Misplaced Pages

#367632

28-586: It originated with the Akademie für junge Offiziere der Infanterie und Kavallerie (Academy for young officers of the infantry and cavalry) in 1801, later becoming known as the Allgemeine Kriegsschule (General War-School). It was officially re-founded by Gerhard von Scharnhorst in Berlin on October 15, 1810 as one of three officer colleges. Its building on Unter den Linden (1845/25), Berlin,

56-709: A United States Army Commander in 1889, was a graduate, as was US Army Colonel Albert Coady Wedemeyer , who served in World War II . The Staff College restructured after World War I and dissolved following World War II . Students at the War Academy attended about 20 hours of lectures per week. Instruction was by professors from Berlin University and officers serving on the Great General Staff, who thereby enhanced their own educations. In 1872

84-538: A minor landowning family, Scharnhorst succeeded in educating himself and in securing admission to the military academy of William, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe , at the Wilhelmstein fortress. In 1778 he received a commission into the Hanoverian service. He employed the intervals of regimental duty in further self-education and literary work. In 1783 he transferred to the artillery and received an appointment to

112-450: A severe shortage of cavalry, failed to follow up, rendering it an incomplete victory. In this battle, Scharnhorst received a wound in the foot, not in itself grave, but soon made mortal by the fatigues of the retreat to Dresden , and he succumbed to it on 28 June 1813 at Prague , where he had travelled to negotiate with Schwarzenberg and Radetzky for the armed intervention of Austria . Shortly before his death he had received promotion to

140-404: A work on firearms, Über die Wirkung des Feuergewehrs (1813). But the retreat from Moscow (1812) at last sounded the call to arms for the new national army of Prussia. Scharnhorst, recalled to the king's headquarters, refused a higher post but became chief of staff to Blücher, in whose vigour, energy, and influence with the young soldiers he had complete confidence. Russian Prince Wittgenstein

168-689: Is the 9th largest settlement in Germany by area (following Berlin , Hamburg and Cologne ), though only about 45,000 inhabitants live there. It is in a region known as the Hanoverian Moor Geest . Neustadt am Rübenberge was founded around 1200, and recorded as a nova civitas ( lit.   ' new city ' ) in 1215. In 1426 it was recorded as Nienstadt vor dem Rouwenberge und in 1523 as Nygestadt . Dominic Herbst (Alliance 90/The Greens) has served as mayor since 2019. He succeeded Uwe Sternbeck (Alliance 90/The Greens), who had been

196-654: The Peace of Basel (5 March 1795) Scharnhorst returned to Hanover. He had by now become so well known to the armies of the various allied states that he received invitations from several of them to transfer his services. In January 1797, he turned down an invitation to join the Prussian Army when Hanover offered a promotion to lieutenent colonel and a raise in pay. In 1801 the Prussian offer was made again, at twice his pay from Hanover, and this time Scharnhorst accepted, on

224-623: The General Staff — a remarkable winnowing from the many who had entered the competition. 52°31′03″N 13°22′53″E  /  52.51750°N 13.38139°E  / 52.51750; 13.38139 Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst (12 November 1755 – 28 June 1813) was a Hanoverian-born general in Prussian service from 1801. As the first Chief of the Prussian General Staff , he

252-679: The War Academy was taken from the Inspector of Military Education and placed under the Chief of the General Staff. The spirit of the Academy was articulated by Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke, who emphasized the importance "of an active process of mental give and take between teacher and pupils, so as to stimulate the pupils to become fellow-workers". Admission to the Academy was highly selective. Officers with at least five years service who wanted to become General Staff officers prepared themselves for

280-462: The capitulation of Ratekau (7 November 1806), and, quickly exchanged, had a prominent and almost decisive part in leading L'Estocq 's Prussian corps, which served with the Russians. For his services at Eylau (February 1807) he received the highest Prussian military order Pour le Mérite . It was apparent that Scharnhorst's skills exceeded those of a merely brilliant staff officer. Educated in

308-516: The condition that he retain his seniority, was provided with a good pension, and received a patent of nobility . He thus engaged himself to King Frederick William III of Prussia . The Prussian Military Academy employed him, almost as a matter of course, in important instructional work ( Clausewitz was one of his students) and he founded the Berlin Military Society . In the mobilizations and precautionary measures that marked

SECTION 10

#1732772055368

336-413: The entrance examination, which included tactics, surveying, geography, mathematics and French, with questions set to test understanding rather than rote memory. The graders of the essays did not know the names or regiments of the candidates. From hundreds of applicants, about one hundred were accepted every year to enter the first-year course at the Academy. Those who performed satisfactorily were promoted to

364-722: The escape of the garrison in his Defence of the Town of Menen ( Verteidigung der Stadt Menin , Hanover, 1803), which, apart from his paper on "The Origins of the Good Fortune of the French in the Revolutionary War" ( Die Ursachen des Glücks der Franzosen im Revolutionskrieg ) remains his best-known work. Shortly thereafter he received promotion to the rank of major and joined the staff of the Hanoverian contingent. After

392-474: The head of a reform commission that included the best of the younger officers, such as Gneisenau , Grolman , and Boyen . Stein himself became a member of the commission and secured Scharnhorst free access to King Frederick William III by securing his appointment as aide-de-camp -general . But Napoleon quickly became suspicious, and Frederick William repeatedly had to suspend or cancel the reforms recommended. By slow and labored steps, Scharnhorst converted

