Oh, OK; but I'm not talking about having reliable actionable intelligence, I'm talking about having a level of command much closer to the battlefield that OHL but with a broader scope and view than a single Army.
Thank you for the clarification
I saw it proposed too, but not backed up by robust argument supported by evidence, and personally I haven't seen enough evidence of panaceas like this working to readily believe the claims made for them.
Correlli Barnett in the Swordbearers goes on and on about OHL being out of touch by poor communications with the right wing, which is understandable if not forgivable, and I've seen this backed by other sources. What is not as understandable is how difficult it was to communicate with the 8th Army operating on home soil or the left wing which was virtually static and on home soil. He points out in contrast that the French and British had better communications, with the French using the ET as a radio relay as well as the civilian phone network. I can't imagine the technology of 1914 can fully solve OHL's comms problems, but they could certainly have been foreseen and addressed to an extent, both with technical means as well as organisational changes.
A Heeresgruppe, a proper one with a proper staff rather than the half-arse subordination of Kluck to Bulow, would not have the communications problems OHL had because it would be commanded from 1st or 2nd Army HQ with direct and constant contact with the other Army much like the direct and constant contact it had with its own Corps and ArmeeGruppe. This level of command appeared very early on and by mid 1915 became standard for the Germans.
There's no
A few random observations:
Pimping the 1914 German military capabilities is like giving Viagra to a teenager...
Improved communications between armies would need to be immaculately conceived, since there is unlikely to be a perceived need before 1914 without the OTL invasion of Belgium/ France. The same could be said for winning of the race-for-the-sea as a goal in itself.
Being able to implement improved communications with absolutely static defensive battle lines in 1915 is very different to maintaining such communication standards under extreme duress such as the OTL invasion of Belgium/ France.
I am very skeptical the Germans could execute anything resembling the Battle of Tannenberg on the French, because the underlying quality of the French force was superior to the Russians, the French were on the defensive on top of their logistical lines, while the German logistics were being stretched. I assume the Germans could have rolled a few more sixes than OTL, but my imagination only extends to this resulting in the Germans winning pyrrhic victory at Marne and/or the race to the sea. small beer
Can you recommend any credible threads/reading on the 1914 Germans doing significantly better in German v Anglo-French forces between the battle of the Frontiers and Race to the Sea? I could probably revisit my reading on that area. Thanks in anticipation.