Papers by Martin Klöffler
Schriftenreihe Festungsforum Saarlouis, 2024
The arsenals of 19th century Prussia were store house of weapons either for replacement or in the... more The arsenals of 19th century Prussia were store house of weapons either for replacement or in the case of mobilisation. TThe Landwehr (militia) arsenals were mainly for the infantry reserve whereas the major arsenals for artillery were sited in fortresses. The artillery arsenals were managed by special artillery arsenal staff appointed to officers who were mainly selected from sergeants and corporals of the artillery. The role of arsenals in the campaign of Napoleons is considered as well in the revolution of 1848,
Festungsjournal, 2024
The conquest of french fortress of Bremen by Russian Gen. Tettenborn is taken as a case study of ... more The conquest of french fortress of Bremen by Russian Gen. Tettenborn is taken as a case study of an improvisional siege as compared to classical attack by trenches. The fortress itself had been dismantled about 1800 and was reestablished as an improvisional fortress (place de moment) in summer 1813 to serve as base in the communication between the French fortresses Hamburg and Wesel and to gard some magazines. The very weak garrison was reenforced by a Swiss battalion only three days prior of the attack by Russian patrol corps (Streifkorps) mainly consisting of cavalry. The fortress surrendered due to lack of ammunition and insurrection of German citizens.
transcript Verlag eBooks, Dec 31, 2010
Warum Living History? Historische Museen sind mehr denn je einem Rechtfertigungsdruck ausgesetzt,... more Warum Living History? Historische Museen sind mehr denn je einem Rechtfertigungsdruck ausgesetzt, ihren Erfolg auch in Besucherzahlen nachweisen zu können. Was liegt also näher, als mit Living History (LH) oder Gespielter Geschichte das Publikum in die Museen zu locken, um die Besucherquote zu erhöhen? Jedoch gestaltet sich der Umgang mit dieser Vermittlung nicht so reibungslos, wenn die Living History als Teil des eigenen Programms etabliert oder von außen "zugekauft" werden soll. Auf der Seite der Besucher können wir sicher eine Sehnsucht nach einer anschaulichen Vergangenheit und einfach begreifbaren Geschichten konstatieren: Wer keinen Zugang zu den Museen hat, der verschafft sich einen Zugang über Moderne Medien oder gespielte Geschichte, genauer gesagt, was er dafür hält! Wir haben also die Besucher, bei denen die Living History oft hohe Erwartungen schürt, wie der Erfolg der RetroSoaps wie "Schwarzwaldhaus", "Guthaus 1900" belegt. Ähnliches hoffen Besucher dann besonders in den Freilichtmuseen vorzufinden. Können diese Erwartungen In Museen befriedigt werden? Wohl eher nicht, weil ein Museum mit anderen Formen der Vermittlung arbeiten muß. Panem et circenses? Die Erfahrungen der letzten Jahre haben gezeigt, daß die Living History im musealen Bereich noch ein recht zartes Pflänzchen ist, dem die Anerkennung wie im angelsächsischen Sprachraum als ein möglicher Zugang zur Vermittlung von Geschichte noch versagt geblieben ist. Bisher haben wir häufig eine bunte Mischung von laienhaften, wenig wissenschaftlich fundierten Darstellungen bis hin zu sehr engagierten, qualitätsvollen und professionellen Einzeldarstellungen. Diejenigen Museen, die Living History etablieren wollen, sind bei der Vielzahl der oft wenig seriösen oder professionellen Angebote manchmal überfordert, setzen zuweilen auf das falsche Pferd, weil Qualitätskriterien, finanzielle Mittel oder eigene Erfahrung fehlen. Jeder kennt schließlich die historisierenden Mittelaltermärkte. Schnell fällt dann das Urteil, daß Living History sowieso nicht zu gebrauchen sei. Andrerseits werden die Living-History-Darstellungen gerne als Zugpferd vulgo Cash-Cow für große Publikumsveranstaltungen mißbraucht, und werden folglich weder vom Veranstalter noch von den Akteuren oder vom Besucher entsprechend ernst 04.02.11
Berichte der Bunsengesellschaft für physikalische Chemie, Mar 1, 1982
The mechanism of intermolecular proton transfer AH + A ⇋ A + HA in solution is studied in terms o... more The mechanism of intermolecular proton transfer AH + A ⇋ A + HA in solution is studied in terms of a model in which the motion of the molecule A is treated as a classical random motion while the proton behaves quantum mechanically. The proton moves in a symmetrical double well potential which is stochastically time dependent. The energy splitting due to the coupling of the AH stretching vibration in different molecules is assumed to depend only on the distance between diffusing molecules but not on their relative orientation.—Using a first order perturbation approach the transfer rate is found to be inversely proportional to the diffusion coefficient. The proton transfer rates are calculated for two limiting cases corresponding to a WKB type and a Franck Condon type coupling term.
