“Some of the most highly trained and successful military forces – Nelson’s fleet, Montgomery’s 8th Army, Wingate’s Chindits – were worked up to excellence in remote environments, undistracted by the comforts of normal life.” — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share Image
“steam-tactics saga illustrates that (4) Rationalism, unlike empiricism, tends to assume an accretion of vested interests.” — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“The one lesson to be learned is the necessity for every officer to cultivate belief in his own judgment, so as not to be… — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“Many of the more ghastly and idiotic aspects of the Great War were made possible by the coincidence of mass-production and the social religion… — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“The literal meaning of ‘doctrine’ is “what is taught within a group as its corporate beliefs, principles or faith”52 – although “what is learnt… — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“(20) There is an inverse law between robust doctrine and the need for signalling.” — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“that (11) Purveyors of technical systems will seek to define performance criteria and trials conditions.” — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“By the close of the Victorian age Britain’s officer classes were increasingly the inheritors, rather than the winners, of empire.” — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“can therefore attribute the many reporting failures at Jutland to a cocktail of factors, including: (a) lack of initiative, and ‘seniority knows best’; (b)… — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“Some of them are blinding glimpses of the obvious (BGOs), several overlap, and I make no claims of discovery. The fundamental proposition – and… — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“My comments are directed at the system which was responsible for their poor performance, not at the officers concerned. I do not recall ever… — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“Signals’ prioritising mechanisms become dislocated in times of overload.” — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“(21) Heavy signalling, like copious orders, is symptomatic of doctrinal deficiency,” — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“(24) Properly disseminated doctrine offers both the cheapest and the most secure command-and-control method yet devised by man.” — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
“(10) Innovations adopted in accordance with peacetime doctrine, may lock the Fleet into both systems and doctrine which will fail the empirical test of… — Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon Copy Share
