INTUITIVE COMMANDERS: Successful Leaders Like Patton and Moore Anticipate Enemy Intentions

摘要

In his treatise on war, Prussian military theorist Carl von Clause-witz defined a commander's intuition, what he termed coup d'oeil, as a critical component of military genius. Coup d'oeil refers to the quick recognition of a truth that the mind would ordinarily miss or would perceive only after long study and reflection. On the battlefield, intuitive commanders possess a distinctive advantage over their adversaries, as they can more readily decipher an opponent's intentions and decisions. Since war is the province of chance and uncertainty, intuition, combined with experience and expertise, facilitates a field commander's ability to sense how a battle or maneuver is unfolding, how the overall engagement is evolving and when to seize the strategic moment of importance, even in the absence of critical information. Two American warriors, Gen. George Patton Jr. and Lt. Col. Harold "Hal" Moore, personify the value of intuitive command in warfare.