Moltke was born in Parchim on October 26, 1800, the son of Friedrich Philipp Victor Von Moltke, a German general whose father served Denmark, and a Prussian mother. At the age of nine, Moltke was sent to boarding school in Holstein. At the age of twelve he entered military school in Copenhagen for the Danish army. At the age of 18 he became an aide to the Danish king and second lieutenant of the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment. Three years later, at the age of 21, he decided to enter Prussian service despite the loss of seniority. A year later, Moltke became a lieutenant again, and when he was 23 he entered the Prussian Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1826.
After graduation, Moltke took charge of the military academy and then spent three years on military expeditions in Silesia and Posen. In the following years, in 1832, he was first assigned to the General Staff in Berlin. In 1833, he was promoted to First Lieutenant. He was considered a brilliant officer in his time, including by Prince William.
His time at court and in the upper classes developed Moltke in the fields of travel, literature and history. In 1827 he published a novel called "The Two Friends". A year later he published "An Account of the Internal Circumstances and Social Conditions of Poland", based on his own observations of Poland. In 1831 he wrote the essay "Holland and Belgium in their Mutual Relations, from their Seperation under Philip II to their Reunion under William I". He was also fluent in English and German.
In 1835, Moltke, who became a captain, received permission to travel in Eastern Europe for 6 months. After spending some time in Istanbul, he received an invitation from Sultan Mahmud II to modernize the Ottoman army. Moltke, who received permission from Berlin, accepted the sultan's offer and started his work. After two years in Istanbul, Moltke made inspections in Çanakkale and traveled to Wallachia, Bulgaria and all of Rumelia in the Balkans. He also improved his Turkish during his stay.
During the Kavalalı-Ottoman war that broke out between 1839 and 1841, he was assigned as an advisor. During this assignment, Moltke traveled and mapped most of the Ottoman Empire. In 1839, Moltke moved to the Southeast for the war, but when his views were not listened to, he resigned from his post there and took charge of the artillery unit. Although the Ottoman army was defeated, Moltke received the "Pour le Merite" decoration on November 7, 1839. After the war, Moltke returned to the Black Sea and then to Istanbul, and after the death of the Sultan, he returned to Berlin.
After his return to his country, Moltke published some of his letters under the title "Letters on Conditions and Events in Turkey in the Years 1835 to 1839". In 1840, Moltke was appointed the head of the IV Corps stationed in Berlin. In this role, he and other German travelers mapped Istanbul and Asia Minor. He later wrote a memoir in connection with this mission.
Moltke, who later became interested in railroads, became one of the first managers of the Hamburg-Berlin railway. Realizing the military importance of railways before Germany had built its first railway, Moltke published his article "What Consideration should determine the Choice of the Course of Railways?" in 1843. He also tried to direct the General Staff on railroad construction. Moltke, who invested a considerable part of his wealth here, made a fortune from his investment. He later took part in the establishment of the Railways Department of the General Staff, which would function in the military use of railways.
In 1845 he published "The Russo-Turkish Campaign in Europe, 1828-1829", which was well received in military circles. In the same year, he was stationed in Rome as the personal aide to Prince Henry of Prussia. In this capacity, he created a map of Rome. In 1848, he became Chief of Staff of the 4th Corps, headquartered in Magdeburg. After 7 years of service here, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and then colonel. In 1855 he became the personal aide and mentor of Prince Frederick William (Emperor Frederick III).
On October 29, 1857, at the suggestion of Edwin von Manteuffel, the new king appointed Moltke as Chief of the Prussian General Staff. As soon as he took office, he made changes in the strategic and tactical methods of the Prussian army. Among the changes he made were changes in the ways of communication and armament, the training of officers and the mobilization of the army. In addition to all this, he started a study on European politics. By 1860 he had completed all his reforms.
In 1859, the Austro-Sardinian War led to the mobilization of the Prussian army. But Prussia did not participate in the war. After the mobilization, the army was modernized again and its strength was approximately doubled. However, this modernization was not Moltke's work. The modernization was the work of Prince Regent William and Minister of War Albrecht von Roon. Moltke followed the Italian campaign closely and wrote a history book in 1862.
