The German Officer Corps 1890-1914


Book Description

Bog om det tyske officerskorps i den sidste del af attenhundretallet.




Imperial Germany and War, 1871–1918


Book Description

An in-depth, finely detailed portrait of the German Army from its greatest victory in 1871 to its final collapse in 1918, this volume offers the most comprehensive account ever given of one of the critical pillars of the German Empire—and a chief architect of the military and political realities of late nineteenth-century Europe. Written by two of the world’s leading authorities on the subject, Imperial Germany and War, 1871–1918 examines the most essential components of the imperial German military system, with an emphasis on such foundational areas as theory, doctrine, institutional structures, training, and the officer corps. In the period between 1871 and 1918, rapid technological development demanded considerable adaptation and change in military doctrine and planning. Consequently, the authors focus on theory and practice leading up to World War I and upon the variety of adaptations that became necessary as the war progressed—with unique insights into military theorists from Clausewitz to Moltke the Elder, Moltke the Younger, Schlichting, and Schlieffen. Ranging over the entire history of the German Empire, Imperial Germany and War, 1871–1918 presents a picture of unprecedented scope and depth of one of the most widely studied, criticized, and imitated organizations in the modern world. The book will prove indispensable to an understanding of the Imperial German Army.




The German Defense Of Berlin


Book Description

Often written during imprisonment in Allied War camps by former German officers, with their memories of the World War fresh in their minds, The Foreign Military Studies series offers rare glimpses into the Third Reich. In this study Oberst a.D. Wilhem Willemar discusses his recollections of the climatic battle for Berlin from within the Wehrmacht. “No cohesive, over-all plan for the defense of Berlin was ever actually prepared. All that existed was the stubborn determination of Hitler to defend the capital of the Reich. Circumstances were such that he gave no thought to defending the city until it was much too late for any kind of advance planning. Thus the city’s defense was characterized only by a mass of improvisations. These reveal a state of total confusion in which the pressure of the enemy, the organizational chaos on the German side, and the catastrophic shortage of human and material resources for the defense combined with disastrous effect. “The author describes these conditions in a clear, accurate report which I rate very highly. He goes beyond the more narrow concept of planning and offers the first German account of the defense of Berlin to be based upon thorough research. I attach great importance to this study from the standpoint of military history and concur with the military opinions expressed by the author.”-Foreword by Generaloberst a.D. Franz Halder.







Imperial Germany 1890 - 1918


Book Description

The Wilhelmine period is a crucial period of German history and the focus of great historical controversy; greater understanding of this period is also vital to explain the rise of the Third Reich. The authors focus on Germany's role as a major military and imperial power, industrialiastion and the economy, the crucial effects of the war years and the disturbing evidence that Germany's response to Hitler is to be found in the Wilhelmine era.




German Professions, 1800-1950


Book Description

The role of the middle class in national development has always been of interest to historians concerned with the "peculiarities" of German history. Recently, the professional sector of the German middle class has come under historical scrutiny as part of a re-examination of those features of German society common to Western industrializing nations. This work provides comprehensive coverage of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Germany from the point of view of this new field. The contributors discuss the formation and development of such diverse professions as law, medicine, teaching, engineering, social work, and psychology, as well as the special cases of the bureaucracy and the military. They examine such questions as the role of the state in the creation and regulation of professions, the social and political role of various professional groups during the turbulent Weimar and Nazi periods, and the remarkable and troubling institutional continuity of certain professions through the Third Reich and into the postwar republics.




Military Review


Book Description




Uncovered Fields


Book Description

This volume presents original research on the military, social and cultural history of the First World War. Inspired by the reinvigoration of this subject area in the last decade, its chapters explore the stresses of waging a war, whose “totalizing logic” issued formidable challenges to communities, accounted for the pervasion of the conflict into the private sphere, and brought about specific intellectual responses. Subjects included are race and gender relations, shellshock, civil-military relations, social mobilization and military discipline. It encompasses an unusually broad geographical range, including papers on Britain, France and Germany, but also Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria-Hungary and Latin America. This collective undertaking will interest those who are dedicated to the comparative history of modern warfare. Contributors include: Olivier Compagnon, Emmanuelle Cronier, Anne Duménil, Stefan Goebel, Hans-Georg Hofer, Jean-Yves LeNaour, Andre Loez, Jenny Macleod, Jessica Meyer, Michelle Moyd, Michael Neiberg, Tammy Proctor, Pierre Purseigle, Matthew Stibbe, Ismee Tames, Susanne Terwey.




Researching World War I


Book Description

World War I was the greatest cataclysm Europe had ever known, directly involving 61 million troops from 16 nations. Yet the history of the war and the reasons it started and spread so rapidly were vastly more complex than the players realized. Written by highly respected authorities, this book discusses the literature on all aspects of the war, making it an excellent starting point for anyone seeking guidance to the immense, and often daunting, body of World War I literature. The struggle mobilized manpower from home, troops from the colonies abroad, and—in most countries-women as well as men. Governments increasingly intervened in everyday life. New weapons and organizational structures were developed. Yet the history of the war and the reasons it started and spread so rapidly were vastly more complex than the players realized. Written by highly respected authorities, this book discusses the literature on all aspects of the war. Dennis Showalter's opening chapter covers the controversial issue of the war's origins—a complex subject that has been much debated by historians. Ensuing chapters consider the literature on each of the participating countries. The broader subjects of the war at sea and the war in the air are also covered. Daniel Beaver's final chapter discusses the mobilization of industry and the new military technology. This book is an excellent starting point for anyone seeking guidance to the immense, and often daunting, body of World War I literature.




The German Army League


Book Description

This book traces the development of the German Army League from its inception through the earliest days of the Weimar Republic. Founded in January 1912, the League promoted the intensification of German militarism and the cultivation of German nationalism. As the last and second largest of the patriotic societies to emerge after 1890, the League led the campaign for army expansion in 1912 and 1913, and against the growing influence of socialism and pacifism within Germany. Attempting to harness popular and nationalist sentiment against the government's foreign and domestic policies by preying on Germans' fears of defeat and socialism, the League contributed to the polarization of German society and aggravated the international tensions which culminated in the Great War. Coetzee combines an analysis of the League's principal personalities and policies with an exploration of the inner workings of local and regional branches, arguing that rather than having served solely as a barometer of populist nationalist sentiment, the League also reflected the machinations of men of education and prominence who believed that an unresponsive German government had stifled their own careers, dealt ineffectually with the prospect of domestic unrest, and squandered the nation's military superiority over its European rivals.