As I read somewhere once in a book I can’t remember, Prussia, one of the more well-known of the German states (although it is today no longer officially a state and was eliminated as a political entity following WWII for good reason) was called the little state that was never meant to be. But through sheer will, economic growth, military ambition, and successful battlefield tactics, it fought its way to the status of a European military power, especially under Frederick the Great. From their humble beginnings as the Teutonic Knights who played an important role in the crusades in the 14th century to being a major power in the 18th and 19th centuries, Prussia’s growth set the stage for European geographies and politics in the present day, their unusually well-organized armies, strong state support of the military and effective tactics meant growth into a state that had far-reaching consequences later, even today.
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=iqe
http://www.culturalresources.com/MP_Muir49.html
Bearer of Pity 