In 1860, Moltke added a Railroad Department to the military council. Since his return from Egypt, Moltke had been attaching great importance to railroads and working for their expansion. During the period when he was working on railways, his opinion was important: "Every new development in railways is a military benefit and it is much more profitable for national defense to spend a few million to complete our railways than to build new fortresses".
In 1862, Moltke, who was asked for his opinion on Denmark, stated that it would be difficult to end the war, that Denmark would retreat to the islands and use its naval power and that thanks to this power, it would not be exposed to any attack. In February 1864, everything happened as Moltke said and the war did not end and Denmark withdrew to the islands and ensured its security. On April 30, 1964, Moltke was sent as chief of staff of the German forces. The capture of Funen and Als was carried out by Moltke. On June 29, Moltke and Friedrich Graf von Wrangel planned to land at Funen. German troops quickly established a stronghold there and captured Austria and most of the island. Denmark, which felt that it could not continue the war any longer, signed the Treaty of Vienna and admitted defeat in the war.
As a view of war, Moltke, unlike Antoine-Henri Jomini, saw strategy-making as a practical art adapted to the ends. He was among the first to recognize the great defensive power of firearms, modernizing Napoleon's view of war.
He adopted and developed Clausewitz's ideas and said, "The purpose of war is to carry out the government's policy with arms." The most important strategy seen in Moltke's war plans for Russia and France is the attack-defense strategy. Accordingly, his army would cut the enemy's lines of communication and then immediately assume a defensive posture, attacking again while the enemy restored its lines of communication. Moltke realized that firepower increases defense and that an increase in army size facilitates flanking maneuvers.
Moltke believed that the essence of war strategy lay in the march of the corps and their recovery at the moment of battle. According to him, only one corps could be moved along a road in a day. More than that meant logistical difficulties and the inability to utilize the groups left behind in time of battle. Control of a large army, he thought, could only be achieved by dividing the army into groups, with commanders at the head of each group or corps.
At the same time, the growth of armies made it difficult to control them. According to him, subordinates should be able to take the initiative and act independently. The campaign plans should support any kind of decentralization. For these reasons, Moltke was always in favor of training strong officers who would take independent decisions.
Moltke's idea was that military strategy was a system of options. The only thing that could be planned was the beginning of the campaign. And the only task of the military leader was to plan and think through all possible outcomes.
Moltke had already been promoted to infantry general before the Austro-Prussian war. In 1866, he led the war and his main plan was as follows: He faced a large Austro-Saxon army and the North and South German armies. Although the Prussian forces were outnumbered, Moltke was determined to gain the advantage in the battle. Moltke divided the army into three parts: the First Army, the Second Army and the Army of the Elbe.
The main challenge in the war with the Austrian and Saxon armies was to get the army ready for battle. Moltke's knowledge of railroads saved him a lot of time. There were five different railroads running south through Prussia, which enabled the army to reach the border quickly. The army marched on Saxony and drove Saxony back as far as Bohemia. The new problem for Moltke was how to unite the two armies 160 kilometers apart. As a result of this unification, his main plan was to put the enemy between the two armies. Moltke suggested to the princes at the head of the armies to unite their armies at Gitschin, but Friedrich Karl ordered his own army to attack and continued to advance.
The Austrians under Ludwig von Benedek moved faster than Moltke had anticipated. Benedek focused on Prince Frederick William when he could have opposed Prince Frederick Charles. As a result, he was defeated. Moltke's two armies were now close together and close to the enemy. Ultimately, the Austrian army was defeated in the offensive that began on July 3.
(Battle of Königgratz) He tried to move the Army of the Elbe above Königgratz to prevent the Austrian retreat, but the commander could not get there in time. He also tried to hold the Austrian army in position by reducing the offensive strength of the First Army, but this also failed. During the peace negotiations he also presented the idea of de facto annexation of the Kingdom of Saxony, but this was opposed by Bismarck. Bismarck's main concern was not to confront France. Moltke, on the other hand, thought that he could fight both the French and the Austrians at the same time and presented these plans to Bismarck. But in the end this did not materialize either.
