Lessons of the Great War

Discussions on all aspects of the First World War not covered in the other sections. Hosted by Terry Duncan.
Post Reply
Latze
Member
Posts: 382
Joined: 08 May 2010, 17:55

Lessons of the Great War

#1

Post by Latze » 08 Mar 2017, 15:25

This blog post details the attempts by the British and the German army to record the "lessons learned" during the Great War:
http://cognitive-edge.com/blog/lessons- ... m-history/

It was rather easy to get hold of the "Report of the committee on the lessons of the Great War" as it is in print by The Naval & Military Press. Even more intriguing is the description of the German reports:
The Germans transferred the Military History branch of the General Staff into the Ministry of the Interior (as a way around provisions in the Treaty of Versailles) and set them to work. They published their first analysis in 1919, just after the army was reconstituted, and distributed it throughout the army. This was rapidly followed by reports distributed in 1921 and 1922. These reports concluded that methods developed over the course of the war in assault squad tactics were correct and could be improved by more embedded firepower and transportation. This approach continued to be developed and became the Blitzkrieg of World War II. The German report used specific events as a means of focusing on what worked and what didn’t.
So far I searched in vain for any exemplar of these records. Has any of the gentlemen read them and knows where to get hold of them? Any help much appreciated.

The Ibis
Member
Posts: 417
Joined: 27 Dec 2015, 02:06
Location: The interwebs

Re: Lessons of the Great War

#2

Post by The Ibis » 09 Mar 2017, 17:56

Hi,

Coincidentally, I just read a blog post by Jonathan Boff entitled "When Learning Goes Bad." Its available here: https://defenceindepth.co/2017/03/06/wh ... -goes-bad/ Among other things, Boff states that:
Thirdly, the interwar German army’s prime mechanism for lesson-learning was distorted by official historians pursuing their own agenda. By misrepresenting the process of adaptation in contact during the Third Battle of Ypres they encouraged a fascination with tactical detail which helped distract the Wehrmacht from the strategic and political horrors it was soon to face. Their example reminds us that more history is not necessarily the answer. But better history may be.
That said, you might email him or contact him on Twitter and ask him about the information you seek.
"The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided." - Casey Stengel


Latze
Member
Posts: 382
Joined: 08 May 2010, 17:55

Re: Lessons of the Great War

#3

Post by Latze » 10 Mar 2017, 00:06

Hi Ibis,

even if I am not totally convinced that historians are the ones to blame for the strategic, political and ethical lows reached by the Wehrmacht I'll try to pose my question to Mr Boff. Thank you for the tipp!

best regards
Matt

Post Reply

Return to “First World War”