Private und dienstliche Schriften: Band 8 Tragischer Vollender (Preussen 1813)

The name of the Prussian army reformer Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755-1813) is firmly associated with the introduction of general conscription, the end of which is one of the much-discussed political issues of the present day. However, Scharnhorst’s concepts went further and included, among other things, the reorganization of officer training, overcoming the privileges of the nobility in the officer corps and the professionalization of the general staff. In eight volumes, the edition makes Scharnhorst’s entire handwritten legacy accessible to the general public for the first time. The concluding eighth volume documents Scharnhorst’s last campaign and contains a number of documents from the years before as an addendum. In 1813 the Prussian army under Scharnhorst’s leadership expanded many times over and the educated bourgeoisie, who had been exempt from military service until then, were prepared for use in the officer corps. The modernized army passed its first major test at Grossgoerschen, but its chief of staff, Scharnhorst, was mortally wounded and did not live to see the victory over Napoleon. In the appendix, the volume contains a number of addendums from the years before 1813 as well as a complete index.