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Moltke on the Art of War: Selected Writings. Edited by Daniel Hughes. Novato, Calif.: Presidio Press, 1993. Pp. 269. $35.00.
In the century beginning with the downfall of Napoleon and ending with World War I, Count Helmuth von Moltke stands out as not only one of the most successful field commanders of the era but also as one of the most influential military thinkers. Moltke's writings on command and war have continued to exert a significant influence on operational theory and doctrine.
Count von Moltke, Chief of the German General Staff from 1857 to 1888, was a prolific writer of essays, letters, and military history. The General Staff edited and published the greater part of his military writings in fourteen volumes between 1892 and 1912. Yet, despite Moltke's central role in modern military thought, relatively little of his writing has been available for the non-German reader. Daniel Hughes, a professor at the USAF Air War College,...