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Title: Stormtroop Evolution... but Late
Review: The "Dynamics of Doctrine" describes how the German Army of the First World War changed from a force of battalions, whose doctrine was based on a profound mistrust of the common soldier, to an army of "fire" teams where tactical judgment was expected of the most junior rifleman. Unfortunately for Germany, the army did not change fast enough. The damage wrought by the shoulder-to-shoulder assaults of 1914 and the inflexible defensive tactics of 1914 through 1916 could not be undone by the stormtroop tactics and mobile defense of 1917 and 1918. The result was catastrophic defeat. The lessons are clear: encourage innovation; learn from the battlefield; don't wait for a new manual to change the way you fight. G.C. Wynne's mistitled "If Germany Attacks: The Battle in Depth in the West" is a good alternate to Dynamics of Doctrine, and Bruce Gudmundsson's "Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918" is an excellent and concise complement.
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