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This is
historical influence
in U.S.
22a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE
Marianne P. Cowling
717) 245 3001
_l A,, r
are those of the author and do not necessarily
reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the
Department
 
Studies
- Barracks,
242-3911.
,Olo
01#
V:
the
draft
Chapter 4. Effects and
 
extraordinary manuscript
analyses of
charged with
Christian Millotat,
study
contemporary
of successive
little known aspect of
German Army,
in U.S.
Millotat's essay as a contribution to an
improved
understanding
The men in their
with the
militarists,"
"the
alternately fascinated and repelled Americans; such interest
has, if anything, intensified
since German unification in
Europe
of the past
Millotat, a colonel of the Bundeswehr, a graduate of
the U.S.
in the
German military
matters with
more insight
and brevity
Prussian-German staff and its legacy in the Bundeswehr.
The U.S.
its very
to the
of professionalism and
lot
of
the
post-Civil
1870s until such figures
as Truman Smith and Albert Wedemeyer in the epoch of the
World
Wars,
U.S.
of German military institutions that
had a profound
and
permanent community
this development occurred
with the cataclysmic
and
perhaps
Berlin Blockade in 1948-50 and the Korean War and extends
into the post-1989
during the
Korean War to arm the Federal Republic of Germany and to
station a large
the new Federal Republic of Germany ushered in our decades
of cooperation
the
interpretation for
1945 has
dimensions of
German ideals
philosophy
of
of
the
early
institutional
flourished
as
in today's
viii
deepen
following
remarkable
statement:
of historical
Armed
Forces
(Truppenfuehrung)
regulation, for the first time, a concise paragraph which
explains the functions
necessary, they urge the commander to decide and act. Their
thinking and
leading
Prussian-German General
Staff officers were not neglected,
but never given the depth of research and attention as to
its
micro aspects. To date, there is no publication that analyzes
the characteristics of the General. Staff officers of the
Bundeswehr
and the current
revolutionary developments in Eastern Europe
and in
situation and to
necessary for two important reasons. First, Germany will stay
in NATO. German General
for allied
subordinates.
allied forces
multinational corps made up of
national units.
officers,
their
faces
way into the
of its roots and
them is
will only be
a
transformed
that the
right; there
threads of
after World
every German Staff
banned the
Great General
General
der
program for
revived.
The
Marie-Joseph
Prussian-German
organization
and
some
General Staff
General Staff
Bundeswehr,
founded Army
Tradition obliges... when I am to reopen today.. .the recreated
Heeresakademie ....
We
German military
the values
was
postwar
veils
General
Brandt, summarized
General
Staff
established a direct link between the present and the past:
Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Clausewitz created the
General Staff
General Staff
exemplary
in the Bundeswehr,
that is in charge of
the strategic
of
the Generalinspekteur der Bundeswehr, is not a Chief of the
General Staff vested with the
classical General
the
conduct
of
function of a technical department
for military
headquarters of
Army,
Air
Force
and
Navy
8
the
supreme
military
adviser to the
the
included in the
forces, he
the overall concept of the Bundeswehr. His planning
responsibility
organization, command and control, education, training, and
equipment
political parameters.
the Federal Republic of Germany is developed, there are no
divisions consisting
officers. The Federal Republic of Germany is the only NATO
country which in
war,
relinquishes
operational
command over all combat units of her armed forces and a
number of major formations of the
Territorial Army
the
not involved in operational
German General Staffs. As far as strategic-operational
planning is concerned,
and
approval
plans for
the defense of German territory. This is again classic General
Staff
of
the
former
Republic cannot be
assigned to NATO in time of peace as long as Soviet forces
are stationed
a national endeavor.
the established divisions of
19
The
1959. According to this directive, General Staff officer service
9
Admiral Staff officer position. These
positions are specifically
training
obtain
Staff
Generalstab,
or
Size of the Service.
of
a
captain,
Chief
of Staff of a Corps, do not bear the i.G. after the
rank.
special insignia:
the
description
reads, "Dull grey
embroidery, stitched by hand, on a crimson underground, 2 x
11 small
prongs on
underlay."
2
wear
and do not add
special insignia
in the
German
served in the Bundeswehr
26,102 regular
line officers
Staff
temporarily
assigned
Staff positions.
A subdivision
time: with its
General
Staff posts. The Navy has 3,337 officers, with 188 posts for
Admiral
hundred
Twenty
percent
of
*
G3,
who
Wehrmacht's
Chief of Staff.
the
Wehrmacht
combined arms battle.
G4.
