Hugo von Freytag-Loringhoven (1855–1924)

"It may seem presumptuous to draw conclusions from the World War while it is still in progress," says Baron von Freytag-Loringhoven at the start of his Author's Foreward to Deductions from the World War.

Indeed, von Freytag-Loringhoven, Deputy-Chief of the German General Staff, wrote this treatise during the final months of World War One. The entry on von Freytag-Loringhoven on the website First World War.com (see the link of von Freytag-Loringhoven's name) comments that in this book he "he expounded his opinion that Germany would fail to win the war." I could not find a spot where he does that overtly, but his discussions do seem to take for granted that the war is a lost cause and that lessons must be learned so that preparations for the next war may begin immediately. What von Freytag-Loringhoven didn't see coming, among other things, was the Versailles Treaty and the furious dismantling of the German war machine. (And yes, we know how that worked out, but still . . . )

In a way it's surprising that von Freytag-Loringhoven didn't see the degree to which surrender terms would be vengeful, given that he notes the new phenomenon of a more ubiquitous press corps that helped turn the war into a much more personal affair on the part of the Allies than propriety would have previously allowed. Early on he notes that

". . . the increased facilities of communication of modern times rendered the nations more closely coherent within their own borders and more accessible to the suggestive influence of the Press for good as well as for ill. That men have always been susceptible to suggestion is demonstrated by the spread of religious fanaticism, but the present age has increased this susceptibility still further. Even distinguished minds are subject to mass suggestion, as is shown in the case of numerous distinguished scholars and artists among our enemies. Neither judgement nor good taste availed to prevent them from joining in the general orgies of hatred directed against everything German."

A few pages later, von Freytag-Loringhoven explains that the use of guerrila tactics against the Germans in Belgium meant the Germans "found themselves compelled to resort to severe measures of retaliation. Thus the War acquired a character of brutality which is otherwise very alien to the nature of our well-conducted German soldiers." (As I recall, Barbara Tuchman in [The Guns of August] had a different take on the origins of German brutality in Belgium.)

At any rate, given all that, it's a little surprising that von Freytag-Loringhoven seemed to expect a business as usual "boys will be boys" settlement at the end of the war.

And while he speaks of the ongoing development of new and better weapons, he somehow misses by a mile the coming preeminence of the tank (which he basically dismisses as a British toy) and even the airplane. On page 68 begins this chilling passage:

"Moreover, by raids into the enemy country carried out by squadrons of aircraft, we were able to inflict damage on fortifications, sources of military supplies, and other military establishments. In the course of these raids some unfortified places without military significance have had to suffer. The bombardment of these places is in itself objectionable, but the limits of what is permissible are in this matter in many ways elastic. A new weapon opens up its own paths, as is shown, for example, by the submarine war. In any case, in this contest of nations with its economic background, the War is turned more and more against the enemy countries, and the principle hitherto accepted that war is made only against the armed power of the enemy is, in this case as in other spheres, related to the background."

A lot of the book is taken up by discussions of military tactics, as you'd imagine, as well as such issues as the advisability of compulsory military service, even in peace time, and the inadvisability of every truly taking the German Army (or any army) off of a wartime, or at least a war-preparation, footing. While he gives a bit of lip service at the end to the horrors of war, he concludes that "however convinced we may be that war is a sin against humanity, that it is something worthy of detestation, this conviction brings us no nearer to eternal peace. War has its basis in human nature, and as long as human nature remains unaltered, war will continue to exist. . . . The often quoted saying of Moltke that wars are inhuman, but eternal peace is a dream, and not even a beautiful dream, will continue to be true."

Not an uplifting book, to be sure, but a fascinating one in its way.… (altro)