The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-04-25

noted for talking very little. The late Burgo-
master Sydon OF Berlin once happily character.
lied him as the man WHO "waS eloquently silent
in seven languages"
That lie overrated in the above quoted letter
OF resignation .he Influence OF his family or their
Interest In him was evidenced by the sl0wness vi
bis advancement. For ten years he remained
Second Lieutenant in the PruSStan Army. but py
that time his ability began to be recognized oy
those in command and lpOn receiving In 1857,
his commission as First Lieutenant he was also
advanced from the lIae to the general staH-the
branch OF the service that IN Prussia more than
in any other country ranks so high above all tue
other branches. Three years later lie was mace
Captain and was sent with several other frus-
sian officers to aid Sultan Mahmoud IN the re0r,
ganlZatlOn OF The Turkish Army. VI them All
MUltke made tile most favorable IMPRESSION
upon tile Sultan, and became bis cbiet fnreisn
military adviser and so remained until Man-
moud's death, in 1889
During bis four years in the land OF tne
crescent" his engineering skill was brought llIe
play IN the designing OF plans for the consiaue
lion OF bridges, palaces, reservoirs and t0Tllhcd-
tions, and lie so successfully supervised the I'M
provement and enlargement OF lhe forillcatlons
OF Rustschuk, Silistra, Varna and Schunlla tltt
nineteen years af Ell The General VINO commanded
the attaching forces OF Russia commented bitterly
but admiflDgy upOn The obstacles that MOllhs
had raised ID his path. Alter deYOtlng snhe
lime TO strengthening the defenses OF tile OAR
danees our Prussiau Captain went into ASA
Minor. and for Two years remained with lle
Turkish ATmy, making the campaigns agalnst
the kurds and Tie Egyptians.
Returning 10 Prussia when the sultan died.
Motke was Immediately reappolnted on Inc
general stan, aud In s4I was raised o the rank
OF Major. German author who saw hin tnen
says: 'Iu figure lie was tall and spare, his lace
gaunt and weather beaten, with
CLEAR-CUT FEATURES,
The tacturn earnestness OF Ills thill-llpped COM
pressed mouth i'll nOwlse corresponding with Tue
viqaclly aud occasional sly hun0r which we DIS
in tie clear aud graphic pages of his BOOK.
What was -reclally noticeable about him was
the simplicity and uaturalness OF bis whole per.
son. his reserved demeanor seeming TO spring
only from Kind of innate rcticence."
1 lie bonk referred TO In Ibe above description
was his Letters Oh The Condition of Turkey and
on The Events and Occurrences IN That Country
In tie Years 1S35-lS39," a work that made
great success, and that still forms 0ne of tDe
most valuable contributions TO our knowledge OF
Turkey.
In this same eyear-1S41-Moltke married Mary
Burt, tie sIepdaughler OF his sister, who was tie
second vile OF John Heytiuger Burt, an English
man residing in HOlstein. M0lIke'S mirriage
proved in every respect happy one, aud be
never recovered from The loss OF his beloved
Mary, VINO died IN 1868.
Colonel, Motke held the post of chief Ut
stan OF The first army corps In Magdeburg, bui
N the latter year lie became Ad1ataat TO Priuee
Frederick William OF Prussia later Emperor
Frederick l. and held That position until 1858,
when he was made chief III the general stan OF
Prussia, belug raised year later 10 The rank
of Lieutenant General Won Moitke therefore
was the fist one chosen OF the Three architects,
who, under the supervising eye OF William l,
enI German Empire
Albrecht theodore Emile Won Room reorgan-
lied The Prussiau army that lad become COM
parativey demOralized under the guidance
of that weakling King, Frederick William
lV, and subsequently by his naSterful
skin put the armies Of united Germany IN
perfect condition Tor their mission o. conquest.
ono Edward Leopold Won Bismarck shaped the
political destlGies OF the empire so deity that
every change brought further ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
to Prussia. Iieimuth Karl vou Moltke, tue mas
ter straleEiSt, ably utilized tile forces hat Room
prepared for him, aud thereby enabled BtSmarck
10 bring TO successful issue his daring policy.
MOtkes motto was "Erst waegeU, dam wa
gen." which may be freely translated, "first
consider, then act" ana his great war maxim
was "GetI cunt marschiren, Yerelnt schlagen,"
or Separate for tile march, unite Ict the battle.
Upon these TWO rules his plans during peace and
war were based, aud to that fact al! OF
HIS SUCCESS IN LIFE.
By the year 1864 everything was in readiness
TO make Il first test OF PruSsia's strength under
the new regime, ana The war truIBpets sounded
upon the plains OF Schieswig- HUlsIein. Tie
austrian aud PIusstan forces were under the
chief command OF Field Marshal Wraugel, but
the plan Of operations and thc general marching
orders were drawn up by M0llke: WHO now re-
Vealed his rare genius as a tacticILu.
