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Dying to Learn: Wartime Lessons from the Western Front
In Dying to Learn, Michael Hunzeker develops a novel theory to explain how wartime militaries learn. He focuses on the Western Front, which witnessed three great-power armies struggle to cope with deadlock throughout the First World War, as the British, French, and German armies all pursued the same solutions-assault tactics, combined arms, and elastic defense in depth. By the end of the war, only the German army managed to develop and implement a set of revolutionary offensive, defensive, and combined arms doctrines that in hindsight represented the best way to fight.
Hunzeker identifies three organizational variables that determine how fighting militaries generate new ideas, distinguish good ones from bad ones, and implement the best of them across the entire organization. These factors the degree to which leadership delegates authority on the battlefield; how effectively the organization retains control over soldier and officer training; and whether or not the military possesses an independent doctrinal assessment mechanism.
Through careful study of the British, French, and German experiences in the First World War, Dying to Learn provides a model that shows how a resolute focus on analysis, command, and training can help prepare modern militaries for adapting amidst high-intensity warfare in an age of revolutionary technological change.
Hunzeker identifies three organizational variables that determine how fighting militaries generate new ideas, distinguish good ones from bad ones, and implement the best of them across the entire organization. These factors the degree to which leadership delegates authority on the battlefield; how effectively the organization retains control over soldier and officer training; and whether or not the military possesses an independent doctrinal assessment mechanism.
Through careful study of the British, French, and German experiences in the First World War, Dying to Learn provides a model that shows how a resolute focus on analysis, command, and training can help prepare modern militaries for adapting amidst high-intensity warfare in an age of revolutionary technological change.
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 15, 2021
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 18, 2022
A good read for anyone interested in military learning, effectiveness, or adaptation. The premise- that militaries that recognize tactical realities, generate solutions, and disseminate those new concepts tend to be more effective on the battlefield- is sound. Likewise, Hunzeker's thesis about the organizational factors that best facilitate learning make good sense and are supported by his WWI case studies.
While convincing, the book wasn't exactly a page-turner. The case studies became monotonous as each factor contributing to the learning process and the tactics being perfected was broken down by nation by year. The academic style of categorizing the learning process didn't lend itself to easy reading in the same way that a narrative might. It was tedious.
The policy implications in the concluding chapter were a highlight, ending the book on a practical note. Very much worth the read. 6/10.
While convincing, the book wasn't exactly a page-turner. The case studies became monotonous as each factor contributing to the learning process and the tactics being perfected was broken down by nation by year. The academic style of categorizing the learning process didn't lend itself to easy reading in the same way that a narrative might. It was tedious.
The policy implications in the concluding chapter were a highlight, ending the book on a practical note. Very much worth the read. 6/10.
Displaying 1 of 1 review