Julius von Verdy du Vernois

Adrian Friedrich Wilhelm Julius Ludwig von Verdy du Vernois (19 July 1832 – 30 September 1910), often given the short name of Verdy, was a German general and staff officer, chiefly noted both for his military writings and his service on Helmuth von Moltke the Elder's staff during the Franco-Prussian War.

[1] Promoted shortly after this to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, in 1867 Verdy was placed at the head of the intelligence section of the general staff, becoming thereby one of Moltke's principal confidential assistants.

In this capacity he served at the headquarters of the German army throughout the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), and became known as one of Moltke's famed "demigods.

His method may be studied in English translations of his Studies in Troop-leading, and may be summarized as the assumption of an actual military situation on the actual ground, followed by critical discussion of the successive measures that a commander, whether of a brigade, division or larger force, should take in the sequel, given his orders and his knowledge of the general situation.

Moltke's own series of tactical problems, extending from 1859 to 1889, contributed very powerfully, of course, to the education of the selected young officers who passed through Verdy's hands, but Moltke dealt rather with a great number of separate problems, while Verdy developed in detail the successive events and ruling ideas of a whole day's or week's work in the same units.