The introduction of the railroad into military operations in the mid-nineteenth century allowed armies to maneuver and extend operations in locations that previously would have been inaccessible to large formations of soldiers. The United States' prosecution of the Civil War set the standard for using this new technology to support operations. Other nations observed the American example, including Prussia, which also had substantial rail assets and a strategic capability gap that locomotives could fulfill. This thesis examined three campaigns of the mid-nineteenth century, the U.S. capture of Atlanta in 1864, the Prussian invasion of Bohemia in 1866, and the Prussian invasion of France in 1870. These three case studies illustrated that the U.S. Army's experiences in the Civil War offered valuable lessons in using railroads that could have addressed strategic risks assumed by Prussia in the prosecution of its wars with Austria and France. However, differences in geography, limitations in time, lack of experience, and divergent approaches to war meant that Prussia only appreciated and absorbed those lessons in part and resorted to past expedients rather than full adoption of the American model.
Prussian Absorption of U.S. Lessons in the Military Uses of Railroads
2022
135 pages
Report
No indication
English
Military Operations, Strategy, & Tactics , Transportation , Artillery , Employment , Geography , Governments , Logistics , Military history , Military operations , Military science , Organizational structure , Personnel management , Rail transportation , Small arms , Supply depots , United states , United states government , War colleges , Warfare
Engineering Index Backfile | 1895
Engineering Index Backfile | 1895
|Engineering Index Backfile | 1897
Engineering Index Backfile | 1894
Tests of oil on Prussian Railroads
Engineering Index Backfile | 1894