This is coolbert: In the early 1960's there was a movie entitled, "Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines". A comedy. Was about an airplane race in the early 1900's from London to Paris. Early aviators flying wood, canvas, and baling wire aircraft. Flimsy aircraft flown by brave men.

And each country had it's own entry with a pilot who was a stereotypical example of that respective countries population at the controls of the aircraft. The U.S. entry had a cowboy flying the aircraft. The French entry had a Frenchman who was a romeo romancing the beautiful women. The Italian entry had a Italian who had a family with ten kids and a wife who was always affectionate with her husband. Etc.

And finally the German entry. A group of military men headed by a senior German military officer who did everything in a strict, regimented way. The German ground crew, pilot, and this senior officer did everything in a military manner, marching, one-two-three-four, and everything about flying the airplane by the book, page 1, now, I am starting the engine, page 2, now, I am checking the controls. Etc. This is the way the German pilot, senior officer, and ground crew were portrayed in the movie. As strict, regimented, by the book, only by the book, martinet like [strict disciplinarian]. And of course this portrayal was done in a comedic manner, as this was a comedy. As the movie develops, the trained German pilot falls ill and is replaced by the untrained senior German officer [played by the German actor Gert Froebe], who attempts to fly the aircraft by using the "by the book method". He fails in his attempt, while enduring some comedic episodes along the way, such as referring to the the pages of the book to try to learn how to recover the aircraft when it goes out of control and this senior officer finds himself flying upside down!

This image of the German populace and especially the German military as being regimented, with slavish adherence to rules and regulations and a by-the-book method of doing everything is also an image popular with the media and the general public around the world too. Humorless German officers without any imagination, spontaneity, improvisational ability or initiative.

How did this image correspond to reality during both World Wars. Were the Germans a bunch of mindless, by-the-book martinets lacking qualities necessary to successful modern warfare? NO. Emphatically so! As a matter of fact, it was the opposite. The reader my recall the various quotes from previous blog quotes about waging war by rules. That doing so is to doom one to failure. These quotes by A. Suvorov and U.S. Grant are indicative of this:

"One need only be on one's guard against the bottomless pit of systematic rules." --- Suvorov.

"If men make war in slavish obedience to rules, they will fail."
- General Ulysses S. Grant

And this comment of Suvorov regarding the need for initiative:

"Break through without stopping. The head must not wait for the tail. Commanders of units are not to wait to report, but are to act on their own initiative with speed and judgment."

Now, the German commanders at all echelons, from the highest to the lowest, all realized this. That the plan is the base from which all change is made. Commanders need to be spontaneous, use their imaginations, and learn to improvise and solve problems with flair and intelligence, using their initiative. This initiative must also extend down to the lower ranks too, not just confined to the officers. NO amount of training can prepare the commander and the troops for all the things that may arise on the battlefield. The plan, no matter how well thought out, will not work out exactly as envisioned. For whatever reasons, the situation will develop in an unforeseen manner. When this happens, spontaneity, imagination, exercise of initiative, and improvisation will be paramount characteristics needed for success. NOT adherence to rules and regs and a by-the-book method.

coolbert.