Sequel: A nation trained in arms or a militia? ...

Release date is 2025-06-27

Al Haines

"Deductions from the World War" by Freytag-Loringhoven is a military treatise written in the early 20th century. It distills lessons from the Great War on strategy, leadership, national psychology, technology, and the political–economic foundations of power, arguing from a German general’s perspective for rigorous, future-oriented preparation. The work is analytical and unapologetically realist, aimed at officers and an informed public seeking to understand how states must organize for modern, total war. The opening of the work introduces the author’s career and authority, explains the book’s intended German audience and restricted circulation, and frames its core claim that war is rooted in human nature. The foreword argues that even before the conflict ends, nation and army must reexamine policy, economics, and organization to draw practical conclusions. The first chapters survey the Central Powers’ unfavorable coalition position, the entente’s maritime and economic advantages, and the rise of world-economics and sea power as decisive factors; they also recount how occupations and Balkan campaigns pursued strategic and economic aims, and how a missed decisive victory early in the West lengthened the war. A chapter on mass psychology contrasts national armies and morale across France, Britain, Russia, and Austria-Hungary, attributing endurance and success chiefly to moral strength and discipline. The discussion of technology highlights railways, telegraphy, aircraft, heavy artillery, gas, and field fortification, arguing that fortified zones and elastic defense now shape operations more than old-style fortresses. The early section on leadership insists that, despite new weapons, decision still turns on command and will, weighing envelopment versus breakthrough, explaining entrenched warfare’s rise, and justifying selective withdrawals to stronger lines to conserve forces and economic assets. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1918