11
General
the G1 G2, G2 Ops, the G3, G3 Planning and
Exercises, the G3
division
and
corps
only
to General Staff officers. At the beginning of the 1980s, for
example, 40
of the
202 German
generals and
admirals were
not specifically
in field grade
Armed Forces
(Heeresakademie) and
moved to Hamburg in 1958 where it became the Federal
Armed Forces
general
and
admiral
staff
duty in the Army, Air Force and Navy. In 1974, the Academy
was
given
officers of
as well
Staff
lieutenants
of
3 1/2-month Field Grade
According to regulations, every career officer must
successfully
complete this course before he can be promoted
to the rank of major or lieutenant commander. The Field Grade
Officer
Selection
single
for
concludes an
Second, the Staff Officer Courses are the next phase of
Advanced Officer training and education. All career officers
who have
and
are
the 24-month General and
results in he
Training
Program
which
they
officer. It is
controlled and administered
by the division
staff
work
staff area. After
The third training
phase is designed
to prepare field
Armed Forces and NATO. A number
of
these
the Federal Ministry of
governmental agencies.
courses,
are
offered.
and General
and
Admiral
task is the conviction
knowledge and by military
Fuehrungsakademie is governed
goals,
every
year
a 10-month Army General Staff Officer Course for officers from
ncn-NATO countries. In1986,
of the Army
and
Admiral
the most important
to one course
captain's rank. An Army,
and Admiral
Staff officers
entire course, the two categories continuously alternate in
terms conduct
programs conducted at the Academy. There are about 130
military
and
fulfill tasks in
in
peacetime,
and integrated NATO
brigade
functional
areas.
27
on the required
instructional process are established by examinations and are
taken into consideration in the assessment of contributions in
the final evaluation by
training abroad at staff colleges
of a variety of NATO and
non-NATO countries.
only once, and
Admiral Staff training is
Forces
relatively
young
which
British and Canadian officers, for example, do not receive
training equivalent to that of
the
28
When
on the average, 6 to 7 years
older
Admiral Staff
officers in their early thirties already are trained
to think and act at the operational and strategic m ilitary-politico
levels.
18
division or
command in the air force
and navy, in the Federal Ministry of Defense, or in a NATO
headquarters. After an
functional area for
which he is
especially suited. This
managed by
without General
and Admiral
Adviser.
officers
responsibilities
for
this
General
other
the General
work.
commander
commander's
attention.
The
General
Staff
makes him stand out
staff
officers
give
matters. He
to make a
decision, and the
General
is
responsibility
because
relevance of
his advice.
the individual
contributions. The
has been made,
The
are
description of his relationship with his first General Staff officer,
General of
War I.
with General
outside observer
relationship.
Thoughts
and
actions
of
the
subject
pointing
out
that
before
The
when the
it; they
evening
of
this
marriage the two
20
of
on this fusion of
order bears
commander always issues his orders through
his Chief of
himself to his
3 2
At higher
officer,
Chief
General Staff officers, howe ver, cooperate
with their respective
officer is
subordinates
The superior
subordinates-when
General Staff officer who has
had
superior, who, in turn, is obligated to
listen prior
decision. This is not always very easy for commanders. Thus,
the German
for strong Chiefs of Staff to
dominate weak superiors.
Staff
system
would not
staffs often
Such behavior
Even the French General Staff system does not provide for
a jointly responsible adviser. In his Reflexions sur I'art de la
21
officers who take
feeding resources
directs all supply
staff system
functions
which
General Staff Officers.
The traits fostered
judgment,
objectivity
and
Staff
to call together the
These
meetings
ensure
that
method
subordinate com mander freedom
depending on
accomplished. The superior
clear
from that,
the
realization
to developments
in the
freedom of
allies,
the
beginnings
Function Overrides Rank.
weighs
heavier
than
the
rank.
In
both
Army, lower-rank officers
practice
higher-paid slot, or as
position.
39
This
24
At
the illustration of
commander's adviser. This chapter
General Staff has gone through various changes
of meaning. In the 16th century, it described a group of
top-ranking generals. King Frederick
Chief of Staff because officers functioning as advisers did not
exist
military office directed
by the Chief
interfered
of command and control. Marshal Berthier, his Chief of the
General Staff
for many
years, was
and
control
activities.
roots of the Prussian-
German General Staff system do not go back to Frederick the
Great
been falsely
Prussian-German General Staff
of
a
former
noncommissioned
school of
applied
Frederick
affairs that
refined by Napoleon.
advantage for the
for
Napoleon's
military
genius.
times of the
reorganized
in
1803.
