Great Warrior Leaders/Thinkers

Moltke, Helmuth von (The Elder)

1800-1891

Prussian field marshal who was the architect of the victories of 1866 and 1870. Also the creator of the modern staff system.

November 2000

Compiled by Karen Hayward
Bibliographer, Air University Library
Maxwell AFB, AL

Contents

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All sites last accessed May 7, 2002.

Internet Resources

Total War, the Annihilation Ethic, and the Armenian Genocide, 1870-1918.
Available at: http://www.comw.org/pda/fulltext/92reid.html                                                                                 See section entitled "Total War Philosophy, Practice, and Ethic."

Helmuth von Moltke, (the Elder)-"On the Nature of War"
Available at: http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~german/gtext/kaiserreich/moltke.html
Moltke's philosophical views on the necessity of war expressed in a letter

Books

Please note: A call number beginning with "R" denotes a reference book.

Addington, Larry H.  The Patterns of War Since the Eighteenth Century. Bloomington, Indiana University Press. 1984. 31 p.
Consult index for references to Moltke the Elder.
Book call no.: 355.00903 A224p

Bucholz, Arden. Moltke, Schlieffen, and Prussian War Planning. New York, St. Martin's, 1991. 352 p.
Book call no.: 355.033543 B921m

Crompton, Samuel Willard. 100 Military Leaders Who Shaped World History. San Mateo, CA, Bluewood Books, 1999. 112 p.
Helmuth Von Moltke, p. 79.
Book call no.: R 355.00922 C945o

Friedrich, Otto. Blood and Iron: From Bismarck to Hitler the Von Moltke Family's Impact on German History. 1st ed. New York, HarperCollins, 1995. 434 p.
Book call no.: 943.08 F911b

Goerlitz, Walter. History of the German General Staff, 1657-1945. New York, Praeger, 1953. 508 p.
The Man of Silence, Helmuth von Moltke, pp 69-102.
Book call no.: 355.0943 G669h

Griffiths, William R. The Great War. Wayne, NJ, Avery Pub. Group, 1986. 224 p. (The West Point military history series)
Consult index for references to Moltke.
Book call no.: 940.3 G855g

Macksey, Kenneth. From Triumph to Disaster: The Fatal Flaws of German Generalship from Moltke to Guderian. Mechanicsburg, PA, Stackpole Books, 1996. 240 p.
Book call no.: 355.3310943 M159f

The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of World Biography. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1973. 552 p.
Volume 7: Moltke, by K. Fred Gillum, pp 461-462.
Book call no.: R 920.02 M147 v.7

Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age, edited by Peter Paret with the collaboration of Gordon A. Craig and Felix Gilbert. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press, 1986. 941 p.
The Prusso-German School: Moltke and the Rise of the General Staff by Hajo Holborn, pp. 281-295.
Moltke, Schlieffen, and the Doctrine of Strategic Envelopment, by Gunther E. Rothenberg, pp 296-325.
Book call no.: 355.02 M235 1986

Makers of Modern Strategy: Military Thought from Machiavelli to Hitler, edited by Edward Mead Earle with the collaboration of Gordon A. Craig and Felix Gilbert.  Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, 1943. 553 p.
Moltke and Schlieffen: The Prussian-German School, by Hajo Holborn,  pp 172-205.
Book call no.: 355.09 Ea7m

Moltke, Helmut Graf von. Extracts from Moltke's Correspondence Pertaining to the War 1870-71, translated by Harry Bell. Fort Leavenworth, KS, Army Service  School Press, 1911. 229 p.
Book call no.: 944.08 M73e

Moltke, Helmuth Graf von. The Franco-German War of 1870-71. Novato, CA, Presidio Press, 1992. 447 p.
 This is a reprint of a 1892 citation which is still available.
Book call no.: 944.08 M73 1992

Moltke, Helmuth. Moltke on the Art of War: Selected Writings, edited by Daniel J. Hughes, translated by Daniel J. Hughes and Harry Bell. Novato, CA,  Presido Press 1993. 275 p.
Book call no.: 355 M729m

