My War Memories, 1914-1918
I required many colleagues in this responsible undertaking. They were not all appointed at once, but only as occasion and necessity demanded. By the side of my military staff there gradually arose an extensive administrative staff under the Deputy Chief of Staff, General von Eisenhart-Rothe, a man of wide experience in economic problems. He served me and our cause with a devotion and enthusiasm which were infectious. As Intendant-General, he was of the utmost assistance to me later on.
At the end of October the first thing to be done was to introduce our administration into the newly-occupied portions of the Lines-of-Communication area, as had already been done in the western portions. A belt along the whole front remained the Operations Zone, under the direct control of the Army Commands. The various Lines-of-Communication areas had each adopted different methods, but uniformity was imperative, as otherwise it would be very difficult to supervise the administrative machinery. This had to be done with tact and caution, or we should do more harm than good.
In view of the magnitude of the task, and the wide region to be administered, a large personnel was necessary, in spite of all efforts to be as economical as possible. Although I hold the view that it is not numbers that matter, but the quality of the individual, this principle is necessarily subject to limitations. I could not carry on without a certain staff, and no organization could have done with less than mine. The individual standard of achievement was always high. We could not have dispensed with a single man.
I was careful that the military character of our administration, since nothing else was possible within the framework of the Inspectorates, should be maintained, and, above all, that those should be selected who were no longer fit for service at the front. But I also used civilians. My chief preoccupation was to obtain men with technical training, for I am not one of those who believe that the majority of men are capable of holding any post. I have often observed how even a little technical knowledge lightens the work to the advantage of everybody. For purely
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