420-511: The lasting elements of German strength." Winston Churchill also subscribed to this theory, believing von Seeckt was vital in the return of Germany to its place in the military world as rapidly as it had. Notes Bibliography Neustadt am R%C3%BCbenberge Neustadt am Rübenberge ( Low German : Niestadt ) is a town in the district of Hannover , in Lower Saxony , Germany . At 357  km (138  sq mi ), it

448-706: The military administration organized and simplified. The organization of the Landwehr (army reserves) was begun. In 1809, the war between France and Austria roused premature hopes in the patriots' party, which the conqueror did not fail to note. By direct application to Napoleon, Scharnhorst evaded the decree of 26 September 1810, which required all foreigners to leave the Prussian service forthwith, but when in 1811–1812 France forced Prussia into an alliance against Russia and Prussia despatched an auxiliary army to serve under Napoleon's orders, Scharnhorst left Berlin on unlimited leave of absence. In retirement he wrote and published

476-737: The new artillery school in Hanover. He had already founded a military journal which, under a series of names, endured until 1805, and in 1788 he designed, and in part published, a Handbook for Officers in the Applied Sections of Military Science ( Handbuch für Offiziere in den anwendbaren Teilen der Kriegswissenschaften ). He also published in 1792 his Military Handbook for Use in the Field ( Militärisches Taschenbuch für den Gebrauch im Felde ). The income he derived from his writings provided Scharnhorst's chief means of support, for he still held

504-401: The professional long-service army of Prussia, wrecked at Jena (1806), into a national army based on universal service. Universal service was not secured until his death, but he laid down the principles and prepared the way for its adoption. Enrollments of foreigners were abolished, corporal punishments were limited to flagrant cases of insubordination, promotion for merit was established, and

532-556: The railway regiment. During the three month summer breaks the students attended manoeuvres and were taken on field tactical exercises in which they commanded imaginary units. At the end of the course they took their second examination. Only about thirty students passed this extremely difficult test. They were then assigned ( kommandiert ) to the Great General Staff, while retaining their regimental attachments. After two years they took their third and final examination, after which five to eight officers were permanently posted to fill vacancies in

560-521: The rank of lieutenant, and though the farm of Bordenau produced a small sum annually, he had a wife, Clara Schmalz (a sister of Theodor Schmalz , the first director of Berlin University ) and family to maintain. His first military campaign took place in 1793 in the Netherlands , in which he served with distinction under the Duke of York . In 1794 he took part in the defence of Menen and commemorated

588-672: The rank of lieutenant-general. Frederick William III erected a statue in his memory, by Christian Daniel Rauch , in Berlin. Scharnhorst was buried at the Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery in Berlin. Scharnhorst became the namesake for several objects, places and groups: General Hans von Seeckt has been compared to Scharnhorst, mainly for his part in preparing the German Army of the Weimar Republic , which

SECTION 20

#1732772055368

616-431: The second and third year. In the first year, fourteen hours of lectures each week were focused on military subjects, including military history, while seventeen hours were non-military, which included general history, mathematics, science and a choice of French or Russian. Roughly the same time allocations were used in the last two years. Lectures were supplemented by visits to fortifications, arms factories and exercises of

644-553: The traditions of the Seven Years' War , he had by degrees, as his experience widened, divested his mind of antiquated forms of war, and realised that only a "national" army and a policy of fighting decisive battles could give an adequate response to the political and strategic situation brought about by the French Revolution . He was promoted to major-general a few days after the Peace of Tilsit (July 1807), and became

672-424: The years 1804 and 1805, and in the war of 1806 that ensued, Scharnhorst served as chief of the general staff (lieutenant-quartermaster) of the Duke of Brunswick , received a slight wound at Auerstedt (14 October 1806) and distinguished himself by his stern resolution during the retreat of the Prussian army. He attached himself to Blücher in the last stages of the disastrous campaign, went into captivity with him at

700-571: Was designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel . Graduating from the Staff College was a prerequisite for appointment to the Prussian General Staff (later the German General Staff ). Carl von Clausewitz enrolled as one of its first students in 1801 (before it was renamed), while other attendees included Field Marshals von Steinmetz , von Moltke , and von Blumenthal in the 1820s and 1830s. Ernst Emile Von Lorenz, who served as

728-510: Was noted for his military theories, his reforms of the Prussian army, and his leadership during the Napoleonic Wars . Scharnhorst limited the use of corporal punishments , established promotion for merit, abolished the enrollment of foreigners, began the organization of a reserve army, and organized and simplified the military administration. Born at Bordenau (now a part of Neustadt am Rübenberge , Lower Saxony ) near Hanover , into

756-588: Was severely limited by the Treaty of Versailles , for its eventual rearming, adapting secret doctrines, and preparing a General Staff . He has been credited with their unparalleled success in the campaigns of 1939-1940 . After the rise of the Nazis in Germany, Field Marshal August von Mackensen compared von Seeckt to Scharnhorst, saying "The old fire burnt still, and the Allied Control had not destroyed any of

784-454: Was so impressed by Scharnhorst that he asked to borrow him temporarily as his chief of staff, and Blücher agreed. In the first battle, Lützen or Gross-Görschen (2 May 1813), Prussia suffered defeat, but a very different defeat from those Napoleon had inflicted before. The French army, largely made up of teenage conscripts by 1813 and no longer the juggernaut military it once was in before 1807, suffered significant casualties and, due in part to

#367632