Moltke re-planned and led the entire army in the Franco-Prussian War of 1871, which led to the creation of Prussia-led Germany. Documents published after Moltke's death show that he had planned every detail of this war for years. The systems for the transportation of the army by railways and the reorganization of these systems with the growth of the army prove Moltke's attention to detail. As a matter of fact, Moltke's successes in 1866 strengthened his position and when the mobilization began on July 5, 1870, Moltke's plans were accepted unconditionally. Soon after, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff, with powers equivalent to royal orders.
Moltke's original plan was to concentrate the entire army south of Mainz. If the French advanced through Belgium and Luxembourg towards Cologne, Moltke could attack their flanks. At the same time, the fortresses of Koblenz, Cologne and Wesel were important obstacles. And if the French attempted to come from southern Germany, German control of the Rhine would threaten the French. Moltke predicted that the French would concentrate their armies near Metz and a small part near Strasbourg.
The German forces were deployed in three armies. The 60,000-strong army under von Steinmetz was stationed on the Moselle, the 130,000-strong second army under Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia was stationed around Homburg, and the 130,000-strong third army under Prince Frederick William was stationed at Landau. Three corps were waiting in Northeast Germany in case Austria-Hungary joined forces with France.
Moltke's plan was for the three armies to turn to the right while advancing simultaneously, so that the first army on the right would reach the banks of the Moselle opposite Metz, the second and third armies would advance, the third army would defeat the French forces near Strasbourg, and the second army would attack the Moselle near Pont-a-Mousson. If the French army was in front of the second army, the second army would attack from the front and the first or third army from the flank. If it was north of or on the line from Saarburg to Luneville, it could be attacked from both sides by the second and third armies in cooperation. The main objective of the large right column was to attack the French army in such a way as to drive it north and cut off its communications with Paris. Finally, the French army would be defeated and a move on Paris would be launched.
The plan was carried out in outline. The Battle of Wörth was started early. It did not go as intended and only led to the retreat of MacMahon's army, not its capture. At the Battle of Spiecheren, Bazaine's army was defeated by the attack of the second army in front and the first army on his left.
Moltke left one army in Metz to besiege Bazaine, and with the other two armies he set out for Paris, where MacMahon's army was located. But with intelligence that MacMahon was moving northeast to liberate Bazaine, Moltke directed his entire army northward. MacMahon's right flank was attacked on the Meuse River. After this attack, his army was able to regroup at Sedan.
At the Battle of Sedan, two German armies surrounded the French army. Moltke then continued the advance on Paris. The main strategy now was to reduce Metz and Paris with the means at hand. The Siege of Metz ended on October 27. On January 28, 1871, the armistice signed at Versailles effectively ended the war.
In October 1870, Moltke was made a Graf (Count) as a reward for his services during the Franco-Prussian War and his victory at the Battle of Sedan. In June 1871, he was promoted to the rank of field marshal. Between 1867 and 1871 he served in the Diet of the North German Confederation and later was a member of the Reichstag from 1871 to 1891.
Under Moltke's supervision, he studied the General Staff, the Second Italian War of Independence, the Schleswig War, the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. To honor Moltke's achievements, William I awarded him the civilian class of Pour le Merite on 24 May 1874.
Between 1874 and 1881, he was also involved in the official history of the Franco-Prussian War prepared by the General Staff. After the war, Moltke became a national hero and more than fifty monuments were erected to him.
In 1888, Moltke resigned as Chief of the General Staff and was replaced by Alfred von Waldersee. Moltke's 90th birthday on October 26, 1890 was declared a national holiday. After a short illness, he died at his home in Berlin on April 24, 1891.
REFERENCES
Martin van Creveld. The Art of War: War and Military Thought, Cassell, London, 2000
Barry, Quintin. Moltke and His Generals: A Study in Leadership (Helion, 2015)
Bucholz, Arden. Moltke and the German Wars, 1864–1871, Palgrave Macmillan, 2001. 1991.
Bucholz, Arden. Moltke, Schlieffen and Prussian War Planning. Berg Publishers, 1991.
Craig, Gordon. The Battle of Königgrätz. Lippincott, 1964
Helmuth Von Moltke, Moltke’nin Türkiye Mektupları.2017.
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