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7 - Learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2023

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Summary

Despite the Western Front’s reputation for stagnation, the armies there strove for tactical, technological and organisational advantage. Learning was the fourth command task, and the chapter describes both how and what the German army learned about combined arms battle, the key to tactical success. By mid-1916, it had fallen behind the enemy. Evolution of doctrine to remedy this, resistance to it and measures to overcome the resistance. Case study on converting the doctrine into reality by training of command teams and formations.

Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of German combined arms performance in the spring fighting. Different lessons learned and OHL’s more directive approach when updating doctrine to prevent chaos. Positive reputation of the doctrine but important tactical defects persisted. Strong evidence from this period both for and against the German army as a learning organisation: this ambivalence an important cause of uneven success converting learning into improved performance.

Type
Chapter
Information
Holding Out
The German Army and Operational Command in 1917
, pp. 215 - 244
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Learning
  • Tony Cowan
  • Book: Holding Out
  • Online publication: 31 March 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108900553.009
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  • Learning
  • Tony Cowan
  • Book: Holding Out
  • Online publication: 31 March 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108900553.009
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Learning
  • Tony Cowan
  • Book: Holding Out
  • Online publication: 31 March 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108900553.009
Available formats
×