Wilhelm von Scherff (6 February 1834 – 1911) was a German

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

and military writer.Hughes, Daniel J., and DiNardo, R. L..
Imperial Germany and War, 1871-1918
'. United States, University Press of Kansas, 2018. 150. Originally from

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, he joined the

Prussian army The Royal Prussian Army (1701–1919, german: Königlich Preußische Armee) served as the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It became vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power. The Prussian Army had its roots in the co ...

in 1852. From 1856 to 1859 he attended the '' Kriegsschule'', and from 1860 to 1866 served as

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

in the Prussian army. He took part in the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 as a

general staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

officer. From 1873 to 1878 he was a teacher of military tactics at the

Prussian Military Academy The Prussian Staff College, also Prussian War College (german: Preußische Kriegsakademie) was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop general staff officers. Location It originated with the ''Ak ...

. In 1879, he was a member of the border adjustment commission in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, and after his return he became commander of the 29th infantry regiment. In 1882 he became head of the general staff of the XIth Army Corps, in 1883

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

commander, and in 1888

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and commander of the 33rd infantry division in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

Works

*''Studien zur neuen Infanterie-Taktik.'' A. Bath, 1872–1876 *''Die Infanterie auf dem Exercierplatze. Anhaltspunkte und Beispiele für die Ausbildung zum Gefecht.'' 1873 *''Die Lehre von der Truppenverwendung als Vorschule für die Kunst der Truppenführung.'' A. Bath, 1876–1879 *''Einige taktische Grundsätze als Anhalt für die Ausbildung der Infanterie zum Gefecht und Kampfe.'' A. Bath, 1879 *''Reglementarische Studien.'' 1891-1892 *''Praktische Taktik und taktische Theorie; polemische Betrachtungen über reglementarische Fragen.'' 1893 *''Unsere heutige Infanterie-Taktik im Spiegel der Augustkämpfe 1870 um Metz.'' 1893 *''Kriegslehren in kriegsgeschichtlichen Beispielen der Neuzeit.'' E.S Mittler und Sohn, 1894–1897 *''Die Lehre vom Kriege, auf der Grundlage seiner neuzeitlichen Erscheinungsformen.'' E.S. Mittler und Sohn, 1897 *''Der Schlachtenangriff: im Lichte der Schlichtingschen "Taktischen Grundsätze" und der Boguslawskischen "Betrachtungen."'' 1898 *''Vergleichender Rückblick auf die neueste Tagesliteratur über den Infanterieangriff.'' 1906

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherff, Wilhelm von 1834 births 1911 deaths German untitled nobility German military writers Military personnel from Frankfurt Generals of Infantry (Prussia) German male non-fiction writers