Operational Leadership: A Case of General Helmuth von Moltke (The Younger)

Abstract

Operational leadership is of critical importance to the military, especially in times of warfare, but it is a difficult to define; and it is even more difficult to describe the essential characteristics of a successful operational commander. What works in peacetime does not necessarily work in wartime. However, the writings on the subject of leadership always include four traits which we can deduce as the essential characteristics of all successful operational leaders. The four essential traits are: boldness, perseverance, flexibility and decisiveness. Using the operational leadership of General Helmuth von Moltke (The Younger) as a case study, we can review the significance of these four traits to his operational leadership.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 19, 2001
Accession Number
ADA393519

Entities

People

  • Barbara P. Morgan

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Classification
  • Judgment
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Operations
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Personality
  • Schools
  • Security
  • Training
  • United States
  • Universities
  • War Colleges
  • War Games
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.