ABSTRACT
The list of essential characteristics of generalship starts with force of intellect, from which derive the elements of decision and execution—competence, intuition, and will. Force of intellect, and energy expressed in the ability to be at the place where the critical events are going to take place, underlie the decision and execution needed to bring campaigns to a successful conclusion. Selflessness underlies physical courage, but equally important, it is the basis for the moral courage so critical on the political-military stage where the events of the day play out. Selflessness also lies at the core of what is essential in a general, for both moral and physical courage derive from self-abnegation. Because generalship concerns leading people in the most demanding circumstances, it involves motivation and consensus and the ability to elicit personal sacrifice. In short, it requires a basic humanity from which stems the loyalty of subordinate to leader that underlies the spirit of great units.
