Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke (October 26, 1800 – April 24, 1891), who became Helmuth, Graf von Moltke in 1870, was a famous German Field Marshal.

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Born in Parchim, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, to an old noble family, Moltke first joined the Danish service, studying at the military academy at Copenhagen and gaining his officer's commission in 1819. In 1822 he entered the Prussian army as a second lieutenant. From 1835 to 1839 he served as advisor to the army of the Ottoman Empire. From 1857 to 1888 he functioned as Chief of the Prussian Gro?er Generalstab(military staff). He planned and led the successful military operations during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), which paved the way for the creation of the Prussian-led German Empire in 1871. Moltke was rewarded for his services in September, 1871, by a promotion to the rank of field marshal and a large monetary grant. He served in the Diet of the North German Confederation from 1867 to 1871, and from 1871 to 1891 he was a member of the Reichstag, the German parliament of the time. In 1888 he retired as Chief of the General Staff and was succeeded by Graf von Waldersee. His nephew, Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke, was Chief from 1906 until 1914.

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Moltke wrote a number of works on military theory. He was influenced by Carl von Clausewitz and his main thesis was that military strategy had to be understood as a system of options since only the beginning of a military operation was plannable. As a result, he considered the main task of military leaders to consist in the extensive preparation of all possible outcomes. His thesis can be summed up by two statements, one famous and one less so, translated into English as "No battle plan survives contact with the enemy," and "War is a matter of expedients."

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Graf von Moltke retired from active service on Aug. 9, 1888, and died in Berlin in 1891.

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October 26: October 26 is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 66 days remaining....

1800: 1800 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar)....

1891: 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar)....

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder related Images and Photos (experimental)

Beatrice the White Arab Saddlehorse of Helmuth Graf Von Moltke 1855	Saint James (The Elder) Resists the Diabolical Delights of the Sabbat	Johann Strauss the Elder	Pieter Brueghel the Elder
Monument to William Pitt the Elder 1st Earl of Chatham	Wensleydale Knitters Engraved by Robert Havell the Elder Pub. 1814 by Robinson and Son Leeds	Portrait of Lucas Cranach the Elder 1550	Saint Nilus of Ancyra Also Known as Nilus the Elder and Nilus the Ascetic Courtier
Portrait of Pieter Brueghel the Elder	Meeting at the Field of the Cloth of Gold 7th June 1520 after Hans Holbein the Elder (1460/5-1524)	Elder	Kat Von D