Adolf most difficult of times. He goes

Adolf von Schell, a German Army captain of
World War I

has written in this book ‘Battle Leadership’
that every soldier

should know that war is pretty much
kaleidoscopic, full with all

forms of constant chirping and changing, at
times being

unexpected and all the more filled with
different kinds of

confusing situations and circumstances. The
problem related with

the war times, according to his book cannot
be just solved by

mathematical formula or set rules and hence
the war has something

more to it than just the tag of war itself.
Adolf von Schell in his

book has explicitly stated that as leaders,
there should be some

sort of knowledge related with the souls of
the soldiers who are

giving their best shot on the battleground.
According to his own

theory and quite rightly so, the soldier is
the only person, the

living soul with which the war can be
started, ended and carried out

in the first place as it has to decide
whether or not to dismantle a

bomb, throw a rocket or anything that has to
do something or the

other with weapons and ammunition. More than
that it is his immense

resilience and sense of intellect and
understanding that wins him

many a war, even in the most difficult of
times. He goes on to

suggest in this book report that it is the
responsibility of the

leader in the battle field to make use of his
soldiers in the best

manner that he possibly can as well as become
a role model for them

so that they can take heed and give in their
best demonstration of

courage and bravery. Leaders, according to
him are the torchbearers

and it is only up to them to instill the
confidence and belief in

the rest of the army. Without their self-belief,
nothing is

possible. Adolf is of the view that every
leadership effort that

there is present in the war grounds is
reminiscent of the

Subj: “Battle Leadership: Some Personal
Experiences of a Junior Officer

of the German Army with Observations on
Battle Tactics and the

Psychological Reactions of Troops in
Campaign” Report

 

 

relationship that exists between the leader
and his men, especially

in the manner through which the same is being
transferred to each

and every troop of the army.

 

 

2. WHY IS THIS BOOK SIGNIFICANT TO ME:
This is pretty significant to me as it says a thing or two about the
communication flow that should be

the key ingredient of any war, battle or for
that matter a

discussion that leads up to a war eventually.
The values that the

leader portrays are very important to me as
this forms the bridge between

him and the people who are being led under
him. Values thus form the

cornerstone of the term called motivation as
it in essence forms the

basis for a whole lot of avenues in the times
to come, not only on

the shoulders of the leader for his being
true and straight to them

but also speaks volumes about the oneness of
the whole army as a

result. This motivation goes a long way in
influencing an

individual’s perceptions as well as the
attitudes and thus these in

turn form the core basis for the fight and
determination that he has

and which in the end forms the root for
bringing success to the

whole mission. He further asserts that in
order to appreciate the

values found in a true leader, one needs to
know how the same are

communicated in the form of motivation to the
rest of the clan and

more importantly how the same forms the
ultimate basis between

success and defeat in the very end. I
personally can understand

attribute this to myself as a
Non-Commissioned Officer in the United

States Marine Corps.

 

 

3. COMMANDANTS REASON FOR PUTTING “BATTLE
LEADERSHIP” ON THE READING

LIST: The reason why I believe
it was put on the Commandants reading list is because to become effective
leaders in the first place, it is of extreme importance to discern that the
importance of values are understood

well in the behaviors linked with a human
being. We have to find out

our own values and more than that focus on
the aspect of assessing

the similarities as well as the differences
that there are in

subordinate or a common team player. This, in
the end, does its

trick in bringing the best out of the whole
group in a collective

effort and on an individual level, brings the
best out of each and

every entity. Adolf is of the view that
leadership is having the

ability to give guidance to those that will
follow. Those that

follow will help to complete the mission.
Leadership is an immature

science and the body of knowledge in the
field has developed through

a series of fits and starts. Leadership is a
soft science, just as

anthropology, sociology and psychology. It
cannot be proven exactly

Subj: “Battle Leadership: Some Personal
Experiences of a Junior Officer

of the German Army with Observations on
Battle Tactics and the

Psychological Reactions of Troops in Campaign”
Report

 

 

Subj: “Battle Leadership: Some Personal
Experiences of a Junior Officer

of the German Army with Observations on
Battle Tactics and the

Psychological Reactions of Troops in
Campaign” Report

 

 

what it is. Leadership is the application of leadership

behaviors beyond techniques is the same as
the application of brushstrokes by a painter. Leadership is both rational and
emotional.

It involves both sides of the human experience.
It includes actions

and influences based on reason and logic as
well those based on inspiration and passion. Leadership is a social process
shared with all members of a group. Leadership development comes through experience.
We all learn from our different experiences. Whether positive or negative, they
are our tools for growth and development. Adolf von Schell in his book has
rightly termed the difference between leadership and management to be at its
minimal. He says that management is a position

of authority. Management says what need to
get done and supplies the

material to get it done. Management tends to
be more educated

than the experienced. Managers can be trained
to hold a position.

Management is a position of leadership. Can
leadership and management

be the same? Leadership and management are
not the same. Being able to manage knows the aspects of a mission. A leader has
the knowledge and the skills to accomplish the mission. But leadership and
management work together. The management sets the plan and the leadership makes
it

happen.

 

 

4. Summary: In conclusion “Battle
Leadership” was a very enjoyable

book to read despite having to look over it
more than once to

understand what it truly meant as it provided
an extremely in depth

look on leadership. Von Shell closes his
lecture with a discussion of

the role of the German army after the end of
the war, it’s own

challenges and rebirth, how it strove to meet
the demands of the Versailles treaty while continuously being called upon by
the

German government to deal with the civil
disturbances that convulsed

the nation and invasions from Poland. The
fact that it was

able to deal with these issues serves as both
vindication and

testament to the training and professionalism
of its leadership.

Thus in the end, Adolf’s book has rightly
defined what is there in a

true leader.