Jessen, Olaf Moltke. Preußens Feldherr

Victor of Königgrätz and Sedan, midwife of the German Empire, perfector of the general staff, citizen of the world and national icon, poet and politician, adventurer and "great silent" - Helmuth von Moltke (1800-1891) was one of the defining generals of the century. Germans revered, even idolised him. In his masterfully narrated biography, Olaf Jessen wipes the dust off the monument to a century-old figure of German and European history.

His career began as a Danish cadet. Moltke joined the army of the King of Prussia, translated Gibbon's monumental Roman History and was ordered to the Ottoman Empire, whose decline he experienced at first hand on campaigns and journeys. His "Letters from Turkey" became a bestseller. He married a half-Englishwoman, cultivated music and literature, found access to the Berlin court and rose to become Chief of the Great General Staff. His victorious campaigns against Denmark, Austria and France enabled the foundation of the German Empire and at the same time opened the door to industrialised people's warfare. Afterwards, the Chief of the General Staff warned against "total" wars. Olaf Jessen manages the feat of bringing Moltke to life on journeys and in battles, as a landowner and politician, so that behind the backdrop of the model Prussia, the melancholy adventurer and cosmopolitan German who united all the contradictions of the century becomes recognisable.