Moltke
Moltke names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Moltke HELMUTH KARL BERN- HARD, COUNT VON (molt'ke)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
HELMUTH KARL BERN- HARD, COUNT VON (molt'ke), officer, one of a Prussian military the greatest soldiers of Europe; born in Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Oct. 26, Parchim; 1800. He was the son of a German army 3 COUNT HELMUTH KARL VON MOLTKE officer. At the age of 11 he was sent to the military school at Copenhagen, and, after several years of training, entered the Danish army. But in 1819, led by his German sympathies, he resigned his commission and went to Berlin to continue his studies in the Prussian capital. After 10 years of study and a few more of staff service he went to Turkey on a furlough, and acted (1835-1839) as military adviser of the Sultan. On his return to western Europe he resumed his connection with the Prussian staff. The unusual character of Von Moltke's genius did not appear till Prince William ascended the Prussian throne as regent in 1858. Bismarck became prime minister, Von Roon was made secretary of war, and Von Moltke was appointed chief of staff. Von Moltke planned the Danish campaign of 1864. His plan was to "move separately and strike together," gether," and by this method he humbled Austria at Sadowa, July 3, 1866. He keenly foresaw the war with France (1870-1871), and perfected his plan of campaign two years in advance of the outbreak of hostilities. War was declared by France, July 19, 1870. By the middle of August Bazaine, with 180,000 Frenchmen, had been penned up in Metz, and on Sept. 1 Napoleon and Marshal Macmahon were entrapped at Sedan and obliged to surrender with 90,000 men. On Sept. 19 the Germans were before the walls of Paris. His country showered honors on him, he becoming a count, a marshal, marshal, and a life-member of the Prussian House of Lords. He was retired for age in 1888, and died in Berlin, Prussia, April 24, 1891.
Moltke HELMUTH VON, German soldier
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
HELMUTH VON, German soldier; born in 1848. He was the nephew of the famous strategist of the same name associated with Bismarck in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Taking up a military career in his youth, his natural executive ability, as well as family influence, insured his rapid progress in promotion to highest rank. In 1906 he became Chief of the General Staff of the German military forces. It is generally believed that General von Moltke, together with the Crown Prince, was the most powerful influence in hurling Germany into the war, beginning in 1914. He was, at any rate, one of the chief figures in the military clique which precipitated hostilities, under the firm belief that Germany was invincible. Because of disagreem sagreement with the Emperor, he was dismissed from active duty duty in December, 1914, more or less in disgrace, and was succeeded by General von Falkenhayn. Suffering keenly under this humiliation, his health deteriorated, and in June, 1916, he died while in the act of delivering an address.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's 1921 account of the elder Moltke — the strategist of "move separately and strike together," Sadowa in 1866 and Sedan in 1870 — still stands as biography, and his emphasis on delegating initiative to subordinate commanders is taught in staff colleges to this day, usually under the German label Auftragstaktik. The entry on his nephew has worn less well. Written while the Allied blockade was barely lifted, it calls the younger Moltke one of the "military clique which precipitated hostilities" and dates his dismissal to December 1914; in fact he was relieved of command in mid-September 1914 after the failure of the German advance at the Marne, with Falkenhayn taking over the staff work at once, and the December date reflects only the formal end of his tenure. Historians since have made him a more anxious figure than the confident warmonger of 1921 — the man who altered Schlieffen's design, doubted German invincibility, yet still pressed for war in the July crisis — and the Great General Staff he had led was itself abolished by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
Written for this edition, 2026.