Auftragstaktik

Auftragstaktik is a form of military tactics (origonally German) that values critical thinking and independence in its corp. Rather than building an army that relies on detailed orders and must communicate in order to continue, members of an Auftragstaktik army are trained to handle situations and create their own solutions to problems.

Auftragstaktik blended strategic coherence and decentralized decision making with a simple principle: commanders were to tell subordinates what their goal is but not how to achieve it.

_Tetlock, Philip E.. Superforecasting (p. 217). Crown. Kindle Edition. _

Moltke believed that Decision making power must be pushed down the hierarchy to the ground so those that encounter surprises have the ability to react quickly.

Orders are often short and simple.

“Gentlemen, I demand that your divisions completely cross the German borders, completely cross the Belgian borders and completely cross the River Meuse,” a senior officer told the commanders who would launch the great assault into Belgium and France on May 10, 1940.

_Tetlock, Philip E.. Superforecasting (p. 218). Crown. Kindle Edition. _

This is the opposite of what most people envision when asked to think of the German army. Most think about a blob of fascist soldiers all marching in line working as cogs in a larger machine, but this is only largely Hitler's fault. Remember, the Nazis did not create the Wermacht, they inherited it.

The Wermacht mostly failed due to blunders made by the higher ups. More specifically, Hitler began micro managing the army and taking control of individual units completely disregarding the Wermacht ideals and Moltke's principles.

The initial invasion of The Battle of Normandy was so successful because Hitler had ordered a regime of tanks to stand still and his aids were too scared to wake him and ask what should be done.