The numerous observers sent to the American Civil War battlefield by the major European Powers failed completely to learn its lessons of defensive firepower, perhaps preferring to base their assumptions on success of Prussian offensive tactics in the three European wars that occurred during this decade. No doubt they noted that while the armies of Prussia twice crushed opponents ostensibly as powerful as themselves, it took overwhelming Federal armies and resources four long and weary years to crush the Confederacy, far smaller in both manpower and resources. Master-minded by Helmuth von Moltke, German military thinking backed by a fervent nationalism bred a new style of warfare which prevailed until 1945. Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 168 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1976 by Donald Featherstone. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com