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

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This is an immensely readable, though academic, work on the evolution of German army structure. Military buffs ought to be aware that this work doesn't focus on battles, operational details, or military nuts and bolts. 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 takes as its starting point the consolidation of the Holy Roman Empire, which created new mechanisms for raising troops but also for resolving disputes diplomatically. Both the empire and the Swiss Confederation were largely defensive in orientation, while German participation in foreign wars was most often in partnership with allies. The primary aggressor in Central Europe was not Prussia but the Austrian Habsburg monarchy, yet Austria’s strength owed much to its ability to secure allies. Prussia, meanwhile, invested in militarization but maintained a part-time army well into the nineteenth century. Alongside Switzerland, which relied on traditional militia, both states exemplify the longstanding civilian element within German military power. Audiobook) Settle in, for this is a long work. Wilson attempts to give a one-volume treatment to the military history of the German states/Germany, covering over 500 years. He captures a lot, but he can’t get everything. Wilson looks to dispel the myth that the German military really is based on the Prussian model and that it was at its peak in the 2 World Wars. There is far more to the story, as shown here. Iron and Bloodtakes as its starting point the consolidation of the Holy Roman Empire, which created new mechanisms for raising troops but also for resolving disputes diplomatically. Both the empire and the Swiss Confederation were largely defensive in orientation, while German participation in foreign wars was most often in partnership with allies. The primary aggressor in Central Europe was not Prussia but the Austrian Habsburg monarchy, yet Austria’s strength owed much to its ability to secure allies. Prussia, meanwhile, invested in militarization but maintained a part-time army well into the nineteenth century. Alongside Switzerland, which relied on traditional militia, both states exemplify the longstanding civilian element within German military power. William I, King of Prussia, proclaimed as German emperor at Versailles, 18 January 1871. Painting by Anton von Werner, 1877.

A thorough/detailed book indeed, but I've felt the balance of details was a bit off, some numbers could be omitted, as well as enumeration of certain facts. Overall, liked the book a lot and the title of the book lives up to its name. The two world wars have generated an almost incomprehensible amount of historical writing, but have also posed a historiographical problem: they have “stunted debate and frozen German military history”, as Peter Wilson puts it. Historians imagine that all German military history is rooted in Prussia; and they write mainly about battles. The existing literature focuses on the period between German unification in 1871 and the Third Reich’s destruction in 1945, to which all roads are seen to lead. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. Endlessly fascinating ... History has returned to Europe, and Iron and Blood is an excellent place to start getting reacquainted with it. Oliver Moody, The Times 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. And as I said above, there is at last equal attention given to Austrian development: I've only found good looks at equivalent developing of the Holy Roman Empire's military in books written in German. This goes for the Swiss military evolution as well--their soldiers once admired as the epitome of the warrior.The Big Read of Spring 2023. (There. Is. Another.) Extremely interesting, trying to cover 600 years of history – and successfully rewrites the conventional wisdom about German-speaking nations supposed "innate militarism". Especially the early parts of the book are true eye-openers, e.g. how Switzerland as we know it came to be, or how the Holy Roman Empire's amoeba X-volved into another imperial amoeba, the Austro-Hungarian. Moltke and his staff-officers outside Paris, 19 September 1870. Painting by Anton von Werner, 1873. An ambitious book which was badly needed ... illuminating on the complicated relationship between Prussia, both state and society, and its army .... required reading for serious military historians. Barney White-Spunner, Aspects of History

It has been said that historians tend to be boring, uninteresting people and that academic historians are monumentally boring and exceptionally uninteresting. Dr. Wilson's writing style is basically boring. He's fond of lists: fortresses established in Berlin, Konigsberg, Dusseldorf, Leipzig etc etc. Readers accustomed to more engaging history writers like Stephen Ambrose of Band of Brothers Fame or German military historian Rob Citino will immediately note that Dr. Wilson is not a particularly gifted story teller. German soldiers observe the hanging of alleged male and female partisans near Orel, Russia. Photograph, 1941–2. Wilson provides a bold survey of over half a millennium of warfare… His book is a masterful demonstration of the great potential of the new military history that has emerged over recent decades as scholars, distancing themselves from an older generation mainly interested in chaps and maps, have begun to pay more attention to the social, economic, and political aspects of war. ” —David Motadel, New York Review of Books A lieutenant and cycle messenger of the Tirolean Feldjäger, 1934. Lithograph from the series Adjustireung und Ausrüstung des Österreichischen Bundesheeres, 1918–38.Members of the German Wehrmacht’s Free India Legion, during training for duties on the Atlantic Wall. Photograph, c. 1943.