The name of the Prussian army reformer Gerhard von Scharnhorst (1755-1813) is firmly connected with the introduction of general conscription. He was at the beginning of an epoch, the possible end of which is one of the much-discussed political issues of our time. However, Scharnhorst's concepts went further and included, among other things, the redesign of officer training, the overcoming of noble privileges in the officer corps and the professionalization of the general staff. In the confrontation with revolutionary France, in accordance with the Stein-Hardenberg reforms and against much resistance, he pursued the goal of modernizing a traditional system. The five-volume edition aims to make Scharnhorst's entire handwritten estate accessible to the general public for the first time. The first volume covers the time neglected in research up to his entry into Prussian service in 1801. Above all, it documents the early foundations of his educational concept and his decisive experiences in the first coalition war against France, which led him to revise the military tradition.