5. The Badass German General Who Created a Command Template Used to This Day
One of the most brilliant military minds in the generations that followed Napoleon Bonaparte was Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke (1800 – 1891). His military philosophy was to distill Napoleon’s innovations and precepts and adapt them to contemporary conditions. An example was his realization that the defensive power of modern firearms had rendered the frontal attacks of Napoleon’s days, whether in dense columns or in line, impractical. So he focused instead on the development of tactics to secure victory with envelopment attacks instead of head-on assaults.
Moltke viewed strategy through the pragmatic lens of adapting the means available to the ends sought. As a general, he avoided the pursuit of ends when the means to secure them were unavailable. He also realized that things almost never go as planned in war. His most famous statement to summarize that was the military gem: “no plan survives contact with the enemy“. So he emphasized extensive preparations for all possible scenarios. In 1857, Moltke was promoted to Chief of the Prussian General Staff – a position he would hold for the next three decades. He revolutionized warfare with his innovations to that institution, renamed the Great General Staff after the establishment of the German Empire.
