The predominance of the German General Staff probably stems from the 19th Century, before rapid and effective communication was developed.

One of the outcomes of the Prussian/Austrian GS education process was to create an indirect command and control system. Commanders were selected for their charisma and elan and often relegated to a position of executing GS orders promulgated by the staff. Since general staff officers had been through the same course of instruction and worked the same MAPEXs and TEWTs, they developed similar approaches to situations and bonded closely with classmates. This meant that in the face of an unanticipated "branch" in an operation, the GS operations officer could recommend (and often even direct) a course of action to a commander, knowing with a high degree of certainty how other units around him would be reacting. All this without radios, telegraphs or computers. Couriers, the primary means of communication were dispatched, but were often too slow to affect an unfolding situation.