MOLTKE, Helmuth Karl Bernhard, her moot kirl bern'hart molt16, Cousr vox, Ger man soldier : b. Parchim, MecIdenbu rg Schwerin, 26 Oct. 1800; d. Berlin, 24 April 1891. In 1805 his father removed to Lubeck, where young Moltke shortly afterward saw his home looted and burned during the French invasion and his family reduced to poverty. In 1812 he was admitted as a cadet of the Royal Military Academy, Copenhagen. In 1818 he was ap pointed one of the pages of the king of Den mark and passed his examination for a com mission as first of the candidates. Seeing little prospect of advancement, he entered the Prus sian service in 1822, becoming 2d lieutenant. He then studied three years at the staff college, Berlin r in 1832 was appointed to the general staff ; in 1833 became lieutenant, and in 1835 captain. He had already visited Italy, and he now went to Turkey, where he became military adviser of the sultan Mahmud. He took part in the Turkish expedition against Ibrahim Pasha in 1839, but his advice was disregarded, and he returned to Constantinople, and on Mahmud's death to Berlin, where he was again employed on the general staff. His ex periences in Turkey led him to publish two valuable works The Russo-Turkish Campaign of 1828-29 in European Turkey) (1835). and on Affairs in Turkey in the Years 1835-39' (1841). After rising through the various army grades he was placed permanently at the head of 'the general staff of the army in 1859 with the rank of lieutenant-general. His labors in reorganizing the Prussian army were of immense value to Prussia and to Ger many, and had a great influence on the general history of Europe. The defeat of Denmark in 1864 was largely owing to his genius for mili tary operations, and the result of the greater war of 1866 against Austria is equally to be at tributed to him. Then followed the Franco German War of 1870, for which Moltke was entirely prepared, having foreseen for some years what was likely to happen, and having immediately after the Austrian War prepared for a campaign against France. The brilliant
success which followed was in very large measure a personal triumph for Moltke. He passed his 70th birthday at Versailles, and was raised by the king of Prussia to the rank of count on receipt of news of the capitulation of Metz. On his return to Berlin he was made a field-marshal, received from Parliament a grant of $225,000, was appointed for life a member of the Prussian upper house, and other honors were conferred upon him. He held the post of chief of the staff till after the accession of Em peror William II in 1888, when he resigned on account of advanced age, but was made presi dent of national defense. His 90th birthday was made the occasion of public demonstrations in his honor all over Germany. He was a man of great modesty and simplicity, kind and con siderate to subordinates and devoted, above all things, to duty. His military genius was com pounded of boldness in design with minute care in execution. From his reticence it was wit tilt' said that he was silent in seven languages. Besides the works already mentioned, Moltke wrote 'Letters) (1892), and the works of the general staff on the Italian War of 1866, and the Franco-German War of 1870-71 are largely from his pen. Consult the (Essays, Speeches and Memoirs) (2 vols., London 1893) ; also Bigge, W., (Feldmarschall Graf Moltke) (2 vols., Munich 1901) ; Dressler, F. A., (Moltke in his Home) translated by Barrett-Lennard (London 1907) ; Muller, W., (Moltke) trans lated by Pinkerton (London 1879; 3d ed., Stuttgart 1889).