The Debacle At The Battle Of The Prussian Army

On October 14 1806, the Prussian army was annihilated by the French forces of Napoleon at the battle of Jena-Auerstädt, and the Kingdom of Prussia fell to the French Empire. The Prussian army, using outdated tactics and training established in the 17th century by Frederick the Great, poorly organized, and lead by conservative, elderly generals, who were living in the glory of the past, was an easy victim to the revolutionary style of warfare employed by Napoleon. With this “shocking defeat” of the Prussian army, the “Prussian King Frederick William III convened a military commission in 1807 to investigate the debacle at Jena-Auerstädt and propose reforms to the existing military structure” (Knot, 13). The King charged Colonel Gneisenau and

Thanks to the superior organization skills of General Staff, the Prussian army was considerably more organized and thus it was able to mobilize much quicker. With the use a well-develop railroad system, that both France and Austria lacked, the Prussian army was able to concentrate it full forces, giving it a strong tactical advantage. The Prussian Military’s training, officers, and modern weapons (the famous needle guns) were also far superior; hence, the smaller nation of Prussia, was able to overcome these two large Nations. The indisputable successes brought about by the Prussian General Staff made “the world see the Prussian staff as a dark force, something more than human, weaving the threads of national destiny according to a terrible pattern of its own” (Kahn, 2), and a concept that should be copied. Soon every country accepted the need of a General Staff system, including the United States. The U.S Navy took note of its own failure in the Civil War to bring about and quick victory, and made the suggestion of implementing its own General Staff system. In a 1888 New York Times paper, the Naval College published an article arguing for a much needed General Staff “to consider strategic policy and case of war” (Naval War College, 13) and “methods and safeguards needed” (Naval War College, 13) . Even today modern militaries such as NATO and the United States Military –the most powerful military in the world–have a staff system based off of the German model. Today’s staff systems is divided into several groups: Personnel/Administration, Information and Security, Operations and Training, Logistics and Supplies, and Communications,