My War Memories, 19144918
I have been told since the \v,ir ended that imw personal motives the (ienentl Sui'f did lift ki-cp sue accurately inflamed, hut continually yave ton favmnahh1 ii description nf tin* situation. This ullefMtion d*<t'< n->t '^rre^pnnd to farts, and is an insult to the iieneral St.ii:, !»* which the Army owes an immeasurable debt.
1 have always foeussed my attrnti*<n on the oiYieers generally, not the Stuff officers, for { iv?; irdn) thrni as tlu* hacklujm* u{ th« Army. In one of my lt«t K«»utiru* Ordrrs in <Htoher, uji8, I stated that in my view they writ' Called upi»n tu ta!;** a decisive part in the reconstruction i»t tlie country.
Our officers have dime their duty. Tltcir trrrihle losst's arc an eloquent proof of that, It rtimoi In* nude a matter erf reproach against thriu that mauv «'f them had instiliicirnt experience, for this \vas simply dm* t<» war tnnditiitn< and to their heavy losses. These inexperienced men, at anv late, knew how to go bravely to their death. In trouble, daiif.or or battle the men always rflietl on and lunU-d up t»* their itttirer, even when he was but a boy. Even if *«*iw nfim-rs ditl {ail t»» strike the right note in dealing with their men, if umiu1 **f them \\ere cvt*n gravely tacking in their duty to the ranks, that i^ nothing against the officers' corps in gcnruU. 'limits \vi*ro what, in war, they must be.
In the long period of trench wurfarr the practire nf interfering with the subordinate leaders had notably increased, This was a most unfortunate development, due in part ti« the many telephone lines available, but also t«» some extent to the inexperience of the junior Staff, Every leader needed scope for his activities, Again nnd again 1 impressed on the Corps staffs and the General Staff that there should be no limitation of these leaders' authority, which is contrary to the nature uf war,
The training of the Army hud an immense burden of work on G.H.Q* I had the gratification of knowing that the Army Headquarters Staffs in the West wcrt* in agreement with our policy and measures,
Of course, at the end of January, 1917, nothing had been finished. The raising of the new formations and reorganization
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