. . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Supported by influential pro-German ministers and army officers, the Army War College was modeled after the Prussian Preu\u00DFische Kriegsakademie, with German officers hired as Oyatoi gaikokujin to provide training. The most prominent of these instructors was Major Klemens W.J. Meckel. He was influential in assisting in the reorganization of the standing army from a garrison-based system into a divisional system. Reporting directly to the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Headquarters, the college specialized initially in teaching tactics, and was regarded as the pinnacle of the Army educational system. For this reason, it accepted only previous graduates of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy who had at least two years (but not more than six years) of field experience as a lieutenant as its students, and who had typically achieved the rank of captain. Each class had from 30-35 students. Learning tended to be by rote memorization, with little encouragement for creative thinking or discussion among the students. The curriculum was a three year course, and was considered a necessary prerequisite for future promotion to a staff rank (i.e. that of general). Each year, the six graduates with the best marks are each awarded with an Army Sword by the Emperor and are collectively known as the Army Sword Club. The college graduated 60 classes before it was abolished following the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II."@en . . . "Supported by influential pro-German ministers and army officers, the Army War College was modeled after the Prussian Preu\u00DFische Kriegsakademie, with German officers hired as Oyatoi gaikokujin to provide training. The most prominent of these instructors was Major Klemens W.J. Meckel. He was influential in assisting in the reorganization of the standing army from a garrison-based system into a divisional system. The college graduated 60 classes before it was abolished following the surrender of Japan at the end of World War II."@en . . "Army War College (Japan)"@en . . .