JoeArthur
Elder Member
Found this interesting as it reminded me of the German WWII command and control system:
en.wikipedia.org
Training and discipline
Officers and troopers alike were usually given a wide leeway by their superiors in carrying out their orders, so long as the larger objectives of the plan were well served and the orders promptly obeyed. The Mongols thus avoided the pitfalls of overly rigid discipline and micromanagement, which have impeded armed forces throughout history. However, all members had to be unconditionally loyal to each other and to their superiors, and especially to the Khan. If one soldier ran from danger in battle, he and his nine comrades from the same arban would face the death penalty together.
And also the Germans were harsher on deserters during WWII
encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net
The relative moderation of German military justice in World War One came under sharp attack from critics who argued that it was one of the factors that had contributed to Germany’s defeat. Numerous right-wing nationalists, including the prominent General Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937) and the later-to-be-prominent Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), joined in the chorus of those who charged that lax discipline and the virtual elimination of capital punishment had undermined morale and sapped the fighting spirit of the army. As Ludendorff commented in one of his later works:
In total war it becomes necessary to safeguard discipline not only in the fighting units of the Army but also in those units which are at some distance from the enemy and to protect them from the disintegrating influences of malcontents. Discipline in war is even more important than in peace. In the struggle for the life of the nation, sure, swift and inexorable discipline by virtue of special laws is necessary. When, in 1918, owing to the duration of the World War, discipline slackened and cases of desertion became numerous, the German military tribunals failed entirely. Instead of death sentences they inflicted terms of imprisonment which kept the culprit away from the enemy fire he feared, whereas a year before the French military tribunals were doing their moral duty by passing death sentences.[57]
Sterner discipline, it was asserted, would have prevented the internal breakdown that had made it possible for left-wing conspirators to stab the army and the nation in the back. According to this interpretation, deserters, in particular, had constituted a major part of the ranks of the psychopaths, shirkers, and criminal elements who had undermined the war effort and brought about Germany’s defeat. In Mein Kampf Hitler insisted that:
The fact that in the War the death penalty was excluded, that in reality the Articles of War were thus suspended, had terrible consequences. An army of deserters, especially in 1918, poured into the reserve posts and the home towns, and helped to form that great criminal organisation which, after November 7, 1918, we suddenly beheld as the maker of the revolution.[58]
During World War Two, the after-effects of the “November trauma” undoubtedly played a prominent role in encouraging German military judges to impose harsh sentences. While in World War One German military courts imposed 150 death sentences, in World War Two there were 35,000; an estimated 22,000 to 25,000 soldiers were executed. While only eighteen German soldiers were executed for desertion in World War One, around 18,000 suffered this fate in World War Two.
Any thoughts?
Mongol military tactics and organization - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Training and discipline
Officers and troopers alike were usually given a wide leeway by their superiors in carrying out their orders, so long as the larger objectives of the plan were well served and the orders promptly obeyed. The Mongols thus avoided the pitfalls of overly rigid discipline and micromanagement, which have impeded armed forces throughout history. However, all members had to be unconditionally loyal to each other and to their superiors, and especially to the Khan. If one soldier ran from danger in battle, he and his nine comrades from the same arban would face the death penalty together.
And also the Germans were harsher on deserters during WWII
Military Justice | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1)
This essay offers a comparative survey of the practice of military justice among several of the key belligerent powers. Accused soldiers enjoyed little in the way of legal protection, and punishment was generally swift and often harsh. Decisions about the severity of punishment could vary...
encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net
The relative moderation of German military justice in World War One came under sharp attack from critics who argued that it was one of the factors that had contributed to Germany’s defeat. Numerous right-wing nationalists, including the prominent General Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937) and the later-to-be-prominent Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), joined in the chorus of those who charged that lax discipline and the virtual elimination of capital punishment had undermined morale and sapped the fighting spirit of the army. As Ludendorff commented in one of his later works:
In total war it becomes necessary to safeguard discipline not only in the fighting units of the Army but also in those units which are at some distance from the enemy and to protect them from the disintegrating influences of malcontents. Discipline in war is even more important than in peace. In the struggle for the life of the nation, sure, swift and inexorable discipline by virtue of special laws is necessary. When, in 1918, owing to the duration of the World War, discipline slackened and cases of desertion became numerous, the German military tribunals failed entirely. Instead of death sentences they inflicted terms of imprisonment which kept the culprit away from the enemy fire he feared, whereas a year before the French military tribunals were doing their moral duty by passing death sentences.[57]
Sterner discipline, it was asserted, would have prevented the internal breakdown that had made it possible for left-wing conspirators to stab the army and the nation in the back. According to this interpretation, deserters, in particular, had constituted a major part of the ranks of the psychopaths, shirkers, and criminal elements who had undermined the war effort and brought about Germany’s defeat. In Mein Kampf Hitler insisted that:
The fact that in the War the death penalty was excluded, that in reality the Articles of War were thus suspended, had terrible consequences. An army of deserters, especially in 1918, poured into the reserve posts and the home towns, and helped to form that great criminal organisation which, after November 7, 1918, we suddenly beheld as the maker of the revolution.[58]
During World War Two, the after-effects of the “November trauma” undoubtedly played a prominent role in encouraging German military judges to impose harsh sentences. While in World War One German military courts imposed 150 death sentences, in World War Two there were 35,000; an estimated 22,000 to 25,000 soldiers were executed. While only eighteen German soldiers were executed for desertion in World War One, around 18,000 suffered this fate in World War Two.
Any thoughts?
