Command and Control in Military Crisis: Devious Decisions

by Hoiback,Harald

• ISBN13: 9780714654904
• ISBN10: 0714654906
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Investigates the effect of the several armies present 'in the field' without any central authority during March 1918. It explores how this expensive luxury, as the Germans threatened to destroy the allied forces, caused internal British disagreements over strategy which weakened the British Expeditionary Force. The second case analyzes how Norway tumbled into war in 1940. The Norwegian government had a tacit, incoherent and ill-coordinated plan for how they should once again keep Norway out of war. As a consequence, the de facto decision to resist German aggression was in fact taken by a rather insignificant colonel. This case demonstrates how the underlying conditions of command and control and not the actual directives from the government were the historical focus which determined Norway's destiny.

Author Biography

Harald Hoiback is an officer in the Royal Norwegian Air Force, trained as a fighter controller. He studied philosophy at the University of Oslo and military history at the University of Glasgow, where he gained a Master of Philosophy in History. He currently serves as a civil servant at the Norwegian Ministry of Defence

Table of Contents

List of Figures	viii
Foreword	ix
Hew Strachan
Series Editor's Preface	xi
Acknowledgements	xiii
Introduction	1	(2)
Command and Control	3	(9)
Crisis	12	(4)
Case 1: The Tactical Field Marshal	16	(53)
Case 2: The Strategic Colonel	69	(34)
Conclusion	103	(4)
Notes	107	(26)
Bibliography	133	(10)
Index	143