Iron and Blood: A Military History of the German-speaking Peoples Since 1500

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He fails to note the Dunghan Revolt of Muslims (and others) in China or the southern Panthay Rebellion which both also had a huge butcher's list (p364). strengths and weaknesses are inseparable from its very bulk and like his history of the Holy Roman Empire it is thematic rather than narrative. Almost inevitably, this has in practice meant protracted, relentless and often unwinnable wars, and - in 1939-1945 - moral catastrophe. He offers an absorbing overview of how slowly changing societal forces—such as fiscal systems, scientific and technological capabilities, ideological and cultural beliefs, and the social background of soldiers—have transformed the use of military force across modern times. Harvard University Press books are not shipped directly to India due to regional distribution arrangements.

Whereas most studies cover only the blood-soaked eighty years from the wars of unification in the 1860s to the end of the Second World War in 1945, Wilson takes his readers through a full half-millennium of German warfare, from 1500 to the present. It focuses on what principalities eventually became Germany and Austria, along with others, especially Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Instead, Wilson gives reasons why modern English-written works especially comb over well-trodden ground with respect to the history of military Prussia, while giving scarce attention to the leviathan that was the Holy Roman Empire during the 1500s-1700s. Iron and Blood describes the martial actions behind the major political upheavals in this territory.If there's a second edition ever, I hope the author delves a bit more into explaining why the otherwise professional German armed forces were inclined to wage such brutal wars in the 20th century and to eventually support the genocidal Nazi regime. I would never suggest that this is a book not worth reading but it is not one I felt that I had to read. I found it especially worthwhile in tracing the path from the mass levies of medieval times through the hiring of mercenary armies to the idea of a standing army.

Furthermore, if those who decide the allocations of the real and unreal are cruel, mad or colossally wrong, what then?

He delves into the machinations of power politics, diplomacy, and the role of charismatic leaders, demonstrating how they profoundly impacted the destiny of the German-speaking peoples.

The last section on the Twentieth Century is by far the longest, but even so feels slightly rushed and cursory.will become the starting point for all students of military history , not only of Germany but of Europe as a whole.

It covers from circa 1500 to the present day and includes Germany, Switzerland, Austria and those countries that were within their imperial realms. It’s 5 stars if you want extreme detail of everything from belt buckles to leader whims in a generalized broad summary of the time and region covered. This is very comprehensive but as with his 100 Years War book, Wilson has trouble not getting swamped in his narrative by including every historical event or detail.Prussian could have been wiped from the face of the earth in the 1750s and the fact that it wasn't is only partly down to a flash of Frederick the Great's genius (a recklessness that got him into trouble in the first place). Starting in 1500 with the Holy Roman Empire describing the relationship between the electors and empire and between each other, reasons when the war was deemed as permissible, means to wage the war, day to day of the army, relationship between the army and the civilian, advances in weaponry and strategy and how those changed the face of war.