Zeitschrift für Heereskunde, 2024
What happened before the famous battle of Minden in 1759? The first siege of 1759 by the duke of ... more What happened before the famous battle of Minden in 1759? The first siege of 1759 by the duke of Brunswick is a long-time neglected topic in the seven years war (French-and-Indian War), which is analyzed in detail for the first time. The Marquis de Morangies capitulated after offering only a very weak defense for some days, being besieged by open trenches (attaque en forme, attaque en règle).
Chemie in Unserer Zeit, Feb 1, 1978
Berg- und Passfestungen in Europa, Festungsforschung, No. 14, , 2023
The southern section of the austro-french war of April-May 1809 also took place in the alps of up... more The southern section of the austro-french war of April-May 1809 also took place in the alps of upper Italy. The army of vice roy Beauharnais was pursuing the army of central Austria of archduke John which had to retreat after the lost battles at Danube river. The italo-french army knocked out the Austrian field defenses that were intended to block the passages to Carinthia and Slovenia in a series of vivid attacks. The strength and weaknesses of the blockhouse fortifications are investigated in detail as well as tactics and strategic decisions taken at the defense of the positions.
The 1809 International Research Society Newsletter , 2023
The fortified camp of Laibach (Ljubljana) was the last Austrian stronghold in Italy and Slovenia ... more The fortified camp of Laibach (Ljubljana) was the last Austrian stronghold in Italy and Slovenia in the 1809 spring campaign. The Austrian positions at Malborgeth, Predil, Tarvis and Präwald fell after fierce resistance. The rationals of the fast surrender to the French corps of MacDonald are investigated in this article.
ICA Symposium on the History of Cartography “Surveying Turn” •, 2022
The development of the Reisswitz 1 war game of 1824 is intricately linked to the creation of the ... more The development of the Reisswitz 1 war game of 1824 is intricately linked to the creation of the topographical maps for which the Prussian General Staff under General v. Müffling was responsible. The war games were played by Prussian officers in their free time and were considered "semi-public". Therefore, no records of the conduct of war games are known to date. However, the maps of Prussian territories were subject to secrecy and thus mainly "Kriegsspielpläne" (war game maps) of foreign territories were put on sale by the Prussian General Staff. The 1:8,000 scale of the war game maps was adapted to the token size, which were supposed to represent battalions of infantry in their real extent. The existing printed general staff maps of about 1:100,000 were useless as a template because the re-enlargement could not reproduce the requested topographical details. The war game maps therefore had to be enlarged from existing topographic final sheets at a comparable scale, as could be shown by the example of the "Feldensche Karte" (Felden's Map) for Leipzig, which was redrawn from the captured "Sächsische Meilenblätter" (Saxon mileage sheets) of 1:12,000. A rectification of the created war game maps was not necessary since they had to depict a real terrain only roughly. The "Kriegsspielpläne" 2 (war game maps) form a separate genre within the topographic maps since they were produced exclusively for this purpose and they were never intended for use in the field. They thus formed the forerunners of modern printed topographic maps at scales of 1:5,000 to 1:50,000 which became common since 1868. The knowledge and experience gained from the re-enacted war game come from the preparation, the conversion of the disposition into orders and the inevitable mistakes in the tactical execution. Furthermore, the importance of terrain and map work becomes evident.
