The writings of Carl von Clausewitz loom so large in the annals of
military theory that they obscure the substantial contributions of
thinkers who came after him. This is especially true for those
German theorists who wrote during the half century preceding World
War I. However, as Antulio Echevarria argues, although none of
those thinkers approached Clausewitz's stature, they were
nonetheless theorists of considerable vision.
The Kaiser's theorists have long been portrayed as narrow-minded
thinkers rigidly attached to an outmoded way of war, little altered
since Napoleon's time. According to this view, they ignored or
simply failed to understand how industrialization and modernization
had transformed the conduct of war. They seemed unaware of how
numerous advances in technology and weaponry had so increased the
power of the defensive that decisive victory had become virtually
impossible.
But Echevarria disputes this traditional view and convincingly
shows that these theorists--Boguslawski, Goltz, Schlieffen, Hoenig,
and their American and European counterparts-were not the
architects of outmoded theories. In fact, they duly appreciated the
implications of the vast advances in modern weaponry (as well as in
transportation and communications) and set about finding solutions
that would restore offensive maneuver to the battlefield.
Among other things, they underscored the emerging need for
synchronizing concentrated firepower with rapid troop movements, as
well as the necessity of a decentralized command scheme in order to
cope with the greater tempo, lethality, and scope of modern
warfare. In effect, they redefined the essential relations among
the combined arms of infantry, artillery, and cavalry.
Echevarria goes on to suggest that attempts to apply new
military theories and doctrine were uneven due to deficiencies in
training and an overall lack of interest in theory among younger
officers. It is this failure of application, more than the theories
themselves, that are responsible for the ruinous slaughter of World
War I.
General
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