Der Eisenbahnkrieg. Taktische Studie.

Laßmann, J. E.

Verlag: Berlin, Ernst Siegfried Mittler, 1867

Beschreibung

Octavo. Pp. (ii), 112. Original printed wrappers, shabby, spine reinforced with paper, old shelf ticket, old military institutional stamps to cover and title; light spotting along blank margins. In good condition, rather very good interior. ~ FIRST EDITION. Very rare. One of the earliest European treatise on tactics and strategy of military railroad. (The earliest published work in which the importance and the possibilities of railways from a military standpoint were advocated is Friedrich Wilhelm Harkort: "Die Eisenbahn von Minden nach Köln." Hagen, 1833) Laßmann published his work only two years after the end of the American Civil War, the world's first full-blown "railroad war". Speed, capacity and economic efficiency were very promising concepts in post-Napoleonic Europe. The railway seemed to be the solution to a military problem that had plagued the European powers since the French Revolution. The first demonstration of the military efficacy of the railroads was the 1846 Polish Uprising. Prussia rushed 12,000 troops of the Sixth Army Corps to help put down the Polish rebellion. In 1871, only four years after the publication of this book, the Prussian-led North German Confederation invaded France. Prussia deployed 462,000 men with their equipment, artillery and horses on a rail network consisting of 40 trains a day across six different routes. The pros and cons of the use of railways for military purposes were actively discussed in numerous pamphlets and treatises but it was Laßmann that was among the first who set to describe equipment and tactics and the vital supporting elements that were essential for a "railway war". See also: Edwin A. Pratt: "The Rise of Rail-Power in War and Conquest, 1833-1914" (London, 1915). H-4 IN.

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 9111

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: Der Eisenbahnkrieg. Taktische Studie.
• Verlag: Berlin, Ernst Siegfried Mittler
• Erscheinungsjahr: 1867
• Einband: Soft cover
• Auflage: 1st Edition