Proceedings of the 17th ICA Conference Digital Approaches to Cartographic Heritage, 2023
Schmitt’s 1:57600 scale map of Southwestern Germany is an interesting masterpiece of cartographic... more Schmitt’s 1:57600 scale map of Southwestern Germany is an interesting masterpiece of cartographic history. It was produced twenty months period at the very end of 18th century, covering South Germa-ny to Koblenz, Fulda and Coburg to north and Vorarlberg and Salzburg to south. The georeference of the map product was performed in the frame of MAPIRE, basis of quadratic fit the map mosaic to UTM32N zone. Central and western part of Schmitt’s map follows the Cassini triangulation chains of early 1760s, while the NE part is covered by the supplementary survey of Staržinsky & Sarret (StS), few years before the map completion. We performed the georeference of the StS sketches and it occurred extremely good fit assuming the Cassini grid. The StS survey covers precisely the NE part of the later Schmitt map, connecting Cassini’s Rhine and Danube chains to the „island-like” ones near Bayreuth and Wuerzburg-Coburg. Since Staržinsky was an officer of the Habsburg Generalstabquartier, all of these indirect indications points toward that the StS survey and the earlier Cassini surveys were both applied as the „geodetic basis” of the Schmitt’s map. Knowledge about the applied field technology, however, makes this conclusion a bit controversial. As in the earlier Josephinische Landesaufnahmen, only the graphic triangulation on coupled plane tables was used, which provided sufficient accuracy at smaller distances. It seems that the first Cassini triangulations were integrated into the detailed topo-graphic surveys also along the Main River; for the surveys outside the triangulation network, however, the proven graphic triangulation along the noon lines (meridians) was applied, which is difficult to maintain in intersected and mountainous terrain.
Software-Entwicklung in der Chemie 1, 1987
Das Gmelin-Online-Datensystem ist eine Faktendatenbank fur die anorganische und metallorganische ... more Das Gmelin-Online-Datensystem ist eine Faktendatenbank fur die anorganische und metallorganische Chemie. In die Datenbank werden chemische Strukturen, physikalisch-chemische Daten, Reaktionsund Bildungsdaten, Identifikationsmerkmale von Verbindungen und die Literaturreferenzen aufgenommen. Datenquellen sind die aktuelle chemische Literatur und Gmelins Handbuch der anorganischen Chemie. Die Daten werden dezentral an einem PC mit Programmen fur die Sachverhalte und die Strukturen erfast. Die Bearbeitung der erfasten Daten erfolgt in 3 weiteren Schritten am Host Rechner: 1. Datenaufnahme (Laden und Prufen der Daten), 2. Laden der gepruften Daten in die Pufferdatenbank, 3. Ubernahme in die Verbindungsdatensatze der Produktionsdatenbank. Die komplexen Ablaufe bei der Datenaufnahme machen eine Protokollierung und Uberwachung mit Hilfe eines Prozeskontrollsystems notwendig, das zur Zeit entwickelt wird. Die Produktionsdatenbank kann eingesetzt werden fur den Gmelin-Inhouse-Service, die Weitergabe der Daten an offentliche Hosts (z.B. an „Scientific and Technical Information Network“ (STN), DIALOG) oder fur die Erstellung einer PC-Datenbank (CD-ROM).
Materialien zur Living history, 2020
About table manners in the German speaking countries during the napoleonic era 1790-1820
Book in preparation, 2024
Better to sink into the sea than lose Holland, or The liberation of the Netherlands and the siege... more Better to sink into the sea than lose Holland, or The liberation of the Netherlands and the sieges of the fortresses 1813-14 in Holland, Belgium, and northern France.
The book deals for the first time in a closed form with an almost forgotten aspect of the War of Liberation of 1813-1814: the battle for the fortresses on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, in the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France, before the decision was made in Paris at the end of March 1814. It is thus the sequel to the book "Der vergessene Befreiungskrieg - Belagerte Festungen zwischen Memel und Rhein in den Jahren 1813-1814" by the authors Hemmann and Klöffler. In the introduction, the basics of fortress warfare in the Napo-leonic era and the situation at the end of 1813 are briefly outlined.
The fortresses and forts dealt with include : Antwerp, Arn-hem, Bergen-op-Zoom, Bourtange, Breda, Coevorden, Compiègne, Delfzijl, den Hel-der, Deventer, Doesburg, Gorinchem, Grave, Herzogenbosch, Jülich, La Fère, Maastricht, Maubeuge, Naarden, Soissons, Tournai, Venlo, Zutphen and several small-er fortifications. On the Allied side, the ar-my corps of Bülow, Herzog v. Weimar and Wintzingerode, the newly formed Dutch army, the Swedish army and the British Expeditionary forces took part, opposed on the French side by the Maison, Marmont, Mortier and Macdonald army corps. Many plans, maps and illustrations give a vivid picture of the siege war.
400 pages in German, 220 Illustrations, plans and maps.
