Forging the king's sword

The Royal Prussian Cadet Corps produced the élite of Prussia's and Germany's officers throughout its 250 year existence. Using a massive biographical database of its graduates, this unique study analyzes the education and socialization process in the school system during the Wilhelmine period. Moncure traces the conflict among the desire to maintain social cohesion in the aristocratic officer corps, the demands of the growing middle class, and the dictates of military competition in Europe. He offers insights into the attempts at resolution and the effects of the institution on the officer corps it produced.