General Staff School (Civ3)/Civilopedia

As long as there have been soldiers, there have been military commanders that came by their position due to political
connections or perhaps their royal blood. Although many of these men performed ably in combat, quite a few
led their troops to disaster due to their personal lack of military insight. By the end of the 18th century many
nations were beginning to recognize the importance of a trained cadre of professionally-trained officers -- men that
were awarded their sword not due to their "good blood", but because of their understanding of military tactics, sound
judgement and personal bravery.