Schriftenreihe Festungsforum Saarlouis, Band 5, Saarlouis, pp. 11-58, 2022
The article deals with the contemporary state of knowledge and technology in fabrication, transp... more The article deals with the contemporary state of knowledge and technology in fabrication, transport, laboratory, use and storage of gunpowder in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the awareness and knowledge of the risks involved in handling explosives increased significantly in the first half of the 19th century, serious and spectacular accidents occurred repeatedly even in peacetime.
The introduction of lightning rods eliminated one risk, but the danger of mishandling or other uncontrollable factors were still persisting. In the first half of the 19th century, service regulations were developed in combination with building regulations and the facilities in the magazines. As a result, the handling of powder became considerably safer. Crucial was the move away from the conventional free-standing powder magazines of the Vauban type powder magazines to the hidden casemated powder magazines in the gorge of the outer works in wartime and the relocation to peacetime powder magazines to outer works. It was not until the gradual introduction of modern explosives after 1880 that eliminated the risks associated with storage of loose gunpowder in fortresses. As from that time ammunition was supplied in finished cartridges, delivered ready for use.
During sieges of fortresses, the powder magazines and laboratories were a weak point in the defence, as proven by selected samples. The explosion of the powder magazines by a hit almost always led to the immediate surrender of the fortress. The article also analyses the causes and effects of the explosions and possible contemporary measures to minimize the risks.
Materialien zur Living History, 2022
About domestic servants and their services in German househoulds in the years 1750-1820
Materialien zur Living History, 2022
Contemporary Road construction in Prussia and Hanover about 1800: Layout, Utensils, Organisation,... more Contemporary Road construction in Prussia and Hanover about 1800: Layout, Utensils, Organisation, Workers.
Materialien zur Living History, 2022
Prussian war commissioners in the wars of liberation 1812-1815 - unit formation, duties and uniforms
Napoleon Online, 2008
The recruiting and conscription of Prussian militia and volunteers in the years 1813-15
Uploads
Papers by Martin Klöffler
The book deals for the first time in a closed form with an almost forgotten aspect of the War of Liberation of 1813-1814: the battle for the fortresses on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, in the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France, before the decision was made in Paris at the end of March 1814. It is thus the sequel to the book "Der vergessene Befreiungskrieg - Belagerte Festungen zwischen Memel und Rhein in den Jahren 1813-1814" by the authors Hemmann and Klöffler. In the introduction, the basics of fortress warfare in the Napo-leonic era and the situation at the end of 1813 are briefly outlined.
The fortresses and forts dealt with include : Antwerp, Arn-hem, Bergen-op-Zoom, Bourtange, Breda, Coevorden, Compiègne, Delfzijl, den Hel-der, Deventer, Doesburg, Gorinchem, Grave, Herzogenbosch, Jülich, La Fère, Maastricht, Maubeuge, Naarden, Soissons, Tournai, Venlo, Zutphen and several small-er fortifications. On the Allied side, the ar-my corps of Bülow, Herzog v. Weimar and Wintzingerode, the newly formed Dutch army, the Swedish army and the British Expeditionary forces took part, opposed on the French side by the Maison, Marmont, Mortier and Macdonald army corps. Many plans, maps and illustrations give a vivid picture of the siege war.
400 pages in German, 220 Illustrations, plans and maps.
The introduction of lightning rods eliminated one risk, but the danger of mishandling or other uncontrollable factors were still persisting. In the first half of the 19th century, service regulations were developed in combination with building regulations and the facilities in the magazines. As a result, the handling of powder became considerably safer. Crucial was the move away from the conventional free-standing powder magazines of the Vauban type powder magazines to the hidden casemated powder magazines in the gorge of the outer works in wartime and the relocation to peacetime powder magazines to outer works. It was not until the gradual introduction of modern explosives after 1880 that eliminated the risks associated with storage of loose gunpowder in fortresses. As from that time ammunition was supplied in finished cartridges, delivered ready for use.
During sieges of fortresses, the powder magazines and laboratories were a weak point in the defence, as proven by selected samples. The explosion of the powder magazines by a hit almost always led to the immediate surrender of the fortress. The article also analyses the causes and effects of the explosions and possible contemporary measures to minimize the risks.
The book deals for the first time in a closed form with an almost forgotten aspect of the War of Liberation of 1813-1814: the battle for the fortresses on the left bank of the Lower Rhine, in the Netherlands, Belgium and northern France, before the decision was made in Paris at the end of March 1814. It is thus the sequel to the book "Der vergessene Befreiungskrieg - Belagerte Festungen zwischen Memel und Rhein in den Jahren 1813-1814" by the authors Hemmann and Klöffler. In the introduction, the basics of fortress warfare in the Napo-leonic era and the situation at the end of 1813 are briefly outlined.
