In this episode, we discuss:
-What first attracted Chuck to military history
-How he came to study Scharnhorst and the Prussian military reforms
-Some of Chuck’s work at the United States Army Infantry School and the 21st Theater Army Area Command in Germany
-What led Chuck to joining the Army
-Chuck’s interactions with Major Richard “Dick” Winters of Band of Brothers fame
-What Chuck’s experiences as a student at West Point were like
-Chuck’s criticisms of West Point today
-The inspiration for Chuck’s work on Scharnhorst’s Military Society
-How Scharnhorst’s work and thinking are relevant to today’s warfighters
-The influence that Count Wilhelm Friedrich Ernst von Schaumburg-Lippe and Colonel Emmerich d’Estorff had on Scharnhorst
-The genesis of the Prussian military reforms and the role of the Military Society
-Scharnhorst’s role as head of the Military Reorganization Committee
-The resistance that Scharnhorst encountered from special interest groups
-Scharnhorst’s relationship with Carl von Clausewitz
-Scharnhorst’s relationship with his wife
-The genesis of Scharnhorst’s general staff
-What Scharnhorst might think about the size of today’s US military staffs
-Chuck’s speculation on what Scharnhorst would have turned his attention to if he had survived the Napoleonic Wars
-What fascinates Chuck most about Scharnhorst
-Chuck’s forthcoming book on Scharnhorst, Scharnhorst: The Formative Years, 1755-1801, and what he learned while writing it
-What Scharnhorst might think of current US military efforts to improve education for enlisted servicemembers
-Which aspects of Scharnhorst’s work still need attention in English
-What Chuck thinks every US servicemember should know about Scharnhorst and his contributions to the profession of arms
-Chuck’s reaction to the especially positive reception his work received from the US Marine Corps
-What Chuck’s other forthcoming work on Scharnhorst has in store for us
-Chuck’s critique of Martin van Creveld and John Keegan’s work
Links
The Enlightened Soldier: Scharnhorst and the Militärische Gesellschaft in Berlin, 1801-1805, by Charles Edward White: https://www.amazon.com/Enlightened-Soldier-Scharnhorst-Militarische-Gesellschaft/dp/0275929361
Scharnhorst: The Formative Years, 1755-1081, by Charles Edward White: https://www.amazon.com/Scharnhorst-Formative-1755-1801-Reason-Revolution/dp/1913118991
“Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession”, Dr Leonard Wong and Dr. Stephen J Gerra, Strategic Studies Institute, Army War College, February 2015: https://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/lying-to-ourselves-dishonesty-in-the-army-profession/
Link to Barry Lyndon movie on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Barry-Lyndon-Ryan-ONeal/dp/B000MQPKVG
Errata
*I misspoke when saying the name of Count Wilhelm’s name. I should have said “Count Wilhelm Friedrich,” not “Count Friedrich Wilhelm.”
*When discussing “Lying to Ourselves”, I neglected to mention Dr. Stephen J. Gerra as a co-author. I also failed to state that the study goes beyond just mandatory training but covers the full range of requirements placed on today’s Army leaders.