General
on the
staff's
developed
sufficiently.
the Prussian
German
armies
and
and
control.
created. It
same
time
the
to give up his position
as
a
Staff. In 1807 King Frederick
Wilhelm
the
Military Reorganization
Commission to reestablish Prussia's Army and to clear it of the
officers who had failed in he 1806 campaign. He
was
assisted
or colonel
rank, 3
General Staff consisted
wartime
43
young, studious officers that had surrounded him. Among
them
time. After
supposed to
University that
for
their
officer's
school was to be
objective of the General
Although
the
training
assignments,
School
50 officers
who first
examination. From
1819 the
higher and
future General Staff officers. The number of officers registered
for training every year was reduced to 40, and
the
were taught in the form of lectures as in a university. For 3
years, the lectures were held from October 15 to July 15 of the
respective
On October 1, 1859, the General War School
was renamed
Academy was
management
directorate responsible for
disciplinary affairs, and
work
this assignment. Being
influence
precursor to the
in Prussia
officers
the reformers that officer
trained candidates, from educated
merit alone
were accepted
important
historic
history of the
control
by
He conceded
to General
matters
henceforth became
was
an
when they
of Army, General of the
30
will be argued later in this essay. The responsibility
for the
thus
giving
achievement.
This
enabled
commanders
provided that
the Prussian General
of
General Ruehle von Lilienstern, the Prussian King separated
the General Staff
from the Ministry
all General
The General Staff officers
General
Staff,"
unit
staffs
were
have been retained to
aim to open up the top army careers to all
scientifically trained officers
Prussian
Army at a time when the concept of selection based on merit
had not gained
officers. For instance,
General von Clausewitz's
his
brothers
Field Marshal
King
nevertheless
and bestowed
who was the
to
Staff from 1848 to
1857 was a shepherd
was later
This
roots of
Germany,
the higher status
former times. In the
through the same selective procedure to become a General
Staff
officer.
Prussia and, after 1871,
the end,
strategic
planning;
rather,
they
were
informed
about
them.
came about.
Field Marshal Count
Hannover
20
years
von
regulations
Wrangel, first had similar
dignity
to
course
of
the
campaign
and
swiftly and concentrate
June 2, 1866, King
right
to
issue
of the General
War
Minister
about
1864 War,
simply insufficient.
There were
conclusion of the
provided
of the
General Staff
Staff,
Staff officers of
posted
officers were contrasted by
a peacetime budget, which
armies.
The phenomenon
organizational and economic affairs.
matters of
military interest
at home
and abroad,
"additional budget for
advanced to the battlefield with the Great
Headquarters. The
Bronsart von Schellendorf, the political division
by Lieutenant
Colonel von Verdy du Vernois, and the railroad division by
Lieutenant
General Staff
called Moltke's
the French Emperor Napoleon III at Sedan and by breaking
the
French
armies
which
to
the
advantage
24, 1883 placed
and the
Military Cabinet.
He was granted the right to contact the sovereign directly and
to
present
his
statements.
5
8
Moltke
heroizing of
together
Otto
Count
and the Federal
Army, 15 of the Saxonian Army and 7 from the
Wuerttemberg
Staff officers.
Chief
of
the
General
He
occupied
the post for only 3 years and had to resign due
to
disagreements
Cavalry, Count Alfred von
of the
command, the
Prussian-German General
Staff system
59
Schlieffen's ideas
its
General
Towards
Professional
General
Academy was
the War
Everything was
and scientific way. Some
of the lecturers did it brilliantly and in a fascinatingly ingenious
manner, others, however, in as dry as dust, sometimes even
sickening fashion. Besides a ew exceptions the training was of no
practical use
tree remained
they themselves
6
of lectures per
classical
Military Education and
duties.
to
become
General
examination. From hundreds,
year and went through
At
the
their second examination. Only
and final examination.
which did not
line service. The
the
advanced
retirement
age
to take
body of basic ideas
General and Admiral
General Staff
Academy. The
a
great
Staff, most of them were holding
the rank of a captain; first lieutenants were the exception and
required 3 years of commissioned service
with
the
troops.
Then,
Staff
army
corps
General Staff officer was usually
posted
Academy did not rule out a
later
without academy
such
as
Field
1959 which offers the
officers
examination
a sufficient
a more
level for which they
too
much
continuous criticism.
established its own War
Academy and retained General
the foundation
of
others
were
The officers corps
of the army
of the German
Empire had a
being General
mission-oriented
command
year 1914
crimson pipings or trouser
stripes and a crimson
day.
6
5
The
emancipation
which had
led to
an uneasy
40
process.
of political
intercourse, with
different
.... war
cannot
many
elements
have
General
of
of World War
the Supreme
Army Command
6
9
General
Supreme Army Command.
