Paul Bronsart von Schellendorf
Encyclopedia
Paul Bronsart von Schellendorf (25 January 1832 – 23 June 1891) was a Prussian
general
and writer
.
(Gdańsk), Prussia
. He entered the Prussian Guards in 1849, and was appointed to the general staff
in 1861 as a captain; after three years of staff service he returned to regimental duty, but was soon reappointed to the staff, and lectured at the Prussian Military Academy, becoming major in 1865 and lieutenant colonel in 1869. During the Franco-Prussian War
(1870) he was chief of a section on the General Staff, and conducted the preliminary negotiations for the surrender of the French at Sedan
. After the war Bronsart was made a colonel and chief of staff of the Guard army corps, becoming major-general in 1876 and lieutenant general (with a division command) in 1881. Two years later he became war minister
, and during his tenure of the post (1883–1889) many important reforms were carried out in the Prussian army, in particular the introduction of the magazine rifle. He was appointed in 1889 to command the I Corps at Königsberg
. He died at his estate of Schettnienen near Braunsberg
(Braniewo), in 1891 at the age of 59.
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Biography
Bronsart was born in DanzigGdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
(Gdańsk), Prussia
Province of Prussia
The Province of Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1829-1878 created out of the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia....
. He entered the Prussian Guards in 1849, and was appointed to the general staff
German General Staff
The German General Staff was an institution whose rise and development gave the German armed forces a decided advantage over its adversaries. The Staff amounted to its best "weapon" for nearly a century and a half....
in 1861 as a captain; after three years of staff service he returned to regimental duty, but was soon reappointed to the staff, and lectured at the Prussian Military Academy, becoming major in 1865 and lieutenant colonel in 1869. During the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
(1870) he was chief of a section on the General Staff, and conducted the preliminary negotiations for the surrender of the French at Sedan
Sedan, France
Sedan is a commune in France, a sub-prefecture of the Ardennes department in northern France.-Geography:The historic centre is built on a peninsula formed by an arc of the Meuse River. It is around from the Belgian border.-History:...
. After the war Bronsart was made a colonel and chief of staff of the Guard army corps, becoming major-general in 1876 and lieutenant general (with a division command) in 1881. Two years later he became war minister
Prussian Minister of War
The Prussian War Ministry was gradually established between 1808 and 1809 as part of a series of reforms initiated by the Military Reorganization Commission created after the disastrous Treaty of Paris. The War Ministry was to help bring the army under constitutional control, and, along with the...
, and during his tenure of the post (1883–1889) many important reforms were carried out in the Prussian army, in particular the introduction of the magazine rifle. He was appointed in 1889 to command the I Corps at Königsberg
Königsberg
Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...
. He died at his estate of Schettnienen near Braunsberg
Braniewo
Braniewo is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 18,068 . It is the capital of Braniewo County...
(Braniewo), in 1891 at the age of 59.
Writings
Bronsart's military writings include two works of great importance:- Ein Rückblick auf die taktischen Rückblicke (2nd ed., Berlin, 1870), a pamphlet written in reply to Captain May's Tactical Retrospect of 1866; and
- Der Dienst des Generalstabes (1st ed., Berlin, 1876; 3rd ed. revised by General Meckel, 1893; new ed. by the author's son, Major Bronsart von Schellendorf, Berlin, 1904), a comprehensive treatise on the duties of the general staff. The third edition of this work was soon after its publication translated into English and issued officially to the British army as The Duties of the General Staff. Major Bronsart's new edition of 1904 was re-issued in English by the General Staff, under the same title, in 1905.
- Schellendorf, Paul Leopold Eduard Heinrich Anton Bronsart. (1893). Duties of the General Staff, translated by William Aldworth Home Hare. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office.