The Prussian Army invented the systems of modern war, and Helmuth von Moltke was the first modern war planner. His accomplishment was to develop, bring to fruition and validate--in the three wars of German unification against Denmark (1864), Austria (1865), and France (1870-71)--the war processes invented during his lifetime. These processes have been used in all modern 20th-century wars because they respond to the size, space, time, and technology mandates of industrial mass warfare. This book describes and analyzes these developments as an aspect of Moltke's life as a professional soldier.

The Prussian Army invented the systems of modern war, and Helmuth von Moltke was the first modern war planner. His accomplishment was to develop, bring to fruition and validate--in the three wars of German unification against Denmark (1864), Austria (1865), and France (1870-71)--the war processes invented during his lifetime. These processes have been used in all modern 20th-century wars because they respond to the size, space, time, and technology mandates of industrial mass warfare. This book describes and analyzes these developments as an aspect of Moltke's life as a professional soldier.

"Bucholz arguably is the world's leading expert on Delbruck. This book will serve all students of military history."--Holger Herwig, author of "Wolfgang Wegener: The Naval Strategy of World War I."
"Arden Bucholz has done us a good service with this accessible and affordable volume. . . . this is a useful book." --"British Army Review"
The period 1866-1920 saw the rise and ruin of imperial Germany, and Hans Delbruck (1848-1929) reported on the events of those years from a uniquely privileged position. A professor of history at the University of Berlin, editor of the "Prussian Annals"--the most famous journal of political commentary of his day--and a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference, he also moved among political, cultural, and military elites. Delbruck pioneered the techniques of modern military history, studying tactics and technology as well as the social, political, and economic context of military operations. His four-volume "History of the Art of War" is a classic of German and military history.
This volume reveals the tension between Delbruck's patriotism and his scholarship, which helped him to recognize German military failings. The twenty-four readings, comprising letters written to his mother while he served in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and essays, reviews, commentaries, and speeches on military figures, historians, and events through World War I, show his talents as a historian and political commentator. Arden Bucholz's introduction and headnotes illuminate the context of Delbruck's life and work.