Within the army, field officers despised Staff officers as having the brains of canaries and the manners of Potsdam, but both groups were as one in their distaste for interference by civilian ministers who were known as the frocks. The civil arm in its turn referred to the military as the boneheads.
In "The Guns of August," author Barbara W. Tuchman highlights the tense relationship between military and civilian sectors during wartime. Field officers in the army looked down on Staff officers, deeming them intellectually inferior and socially inept. However, both factions shared a common disdain for civilian ministers, whom they referred to disparagingly as "frocks," reflecting their frustration with outside interference in military affairs.
Conversely, civilians viewed military personnel as "boneheads," indicating their own skepticism towards the military's decisions and intellect. This mutual contempt illustrates the deep-seated divisions and lack of cooperation between military and civilian authorities, which ultimately impacted strategic decision-making during the conflict.
