Command culture : officer education in the U.S. Army and the German Armed Forces, 1901-1940, and the consequences for World War II / Jörg Muth.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Muth, Jörg, 1967-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Army--Officers--Training of--History--20th century.

United States.

United States. Army--Recruiting, enlistment, etc--History--20th century.

United States. Army.

Military education--United States--History--20th century.

Military education.

Military education--Germany--History--20th century.

Armed Forces.

History.

Germany--Armed Forces--Officers--Training of--History--20th century.

Germany.

Germany--Armed Forces--Recruiting, enlistment, etc--History--20th century.

Physical Description:

x, 366 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Denton, Tex. : University of North Texas Press, [2011]

Summary:

This study examines the command culture of the US Army officer corps, encompassing the formal culture as taught by military schools as well as the informal culture as reinforced by peers, and compares it to the command culture of the German Army. The men studied were career officers in the regular army, commissioned during or after 1901 but mainly between 1909 and 1925. Most of the American officers studied attended The Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Their German counterparts attended the Kriegsakademie or its substitute institutes between 1912 and 1938. The study focuses on who had access to the schools and which processes men had to follow to continue; it is also concerned with the teaching philosophies of the schools, didactics and pedagogies used, and the attitudes of faculty. The study concludes by examining intermediate professional military education in both armies. The book contains b&w historical photos. Muth holds a PhD in history from the University of Utah. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Contents:

Prelude: Military relations between the United States and Germany and the Great General Staff fantasy

The selection and commissioning of officers

No "brother officers": cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point

"To learn how to die": Kadetten in Germany

Intermediate advanced education and promotion

The importance of doctrine and how to manage: the American command and General Staff school and the overlooked infantry school

The importance of the attack and how to lead: the German Kriegsakademie

Conclusions

Education, culture, and consequences

Author's afterword

Officers' rank index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 317-354) and index.

ISBN:

1574413031

9781574413038

OCLC:

694392539