Every nontrivial finite p-group has a nontrivial center. The conjugation action partitions the group into conjugacy classes whose noncentral sizes are positive powers of ; the class equation then implies .
Now let be prime and put and . The Eisenstein criterion applied at gives , while the discriminant of elements of a number field of its power basis is
where . By the discriminant-index formula for an integral lattice, every prime dividing must therefore be .
Suppose . The finite abelian group is then a nontrivial finite p-group, so it contains an element of order . Consequently there is an such that
with some not divisible by .
The polynomial is Eisenstein, so total ramification from an Eisenstein polynomial gives a unique prime ideal above with normalized discrete valuation
Let be the least index for which . The term has valuation ; every earlier term has valuation at least , and every later term with coefficient prime to has a distinct, larger valuation. The non-Archimedean valuation therefore gives
This contradicts , since an algebraic integer has nonnegative valuation at every prime ideal. Thus , and
The group is a nontrivial finite p-group, so the nontrivial center of a finite p-group gives . If , then is already a nontrivial proper normal subgroup, so is not a simple group. If , then is abelian. By Cauchy's theorem for finite groups, it has a subgroup of order ; every subgroup of an abelian group is normal, and this subgroup is nontrivial and proper because . Thus in every case
Using the commutation relations, every element has a normal form
On squaring, equal generators cancel and every interchange contributes only the central element , so . There are at most normal forms, and every element has order dividing four. Hence is a finite p-group with , of order at most .