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

- a medium to realize superior intent without impeding initiative of manysubordinates, hence a medium through which subordinate initiative is implicitlyconnected to superior intent.Schwerpunkt thus represents ‘a unifying concept that provides a way to rapidly shape focusand direction of effort as well as harmonize support activities with combat operations,thereby permit a true decentralization of tactical command within centralized strategicguidance - without losing cohesion of overall effort. Or put in another way, it represents aunifying medium that provides a directed way to tie initiative of many subordinate actionswith superior intent as a basis to diminish friction and compress time in order to generate afavorable mismatch in time and in the ability to shape and adapt to unfoldingcircumstances’ 80 .Here Boyd introduces the issue the effect of the Mission concept and theSchwerpunkt concept on the dimension of time. Before, these concepts were explored asessential elements for maintaining cohesion and harmonizing effort. Now they take on adifferent role, indeed, they become crucial advantages in themselves, for they allow swiftertempo of operations. Because the German operational philosophy was based upon acommon outlook and freedom-of-action, which they realized through their concepts ofMission and Schwerpunkt, ‘it emphasized implicit over explicit communication’. Thissuggests, according to Boyd, that ‘the secret of the German Command and Control Systemlies in what’s unstated or not communicated to one another - in order to exploit lower-levelinitiative yet realize higher level intent, thereby diminish friction and reduce time, hence gainboth quickness and security’ 81 . And Boyd again quotes Blumentritt to make an importantpoint flowing from this:The entire [German] operational and tactical leadership method hinged upon…rapidconcise assessment of situations, quick decision and quick execution, on the principle:‘each minute ahead of the enemy is an advantage.Boyd translated this in the more abstract but now well-known observation that they wereable to ‘repeatedly operate inside their adversary’s observation-orientation-decision-actionloops’ 82 . Not surprisingly, Boyd’s OODA loop graphic includes the elements of implicitguidance and control.Towards the essence of Blitzkrieg. A last point concerning Blitzkrieg Boyd addresses, asin his discussion of the dynamics of infiltration tactics, is the connection between - therationale for - the pattern of employing ‘multiple thrusts, bundles of multiple thrusts orbundles of thrusts insides bundles of thrusts’. And actually one can see the way Boyd drawshis audience into a conversation with him, for he formulates this theme about the rationaleas a question for the audience. Boyd himself provides the answer. Multiple thrusts (etc)‘present many (fast-breaking) simultaneous and sequential happenings to generate confusionand disorder - thereby stretch out time for [the] adversary to respond in a directed fashion’.Moreover, they must be regarded as ‘multiple opportunities to uncover, create, and penetrategaps, exposed flanks and vulnerable rears’. They also ‘create and multiply opportunities tosplinter [the] organism and envelop disconnected remnants thereby dismember [the]80 Ibid. Note how Boyd quietly moves to a higher level of abstraction when he asserts that theSchwerpunkt helps in establishing an advantage in adaptability.81 Ibid, p.79.82 Ibid.202