Ideal Prussian officer

[Johannes]

Hi,

Generally how does the conducts and philosophy of an ideal Prussian officer be like?

-Johannes

[Gwynn Compton]

Gerhard Scharnhorst (one of the Prussian reformers after 1806) believed (Leadership):
Accession to officer corps should be determined by merit, not social class (not completely achieved).
Standards for obtaining a commission should be strenuous (achieved).
Officer selections and promotions decentralized to the regiment and regimental commander (achieved).
Officer candidate first served with his regiment as an “Ensign.”
Candidate required to pass demanding three-day Examination.
Candidate’s Character had to be approved by a board of regimental officers.
Rigorous but Fair Standards ensured that officers could focus on their profession.
Helped to limit the percentage of officers to 3 to 5 percent of total force-officers.
3-Track Officer Corps: General Staff, Regimental (Line), and Technical.
Education & Personnel System Focused Inward on Character Development and the Art of War at the Tactical, Operational, and Strategic Levels, But Not on the Nature of Conflict at Strategic and Grand Strategic Levels.

From http://www.belisarius.com/modern_busine ... OffSys.ppt

Hope that helps.

Gwynn