{"title":"Clausewitz and the Personality Characteristics of the Battlefield Commander in British and German Military Doctrine, 1918–1941","authors":"M. Samuels","doi":"10.1177/09683445221084141","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Even after the First World War, the British and German armies remained strongly influenced by Clausewitz, for whom personality rather than mass was the best means to reduce friction. This article explores how this was reflected in their military doctrine between the two world wars. The German regulations showed a clear alignment with Clausewitz's thinking. The British tended to focus on the characteristics Clausewitz had argued were necessary for the troops, rather than for their commanders. The campaigns of 1939/40 caused the Germans to place even greater emphasis on boldness, while the British focused on steadiness and caution.","PeriodicalId":44606,"journal":{"name":"War in History","volume":"30 1","pages":"122 - 143"},"PeriodicalIF":0.2000,"publicationDate":"2022-05-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"War in History","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09683445221084141","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HISTORY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Even after the First World War, the British and German armies remained strongly influenced by Clausewitz, for whom personality rather than mass was the best means to reduce friction. This article explores how this was reflected in their military doctrine between the two world wars. The German regulations showed a clear alignment with Clausewitz's thinking. The British tended to focus on the characteristics Clausewitz had argued were necessary for the troops, rather than for their commanders. The campaigns of 1939/40 caused the Germans to place even greater emphasis on boldness, while the British focused on steadiness and caution.
期刊介绍:
War in History journal takes the view that military history should be integrated into a broader definition of history, and benefits from the insights provided by other approaches to history. Recognising that the study of war is more than simply the study of conflict, War in History embraces war in all its aspects: > Economic > Social > Political > Military Articles include the study of naval forces, maritime power and air forces, as well as more narrowly defined military matters. There is no restriction as to period: the journal is as receptive to the study of classical or feudal warfare as to Napoleonic. This journal provides you with a continuous update on war in history over many historical periods.