2. The business of war is subject to constant development. New means of warfare are constantly providing it with new and changing forms. When these forms will come into use must be accurately predicted, their influence correctly assessed and quickly evaluated.
3. The variety of situations in war is limitless. They change often, and suddenly, and are only seldom to be seen in advance. Unpredictable quantities often have a decisive influence. The individual will comes up against the will of the enemy outside its control. Frictions and mistakes are everyday occurrences.
4. The tenets of warfare cannot be exhaustively summarised in the form of regulations. The principles that such regulations provide must be applied as circumstances dictate. Simple action, carried out consistently, is the most certain means to achieve the desired end.
5. War provides the individual with the hardest test of his mental and physical powers of resistance. Therefore, in war, the qualities of character carry more weight than do those of intelligence. Many an individual is outstanding on the battlefield, but would be overlooked in peacetime.
6. The command of armies and troops requires judicious, clear-thinking and foresighted leader personalities, autonomous and firm in decision, persistent and energetic in carrying it through, not over-sensitive to the changing fortunes of war, and with a distinct sense of the high responsibility which rests upon them.
7. The officer is, in all disciplines, a leader and educator. In addition to knowledge of men and a sense of justice, he must be distinguished by superiority in knowledge and experience, moral seriousness, self-control and high courage.
8. The example and the personal behaviour of the officer and of the soldiers used in officer posts have a determining influence on the troops. The officer who in the face of the enemy displays sangfroid, resolution, and daring sweeps the troops along with him. But he must also find the way to the hearts of his subordinates. He must win their confidence by understanding their feelings and thoughts as well as by tirelessly seeking their welfare. Mutual trust is the surest foundation for manly discipline in time of need and danger.
9. Every leader, in all situations, should bring his whole personality into play without fearing the responsibility that is his. Delight in taking responsibility is the noblest quality of leadership. But this is not to be sought in taking arbitrary decisions without regard to the whole picture, or in not meticulously following orders and allowing a nit-picking attitude to take the place of obedience. Autonomy must not become high-handed arbitrariness. On the other hand, autonomy properly exercised, and within proper limits, is the basis for great success.
10. Despite technology, the value of the man is the deciding factor; scattered fighting has made it more significant. The emptiness of the battlefield demands those fighters who can think and act for themselves, those who exploit every situation in a considered, decisive and bold manner, those full of the conviction that success is the responsibility of every man. Inurement to physical effort, to self-regard, willpower, self-confidence and daring enable the man to become master of the most serious situations.
11. The value of the leader and the man determines the combat value of the troops, which finds its complement in the quality, care and maintenance of weapons and equipment. Superior combat value can compensate for numerical inferiority. The greater the combat value, the more powerful and mobile the warfare that can be waged. Superior leadership and superior combat value are reliable foundations for victory.
12. The leaders must live their lives with their troops and share in their dangers and privations, their joys and sorrows. Only then can they come through their own experience to a judgement of the combat value and the needs of their troops. The man is not only responsible for himself, but also for his comrades. Anyone who can do more, who is more capable, must guide and lead those who are less experienced and weaker. On such a foundation there grows the sense of true comradeship, which is as important between leader and man as it is within the unit.
13. A unit that has been brought together only superficially, not through lengthy work of instruction and training, easily fails at serious moments and under the pressure of unexpected events. Therefore, from the beginning of the war, the need to promote and maintain the inner firmness and the manly discipline of the troops, as well as to train them, has been regarded as being of decisive importance. Every leader is obliged to intervene with every means, even the most severe, against any slackening of manly discipline, against acts of violence, plundering, panic and other harmful influences. Manly discipline is the cornerstone of the Army, and to uphold it strictly benefits all.
14. The strength of the troops must be kept fresh to meet the greatest demands in decisive moments. Anyone who exerts the troops unnecessarily sins against success. The use of forces in combat must be proportionate to the desired goal. Impossible demands damage the spirit of the troops and their confidence in their leadership.
15. From the youngest soldier upwards, men must everywhere be encouraged to bring to bear, of their own accord, their entire mental, spiritual and physical strength. Only in this way will the full potential of the troops be brought out to the full in consistent action. Only then will men grow up who, even in the hour of danger, will keep courage and resolution and sweep their weaker comrades along with them to bold deeds. Thus resolute action remains the first requirement in war. Everyone, from the highest commander to the youngest soldier, must always be conscious that omission and negligence will place a greater burden on him than mistakes in the choice of weapons.
I have not yet mentioned the marching songs, and other songs that played a significant part in my training period. The character of the soldier’s song had changed. Certainly there was still in use a series of songs that the German Army had sung in the First World War. Those were to be sung as Volkslieder in a march rhythm. But in the period between the wars, and through the Hitler Youth, new songs had come along and, above all, many songs were sung ‘more snappily’. Most comrades, however, did not like that way of singing, and that also expressed itself in the choice of songs. In the Dresden War College we had caused something of a sensation, because our group, with its many Gebirgsjäger, used to sing some Austrian soldiers’ songs. Our favourite was the Südtirolerlied with its completely un-Prussian yodel at the end of the verse. Die blauen Dragoner, sie reiten, Ein Heller und ein Batzen, Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss, Es klappert der Huf am Stege, Ich bin ein freier Wildbretschütz, Jetzt kommen die lustigen Tage, Weit ist der Weg ins Heimatland, Wer recht in Freuden wandern will, are a few of those songs. I particularly liked Es klappert der Huf am Stege.
True, we were not cavalrymen, but it matched our youthful spirit when it said, ‘We ride and ride and sing, in our hearts the bitterest distress. Longing seeks to conquer us, but we ride longing down’. In the final verse, ‘We ride and ride and hear already the battle afar. Lord, let us be strong in the battle, then our life will be accomplished!’ Of the songs that were sung in our room in the evening I will mention Heilig Vaterland, Du voll Unendlichkeit, Kein schooner Land in dieser Zeit, or ‘Nothing can rob us of love and faith in our land, to preserve it and to form it is what we are sent to do. Should we die, then to our heirs will fall the duty of preserving and forming it. Germany will never die’.
‘Belief in Germany’ was the title of a well-known and much read book from the First World War. Belief in Germany had seized us all, whichever Germany that meant. It also played a part in the letter that Uncle Erich’s battalion commander had written to Aunt Anneliese after Erich had been killed in action. The letter was doing the rounds of the family. Erich’s death touched us all to the quick. We were glad, that as a fanatical National Socialist, who had left the church, he had still become reconciled with my Father. It moved me deeply and I wrote home about it. In February, in a large parcel from Aunt Anneliese with apples and other things, I received a tin of marmalade that had been meant for Erich. It had already been to Russia, but was too late to reach its recipient.