Weir, William. Turning Points in Military History . Citadel Press. 2005.

1. Weir, William. Turning Points in Military History. Citadel Press. 2005. War by Timetable

2. Did the Kaiser actually want to go through with a war with France in 1914? Knowing how World War I actually turned out, what reason do you think Germany would have for producing evidence that the Kaiser tried to stop it? • According to Weir – the Kaiser tried to order Moltke to cancel troops movements but Moltke reported that it was impossible to change plans. One limitation of this source would be that once Germany lost the war and were faced with the blame for the conflict and it’s cost in reparations, it would be to their great interest to produce whatever documentation they could to establish Germany’s resistance to initiating the conflict.

3. What was Frederick the Great’s view of transportation networks? How did Moltke reverse this? • Frederick the Great felt that more and better roads would merely make invasion easier by a hostile army. Moltke, on the other hand, emphasized rail travel because of its superiority in mobilizing larger loads over longer distances quickly. He formed a division of the General Staff devoted to rail logistics and staffed this division with the best officers in the entire army.

4. How was rail travel more complex than road travel at this time? • Slower road supply columns could be passed on a road as two or more could operate along the same stretch of road. Trains could only pass each other if there was a siding and these were very rare.

5. How did Moltke change the relationship between logistical support and combat troops? • Prior to Prussian innovation, logistical units merely supported the combat troops, but after these new ideas were implemented, logistical units ran the war and commanded the combat troops. Constant monitoring of enemy country rail systems was maintained and the state had to have the capability of commandeering the rail system of their own country at a moments notice.

6. Why are some Prussian train platforms much larger than any busy day would require? • Under military command, the rail network would change and previously seldomly used civilian rail stations would become vital transportation hubs. Longer platforms would enable rapid loading and unloading of troops and material.

7. What weakness in Prussian war-by-rail system was exposed at the end of the Austro Prussian War? • Although victorious, the Prussians learned that the weakness of their rail warfare was the fact that from the railhead to the front lines, the materials had to be transported by horse. This meant that draft animals and fodder would need to occupy a large portion of goods transported and would have to be maintained in good supply to be effective.

8. How did the French actually help the Prussians in their defeat in 1870? • Bismarck was helped by the French in three ways: • First; their hysterical reaction to the prospect of a Hohenzollern on the Spanish throne. Second; by the folly and pride that came with the reputation of having the greatest army in Europe. Finally; by gross mismanagement of their forces and their secret weapon, the mitrailleuse

9. Summarize how the Franco-Prussian War got started. • The vacant throne of Spain was offered to Leopold von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Even though he refused, this panicked the French and they demanded that no Hohenzollern would even accept this throne. The Prussian Kaiser refused to give this guarantee and refused to see the ambassador any further. Bismarck published the memo from the King regarding the refusal and edited it to seem as an insult. France declared war.

10. How did the Franco-Prussian War change the way war was fought? How did this change make future wars more widespread and catastrophic? • Prussia’s victory convinced powers that mobilization and logistics were essential to guarantee security. Pre-packaged plans were drawn up and every country kept a close eye on every other country’s rail networks for any signs of troop mobilization. This meant that war would be difficult to limit after it had broken out.