I have always admired the German intellectual & historical approach to war since 1805 and the principles of Auftragstaktik but the appalling inattention to logistics at the operational and strategic level was simply existential martial malpractice.
I have no doubt they mastered a war of movement but Barbarossa proved that once movement ceased and logistics was not optimal, the lack of momentum started to take the edge off the crack units. The defeat of Western Europe in as a rapid a time as they did it was a surprise to most military observers but no one thought the Russian operation would be stymied the way it was.
David Stahel's books make a great case for why logistical immaturity and the mass lack of interoperability on rolling stock would prove fatal.
is that rommel seated at the table?
I don't think so. The officer in question seems a bit young to be Rommel in 1938 or so.
o7
I have always admired the German intellectual & historical approach to war since 1805 and the principles of Auftragstaktik but the appalling inattention to logistics at the operational and strategic level was simply existential martial malpractice.
I have no doubt they mastered a war of movement but Barbarossa proved that once movement ceased and logistics was not optimal, the lack of momentum started to take the edge off the crack units. The defeat of Western Europe in as a rapid a time as they did it was a surprise to most military observers but no one thought the Russian operation would be stymied the way it was.
David Stahel's books make a great case for why logistical immaturity and the mass lack of interoperability on rolling stock would prove fatal.