Detecting the need for change : how the British Army adapted to warfare on the Western Front and in the Southern Cameroons
Date
20/01/2021Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This article addresses a gap in the literature on military adaptation by focusing on the first step in the adaptive process: detecting failure. We argue that institutionalised feedback loops are a critical mechanism for facilitating detection. Feedback loops are most effective when they filter information and distribute lessons learned to senior tactical commanders. In turn, effective filtration depends on incorporating frontline soldiers and specialists into intelligence cells while creating a protected space for dissent. We evaluate our theory against both irregular and conventional wars fought by the British Army: the counterinsurgency campaign in the Southern Cameroons (1960–1) as well as the evolution of British assault tactics on the Western Front of the First World War (1914–18).
Citation
Hunzeker , M A & Harkness , K A 2021 , ' Detecting the need for change : how the British Army adapted to warfare on the Western Front and in the Southern Cameroons ' , European Journal of International Security , vol. 6 , no. 1 , pp. 66-85 . https://doi.org/10.1017/eis.2020.17
Publication
European Journal of International Security
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2057-5645Type
Journal article
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