The Interrelationship Between Doctrine and Technology

In the course of research for a technology roadmap for my customer, I found a paper written in 1994 for a US Air Force Academy Symposium. Titled "A Clash of Military Cultures: German and French Approaches to Technology Between the World Wars," the author highlights the advantage that the French military had over their German counterparts in the early 1920's and how they ceded that advantage through a series of decisions involving their view of new technologies, such as aircraft, armor, and radio communications, and doctrine.

The French view that the next war would be much like the last -- involving large ground armies wielding massive firepower -- led them to rely on artillery and fortifications such as the Maginot Line. In contrast, the German General Staff saw speed and mobility as the defining characteristics of next-generation warfare. Their development of fast armored units and aerial bombers left the French at a disadvantage in 1940. 

As always, valuable lessons to be learned from history.