The Enlightened Soldier
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By Bryan T. Jones
May 22, 2019
The Enlightened Soldier: Scharnhorst and the Militärische Gesellschaft in Berlin, 1801-1805. Charles Edward White. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1989.
After reading Vanya Eftimova Bellinger’s magnificent series-beginning piece, “Introducing #Scharnhorst: The Vision of an Enlightened Soldier ‘On Experience and Theory,’†I decided to reopen my copy of Charles Edward White’s book, The Enlightened Soldier: Scharnhorst and the Militärische Gesellschaft in Berlin, 1801-1805. What I rediscover each time I delve into White’s biographical history of both Scharnhorst and his reforms is the amazing characterization of what a professional military officer should aspire to be, along with the crucial role that an understanding of military history plays in a student of war’s development. Having read this book twice now since discovering it last fall, the only true question I have surrounding it is this—Why is it not more heavily featured as a required selection on professional reading lists throughout the United States military?
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2019/05/22/the_enlightened_soldier_114446.html