Any other consequences
that
the
ranks:
Lieutenant
German armies in the
paralyzed the
Staff
must
Staff and
only
organizations
able
to
bring
back
Council
of
General
army back
Democrats
around
Friedrich
Ebert
and the
subordinate to the Reichswehr Minister,
who,
in
Chief
der
Minister
Command, General-Colonel
the
victorious powers the Great General Staff in the Armed Forces
Office of the Reichswehr
(Truppenamt)
Staff. From 1919
to 1920 it
Army
in the Armed
the
were dispersed among the civil ministries. The Topographical
Section, for example,
Railway Section to the Ministry of Transport, and the Military
History Section disappeared into the
new Imperial Archives
on
October
General von Seeckt showed that the General Staff Corps of
the Reichswehr
expect every General Staff officer to ensure that by unremitting
effort he acquires
the highest possible
degree of military
an
exemplary,
.must stand above parties
our hands
new generation officers: Every Reichwehr officer had to take
part in
military district
then underwent a 2-year training course for commander's
staff officers" (Fuehrerstabsoffiziere) in the group commands.
In this way
compensate for the lost centralized training facility of the War
Academy. In he third ysar of training, the officers attended an
obligatory training course in Berlin. Applied tactics was
regarded as the most important
subject
The objective
Army
General
Quartermasters.
In
1939
had proved
Halder, explicitly dropped
the joint responsibility
the new manual
for the General
responsible
externally
and
deal
with
the
problems
himself.
Staff
channel
was
thus
reasonably
(Oberkommando
der
collar patches on crimson cloth. The
Navy did not introduce
the Chief of
Wehrmacht operations staff,
responsible General
Staff officer.
He and
other officers
took the
view that,
in the
staff in
in
effect
of
Scharnhorst's
major address was given
Scharnhorst as the founder of
the German
revival of
enthusiastically stressed throughout Blomberg's
the objectives of
differences
Scharnhorst
and
Hitler's
the Fuehrer State" in
out on
too, that
activity on
a scientific
or carry
War
schools.
to a "probationary period"
(Probezeit) of up to 18 months in a General Staff appointment.
When this was successfully
completed the candidates were
quick
in
General
Staff
and France,
the successful operations to
increasingly interfered in the command and control
of the
remained responsible for
responsible for the
serious
rivalry
Army
General
of the
General Staff
but over
in war. The
Wehrmacht High Command never assumed the role of a joint
command
over
the
functioning
Wehrmacht
General
and
Admiral
Staff.
Many
General
assassination against
Hitler on
whole families or executions by shooting or
hanging,
which
of
the
49
arrested. The
79
heritage.
50
Bundeswehr, General Brandt,
training derives from
tasks,
which,
in
years ago.
1919 after taking
still valid today:
The form changes, the spirit remains the same. It is the spirit of
silent, unselfish performance of
past
and
contemporary
history of German General Staff officers ina more precise way.
The far-reaching political and educational
approach
of
and military power rule out the politically
insensitive
General
Staff
performance-oriented selection procedures for General Staff
officers were
effective from the beginning of the 19th century,
at a time when the leading positions in the armed forces and
the civil service were
and birth. In
51
of officers who developed
Helmut von Moltke,
Their
development
antecedents, which
and
Army
Regulation
HDv
perceptible
in
many passages
taken almost
examples
and control of the
military
history
was
first
Paragraph
based on
his successors:
must always
keep in
as
commanders and subordinates and
are
postulated
as
the
bonds
commander's
fundamental
operating
*
the
allocation of forces in the enemy's flanks and rear, on
deployment and reconnaissance,
operations,
Schlieffen's operational concepts. They can be read in
his writings which include
Army
Command
"Defense in Position Warfare"
views
that
are
still
valid
today.
8
6
of
military
past.
wars
on the
tradition
and heritage
he can be proud of, and which affects his everyday military life
53
preserve
Officer Training.
the
together with
behavior at the
Wandel),
Minister of Defense" created
to reduce
Bundeswehr
General and Admiral Staff o fficer training to 5-12 months. The
Commission was
supported by
General
that
reduced quality
of the
Admiral Staff officers would have possibly caused a loss of
German influence
appointments
allied
comrades-in-arms.
available on how professional
Atlantic Alliance; nor
been
established
profound effect on the
Federal Armed Forces. The
cooperation with fellow soldiers
given many Bundeswehr officers stability in times of
uncertainty and crisis of their self-image.
Above all, it has
Staff officers have
ideas
tactical-operational
opinions
as
well
as
have been jeopardized by less qualified German General Staff
officers in the NATO headquarters.