The fortresses and forts dealt with include : Antwerp, Arn-hem, Bergen-op-Zoom, Bourtange, Breda, Coevorden, Compiègne, Delfzijl, den Hel-der, Deventer, Doesburg, Gorinchem, Grave, Herzogenbosch, Jülich, La Fère, Maastricht, Maubeuge, Naarden, Soissons, Tournai, Venlo, Zutphen and several small-er fortifications. On the Allied side, the ar-my corps of Bülow, Herzog v. Weimar and Wintzingerode, the newly formed Dutch army, the Swedish army and the British Expeditionary forces took part, opposed on the French side by the Maison, Marmont, Mortier and Macdonald army corps. Many plans, maps and illustrations give a vivid picture of the siege war.
400 pages in German, 220 Illustrations, plans and maps.
The introduction of lightning rods eliminated one risk, but the danger of mishandling or other uncontrollable factors were still persisting. In the first half of the 19th century, service regulations were developed in combination with building regulations and the facilities in the magazines. As a result, the handling of powder became considerably safer. Crucial was the move away from the conventional free-standing powder magazines of the Vauban type powder magazines to the hidden casemated powder magazines in the gorge of the outer works in wartime and the relocation to peacetime powder magazines to outer works. It was not until the gradual introduction of modern explosives after 1880 that eliminated the risks associated with storage of loose gunpowder in fortresses. As from that time ammunition was supplied in finished cartridges, delivered ready for use.
During sieges of fortresses, the powder magazines and laboratories were a weak point in the defence, as proven by selected samples. The explosion of the powder magazines by a hit almost always led to the immediate surrender of the fortress. The article also analyses the causes and effects of the explosions and possible contemporary measures to minimize the risks.
The liberation of the Netherlands and the sieges of the fortresses 1813-14 in Holland, Belgium, and northern France.
Schließlich wird die jahrhundertealte Streitfrage geklärt, ob die Besetzung der zahlreichen Festungen Napoleon mehr genutzt oder geschadet hat.
Der Festungskrieg zwischen Memel und Rhein bietet – bis auf den Minen-krieg – alle Angriffsweisen wie Blocka-de, förmlicher Angriff, Bombardement und Überfall.
Zu den behandelten Befestigungen zäh-len: Czenstochau, Danzig, Dresden und das Festungssystem an der Elbe, Er-furt, Glogau, Glückstadt, Friedrichsort bei Kiel, Hamburg, Hüningen, Kehl und Straßburg, Küstrin, Magdeburg, Mainz, Modlin, Pillau, Rendsburg, Spandau, Stade, Stettin, Thorn, Torgau, Wesel, Wittenberg, Würzburg und Zamoscz. Die Darstellung umfasst auch einige besonders umkämpfte Abschnitte wie die Küsten, die Elblinie und das Elb-sandsteingebirge. Der dargestellte Zeit-raum umfasst das gesamte Jahr 1813 (bezogen auf den Einschließungsbe-ginn) und bei den Befestigungen, die sich bis zum Jahr 1814 hielten, auch den Zeitraum bis zur Übergabe oder Räumung der Festung bis zum Waf-fenstillstand. In vier Kriegstheatern werden die Operationen der Feldar-meen in Zusammenhang mit den Be-festigungen und Belagerungen gestellt. Der Zusammenhang zu den großen Operationen wird in Übersichtskapiteln zu den einzelnen Kriegstheatern im Herzogtum Warschau, in Deutschland, in Dänemark und an der Rheingrenze Frankreichs beleuchtet.
Bei den einzelnen Belagerungen wird die Darstellung gegliedert in: Beschrei-bung der Festung und ihrer Umgebung (inkl. mind. eines Plans / einer Karte), Verteidigungskräfte und -mittel (inkl. Kriegsgliederung), Belagerungskräfte und -mittel (inkl. Kriegsgliederung), Vorereignisse, Belagerungsjournal, Betrachtungen (Verhalten der Belagerer, Verhalten der Belagerten) und Spezialli-teratur. Das umfassende, teilweise erstmals veröffentlichte Bildmaterial zeigt alle wesentlichen Aspekte der geschilderten Einschließungen, aber auch der grundlegenden Belagerungs-techniken.
Part 2: Of Travelling Itself, Locomotion and Obstacles
Part 1: The Travelers and Their Equipage