Science, Strategy and War The Strategic Theory of ... - Boekje Pienter

Blitzkrieg disrupts the connections between and within units thereby removingcohesion. The enemy system that relied on the combination of centers of gravity(constituting strengths, capabilities, objects or geographical features) and linkages betweenthose centers of gravity, is severely hurt by the disruption or destruction of these linkages. Orin Boyd’s words,Blitzkrieg generates multiple non-cooperative centers of gravity, as well as undermines orseizes those that adversary depends upon, in order to impede vigorous activity and magnifyfriction, thereby paralyze adversary by denying him the opportunity to operate in a directedway 73 .Operating philosophy. The obvious question is of course ‘how do Blitzers simultaneouslysustain rapid pace and abruptly adapt to changing circumstances without losing cohesion orcoherence of their overall effort?’ To avoid collapse itself, Blitzkrieg employs, as the lastelement of the mechanism, a concept for command and control in which each unit at thedifferent levels of organization, from simple to complex, has its own specific OODA timecycle. The cycle-time increases commensurate with in increase in the level of organization, asone tries to control more levels and issues. As the number of events increase, the longer ittakes to Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. Thusthe faster rhythm of the lower units levels must work within the larger and slowerrhythm of the higher levels so that overall system does not lose its cohesion orcoherency 74 .Boyd considered this issue essential, and actually refers to this as the first element of the‘Blitz Operating Philosophy’. He elaborates on it here, as well as in the subsequentpresentation ‘Organic Design for Command and Control’. According to Boyd, the tensionbetween the maintenance of control and cohesion on the one hand, and the demands offluid tactical situations is resolved by giving thelower level commanders wide freedom “within the overall Mind-Time-Space scheme”,to shape/direct their own activities so that they can exploit faster tempo/rhythm at thetactical levels yet be in harmony with the larger pattern/slower rhythm associated withthe more general aim and larger effort at the strategic level.To ensure subordinate commanders stay within the boundaries of acceptable initiative the‘Mission concept, to fix responsibility and shape commitment at all levels and through allparts of the organism’. Likewise, Boyd advocates the use of a ‘Schwerpunkt concept throughall levels to link differing rhythms/patterns so that each part or level of the organic wholecan operate at its own natural rhythm - without pulling the organism apart - instead of theslower pace associated with a rigid centralized control’ 75 .Quoting the WW II Blitzkrieg practitioner General Gunther Blumentritt, such aphilosophy, or scheme, ‘presupposes a common outlook based upon a body of professionalofficers who have received exactly the same training during the long years of peace and withthe same tactical education, the same way of thinking, identical speech, hence a body ofofficers to whom all tactical conceptions were fully clear’. This in turn presupposes ‘an73 Ibid, p.71.74 Ibid, p.72.75 Ibid. Note the use of the term organism.200