Going into the interwar period, the Reichswehr struggled for existence. Coming out of the interwar period, the Reichswehr was as a formidable military force capable of delivering decisive defeats to opposing armies. Murray and Millet credit Germany’s early World War II successes to their decision making immediately following World War I. Germany’s decision to assign General Hons von Seeckt to senior Reichswehr leadership positions (Chief of the General Staff and later as the Commander-in-Chief) facilitated the Reichswehr’s interwar transformation.
Through his innovative ideas, General Seeckt established the groundwork for Germany’s early successes during World War II. First, General Seeckt revamped the Reichswehr’s leadership training
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In 1921, however, General Seeckt shifted focus on observing and inspecting training throughout the Reichswehr. From 1921 through 1925, General Seeckt observed countless individual unit, collective, and combined arms training events. From his annual training observations and unit inspections, the Commander in Chief would publish a document titled, “Observations of the Chief of the Army Command,” which would circulate throughout the officer ranks. In his document, Seeckt would highlight critical observations and provide valuable insights on topics similar to mobile warfare, combining tanks and infantry, and improvising attacks. General Seeckt provided combined arms acumen to his officer corps, which led to an organization consistently improving their understanding and execution of combined arms warfare.
General Seeckt’s ability to garner support for his innovative combined arms doctrine is impressive. In 1926, a US Army COL, A.L. Conger, sent a report to the US War Department explaining the efficacy of General Seeckt’s “Observations” document. COL Conger stated that one German officer informed him that Seeckt’s annual document is the “rule and guide for the year’s work of training.” COL Conger was convinced that the Reichwehr embraced Seeckt’s work and it was evident when he (COL Conger) observed training exercises and witnessed NCOs, officer, and umpires continuously reference to Seeckt’s annual
For training, the author shares the difficult task involved in the training and that went into preparing the American solider for battle in World War I from multiple levels including from Brownies’ perspective. The author gave clear and concise examples to strengthen his claim concerning the overwhelming task of training an inexperienced army. As the Snead explains, “Historians, journalists, and others have written numerous books
One of Currie’s most impressive and important achievements had come during the winter or 1919-17, while he was still a divisional commander. By analyzing the fighting he had witnessed on the Western Front, Currie had drawn up what proved to be a blueprint for tactical success. In a paper, Currie synthesized the best of British and French concepts, and with many of his own beliefs based on personal experience. Under Sir Arthur Currie, the Canadian Corps emerged as an outstanding formation on the ...
Stewart R. W. (2005). American Military History (Vol. 1). The United States Army and the
Weigley, Russel F. History of the United States Army. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1st Edition, 1984.
In order to receive a victory in the Battle of the Bulge, General Patton used Mission Command Analysis in order to understand how he can be successful for this mission. The first thing of understanding t...
Even though German high commanders have received much praise, they relied on the ability of senior German generals. Many commanders lacked ideas for victory and often were indecisive which led to unwillingness of using modern technology and resources to conduct a successful war effort. Commanders had little understanding on what was really needed; many only thought more men would successfully defeat the allied forces, along with an increase in firepower all which strained the troubled home nation. Not only did the war effort rely on the efficiency of the army and armed forces, but it also relied on the homefront. The German homefront felt the brunt of the war and the British naval blockade was not helping.
Cameron, R. S. (2003). The army vision: The 4th AD in world war II. Military Review, 83(6), 59-68
In 1943 the British and American Allies shared a common language and a common enemy, but they disagreed on the war’s grand strategy. (site) These strategic differences culminated in the Sicily Campaign, with Allied command and control exercise by Allied Commander, General Eisenhower, failed to employ the three essential attributes of mission command: commander’s intent, full understanding, and mutual trust among partners, as discussed in General Dempsey’s white paper. These failures in Mission Command also limited the Allies’ ability to effectively integrate the vital joint functions like Fires, Maneuver, and Protection. This essay will evaluate the Allies’ Command and Control and the other vital Joint Functions and expound on General Eisenhower
Warfare was in a state of transition. Older commanders and generals in the French and British militaries were very cavalry and infantry focused. These commanders believed that cavalry, infantry, and artillery would assure victory in any circumstance, against any foe. They clung to the static tactics of the bygone World War I era. World War I had been fought primarily on French soil, and the military as well as the government never wanted that to happen again, therefore they wanted to reinforce their main border against any future German. Little did they know that only twenty two years later they would be bested by German forces in a way that would shock the world. This research will be analyzing many important assumptions, oversights,...
'Nazi Germany ' represented the period from 1933s to 1945s, which played an important role in prosperous German history and the modern European history. After Germany participated in First World War in the first half of the 20th century, the whole society was glutted with unemployment, poverty, hunger, inflation and moral corruption. The public couldn’t feel the republican democracy benefits.
Bibliography Primary Sources J Hite and C Hinton, ‘Weimar and Nazi Germany 2000’. Manchester Guardian Report, 13th April 1933. Franz Von Papen’s Speech at Marburg University, 17th June 1934. Rohm’s Speech to foreign press April 18th 1934. Field von Weich’s account of Hitler’s Speech to the leaders of the SA and most of the senior Reichswehr generals 28th February 1934.
Samuel B. Griffith’s translation of “Sun Tzu: The Art of War” is an inside look at military practices of today. I did not find one technique that is not or would not be utilized in modern military maneuver, leadership, or training. The most astounding fact is that the Art of War was written well over two thousand years ago, even at the most conservative date. Although most of the techniques in this text are already in practice today, the value of “The Art of War” is a never-ending treasure chest of knowledge, and it deserves a place as a required reading for anyone seeking knowledge about war fighting or the history of war.
Zink, Harold. (1957) The United States in Germany, 1944-1955 [online]. Princeton, NJ: D. Van Nostrand [cited 12th September 2011]. Available from:
1984, by George Orwell and The Truman Show, directed by Peter Weir share a common situation where the protagonists’ lives are being monitored with the use of cameras and witnesses. They both find a way to rebel against their current situation later on in their lives. Winston Smith lives in Air Strip One, formally known as London, and works in the Ministry of Truth. His job is to rewrite any form of literature that might go against the Party with a speakwrite. Every day, telescreens, thought police, and people who might snitch on him are watching for suspicious behavior whenever someone does or says anything that the Party won’t allow.
Addington, Larry H., The Blitzkrieg Era and the German General Staff, 1865-1941 (New Jersey, 1971)