The Enlightened Soldier

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Summary: The Enlightened Soldier
Review: Charles E. White's "The Enlightened Soldier", is an awesome military leadership book and a must read for senior military/corporate leaders. The views, principles, and fundamentals of stratigic thinking and implementation are more relavant today than when this book was first written. I had to re-read some of the passages to get the full meaning of the author's intent -- that is why I only gave it 4 stars.

If you want to find out where the future of leadership should/is heading, read this book!

JWC

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Summary: The Reformers
Review: Scharnhorst, the Hanoverian officer who transferred to the Prussian service, bringing with him new ideas of professionalism, excellence, and the education of officers, was one of the guiding lights in Prussia after their catastrophic defeat by Napoleon and his terrible Grande Armee, that, in three weeks of marching, fighting, and pursuit, destroyed the old Prussian Army of Frederick the Great.

This excellent volume, however, is not of the reform period, nor does it chronicle the decisive campaign of 1806. What it does tell us, is of Scharnhorst's efforts to institutionalize excellence in the Prussian army, especially its officer corps, and to move it into the era of modern warfare as exemplified by Napoleon and the French experience in the Wars of the Revolution.

Scharnhorst, as a new lieutenant colonel with a new patent of nobility, launched into the old ideas of Prussia's methods of waging war, and gathered about him like-minded souls that saw the shortcomings of the Prussian system and wanted to improve the army, especially the officer corps that was dominated by Junkers, the landed Prussian aristocracy that thought it their right to provide the army with its officer corps. To that end, Scarnhorst established the Militarische Gesellschaft, or Military Society, in Berlin. While not a school, it did become a think tank, and most of its members went on to become members of the revamped and reorganized Prussian General Staff, which was attempting to come into the modern world of the nineteenth century, based on the French staff example.

Before 1806 there was only partial success, Scharnhorst meeting opposition from most of the older generals and many of his peers. Still, there was success. Many papers and studies were published, including a noteworthy one by Scharnhorst on the Marengo Campaign of 1800, which noted the reforms in organization, tactics, leadership, and staff functioning that were being employed by the French. It also noted the numerous shortcomings of the Austrian Army.

This is a valuable work for any understanding of what the Prussian Army, or rather, certain of its members, were trying to do in the rough days before 1806, and in the even rougher ones after. Based on much primary German sources, including Scharnhorst's personal papers, it is a necessary work for both the study and understanding of the period, and it places the nucleus of the responsibility for the Prussian reforms squarely on Scharnhorst's shoulder, where they evidently belong. This is a necessary work for any student of the period and is very highly recommended.