Moltke, Helmuth Graf von. Moltke's Military Correspondence, 1870-71. Brookfield, VT, Ashgate, 1991. 133 p. (Modern Revivals in Military History)
Gregg Revivals in association with Dept. of War Studies, King's College, London.
Book call no.: 944.08 M83m 1991

Moltke, Helmuth Graf von. Strategy; Its Theory and Application: The Wars for German Unification, 1866-1871. Westport, CT, Greenwood Press, 1971. 229 p. (The West Point Military Library)
Moltke's projects for the campaign of 1866 against Austria; Moltke's correspondence during the campaign of 1866 against Austria; Moltke's correspondence pertaining to the war 1870-71.
Book call no.: 943.07 M729s

Moltke's Tactical Problems from 1858-1882, edited by the Prussian Grand General Staff and authorized translation by Karl von Donat. London, W. H. Allen, 1894. 175 p.
Request at Circ Desk; in folding case, accompanied by 27  plans and maps.
Book call no.: 355.42 M729t  (Special Collection)

Morris, William O. Moltke: A Biographical and Critical Study. New York, Haskell House, 1971.
Reprint.
Book call no.: 92 M729m

Van Creveld, Martin L. Command in War. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 1985. 339 p.
See index for appropriate page references.
Book call no.: 355.33041 V223c

The Victors, edited by Peter Young. Chicago, Rand McNally, 1981. 256 p. 
Von Moltke at Sedan, 1870, pp 86-103.
Book call no.: R 923.5 V646

Whitton, Frederick E. Moltke. London, Constable and Company, Ltd., 1921. 326 p. (Makers of the Nineteenth Century)
Book call no.: 943.07 W61m

Documents

Cranston, Kenneth C. The Bismarck - Moltke Feud. Washington, GPO, September 28, 1989. 1 vol.
Seminar title: NATO/Warsaw Pact Issues. Includes bibliographic references.
Doc. call no.: M-U 42808-12 C891b

Dorris, Theodore E. Moltke the Elder. Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, AL, June 1965. 80 p.
Doc. call no.: M-U 35582-7 D716m

Ohls, Gary J. The Operational Leadership of Helmuth von Moltke. Newport, RI, Naval War College, June 17, 1994. 24 p.
Doc. call no.: M-U 41662 O37o

Sund, William A. Helmuth von Moltke. the Elder: A Study in Military Management.  Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, AL, June 1965. 114 p.
Doc. call no.: M-U 35582-7 S957h

Periodicals

Antal, John F. Victorious Command System: "Railroad Mobilization" Was Only One Element of Von Moltke's Planning. Military History 8:16-24  February  1992.

Coolen, E. A. Surprise: A Potent Factor in War. Canadian Army Journal 
Part One. 18-33 July 1951.
Part Two.  62-72 August 1951.

Echevarria, Antulio J. ,II. Moltke and the German Military Tradition: His Theories and Legacies Parameters 26:91-99 Spring 1996.

Forster, Stig. Facing 'People's War': Moltke the Elder and Germany's Military Options after 1871. Journal of Strategic Studies 10:209-230 June 1987.

Holborn, Hajo. Moltke's Strategical Concepts. Military Affairs 6:153-168 Fall 1942.

Hoschouer, Jack D. Von Moltke and the General Staff. Military Review 67:62-73 March 1987.

Kaul, B. M.  Studies in the Art of War. Military Review 35:78-92 September 1955.

Krause, Michael D. Moltke and the Origins of Operational Art. Military Review 70:28-44 September 1990.

Schaefer, Moltke's Staff Rides. Royal United Service Institution Journal 57:1077-1100 July-December 1913.

Sheppard, E. W. Von Moltke's Methods of Command. Army Quarterly 76:196-201 July 1958.

Tschanz, David W. Von Moltke the Elder and the Redefinition of Warfare. Strategy and Tactics No. 157:69-72+ January 1993.

Wilkinson, Spenser. Moltke's Projects for the Campaign of 1866 Against Austria. Royal United Service Institution Journal 40:851-872 July-December 1896.

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