Manchester, 19 June 185] 

Dear Hans, 

Marx has just communicated to me a letter of yours from which 
I at last find a definite address for you, which I have been seeking 
for some time past. For I wish to consult you about the following 
matter: 

Since arriving in Manchester* I have been swotting up military 
affairs, on which—at least to start off with—I found fairly 
adequate material here. I was prompted to do this by the immense 
importance which must attach to the partie militaire? in the next 
movement, combined with a long-standing inclination on my part, 
my articles on the Hungarian campaign in the days of the 
newspaper‘ and finally my glorious exploits in Baden,” and I 
would like to take it at least far enough to be able to join in 
theoretical discussion without making too much of a fool of 
myself. Now the material available to me here—on the Napoleonic 
and, to some extent, revolutionary campaigns—presupposes a 
mass of detail, my knowledge of which is non-existent or very 
superficial, and about which only superficial, if any, information 
can be obtained by dint of laborious research. Autodidacticism, 
however, is sheer foolishness and, unless one devotes oneself 
systematically to the thing, one achieves nothing worthwhile. What 
I now actually need, you will better understand if I remind you 
that—disregarding, of course, my promotion in Baden—lI never 
rose higher than a Royal Prussian Bombardier in the Landwehr 
and consequently my comprehension of the details of the 
campaigns—and indeed as regards the various arms of the 
service—is hampered by the absence of the middle link which, in 
Prussia, is provided by the subalterns’ examination. I am not 
concerned, of course, with the tedious minutiae of military drill, 
etc., which would be of little use to me since my eye trouble, as J 
have now found out once and for all, renders me completely unfit 
for active service of any sort; rather, I am concerned with an 

4 since mid-November 1850 - > military aspect - © Neue Rheinische Zeitung (see 
present edition, vols. 8 and 9) 

overall survey of the elementary knowledge needed in the various 
branches, going into detail only in so far as is necessary to enable 
me to understand and correctly evaluate historical facts of a 
military nature. Hence, e.g. elementary tactics, the theory of 
fortification, from a more or less historical point of view, 
comprising the various systems from Vauban up to the modern 
forts détachés, along with an investigation into field works and 
other matters associated with the engineering branch, e.g. the 
various types of bridge, etc.; further, a general history of military 
science and the changes brought about by the development and 
perfection both of weapons and of the ways in which they are 
employed. Then something really sound on artillery, since I have 
forgotten a great deal and there is much I simply don’t know; also 
other requirements which I can’t think of just now, but which will 
certainly occur to you. 

I would ask you to indicate sources on all these elementary 
matters and this in such a way that I can immediately get hold of 
the things. Indeed, what I would like best of all would be things 
from which I could see, on the one hand, the present general 
average state of individual branches and, on the other, the 
differences existing between the various modern armies. For 
instance, the different construction of field-piece carriages, etc., 
the different methods of sub-dividing and organising divisions, 
army corps, etc. Again I should be particularly interested in 
learning about the organisation of armies, commissariat, hospitals, 
about every aspect of the matériel necessary to any given army. 

From this you will be able to gauge approximately what I need 
and which books you should recommend to me. I would suppose 
that as regards such manuals German military literature contains 
more useful matter than does the French or the English. I need 
hardly say that I am concerned with the knowledge of what is 
practical and really exists rather than with the systems or quirks of 
some unrecognised genius. As regards artillery Bem’s manual” 
would no doubt be the best. - 

Anything I am able to find here on more recent military 
history—earlier periods are of relatively little interest to me and 
I've got old Montecucculi for those—is naturally in French and 
English. Among the latter more especially Lieutenant-General 
William Napier’s history of the Peninsular War—by far the best 

a detached forts -> J. Bem, Erfahrungen tiber die Congrevschen Brand-Raketen... - 
¢ This seems to refer to R. Montecucculi’s main work Memorie della guerra ed istruzione 
d’un generale. 

work of military history I have seen up till now. If you don’t know 
it and are able to get hold of it there, it would be worth your while 
reading it (History of the War in the Peninsula and the South of France, 
6 volumes). I have no German stuff and must certainly obtain 
some; Willisen and Clausewitz immediately spring to mind. What 
do you think of these two, and what is and what is not worth 
reading? Theoretical as well as historical. As soon as I have made 
some progress, I shall mug up properly on the campaigns of 
1848/49, especially the Italian and Hungarian. Do you happen to 
know of a more or less official or otherwise reasonably sober 
account of the Baden affair from the Prussian side? 

In addition can you recommend some good, specialised maps of 
Germany, not too expensive but adequate for the study of the 
campaigns since 1792 (in particular maps of Wurttemberg, 
Bavaria, Austria for 1801-1809, Saxony, Thuringia, Prussia for 
1806/7 and 1813, North-East France for 1814, Lombardy, 
Hungary, Schleswig-Holstein, Belgium). I have the large Stieler’ 
here, which, however, is far from adequate. Though I have here 
battle-plans for the period 1792-1814 in the atlas to Alison’s 
History of Europe’ since the French Revolution, I have discovered 
that several of them are inaccurate. Are there similar collections 
in Germany which, without being too dear, are nevertheless 
reliable? 

Do you know Monsieur Jomini, of whom the French make such 
a fuss? I know of him only through Mr Thiers who, as everyone is 
aware, plagiarised him outrageously.‘ This little Thiers is one of 
the most bare-faced liars in existence; there is not one battle in 
which the relative strengths are correctly given. Since, however, 
Mr Jomini later made off to Russia, it may be supposed that he 
must have had motives for cutting down the exploits de la bravoure 
_frangaise’ to something less than the super-human dimensions 
vouchsafed them by Mr Thiers, according to whom | Frenchman 
always whacks 2 foes. 

Voila a whole heap of questions. I hope, by the way, that the 
present persecution of Jews in Germany will spread no further.*”” 
However, I find Daniels’ arrest disquieting. lt would seem that 
they want to make searches here in order to implicate us; that 
would be no easy mattet, however, and would fail dismally since 
they would find nothing. 

a Stieler’s Handatlas tiber alle Theile der Erde... - > A. Alison, History of Europe from the 
Commencement of the French Revolution... - © A. Thiers, Histoire du Consulat et de 
VEmpire. - 4 exploits of French bravery 

Marx will no doubt be writing to you about the scheme for 
organising from London a lithographic bureau for America.* But 
if this sort of thing is done properly, it rapidly runs into great 
expense here, and most of the American papers are by no means 
sound financially, Lupus is in London and Freiligrath likewise; at 
the beginning of this month I, too, was there for a fortnight.*” 

Since, by all accounts, you will also be arriving here soon, it 
would be best for you to come to some arrangement with one or 
more papers or periodicals to act as correspondent, etc. That sort of 
thing is very profitable in London, though admittedly most of the 
best-paying newspapers are already provided for. Another question 
is what the press is like in Germany just now. 

Capitano Willich continues to live in, on, and with his barracks. 
What do you say to our erecting a magnificent counterpart to it? 

Write soon to your 

F. E. 
Address: 
Ermen & Engels, 
Manchester