|
Dromo's Den
|
|
[Up] [Dromo's Den] Helmuth von Moltke Biography MOLTKE, Helmuth Karl Bernhard, Count von (1800–91). A famous Prussian general. He was born at Parchim, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Oct. 26, 1800, of an old noble family. In 1811 he was sent to the military academy at Copenhagen, and in 1819 became an officer in the Danish service, but in 1822 entered the Prussian army as second lieutenant. From 1823 to 1826 he studied at the military college at Berlin. In 1832 he served on the general staff, and was several times promoted, attaining the rank of captain in 1835. In the same year he went to the Orient and, with the sanction of the Prussian authorities, took a prominent part in the reorganization of the Turkish army initiated by Mahmud II. In 1839 Moltke returned to Prussia. His promotion was fairly rapid. In 1856 he was created major general and in 1858 he became chief of the general staff. In 1859 he was appointed lieutenant general. While on the general staff Moltke continued that remarkable development of the Prussian army which had been begun by Scharnhorst in 1807. Staff schools were established, and Moltke, who was himself a lucid lecturer, succeeded in inspiring his officers with an enthusiastic interest in their work. A constant interchange of line and staff duties kept the staff in touch with the actual discipline, drill, and handling of troops and the business administration of each corps and division. Moreover, plans for possible campaigns and topographical surveys of neighboring countries were made in the minutest details. After serving for a year as adjutant to Prince Henry of Prussia in Rome, Von Moltke returned to Germany and rose rapidly in the military ranks until in 1848 he became a member of the general staff and in 1855 first adjutant to Prince Frederick William. In 1857 he was appointed chief of the general staff of the army and labored to perfect the military organization. The first test of the system came in 1864 with the war of Prussia and Austria against Denmark. The full revelation of the Prussian efficiency was brought about by the Seven Weeks' War between Prussia and Austria in 1866. Europe was surprised to see a campaign so rapid and successful directed, so to say, from the seat of government, for Moltke had not gone to the front until shortly before the end of the war. The great strategist received from his King, William I, the Order of the Black Eagle, and from the Prussian Landtag 50,000 marks. The Franco-German War of 1870–71 was the crowning triumph of Moltke's career. The war had been long expected, and the marvelous readiness of the Prussian army was in striking contrast to the disorder existing in French military affairs. Moltke did not himself enter France until the war had already been strategically decided, but it was his plan that had been carried out with an astounding certainty and precision. He was rewarded in September, 1871, by promotion to the rank of field marshal and a large grant of money. The title of Count had been conferred upon him in 1870. Other European states also showered honors upon him. On Aug. 9, 1888, Moltke retired from active service. In 1841 he had married a stepdaughter of his sister, who died in 1868. Moltke's writings on military matters, which include valuable essays on Turkish affairs, have all been published in various editions, the best being Gesammelte Schriften und Denkwürdig-keiten (8 vols., Berlin, 1892). English translations have been made under the following titles: The Russians in Bulgaria and Rumelia in 1828 and 1829 (London, 1854); Field Marshal Count Moltke's Letters from Russia (New York, 1878); The Franco-German War of 1870–71 (ib., 1892; new ed., 1901); Moltke: His Life and Character, Sketched in Journals, Letters, Memoirs, a Novel, and Autobiographical Notes (ib., 1892); Letters of Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke to his Mother and his Brothers (ib., 1892); Essays, Speeches, and Memoirs of Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke (2 vols., London, 1893); Field Marshal Count Helmuth von Moltke as a Correspondent (ib., 1893); Moltke's Letters to his Wife and Other Relatives (2 vols., ib., 1896); Moltke's Tactical Problems from 1858 to 1882, edited by the Prussian general staff (ib., 1899). The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. XVI (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 118-119. |