A chief of staff's task is framed as assessing the strategic situation, understanding people, and communicating a solution. Holtzendorff supplied a coherent explanation for why Germany lacked good choices and why submarines appeared to offer its only remaining chance. The difficulty was that the plan also required judgments about how Britain and the United States would respond. The memorandum's argument was clear, but its human and political assumptions remained uncertain.
Notable Point · 29:02-30:30
A strategic plan built on incomplete information
The video weighs Holtzendorff's clear presentation of a desperate strategy against the uncertain judgments about people and enemy reactions on which it depended.