In May, 1887, a Select Committee was appointed to examine into the Army and Navy Estimates. On the 8th of July Major-General (now Lieut-General) Brackenbury, in the course of examination by the Committee, made a series of comparisons between the English and the German systems of army management. He referred particularly to the great general staff of the German army, which he described as "the keystone of the whole system of German military organization ... the cause of the great efficiency of the German army ... acting as the powerful brain of the military body, to the designs of which brain the whole body is made to work." "I cannot but feel," he said, "that to the want of any such great central thinking department is due that want of economy and efficiency which to a certain extent exists in our army." If at any time a statesman should be found to undertake the work of an English Minister of War, his first wish would be to grasp the nature of this keystone of the German system, to distinguish in it between essentials and accessories, to perceive which of its peculiarities are local, temporary, and personal; and what are the unchangeable principles in virtue of which it has prospered. Equipped with this knowledge, he would be able to reform without destroying, to rise above that servile imitation which copies defects as well as excellences, and, without sacrificing its national features, to infuse into the English system the merits of the German. For such a statesman, and for the public upon whose support he must depend, this book has been written. It is an endeavour to describe the German general staff and its relation to the military institutions from which it is inseparable. To illustrate the general staff at work in war, the campaign of 1866, rather than that of 1870, has been chosen, because it better exemplifies some of the relations between strategy and policy. _December_, 1889. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I _THE GENERAL STAFF IN THE MANAGEMENT OF A CAMPAIGN_ CHAPTER I THE EVE OF KÖNIGGRÄTZ Political and military situation on the 2nd of July--Position of the Prussian armies---Topography of the district--Supposed position of the Austrian army, and consequent arrangements for July 3rd--True position of the Austrian army discovered--Consequent fresh orders for July 3rd--Which result in a decisive victory CHAPTER II BEHIND THE SCENES The secret of King William's military success--His selection of a single adviser, and resolute adherence to his proposals--History of the office of chief of the general staff--Proceedings at Gitschin the night before the battle CHAPTER III FIVE SHORT ORDERS Prussian system of division of labour and organization of responsibility--Simplicity of its working illustrated from the fewness and brevity of the orders issued CHAPTER IV PRELIMINARIES OF A CAMPAIGN