In his "Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de la maison de Brandenbourg", Frederick the Great describes how Prince Friedrich of Hessen-Homburg in the Battle of Fehrbellin engaged in a self-willed and precipitate attack on the enemy – and won the battle. This seems to be an anecdote unfounded in historical fact, but Kleist made use of it as a source anyway and developed the subject matter freely. Particularly, Kleist changed the prince's action "without express orders" into action " against express orders".