Friedrich Adolf Julius von Bernhardi (1849-1930) was a Prussian general and military historian. Bernhardi was born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, in 1849, although his family immigrated to Schopstal, Silesia in 1851. He was one of the best-selling authors prior to World War I. A militarist, he is perhaps best known for his bellicose book Deutschland und der Nächste Krieg (Germany and the Next War), printed in 1911. He advocated a policy of ruthless aggression and complete disregard of treaties and regarded war as a "divine business". During the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), he was a cavalry lieutenant in the Prussian Army, and at the end of that conflict had the honour of being the first German to ride through the Arc de Triomphe when the Germans entered Paris. He served during World War I as a general. He was awarded the Pour le Merite on 20 August 1916, for his participation in the German defense against the Brusilov Offensive.