Surprise

General Waldemar Erfurth, Daniel Vilfroy

• Publisher: Tannenberg Publishing
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781786257994
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

Written before the outbreak of World War II, this is a compelling book on military strategy, in particular the doctrines of surprise and the flank attack. Almost breaking completely with traditional military thinking, despite citing ideas which tally with the doctrines of Clausewitz, Moltke and Schlieffen, Erfurth's work is indicative of the vast amount of thinking and writing about warfare that took place in the inter war years in Germany—a crucial element to any nation dedicated to having an effective army and navy.

X—RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

MODERN strategy does not differ fundamentally from the strategy of former times. Count von Schlieffen was justified when he wrote: “The conditions and structure of battle do not change. A battle of annihilation can be fought today according to the same pattern that had been thought out by Hannibal.” On the whole, the entire strategical art can be summarized in the old law, that numerical superiority must be concentrated at the decisive point. The only difference in comparison to former periods is that as a consequence of the increased power of defense, a three-fold numerical superiority at the decisive point is by no means too much.

On the contrary, many experts will consider such a superiority as a minimum and all of them will agree that it is better to launch an attack with still heavier odds. The best method is to attack at the decisive point with “everything one has.” This advice of Schlieffen’s certainly amounts to the rejection of linear strategy. And let there be no doubt: A modern battle must be fought in depth!

The concentration of three-fold superiority at the decisive point is possible only if the enemy is surprised. If the enemy learns of our intentions, or if he is able to make a correct guess, he will take counter-measures and frustrate our plan for battle. The experience of recent wars shows that the chances of attack depend chiefly upon successful surprise. In some way or other the accomplished surprise must paralyze the defender’s resistance. Surprise is today more indispensable than ever before. Every military plan and its execution should be conceived in view of the necessity of surprise.

Surprise thus appears as the primary objective of military planning. The importance of surprise has often been overlooked.

It was sometimes supposed that surprise could not be prepared but was simply a welcome by-product of other military measures. This opinion has already been refuted by Clausewitz, who particularly opposed the “dark idea” that a surprise attack can be improvised. In reality, strategic surprise is an extremely difficult performance. Secrecy requires painful planning and careful thinking, if all possible leaks are to be closed. If in spite of all endeavours, secrecy is impossible to maintain, speed must be increased to the extreme limit.

The commander who concentrates strong forces for quick and annihilating blows must possess a very strong will. In addition, he must be able to maintain high mobility, A military leader about to surprise his opponent must be able to adapt himself quickly to changing conditions. He also must find new solutions if the operation develops in an unexpected manner. If surprise cannot be accomplished, it is altogether preferable to call off the offensive. A leader who aims at mobility should not be afraid to strain his troops to the limit in order that they may reach the battlefield in time. Many victories were made possible by forced marches. Mobility equals increase in numbers.

Axioms of Martial Operations

Surprise is a necessary element of all military operations, not only of attack but also of defense.

Only a mobile defender can surprise. Schlieffen’s doctrine that the defender must constantly move and maneuver if he aims to surprise the attacker was fully confirmed in all recent wars. All great commanders of the past fought their defensive battles actively.

Inversely, success in war depends upon the commander’s ability to prevent the enemy from accomplishing his own surprise. Good commanders usually have a particular talent for foreseeing the actions of the enemy. They are good psychologists who can put themselves into the position of their opponent and guess his decisions. A military leader should always carefully inquire whether his acts favor the intentions of the enemy or facilitate their execution.

In peacetime military training the factor of surprise should also gain the attention it actually deserves. Military operations are only too often represented as a mechanical development which is neither materially nor intellectually influenced by surprise. Mobile maneuver-strategy frequently interferes with the intentions of the officers in charge of the maneuver. If the maneuver is planned beforehand, the commanders of the different parties have no liberty left. Of course, the conduct of maneuvers is made considerably more difficult if the commanders are free to do whatever they like and, in particular, to attempt surprises.

Questions to Be Decided

On principle, however, the element of surprise should be taken into account in every maneuver and also in the discussions which usually conclude them. These discussions should clarify the lessons of the maneuver. Therefore, it is pertinent to ask constantly the following questions: Was one party able to effect surprise? How did surprise actually affect the operations of the surprised party? What expedients have been adopted?

As night is usually an element indispensable to surprise, training in marches and deployment must be repeatedly given during the dark hours. The troops must become accustomed to night operations. Disengaging and re-grouping of large forces during the night in order to launch an attack at an unexpected point, is a very difficult undertaking which requires much exercise. The German maneuvers before World War I provided for adequate drill for night operations. There is little doubt that an army capable of executing large scale night operations will possess a distinct military advantage and will often surprise its enemies.

It is not enough to pay mere lip-service to surprise. Strong emphasis should be laid upon new tactics, for these offer the best way of achieving surprise. Novel ideas should constantly be tested, and old ideas not always repeated. Theory and practice must cooperate to find fresh ways and means of war.

Ruses As Essentials

Ruses form an essential, if sometimes minor, part of any surprise. This has always been stressed by Clausewitz. Ruses are by no means a weapon exclusively for a weak army. They can also be used to the advantage of the stronger. Nor did they lose their value in the period of mass-armies. A modern war is not like a tourney. The code of honor of feudal times is no longer valid. Every means is permitted which deceives the enemy and induces him to take wrong steps. The lion’s bravery and the fox’s cleverness must combine to wrest the victory from the enemy.

