_Instructions_ (German _Directiven_) have been defined by the German General Staff as “Communications to a subordinate Commander intended less to convey definite Orders for his immediate action than to indicate leading features for his general guidance, which should facilitate his judgment as to the subsequent decisions to be taken independently.” _Instructions_ therefore generally describe the situation, the operations decided on, and their object, but leave considerable latitude in the method of carrying out the general plan. The Subordinate Commanders are expected to act on their own judgment in furthering the Commander’s purpose, observing the spirit rather than the letter of their Instructions. For, it should be noticed, military obedience in the higher ranks does not lie in literal conformity to Orders, but rather in a true conception of their spirit. Such obedience is quite compatible with the independence and self-confidence indispensable in the Subordinate Commander, who has to act on his own judgment in carrying out Orders. He must take on himself the responsibility of giving effect to his Instructions by acting in conformity with the situation of the moment, which may be very different from the situation as it was when they were issued. As regards the drafting of Instructions, it must be noted that the man who can make the best plans is not always the one to express them best. Napoleon’s brilliant combinations were embodied in Instructions which were often involved in their sequence, and ill-balanced from the intrusion of details among the broad outlines of the general plan. They were also generally so terse that they were not always clear to any intelligence inferior to his own. Jomini speaks of their “laconisme outré,” partly due to Napoleon’s temperament, and partly a revolt against the minute verbiage of the Military Orders of his generation. Hence the importance of a good Chief of the Staff, who can act for his General as Berthier did for Napoleon. He need not be a genius nor even a great strategist, but he must be able to translate into lucid Orders plans which he could never have originated, or perhaps even, like Berthier, never fully understand or appreciate. ORDERS