Laake's political loyalty and the limits of army command

Kristian Laake became commanding general in February 1931 with little general-staff experience. He believed loyalty to elected ministers required accepting their decisions without arguing against them, and supported reforms that reduced defence budgets. Qualified regional commanders could have supplied the professional initiative that his approach lacked, leaving him to communicate political direction to them. Without that structure, much more depended on his own willingness to press the army's case. His record also included frustrating Quisling's plans for an earlier seizure of power while the army retained a counter-revolutionary role. The criticism of Laake's passivity therefore coexists with credit for obstructing Quisling.