Scharnhorst: The Formative Years, 1755-1801

Scharnhorst

by Charles Edward White

This is the first comprehensive studyof Gerhard Scharnhorst in any language. Other than the author's The Enlightened Soldier: Scharnhorst and the Milit�rische Gesellschaft in Berlin, 1801-1805 (1989), there exists no other work on Scharnhorst in English. Of the major German works, Das Leben des Generals von Scharnhorst (1869/71), written by Hanoverian historian Georg Heinrich Klippel, was a popular biography with no critical analysis. In keeping with the political correctness of his time, Klippel failed to include a single document from Scharnhorst's voluminous papers that was disparaging toward the social, political, and military cultures in Hanover. Seventeen years later, Prussian historian Max Lehmann published his study of Scharnhorst (1886/87), which corrected many of the flaws in Klippel's work, but failed to provide any critical analysis of Scharnhorst's modernization, especially as it applied to Prussia. Like Klippel, Lehmann complied with the political correctness of his time in Prussia and Germany. Rudolf Stadelmann, Scharnhorst: Schicksal und Geistige Welt (1952), is an incomplete fragment that offers some interesting insights.

Scharnhorst: The Formative Years uses the previous German studies as a starting point to present many unpublished discoveries about his youth, his education and training, his extensive service in Hanover, and the modernization program Scharnhorst sought to implement in Hanover, and later realized in part in Prussia.

Genres: Biography

440 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of two volumes about Gerhard Scharnhorst, a man of his times and yet ahead of them. He virtually created himself, through education and unending reading of military history. 'Bildung' (a concept of trying to perfect that which was needed for a successful military life) was his guiding principle. It wasn't easy in an era where the die-hards at the top frequently blocked his ideas, but the Enlightenment had begun. His service in Hanover consumes most of this first volume. We meet his friends, his enemies, and learn about his influential writings. He was a remarkable man who influenced many, but he had his faults too. His overwhelming ambition sometimes got out of hand, but he more than did his duty to Hanover until he moved on to Prussia for his great service in the Napoleonic Wars.

The book itself can be overwhelming too. Names and ideas abound. I must admit I didn't find the information about his education and all of the various influences as interesting as his service with the artillery. That's why I am looking forward to the second volume which deals with his years at war.

[Terry Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most comprehensive study of Gerhard Scharnhorst in any language. There have been some German publications, however they were biased, incomplete and contained no analysis.

One might consider this book the prequel to "The Enlightened Soldier: Scharnhorst and the Militarische Gesellshaft in Berlin 1801-1805
This book covers the history and development of Scharnhorst from 1755 to his last year of service in the Hanoverian Army in 1800
The author uses previously unpublished sources and an immense amount of primary documents from archives in Berlin, Hanover, London, Koblenz, and Scharnhorst's published and collected works. This book covers an immense of history and is very rich in detail.
With the preface, introduction and epilogue there are 391 reading pages - 17 Chapters. The book is rich with footnotes. The bibliography is 38 pages with the first several pages providing notes on the sources.
This book contains some surprising discoveries - no spoilers, you have to read the book. Scharnhorst was educated and mentored by some of the most genius minds of the German Enlightenment. His time spent at the The Count Wilhelm Academy, Wilhelmstein, Northeim and University of Gottingen reads like a who's who of mentors, distinguished faculty, and visiting speakers that he was exposed to. The reading lists/ syllabus / curriculum of the time was widely shared and George Washington and Benjamin Franklin - according to US Archives - read and were exposed to the same books, ideas and concepts as Scharnhorst. Clausewitz, would enter the Berlin Academy in 1801 where Clausewitz was the Director.
If you are truly interested in the conceptual developments and roots of Bildung, Auftragstaktic - in which the US Army doctrine of Mission Command is very loosely based- and the roots of Clausewitz's educational foundation then you will need this book for your reference library.
I highly encourage that you also add the following
1. The Enlightened Soldier: Scharnhorst and the Militarische Gesellshaft in Berlin 1801-1805, Charles E. White
2. Clausewitz and the State, The Man, His Theories and His Times, Peter Paret. ( this book is an highly updated of his original work published in 1976.
3. On War, Carl von Clausewitz, Indexed Edition, Trans and ed by Michael Howard and Peter Paret. ( this book is the 1984 edition updated from the original publication in 1976.
You are going to need a box of highlighters and a bundle of 3x5 cards to annotate all the facts, little known and dates. All in All, i highly recommend this book