The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1895-08-03
AS BE LIVED
a Sketch Of the Great 0enera ais
Life From Early Days Un-3I
til His Death. ss54s5.
Interesting Stories Told Of the
Franco Prassian War by Forbes,
the Famous Correspondent. 5. NJ.

the Famous Correspondent. NJ.
"a wen-known military writer has
ventured on the statement that Mol
tke's plans were always framed on the
hypothesis that he would meet with foe-
men worthy of his steel!' .g55
This is an error, and, if true would not
enhance Moltke's merit as strateg1st.
He was good enough, ON one occasion
when / had the honor to meet him, 80
make afew remarks regarding his meth
DDS. 'He who would win in wars ssid
he, " must put himself in his enemy's
place. He should know all that can be
known about that eueply, the character
and idiosyncrasy OF the chief, not less
than the strength and spirit Of the army
he commands. Keep to the axio1ns o9
war; he continued, with some anina-
ton, "but do not hesitate to violate them
when specific opportunity presents IT
self for making stroke by disregarding
them unexpectedly. Be clear in your own
conception as to what has to be done.
and painstaldng in making clear to the
executants that which is clear TO the con-
ceiver. Yet there must be left to ;.indi-3
v.dual commanders, in whose capacity
perfect confidence must be reposed, the
fullest and freest discretion in regard to
details. What has to be achieved is the
result
In his method, both In the Austro-
Prussian war of 1865 and the Franco
German war of 1370-71, Moltke FREELY i'll
lustrated those views Once and ,again
he took the most startling liberties with
his enemy. Over and over again he vio-
lated the rules of war which rest upon
experience and ventured on operations OF
extraordinary audacity. And this ne did,
simply because he had made it a duty to
gauge the calibre Of the men who were
opposed to him, and had formed his es-
innate of their capacity, or their in ncapac-
ity, as the case might be.
The boldness of Moltke's plan of cam
paign for the invasion CT Bohemia, no
doubt resulted from his assured eonvic-
tion Of Benedek's incapacity and his be-
lief in the effect of the needle gun. Crit.
les were amazed at the seeming audacity
which sent into all enemy's country two
armies distant from each other over one
hundred miles, while that enemy, nearly
IS strong. as both together, held the In
terror lines, and might therefore ccu-
centrate against either while the other
was too far distant to effect diversion
But Moltke knew his man. At his desk
in Berlin, whence he was telegraphjng
to the armies in the field the successive
movements which, after hard figfl ing.
cullninated in the mutual apprdaehv 4
which was to decide the issue at a atroh4,
he must have smiled sardonically at
Benedek's squandering of tie atlyaM- +
tages OF the interior lines. and at the dis,.
asters that chief was sustaining in ths
unsuccessful effort to balk the vigorous
offensive measures which both invading
armies were prosecuting. @ %2I5
The campaign Of 1856 Is Familiarity
Known as. the Seven Weeks War; but 4
q truer name for it would be the 1'E,igflt
Days War" for the first action was
fought on June Goth, andsthe raoE1entous$
battle Of Sandowa, fought on J,siy 3d.
virtually ended the cam Daign. In the frst
five days Of this period there occurred
eight severe actions, in all OF which the
Prusstans took the offensive, and in SCI ven
OF which they were the conGuerors flow 4
hard was the fighting during thoseSdv
days may be estimated from tfs Ystct n
that the Austrian losses amounted t0#l
forty thousand men. At the end OF the "A
I'VE days lighting the relative Positions
OF the two Prlssian armies vera such III
that Benedek could not confront as1
without being assailed in tho rear by Stze
ether, lie was, IN fact, between the ur-
per and the neither milestone
This plight of his adversary had 1,ee,,, A
led up to by the strategy Of Mo1ti1e, cotfl- II
mnnicated by him by telegraph :frniiasss
Berlin to the generals in the field .sSs gaw ri
that he had thus promptly and soccas3sl "
fully brought the conyerging Prusstsal
armtes in touch with each other, the tinhe
had come for his royal master and i1iu1
self to go to the front and join Issue s,ish
Renedek in q decisive battle. SIC hey haas e e
reached Gitschin !, IN the irnrned late rsaT
Of Prince Frederick Charles arm y, n1s
July I'd. he crisis was pproaclling, aIa 4;
though there Was no ezpectati V on II Ii.
great battle on the fo1loHIng day. 81 BH kSa
that same evening the He'd s#I rineesE a ~ M
scouts brou ght back tidings TAFT IN. se..Sss Ss5
Austria army was ahing up a posi- III
on the BfstIdtz, within a short march o1s 4:
] Prince r, ( s F'rederi5k Charles 1ss
prompt and skill Hul SOL isr. &. the uri acss s
recognized the situat atfon at Soncs III Nas
not yet dark when the gallopsrs iaslll
OUT from his headquart rters ID Kan1enj gss
carrying the princes detailed OTfserA YgXiHss
the YariOtiS CfJFiJs az HIS s