The First World War

[Sarmatian]

From what I remember Tolstoy didn't ridicule "German" approach to war, but Napoleon's. Ridicule is actually too strong a word. Napoleon was a perfectionist, true, but his style of warfare involved too much micromanagement, if I'm allowed to use strategy games term. Napoleon tried to control every aspect of the battle, no matter how small or insignificant, while Kutuzov employed more of a "hands off" approach after the initial orders were given. One must also keep in mind that this was all before modern ways of communication existed. So Napoleon would send orders on all sides during the battle constantly but by the time he sees what's happening in a sector, send runners with orders and taking into consideration the time needed for orders to be delivered, situation may change greatly and render that order meaningless. Kutuzov, on the other hand, seemed more relaxed, had trust in the ability of his subordinates and allow battle to take its course, intervening very rarely. Now, I'd disagree with Oleander Ardens, I'd say that Tolstoy's opinion proved correct. For example, what made Wehrmacht so great in the first years of the war was precisely the "hands off" approach. Lower officers were given great training and were trusted to take the initiative when needed, to take into account the situation in front of them and act on it, not to call back to the overall commander and wait for orders what to do. German generals didn't try to control every little skirmish. Instead they've given initial orders and trusted their subordinates to adapt it according the situation, interfering rarely. Of course, modern communication changed all that, giving overall commander better grasp of the situation and allowing him to adapt his strategy in very short amount of time but overall the principle remained the same.

That's my impression of what Tolstoy tried to say, although Tolstoy's theories on war aren't something you'd study if you try to make a career in the army, so it's not really important...