The Need for Organisational Resilience - Chapter 1

reserve, and in proper employment of masses of cavalry, and of batteries, to assist in

striking the decisive blow at the second line of the enemy; for that tackles the greatest of

all the problems in these battles.”.

At the turning points of battles, theory becomes an uncertain guide; at such points it is

not up to addressing the crisis and can never compare in value with a natural talent for

war, nor be a sufficient substitute for that intuitive coup-d’oeil that experience in battle

confers on a general of tried bravery and coolness. (Adapted from De Jomini 2008, 161)

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Order of Battle

On 10 th May 1940, two powerful armies clashed with each other, each with a fundamentally

different doctrine of warfare that originated in the lessons of WWI. For the French, it was a

question of not losing, while avoiding casualties in the millions. For the Germans, it was a

question of winning quickly, as it could not sustain any prolonged stand-off.

The campaign in the west can be divided into three fronts (see Map 1.1.1): Northern,

Central, and Southern (see Timeline and Order of Battle).

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