Military Reform and Its Inherent Dilemma in Imaginations of the Early German Enlightenment in Loen’s Der Soldat

Military issues has always been one of the often ignored important discourses of German Enlightenment in the 18th century. Loen’s Der Soldat had an important influence on German military thought during the enlightenment period. From a historical point of view, the thinking in Der Soldat about introducing the value of enlightenment into the military field to improve this sphere is of progressive significance. It represents the entry of German Enlightenment thought into the military field and became the first sign of the “Military Enlightenment” movement in the mid-18th century. However, there is an insurmountable tension between the military reform propositions under the logic of enlightenment and the social and political structure and military status of Germany in this period. Its inherent dilemma not only reflects the conflicts between different concepts in different fields, but also proves a close interaction between the ideological-cultural and the military sphere.