In mass-warfare, systematic deception and camouflage require a considerable amount of time and strength. Weak means, so-called demonstrations, will make little impression on the enemy. The sham concentrations of strong German formations before the offensive in March, 1918, in France and of the Austro-German troops before the offensive on the Isonzo in the autumn of 1917, are illustrative examples of how the enemy can be deceived.

During World War I many offensives were prematurely betrayed by deserters and prisoners. Important orders and maps showing the dispositions of the troops were frequently captured by the enemy. The frequency of such incidents makes it necessary to adopt preventive remedies. The troops must be educated for secrecy and they must learn to guard important documents very carefully. Every private should know that success in war is dependent upon the maintenance of secrecy. He must know how to behave if, unfortunately, he is taken prisoner. Never should he allow himself to be intimidated and he should know that after the war he will be held responsible if he betrayed military secrets to the enemy.

Recent wars showed that radio sometimes may be the means of betraying important secrets. During World War I, when radio was used for the first time, all belligerents used to broadcast falsified orders in order to deceive the enemy. Before the offensive on the Isonzo a whole net of radio-stations was built in Tyrol to detract the attention of the Italians from the Isonzo to the Tyrolean front. On the eastern front, as we already related, the German army profited from the amateurish way in which the Russians used their radio. The French were also clever at deciphering German orders and actually detected German movements before the Battle of the Marne by radio listening. According to the French Minister of War, Messimy, the chief of the French radio and cipher bureau was a kind of sorcerer who, within the shortest time, discovered some of the deepest German secrets. He was helped in his task by the Germans themselves, Once two German codes fell into the hands of the French, while at another time some German staffs simultaneously broadcast the same text en clair and enciphered. Messimy asserts that the services rendered by the French cipher bureau were “éclasant.”

Also the British excelled in the art of deciphering. A professor from Edinburgh, A. Ewing, was in charge of this important work for the British Admiralty and became famous in, his country. By the end of August, 1914, Russian divers removed the German naval code from the stranded and abandoned cruiser Magdeburg. The code was quickly dispatched to the British Admiralty which profited largely from it.

In the Russo-Polish War radio listening played an important role and often revealed the intentions of the enemy to the last details. The Poles deciphered the Russian orders for the Russian counter-offensive in the Ukraine in May, 1920. In Abyssinia only the Italians profited from the radio messages of the opponent. Marshal Badoglio revealed that the few Abyssinian transmitters were actually more helpful to the Italians than to the Abyssinians. It goes without saying that precautions must be taken against such occurrences. The army whose radio-messages are read by the opponent renounces all chances of surprise, while it offers vast strategic possibilities to the enemy.

It is to be hoped that in future wars, and as a consequence of new weapons, complete and decisive victories will again be possible. New arms and new techniques will certainly give excellent opportunities for good generalship. But the main condition of future victories lies in the restoration of the art of maneuver. Movement makes surprise possible and surprise opens the way for new movements. Surprise is dependent upon secrecy and speed.

Secrecy, speed, movement and surprise are thus the prerequisites of victory. Luck .and art must combine to catch the enemy by surprise. In war, the unexpected is the most successful. Thus, surprise is the key to victory.{39}

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{1} Schlieffen: Count von Schlieffen (1833-1913) is the master and to a certain extent, the creator of the German army. Many of the present generals still received part of their military education from him, or were, at least, educated in his spirit. Schlieffen tried to imbue the German Staff with one doctrine and one spirit, so that leadership would never break down even if the communications between the different leaders were severed.

The reactions of all German leaders were to become identical. In order to achieve this goal, Schlieffen frequently played war-games with his officers and undertook trips to prospective battle-fronts where practical field studies were made. Schlieffen is also the father of the German war plan of 1914, although his plan was applied in a modified form. He had foreseen a war on two fronts against France and Russia and advised the use of three-quarters to four-fifths of the German army against France.

Since the German-French frontier was heavily fortified, thus making quick victory improbable, he planned to use the main strength of the German army for an attack through Belgium by which the French were to be enveloped and possibly encircled. Later on he even thought of marching through Holland so that his offensive wing could still further be strengthened. After his retirement new army corps were raised in Germany and at the beginning of World War I used on the left flank of the German army, which thereby acquired enough defensive power to beat back a strong French offensive. It has been argued that these forces should have been employed on the German right wing, for the attack through Belgium and the decisive battles north of Paris. However, it has been shown that the available transport facilities were already overtaxed and would not have permitted a further strengthening of the German right wing. Ludendorff was the author of the modified Schlieffen plan.

Despite all shortcomings, Schlieffen’s doctrine must still be considered as one of the best military doctrines which exist, if not the best. It can b...

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• TRANSLATOR’S COMMENT
• AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION
• I-SURPRISE AS MEANS FOR VICTORY IN RECENT WARS
• II-STRATEGIC SURPRISES, EARLY PHASES OF WAR
• III-SURPRISE, WAR OF MOVEMENT
• IV-DEPLOYMENT FOR BATTLE
• V-BATTLE
• VI-PURSUIT, RETREAT, DIVERSION, COUNTER-ATTACK
• VII-SURPRISE, WAR OF POSITION; ATTACK
• VIII-SURPRISE, WAR OF POSITION; DEFENSE
• IX-SURPRISE VALUE OF NEW WEAPONS AND COMBAT TECHNIQUES
• X-RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS