Mission-type tactics (German: Auftragstaktik, also known as directive control in the US), are a central component of the tactics of German armed forces since the 19th century. In mission-type tactics the military commander gives its subordinate leaders a clearly defined goal and the forces needed to accomplish that goal. The subordinate leader then implements the order independently. The subordinate leader is given, to a large extent, initiative and a freedom in execution which enables flexibility in order execution. In addition the mission-type tactics free higher leadership levels from tactical details. Tactics is the collective name for methods of winning a small-scale conflict, performing an optimization, etc. ... German army refers to different armed forces through history: Reichswehr - 1918 to 1935 Wehrmacht - 1935 to 1945 Bundeswehr - 1955 to present This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... In political science, the initiative (also known as popular or citizens initiative) provides a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment, or ordinance. ...

For the success of the mission-type tactics it is especially important that the subordinate leaders understand the intent of the orders and are given proper guidance and that they are trained so they can act in the independently. In contrast to the mission-type tactics is command tactics (top-down) used by American armed forces.