Hans Delbruck was an academic, critic, and product of Imperial Germany. Fellow military theorists often describe Delbruck as the first modern military historian and credit him with bringing a critical lens to battlefield history and inspiring current military scholarship. While Delbruck does not have the same level of name recognition as Clausewitz and other figures of military theory, his major concepts of “Sachkritik,” and annihilation and attrition have left a lasting impact on the study and formulation of modern military strategy and theory.
Contemporaries best knew Delbruck for his concept of Sachkritik, or the application of scientific method to the military records of the past. Delbruck contended that literal interpretations of ancient
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He divided strategy into two basic forms – annihilation (maneuver) and attrition (also translated in some texts as exhaustion.) This was a controversial position because at the same time Delbruck was laying out his ideas, the cult of the offensive reigned supreme. In Delbruck’s construct, the objective of maneuver was decisive battle in order to completely defeat the enemy. The strategy of attrition, however, allowed that alternative options existed to achieve a stated or desired end. Each situation required an examination of those contextual factors which might make it more advantageous to seek or avoid battle or settle for a negotiated peace.
Delbruck applied his own theory of attrition to Imperial Germany’s position in World War I. Following the Battle of the Marne in 1914, Delbruck assessed that Germany’s best strategy called for a negotiated peace. He predicted that the U.S. would enter the conflict if Germany appeared too aggressive. Germany, who would be unable to sustain the resources to fight to the desired outcome, would gain a better position through negotiation than it could through ongoing battle. This proved to be