"But surround a commander with a number of independent men---the more numerous, the more distinguished, the abler they are and the worse it will be--let him hear the advice now of one now of another; let him carry out up to a certain point a measure judicious in itself, then adopt a still more judicious but different plan, and then be convinced by the thoroughly sound objections of a third adviser and the remedial suggestions of a fourth,--it is a hundred to one that though for each of his measures excellent reasons can be given, he will lose the campaign." The one authorised adviser here described was by the Prussian system provided for the king in the person of the chief of the general staff of the army. This office had risen to importance during the wars of liberation, though at that epoch the general staff was in the peace organization a subordinate branch of the Ministry of War. The Prussians fighting Napoleon, had had no Napoleon to pit against him. The best they could do was to put Blücher in command with Scharnhorst, and after Scharnhorst's death with Gneisenau to keep him straight.[1] In the period that followed the peace of 1815 the position of the general staff received strict definition. In 1821 Müffling was appointed its chief, and it was settled that he should not be subordinate to the Minister of War but directly responsible to the king. This constitution of the office on a new basis outside of and independent of the Ministry of War was an advance in the division of labour implying the want of a fresh organ to perform functions not before satisfactorily exercised. The business of the Ministry of War was to raise, maintain and administer the army. The business of the staff was to direct the army in war, and during peace to make such special preparations as might be necessary to this end. In order to be able to devote all its energies to the conduct of armies fighting in the field, unhampered by the details of daily administration, the general staff was placed on an independent footing. In 1829 Müffling was succeeded by Lieut-Gen. von Krauseneck, whose successor (in 1848) was Lieut-Gen. von Reyher. Reyher died in 1857, when the duties of the office were intrusted to Major-General von Moltke.