Erich von Falkenhayn and the question of understanding war | Prof Holger Afflerbach

In this presentation, Holger Afflerbach starts with Falkenhayn's statement from autumn 1914 that "we were all blind" because we had not understood the lessons offered by the Russo-Japanese war.

Was Falkenhayn correct? Did they not understand modern war in the years before 1914? This will be asked for the military world in Germany before 1914 and for Falkenhayn as an individual, using pre-war sources.

Holger then addresses the technical understanding of new weaponry and their consequences on the battlefield towards attitudes towards war, presenting Falkenhayn as an example of extremist war enthusiasm, and how that changed in the first months of the war.

This was filmed as part of The Western Front Association's 11th President's Conference : '1913 Expectations Meet the Realities of War'

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