Ii was not until 1866, however. that the worl
learned The true value of Moitke's genius. EX-
TgOTdinalily short as was the war with Austria
and the South German States, II would nave
ended even sooner had General BOuln. who was
In command of The First Corps. properly carried
out Tie inst uctiOus laid down by M0itke. Fail
Ing TO Go so, there was "A mOmentary check to
The campaign. but MOltke altered his plans with
rapidly that proved every emergency had beea
considered. aud proud Austria was humbed on
The fell OF Sadowa.
On his return from this campaign the people Of
Prussia layished thelr praises upon The man VINO
had led them 10 victory, aud all the EuropeaI
nations recognized him master IN the art OF
war. Will almost Unparalleled modesty lie dis
liked TO hear his Well-earned praises sung, and
with characteristic iraukness he said in speech
delivered just alter the close OF The IL
have hatred OF all fusome praise. 1t completely
y
nian campaign is great and deatDess page in
The worlds history; an event The Importance OF
which 1t is Impossible now TO lHtbUm. In this
campaign | did but do my duty; my comrades
dId theirs too"
Al another time he concsely stated the motives
that governed his piaus for that war: Two
points only were decisive III the attainment OF
our object. together with Gods help and the
bravery of our men. These were the primary
dist ibutiOn OF our forces upon the different
thedters oil war and their concentration upon the
field Of battle. Austria, fully prepared as she
was, was manlteStly our most formidable opp0-
nen II size was crushed The bond which neld
PTussia's other enemies together would be burst
asunder; for though united by their eUmity to US
they were without any natural unity among
themselves. Tie sole course to success was Il
bold one; namely, 10 move our whole nine corps
simultaneously toward The ceuter of the Rhine
provinces and later, 10 form that army INTO the
nucleus OF the army of the Maine"
For HI. services during this war Moltke re-
celved the
ORDER OF THE BLACK EAGLE,
The highest of all the Prussian orders, and a
grant Of 100000 thaers. about Sl5O,000.
There is no room in this sketch, nor is there
Franco-G erman struggle. While he was ably
seconded by body OF the best trained General S
In tie world never rtbelesS, IL Is au unquestioned
fact that TO MOltkes strategic genius WAS chiefly
due The military success OF Germany, the lgno-
mlnlous defeat OF France. His powerful mind
grasped every detail OF that wonderful campaign,
and no important movement was made
except by his adyics or command. But
while he kept himself posted upon all tile mnu-
lac OF the campaign ii is TO be noted that he
rarely eramped the individuality of his officers.
In this connection competent observer OF that
war said of him; Tine most saleut mental and
intellectual feature In him is his marvellous clear
ness Of cancertiOn and apprehension, and Ihe
llmpid lucldiiy with winch lie places before 9th.
els the things thai are clear 10 Iim SO as to make
them equally Clear TO them. In his orders 10 ms
generals under his guidance he confines him.
self strictly 10 the great outline Of the gener al
campaign conceived by him, leaving to them in
dIVlduay tile fullest aud ffeest initiation OF hll-
ing IN Tue details, each according TO his own
best uOlion and understanding"
This he could afford to DO for he was good
Judge Of character, had carefully studied his
men and knew Just how far each one could be
trusted
When the war was ended Motke returned
from prosirae France to exalted Germany. an
was there greeted as Ia all the history or that
country had been no other military leader, ex-
cept lie were a sovereign. His rewards were
commensurate with the excellence OF his service.
and rarely indeed have so many houors been ac
cumulated upon the head OF any one man.
THE HIGHEST MILITARY RANK,
That OF Field Marshal General, was bestowed
upon him, and his name placed second to
Bisnarck's only on the list Of pecunlary grants
which were distributed with the consent of the
Reiclsiag. He was made Count, a lie member
of the Prussian House of Lords, a member OF
the German Parliament, received diplomas of
honorary citizenship from most OF the large
cities OF Germany, and was decorat d with many
OF the highest orders IN tho gift OF Russia, Italy.
and all of the different German States. Statues
were erected In his. honor, ana whenever he ap-
peared IN public le was the recipient OF uu-
bounded applause. Through ali this hurry
bury OF praise and 1altery lie came unscathed,
Tor as writer Oi that period declared: " IL may
with truth be said that unpIelending simplicity
and uuassumiug modesly constituted the cardl-
nal features OF MOltke's character"
In conclusion, IL must be stated that Father
Moltse," as The soldiers loved TO call him. was
not only military genius but was also distin.
guished as musician, painter, a lingulst and
an author. That word is perhaps too strong so
far as music and painting are concerned, but