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Helmuth Johannes Ludwig
von Moltke, der Jüngere
(25.05.1848 - 18.06.1916)
place of birth: Gersdorf, Großherzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Königreich
Preußen: Generalstabschef,
Quartiermeister, Generaloberst
Helmuth the Younger,
also nicknamed Julius, was the nephew of former
Prussian Chief of General Staff and military strategist Field Marshal
Helmuth von Moltke the Elder. He and his wife were
Christian Scientists and had side interests in cults. He also painted
and played the cello. Young Helmuth was born on 25 May 1848 and was
named after his uncle. He was cited for bravery while serving as a
lieutenant in the 7th Grenadier Regiment during the Franco-Prussian
War of 1870-71.
Following completion of the Imperial War College
in 1878, he became
the personal adjutant to his uncle who was serving as Chief of the
Great General Staff in Berlin. His uncle Helmuth died in 1891, and the
younger Helmuth then transferred to Kaiser Wilhelm II's inner circle as
his aide-de-camp. After commanding a brigade and a division in the
Berlin area, von Moltke took on the role as Germany's Quartermaster-
General, in effect, Chief of General Staff von Schlieffen's deputy.
Likely as a result of his friendship with the Kaiser, von Moltke
succeeding Schlieffen when he died in 1906, being selected ahead of
candidates such as Hans von Beseler, Karl von Bülow, and Colmar von der
Goltz. He supposedly accepted the posting only on condition that the
Kaiser stop winning all of Prussia's annual war games, thus making a
mockery of them. Von Moltke thus headed the Germany Army at the
outbreak of World War One.
His modifications to the Schlieffen
Plan were basically sensible but terribly unsuccessful, and
he was unceremoniously replaced by Falkenhayn following the
failure of the Marne Campaign as he also continued
with degenerating health. Some historians argue that it was the failure
of von Kluck's First Army to maintain contact with von Bülow's Second
Army as the two approached Paris which caused the Schlieffen
Plan to ultimately fail. Others contend that Moltke lost
control of the invading armies during the August invasion along the
Western Front and was thus unable to react correctly as the First
Battle of the Marne developed in September. While it is true
that Moltke had lost effective touch with his field commanders, German
operational doctrine nonetheless emphasized personal initiative on the
part of subordinate officers. Other historians also propose that the
multitude of strategic options Moltke faced, and especially the danger
of the Russian invasion of East Prussia clouded Moltke's judgment.
He
was awarded the Pour le Merite in 1915 but suffered
a heart attack and died in Berlin on 18 June 1916.
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"We must attack France in the field...we cannot
become mired in prolonged positional warfare along France's fortified
eastern frontier."
Chief of General Staff Helmut von Moltke
* letter to Austrian CINC Conrad - 5 Aug 1914
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