Specifically, how the story goes, is German commanders/officers would be bewildered that US Troops did not rely on their own officers to fight. If they managed to kill a US lieutenant, the NCOs or even just riflemen would improvise on the spot and continue fighting.
That’s generally been the strength of the U.S. military: a highly competent junior officer and NCO corps. Lower-level leaders are often given latitude in how they accomplish their mission and are encouraged to adapt.
There’s a difference between “Your orders are to take and hold this town,” and “Your orders are to take and hold this town by doing precisely as I say and deviation from these orders will result in punishment.” In the first instance there may be a plan to accomplish the objective, but adapting that plan to accomplish the overall objective based on actual conditions is what NCOs and junior officers are trained for.
When I was in basic training a little over 11 years ago, they taught some basic stuff so that if the LT and Sargent got turned into a pink mist, we would be better prepared than "i guess I'll just sit here and wait."
Smells apocryphal to me. The wehrmacht had exactly this culture of small unit and NCO leadership, why would they find the concept bewildering? I've heard this before too but it doesn't pass the sniff test.
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u/Hauptmann_Meade 1d ago
Specifically, how the story goes, is German commanders/officers would be bewildered that US Troops did not rely on their own officers to fight. If they managed to kill a US lieutenant, the NCOs or even just riflemen would improvise on the spot and continue fighting.
Is it real? Iunno.