Episode 12: The Elder Moltke: Preparing for Victory in 1800s Prussia

In this episode, Geoffrey Wawro, Professor of Military History at the University of North Texas, joins Beatrice and Paul to discuss Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, Chief of Staff of the Prussian Army from 1857–71.

Given the limited funding available to Prussia, von Moltke the Elder successfully advocated for investments in essential infrastructure and the weapons with the greatest effect, rather than spreading funds thinly and ineffectively.  

Professor Wawro explains how Prussia emerged victorious from three successive wars in Denmark (1864), Austria (1866) and France (1870-71), the role of education and how the military adapted to new technology on all levels. 

Geoffrey Wawro, The Austro-Prussian War (Cambridge, 1996).

Geoffrey Wawro, The Franco-Prussian War: The German Conquest of France in 1870-1871 (Cambridge University Press, 2003) 

Gerhard Gross,: The Myth and Reality of German Warfare: Operational Thinking from Moltke the Elder to Heusinger, David Zabecki (ed.) (Lexington, KT: University of Kentucky Press, 2016)

Quintin Barry, Moltke and His Generals: A Study in Leadership (Solihull: Helion & Company, 2015)

Francis Miyata and John Nicholson. ‘Approximating absolute war: The transformation of Prusso-German force structure under Helmuth von Moltke the elder’, Comparative Strategy, Vol. 40 No.4 (2021), pp. 407-417.

Antulio J. Echevarria II, ‘Moltke and the German Military Tradition: His Theories and Legacies’, Parameters Vol.26, No. 1 (1996), available at: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1766&context=parameters