The Decisive Battles of World History

Lecture 30: 1866 Königgrätz—Bismarck Molds Germany

force on the continent. He rose quickly through the ranks, becoming

chief of the Prussian General Staff. It was from this position that he

was able to put into effect his theories on warfare.

x As a strategist, Moltke managed to combine a gift for meticulous

planning and ferocious organization with a pragmatic appreciation

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costly and outdated.

o He was ahead of his time in appreciating the value of a well-

trained general staff and was a proponent of new technologies,

making extensive use of railroads to mobilize his troops during

the war with Austria and of the telegraph to coordinate the

movements of widely dispersed armies.

x Moltke was not able to fully modernize Prussia’s artillery, but he

was successful in organizing and equipping its infantry along state-

of-the-art principles, particularly the basic gun carried by the men.

Whereas their Austrian opponents were still using muzzle-loading

muskets, Prussian infantry were issued modern bolt-action, breech-

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o Although the breech-loader offered a number of advantages,

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o By the mid-19th century, some arms manufacturers were solving

that problem. One version used a sharp, needlelike spike to

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mechanism, it was often popularly called a needle gun. This

gun was selected by the Prussian army for mass production and

issuance to its troops.