The Hawaiian gazette., 1871-01-11

Il
Sadowa. This battle was noticeable as being the
first in which he appeared in front of the armies,
being usually seated at his desk in the rear, where
by means of the field telegraph and his excellent
maps, he realized the exact position Of the con-.
tending forces, and flashed his orders to the
Prussian generals with lightning rapidity. Such
was the ability which he displayed in the conduct
Of this campaign that in seven weeks the Aus
trian hosts we're overthrown, and the road to
Vienna lay open to his conquering legions. Ma
poleon, too was overawed by their unexpected
success and may well have read the doom Of his
| dynasty in the triumphs of the silent chief
At the splendid feies of the 10th and Dist of
September, in honor Of the successful termina-
ton of the war, the victorious armies preceded
by the representatives. of foreign powers, marched
with drums beating and colors flying through the
Brandenburg Gate of Berlin, to the grand square
in front of the royal palace where they passed in
review before the sovereign. 1t was observed as
a curious coincidence, that while King William
took bis place in front of the statue of BIucher,
with his staff around him, Won Moltke was acci-
dentalIy placed beside the statue of Gnesenau,
the Prussian chiefotstaff in the War Of Inde-
pendence.
In token of appreciation Of his inestimable
services. the King conferred on the great soldies
the Order of the Black Eagle the highest houor
in his gift. But grander achievements were in
store for him. The invasion of Napoleon found
him thoroughly prepared. As the aggressive
/ ,c e..
the vigant eye of Bismarck. so its warlike pow
ers we're accurately gauged by Moltke. That he
clearly apprehended the defects of its military
system was manifest in his remark to a French
officer who visited him in Belin, not long before
the war =" Do not talk to me of your military
education in Africa. If you have never been
there so much the better when you become
General, you will be glad of it. The war you
have been carrying on against the Arabs for
forty years is que, ilerie of an inferior order
With that school you will do no more than form
other schools like it. The first great war will
demonstrate your ineficiency." Among the i'm
perial correspondence recently discovered at the
Iuileries, is dispatch from a French captain to
the Minister of War at Paris dated Forbach.
April 9th, 1868, informing him that an old Prus-
sian soldier was then visiting the frontiers Of
France carefully studying Its strategic points,
and in spite of bad weather, mounting the heights
commanding tie surrounding country. as it
necessary to follow him ?n telegraphed the officer.
The reply flashed over the wires was Follow
him" The indefatigable old soldier, whose pene-
tratlon nothing escaped, and who was followed in
vain, was no less parsonage than Won Molike.
1t is said that when first informed of the declara-
ton of war by France against Prussia, he pointed
to his cabinet and remarked to his secretary
." Third drawer to the right !" The secretary
opened it, and took out a mass of manuscripts,
which proved to be Won Moltke's plan for the
invasion of France. prepared three years ago
History has no more impressive lesson than is
afforded by the fate of Napoleon and his armies
when within the iron clutch of the great Prussfan
strategist. 1t recalls the noble lines in which
! Byron depicted the overthrow of Xerxes. In a
month from the time when the Prince Imperial
received his baptism of fire at Saarbruck-the
very place where more than two years before the
movements Of Moltke had been watched by the
anxions French captaIn-the Empire was crushed
at Sedan; aud its only remaining army shattered
in many hard fight, was driven to its doom
within the fortifcations of Metz. Indeed, the
battle of Gravelotte, two weeks before, clearly
foreshadowed the final issue. On that beautiful
August morning. the sun rose over the peaceful
valley, unconscious in its serene loveliness of the
carnage that would redden it before the day was
over. At Noon, Moltke stood on the hill over
looking the battlefield. waiting for the success Of
the combinations he had formed Around him
were Bismarck, the Richelieu and Room, the Car
not of Prussia; while the grand old King (the
chiyalrous absoutist who "buiIded better than
he knew, } with Prince Frederick Charles. and
our own Sheridan, watched with intense interest
the progress of The hard-fougbt contest. Their
suspense was relieved after nightfall by the ar
rival Of Stenmetz who, in accordance with
Moltkes plans struck the right flank Of Bazaine's
army, as, four years before, Prince Frederick
Charles assaulted the right Of Benedek at Sado-
wa. and as Blucher swept in upon the French at
Waterloo
Throughout the war, the conduct Of the Prus-
ctdu tiOOpc ud5 NluuiCdtcu TIE meTlLS OF the
system steadily upheld by Won Moltke, which,
instead Of national army. sends an armed ma
tion into battle. The Algerian guerfIlas the
holiday soldiers of the Empire. were powerIess
against the thinking bayonets that drove before
them the helmeted cuirassiers Of France. St.
Cyr went down before Tubingen, and the Imperial
Guard, the veterans Of Magenta and Solferino,
fell back before the onset Of German scholarship
and culture. But even this splendid material
would have been wasted 10 the hands OF ncom-
petent commanders, as surely as the French
forces could never have been so speedily over
thrown under Davoust or Massena as in the man.
agement Of those military incapabes, the Mar
shas Of the Second Empire Nor is the fame Of
the Prussian strategist lessened by modern i'm
proyements in the art Of war forthe skill required
to master their complications, and provide against
their multfarous contingencies, is proportionatey
greater Difficult as it is to handle large body
of troops on the field of battle, il is infinitely
more difficult to direct the operations Of great
armies from the cabinet. Talent can accomplish
the one only genius can perform the other. The