Helmuth von Moltke the Elder
Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke (; 26 October 180024 April 1891) was a
Prussian field marshal. The chief of staff of the
Prussian Army for thirty years, he is regarded as the creator of a new, more modern method of directing armies in the field and one of the finest military minds of his generation. He commanded troops in Europe and the Middle East, in the
Second Schleswig War,
Austro-Prussian War, and
Franco-Prussian War. He is described as embodying "Prussian military organization and tactical genius". He was fascinated with railways and pioneered their military use. He is often referred to as
Moltke the Elder to distinguish him from his nephew
Helmuth von Moltke the Younger (Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke), who commanded the
German army at the outbreak of the
First World War. He is notably the earliest-born human
whose recorded voice is preserved, being born in the last year of the 18th century (1800). He made four recordings; two that were recorded in October 1889 are preserved to this day.
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