![]() ![]() In 1866, when a major war broke out with Austria, Moltke was free to act as the Commander-in-Chief, using royal decree to issue orders to Army and Divisional Commanders who outranked him in terms of formal social and military hierarchy. In the process he won the confidence of King Wilhelm I. ![]() When Moltke was allowed to take control, he brought the war to a swift, successful conclusion. In 1864, when Prussia went to war with Denmark, Command ended up being entrusted to an 80-year-old General who ignored Moltke’s procedure for the conduct of operations. ![]() However, his personal status, and that of the General Staff, was at first very uncertain. During the first four decades of Moltke’s career, Prussia was at peace and his only firsthand experience in combat occurred in 1839 when he was sent to serve the Ottoman Empire, and he commanded the Turkish artillery in a battle against Egypt.Īs chief of the Prussian General Staff in 1857, Moltke revealed impressive energy and drive through radical involvement in organization, planning, and training. He progressed within the Prussian army because Prussia had recognized the requirement for intelligent and professionally capable Staff Officers, and because his cultured manner made him an eligible bachelor, attracting the favor of the royal family. Particularly different from the traditional, boorish type of Prussian officer, Moltke was an intellectual with quiet manners and considerable literary talent. The son of an impoverished aristocratic Army Officer, he had been brought up in Denmark. Helmuth von Moltke ended up being the architect of Prussian military supremacy in mid-19th century Europe. Understood as the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew, a World War I Commander. ![]()
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