the war began was restored. But Prussia himself changed greatly. He, a rising power, had managed to win against Austria, a superpower. This by itself was able to boost his ego greatly. Add to it the fact that Austria had many other countries aiding him while Prussia had few, and his arrogance skyrocketed.

How unfortunate for the other residents of Memento Eden that he would be sent here right after getting such a swelled head.

Personality: Gilbert is rather loud and obnoxious, and he has an incredibly big ego. He constantly brags about how amazing he, his army, and his rulers are. His movements and actions are often incredibly overdramatic and exaggerated as well, because he loves excitement and danger and thrills; with him, there’s never a dull moment.

Nothing interests him more than fighting. After all, what could be more exciting and dangerous and thrilling than risking one’s life out on the battlefield? Because of his love of fighting, he will sometimes provoke a person into attacking him.

He is not a person that’s very easy to get along with due to these facts. In fact, even when he’s actually taking an interest in another person, he still insults them more often than not. He just does not show affection often, believing it to be a sign of weakness. Clustering, too, is a sign of weakness to him (whether it’s siding with many other allies in war or simply pursuing a romantic relationship with another), making it difficult for him to get attached to another person—excluding his leaders, of course.

But despite claiming to hate showing affection and being shown affection, he is actually very lonely on the inside, and quite bitter about being the only country that has no one to care for. In the Christmas strips, he was shown weeping at the sight of couples filling the streets all around him (although he tries to convince himself that they are tears of joy at not having to spend money on presents for a spouse). His bitterness at the other couples leads him attempt to ruin the Christmas of Austria, who had been happily spending his time with his girlfriend Hungary. He forces Austria to strip in exchange for a present for Hungary, all the while taunting and jeering him with shouts of, “How does it feel? Feels bad, doesn’t it? Now you know how it feels to be alone!” In the end, he is still quite terrible at hiding his true emotions from the others, it seems, as well as being incredibly inconsiderate of the emotions of others.

However, Gilbert does not only have bad traits; surprisingly enough, he can actually be a pretty tolerant guy. Unlike most other countries at the time, he does not discriminate or persecute others because of their religious beliefs. He is also incredibly devoted and loyal to his leaders and would do anything he can to help and protect them. Plus, he is very perseverant. Even when severely outnumbered, he still refuses to surrender. However, because of his huge ego, he often underestimates his opponents, which can lead to disaster. But even when he fails, he just tries again and again until he succeeds; how long it takes him to succeed is irrelevant. And for Gilbert Weillschmidt, the word “impossible” has no meaning.

Item Lost: His memories of Frederick II, since Fritz is the person he cares about and wants to protect the most. He may eventually remember that someone led him in battle, but he will not be able to recall who it is leading him and what they meant to him.


Played by zoomiezoom

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