Chap. 14- The German General Staff Summary and Analysis

The German General Staff goes back to the Prussian military leaders Scharnhorst and Gneisenau and the liberation war against Napoleon. Field-Marshall Moltke wins wars under Bismarck and German is unified. Ludendorff and Hindenburg of the General Staff form a near dictatorship during World War I, after 1916. After World War I, Germany's army is limited to 100,000 men and the General Staff is disbanded. The General Staff after 1933 has problems in adapting to new technologies. They also do not have clear ideas on politics and miss chances to intervene in politics. The General Staff includes the OKH and the OKW (later headed by Gens. Keitel and Jodl). The General Staff is confronted by Germany's position in the center of Europe and the possibility of war on several fronts. They adopt motorized and tank...