Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
You will have to give me the exact quote.

'Learn how to teach'? Von Schell talks of the US focus on teaching or being taught. The problem he identified then is the lack of time to 'exercise' with a unit in the field. The assumption is that when a person completes a course he has that skill.

What I am saying is that the skill is not mastered until it is exercised in as near to a war time setting as can be simulated... repeatedly.

Again I suggest any misunderstanding we may appear to have is through the choice of words.

BTW another gem of a book is 'Hans Von Luck - Panzer Commander - The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck'.
In the German system of ~1900 to 1935 there was no automatism between graduation and promotion (in contrast to Westpoint). Hauptkadettenanstalt graduates usually did not get their Leutnantspatent but had to prove themselves again in their regiment before getting their new rank/position.

Other differences can be found in academic cuture:

From German officers it was not requested to find a textbook solution, differnt opinions were encouraged. No need to please an superior in courses by finding the "correct" solution.

Interaction of the staff at the Germanan military institutions and their students was very different to the situation in the US couterparts. Staff was not only superiors but in many situation acted as peers/comrades.

Officers who strived for staff positions were expected to understand these points and were able to contribute to this with their teaching.

Quality of academic staff and differences in the curriculum (leadership vs management).