A genius for war: the German Army and General Staff, 1807-1945

A US Army officer who commanded American forces during World War II and served in both Burma and China, Colonel TN Dupuy draws upon his own military experiences in this rigorous examination of the characters and manoeuvrings behind German warfare throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries. Beginning with the Prussian Generals of the 1800s (including Frederick the Great), Dupuy explores in detail the influence of the General Staff, suggesting that the German Army’s renowned battlefield successes result from the excellence of a German General Staff system committed to inculcating excellence across their organisation. Though first published in 1977, A Genius for War remains an interesting read for Australian Army officers, providing relevant parallels across the military officer corps and offering opportunities for deeper insight into the influence of General/Joint Staffs on military operations.