New-York tribune., 1891-04-25

iutant TO Prince Henry OF frusSll, theh i''s
az Rome. While living there he amused hiilseh
by making typographical survey OF the C"lh
pagna, task interrupted in ls4O by the "e"'"
of Prince Henry. On returning to Berhn DC W"S
appointed to the staff of the Eighth Army corps
In ls4s he became chief of staff of the foureh
Army Corps In 1850 he was gazetted lieutenant
colonel. and colonel in 1851 In 1855 he accom-
panied the Crown Prince Of Prussia in journeys
to England, France and Russia. In 1856 he saw
the coronation of the Car Alexander. His letters
from Russia, full of sagacious observation, naVo
been published. As equerry TO the Crown Prince
ho Visited ENGLAND in 1883 on the occasion of the
marriage of the Princess Royal and in 1861 he
,ros IN rondon asain to witness the burial OF
Prince Albert.
MAIZE CHIEF OF THE pRUssIAN GENERAL sTAFF'
THE King of Prussia having been removed from
,be control of the kingdom owing to the failure
~ bis mind the Reqency succeeded, and the mill
tor,, rogiuoe came with it. Theneeforward Moltke
,vas 70 OCCUPY an Office which placed the whoie
army in his hands, for he was appointed chiel Oh
tho General Staff as has been said, on the recon-
roondation Of General Won Manteufel, who knew
his value and fitness for the place. lie at once
heron nlans OF defence for the German coast, Dut
the Diet rejected them after three years discus
s,on. Meantime Moltke had been quietly organ
izino the General Staff on his own lines, ana hah
brought it to condition of unprecedented eneco-
,>,eness when in 1864, the Scheswig-Holstein dit-
6culty occurred. 1t is a remarkable fact thoO
though the ability of Moltke was recognized long
before this, none Of his superiors seems TO have
suspected his wonderful power as strateglsp.
He seems to have been regarded as plodolng,
careful thoroughly equipped chief of staff, out he
was quite unknown outside of the army, and lie
had snent forty-hve years of his life in the SER
vice before the opportunity came to display MS
rare capacity fully He it was who in the Schles-
wir.Holstein campaign determined upon seizihg
the Danish islands of Alsen and Funen, a step
which at once led to the demand FOR an orinls"cc
and secured the peace which followed lhls cam
paign brought Ntoltke increased reputauon' YET IL
was not until 1se6 that the full recognition Oh MS
powers arrived
The seven weeks war between Prussia ana AUS
tria was planned by him. The operations which
o,,1,oirotad at Koniegratz were his. The move
ments of the three army corps which were to con-
vnroe at n given time upon the enemy and crush
him were all directed by this master mind. The
brain Of the Prussian Army, however, versatile
as well as far-seeing. On the very eve OF the
hattie dispatches were received which compelled
radical changes Moltke was not embarrassed IN
tbe least by the event. This also, or the poSSl-
bility of it. had been foreseen by him. When the
hattie was raging when the non-arrival OF the
Crown Prince seemed liable to frustrate the Frus-
sian combinations and when the King and BIS
marclz were becoming nervous, the Chief OF Stan
was entirely cool and free from anxiety. BIS
marek has told how at this supreme moment ne
offered Moltke cigar. The Chief of St1h carefully
selected the best weed in the Chancellors case
Then said Bismarck, when i saw that ne was
cool enough to choose a cigar felt comiofted ana
assured that things could not be going wrong Win
us after all" In few minutes the columns o.
the expected army corps were seen approachlhg
then the united Prussian armies closed In crush
ing grip upon Benedek, and the battle OF hohlg
rratz was won. For this campaign Moitke was
decorated and received donation of 2OO,ooo
thalers.
PREPARING FOR WAR WITH FRANCE.
His genius was now universally recognized
1t was known that if Prussia possessed in Bismarck
! one Of the first statesmen Of the period, she
possessed in Moltke one of the greatest srategsts
If not the greatest, known in history From
l 866 TO 1870 he was preparing for that war
with France which had become inevitable. IL
is said that he was ready for it in S68. In 1870,
when the bolt fell, no man was probably less
moved The story that he had retired to rest
when the news of the declaration OF war was
brought to him, and that he merely turned round
with the direction, {" Take the third portfoho TO
the left" and composed himself to sleep again,
may be apocryphal, but it will serve to indicate
the general belief in the fulneSs of his preparation
| Criticism has been directed against the slownesS
of the German movements after the battle ol
| Saarbruek, and it has been alleged that while
Moltke's powers Of combination were unsurpassed,
be lacked the ability to take prompt advantage OF
the fruits of victory That he made mistakes is
undeniabe, though that is only saying that he
was human, but when tordiness is noticeable in
movements for which he was responsible, it will
almost always appear that the fault lay in his
subordinates or in the Intervention of new con-
ditions which could not have been foreseen
| Nothing more wonderful than the swift mobilize
| ton Of the German armies in 1870 has ever Decn
| witnessed, unless it be the skill and presclence
with which the march through France was con-
Quoted, and the successive victories at Sedan,
| Metz and Paris.
Nfoltl,e conducted or designed all these opera
tions. Neither the extent of the field occupied,
the magnitude and wide distribution Of the forces
! engaged, nor the plans Of the enemy, could con-
| fuse or embarrass him. With his maps and
| colored pins he followed the march Of the troops,
| decided on the points to DC occupied, eraSped Uhe
| Intentions Of his opponents, and nine times out
| of ten carried out his purposes triumphantly,
despite all obstacles 1t cannot be said that war
! did not move him, but it moved him in a peculiar
| way. Bismarck as cited by Busch, said speaking
| of Moltke Il remember when the Spanish war
was the burning question that he looked at once
ten years younger. When told him the Hohen-
zollcrn Prince had given the thing up, he became
all at once quite old and worn-looking; but when
the French made difficulties Moltke was fresh and
young again Immediately He never showed
| excitement even at the most critical moments,
| but at such times his nature seemed TO take on
strange concentration He had lost his beloved
wife in 86S, and the JOY Of his life went out
| with her In after years he had little chapel
built at his Silesian estate of Kresau, where she
was buried, and there he would retire day after
day for meditation, nor did he neglect these
| reverential visits TO the last. For q long time
| after her death. however, he found in an almost
passionate devotion TO his profession the only
| relief from sorrow.
MADE A COUNT AND GENERAL FIELD MARSHAL.