How Did The Advancement Of Weapons Technology Prior To World War One: Influence The Rapid Evolution Of German Infantry Tactics And Command And Control From 1914 To 1918?

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Text originally published in 2002 under the same title.

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HOW DID THE ADVANCEMENT OF WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY PRIOR TO WORLD WAR ONE INFLUENCE THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF GERMAN INFANTRY TACTICS AND COMMAND AND CONTROL FROM 1914 TO 1918?

by

MAJOR DANIEL T. LATHROP

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

Preface 5

Introduction 6

Background 8

Modern Weapons Technology Development 8

Infantry Rifle 8

The Machinegun 9

Artillery 9

Early Examples of Tactics Development 10

Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) 10

The Matabele and Dervish Wars 11

Boer War 11

Russo-Japanese War. 12

Study and Experimentation 12

Early German Tactics Development 13

Closing the Gap Between Weapons and Tactics 17

Beginning of the War 17

The Great Stalemate 18

Identifying the Problem 19

The Tactical Solution 19

Experimentation 20

Changes in Artillery Tactics 22

Operational Testing 22

The Final Product. 23

Other Considerations 24

Standardization 24

The Defense 24

Doctrine and Organization Changes 25

Decentralized Control 26

Training and Standardization 27

Combined Arms 27

Allies vs. German solutions 28

Summary 30

Conclusions 32

German Ability to Adapt 32

Weapons Versus Tactics 32

Revolution in Military Affairs 33

Modern Examples 34

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 36

Bibliography: 37

PREFACE

Bullets quickly write new tactics.–Wilhelm Balck

The fact that there has been significant evolution in infantry tactics during the past century is taken for granted. Also, it is well documented that the predominant advancements in tactics took place between 1914 and 1918, during World War One, rooted within the German army. However, the cause and effect that initiated this rapid evolution is somewhat unclear. Was this advancement solely due to the inspiration of one or more German commanders of the time? Was this advancement in tactics a Revolution in Military Affairs? Or, was this merely an evolution in tactics resulting from advancements in fire power due to technology improvements in infantry weapons such as the machine gun, infantry rifle, field artillery, etc.

Prior to World War I the German army had studied and toyed with new tactics off and on. By 1914 they were still practicing traditional tactics against the Allies. The use of these tactics against the massive destructive capability of modern weapons available to both sides at the start of the war caused enormous numbers of casualties. The German army, in comparison to the Allies, was limited in numbers of soldiers and material and could not afford to continue to keep up with the high attrition rate. Necessity being the mother of invention, the Germans acted aggressively in finding a way to defeat the advanced firepower that emerged during the war. Through experimentation and training they developed the famous Storm Troops that momentarily broke the deadlock near the end of the war. After World War I these new tactics were taken up by other forces around the world and eventually led to German Blitzkrieg tactics of World War Two.

HOW DID THE ADVANCEMENT IN WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY PRIOR TO WORLD WAR ONE INFLUENCE THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF GERMAN INFANTRY TACTICS AND COMMAND AND CONTROL FROM 1914 TO 1918?

INTRODUCTION

The basics of modern infantry tactics were born on the battlefields of World War I. The seeds of this birth were laid prior to the Great War