88
General and Admiral
deal with
both technical
the German officer
volatile
to now
in the
East-West confrontation
difficult enough for
Armed
55
Federal
American
security
architecture
are
still
tasked the military
which is to reflect force reductions which agreed upon at
the
Conference
on
November
Region. In view of these developments, the challenges
to
so in
adviser"
must take pains to analyze and actively reevaluate the shifting
security-political
education and
of many
Bundeswehr officers
General Staff service frequently
Staff officers are employed as superiors of older staff officers.
One often meets with
the opinion that young
Staff
"commander's
advisers."
This
can
only
be
successful
if
they
officer, however, is not
can only teach him how
to
train
preparatory assignments
demanding
If-educational
process.
Critical
observers
group
officers
themselves,
they
on qualified
officers
training learn
benefit.
decision on
the concept of operations.
This is his most important
task. It is felt that many
allied armed
advice, olily
Every insider knows
more than ever before on advice and proposals
made
too complex to be handled by the leader on the
top alone. In this Ilght it seems to be an archaic facade if one
maintains
that
other
can benefit
procedures of those
headquarters.
Netherlands, a mixture
the
60
considered
because
to
come
recommended
that
this
before
implementation
begins.
General Staff
early in
in
than many of
their allied comrades-in-arms
before these are
trained to think
and work at
of
1,200 General
and have proved
to reach high positions
experience
with
end of this evaluation the question is asked, as so
often before, whether the Prussian-German General
Staff
leads back to
may well be
(General Staff)
System is
attempts to imitate the system were often doomed to failure
because
redefined
62
fur den
German
writings
that
the
Geschichte des deutschen
Generalstabs, in the following quoted as Goerlitz, Generalstab, Berlin 1967,
p.
441f.
9.
See
Charakterwaesche, Stuttgart:
p.
43 .
- Hamburg:
Das Urteil von Nuernberg
Soldaten,
Plaedoyers
vor
alliierten
Manstein's contribution see, Siegfried
5f.
9-12. See
also Hansgeorg
Model/Prause,
Goerlitz, Generalstab,
p. 97.
United
continue the
the times
of the
Prussian
the
up-to-dateness
of
their
inspirations,
See
also
the
Nipperdey, Deutsche
Geschichte 1800-1866,
Fuehrungsakademie
the
Bonn, 1985, pp.
165-171. A still
interesting, if outdated
the
Federal
Mann's Das Bundesministerium
Germany has agreed not to deploy
foreign troops on former
September 1959. General Heusinger was the first Chief
of Staff, Federal
See
ZDv37/1
Division 1982," Bonn, 1982.
General Staff?" pp. 16-26.
Fuehrungsakademie
12, 1990.
of NATO
Ausbildung
der
of American
and reforms
was the
War Academy see
"educated middle class"
Grafen von
pp. 48-53.
51. See
Wilhelm Ritter
falsification of nobility see
und Kriegshandwerk, Four
Volumes, Muenchen, 1970.
War,
General Staff, pp. 15-18.
56.
and,
Dupuy,
of Moltke
see Franz
58. Text of
the "Ordre" see
Wiegand Schmidt-Richberg, Die
Generalstaebe in Deutschland
War Igeneration
Wallach,
Count von Schlieffen:
60. For a critical appreciation of the university-like General Staff
training before 1870, see General der Artillerie Prinz Kraft zu
Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen,
the
training after 1870 and the first assignments as a young
General Staff
Mein
militaerischer
Werdegang,
63. For the
Umbruch, Leben und Wirken von Generaloberst Franz Halder,
Generalstabschef 1938-1942
pp. 88-105.
64. For the number of General Staff officers in the Imperial German
Army (Reichsheer) at the
18.
the
des
65.
See
119ff.
76.
in the "Third Reich" see Goerlitz, General Staff, pp. 420-421.
78. General
anniversary
of
der Kriegskunst, published by
Dr. Inho Krumpelt, Berlin-Frankfurt
and Rosinski, The German Army, p. 294ff; on General Colonel
Beck's opinions
and, Goerlitz,
derBundeswehr, Bonn: 1982.
81. General der
Die grossen
in
Krumpelt,
pp.
211-252.
85. For the regu lations Der Angriff im Stellungskrieg and Die Abwehr
im Stellungskrieg see, The Documents of the Supreme Army
Command on
Ludendorff,
also contain further regulations
elaborated on General Ludendorff's
order in 1917 and
the Federal
General
Staff
meeting in
Fuehrungsakademie
Command
and Staff College, and a .991 graduate of the U.S.
Army
include G3 and
Korps
Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey,
California. He is the author of the book, Reforging the t n
Cross: The Search for Tradition in
the German Armed Forces,
1988.
75