The Clash of Old and New (Part One)

"Damn Jacob. We should never have put that mad dog in charge of the pursuit," Albrecht said furiously.

Jacob meant Julius Jacob von Haynau, also known as the Hangman of Arad, the Hyena of Brescia, and the Tiger of Habsburg.

"Commander, what do we do now?" asked Count Bull von Stein, the legion's second-in-command.

"What else can we do, Mr. Stein? We're here to handle emergencies. Since nothing unexpected has happened, we might as well sit here and watch the show."

Albrecht beckoned to the military academy cadets nearby, inviting them over.

"Find somewhere to sit and watch carefully. The old era is coming to an end."

"Advance!" At the sound of one hoarse shout after another, the Polish Restoration Army began its attack. Its ranks spread out in a long line, like a giant snake.

The two main attack formations of the era were the column and the line. The French had once defeated the princes of Europe by relying on column tactics.

This had made wars of annihilation commonplace and indirectly led to the widespread adoption of universal conscription. Most of the Polish Restoration Army's officers, however, had graduated from military academies in Prussian-controlled Poland and received a traditional Prussian education.

As a result, most of them still studied the tactics of Frederick's era. Tactical reform would have to wait until William I's second military reform, and Clausewitz's theories had yet to receive much attention.

Although On War was highly regarded by later historians, it was not taken seriously until the late nineteenth century, after Prussia had risen to prominence and Moltke the Elder had forcefully championed it.

Even then, it was only the Prussians who took it seriously. The French did not accept the theories in the book until World War II, while the Americans only embraced