Prussian War Plan - The General Staff

At this point in the campaign, there was no prussian war plan. This was largely a consequence of one of the greatest weaknesses of the prussian military - it did not have a general staff. The idea of ceding some of a general's authority to these bureaucrats in uniform made many officers uncomfortable. As they rushed to form a plan to defend their country, deep divisions emerged within the senior prussian leadership. Some argued they should trade space for time, delay napoleon as much as possible and fall back; others wanted to fight a defensive battle on good ground or postpone a confrontation until help arrived from russia.