The Myth and Reality of German Warfare

The Myth and Reality of German Warfare PDF

Author: Gerhard P. Gross

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 0813168392

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Surrounded by potential adversaries, nineteenth-century Prussia and twentieth-century Germany faced the formidable prospect of multifront wars and wars of attrition. To counteract these threats, generations of general staff officers were educated in operational thinking, the main tenets of which were extremely influential on military planning across the globe and were adopted by American and Soviet armies. In the twentieth century, Germany's art of warfare dominated military theory and practice, creating a myth of German operational brilliance that lingers today, despite the nation's crushing defeats in two world wars. In this seminal study, Gerhard P. Gross provides a comprehensive examination of the development and failure of German operational thinking over a period of more than a century. He analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of five different armies, from the mid--nineteenth century through the early days of NATO. He also offers fresh interpretations of towering figures of German military history, including Moltke the Elder, Alfred von Schlieffen, and Erich Ludendorff. Essential reading for military historians and strategists, this innovative work dismantles cherished myths and offers new insights into Germany's failed attempts to become a global power through military means.

Shattered Genius

Shattered Genius PDF

Author: David J. A. Stone

Publisher: Casemate

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781612000985

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"A new and authoritative study of Hitler's relationship with the German Army general staff in the period leading up to and during World War II. Examines the general staff's struggle to work effectively under Hitler, despite facing many challenges--not least the F'uhrer's own divisive policies and directives. Illuminates the fractured nature of the German army command in the latter stages of the war as the general staff was marginalized by the Nazis. Dispels many widely held myths concerning the key staff officers that served the Third Reich, while also identifying their personal and collective failures and oversights. Analyzes and evaluates the army's involvement in the German resistance movement, the repercussions of the abortive assassination attempt against Hitler in the von Stauffenberg plot of 1944, and the unsuccessful bid to initiate Operation Valkyrie."--P. [4] of jacket.

War Book of the German General Staff

War Book of the German General Staff PDF

Author: Prussia (Kingdom). Armee. Grosser Generalstab

Publisher: Stackpole Books

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 172

ISBN-13: 9780811701471

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Issued by the German Imperial General Staff, this manual was for the instruction of German soldiers in how to conduct themselves during combat operations. It explained what conduct was allowed & what prohibited, including how to treat prisoners, non-combatants & spies.

Lossberg's War

Lossberg's War PDF

Author: Fritz von Lossberg

Publisher: University Press of Kentucky

Published: 2017-07-28

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 081316981X

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General Fritz von Lossberg (1868--1942) directed virtually all the major German defensive battles on the Western Front during the First World War. Hailed as "the Lion of the Defensive," he was an extremely influential military tactician and, unlike many other operations officers of his era, was quick to grasp the changes wrought by technology. Now available for the first time in English, Lossberg's memoir explains how he developed, tested, and implemented his central principles -- flexibility, decentralized control, and counterattack -- which were based on a need to adapt to shifting conditions on the battlefield. Lossberg first put his theory of elastic defense combined with defense-in-depth into practice during the Battle of Arras (April--May 1917), where it succeeded. At the Battle of Passchendaele (June--November 1917), his achievements on the field proved the feasibility of his strategy of employing a thinly manned front line that minimized the number of soldiers exposed to artillery fire. Lossberg's tactical modernizations have become essential components of army doctrine, and Lossberg's War: The World War I Memoirs of A German Chief of Staff will take readers inside the mind of one of the most significant military innovators of the twentieth century.

A Genius for War

A Genius for War PDF

Author: Trevor Nevitt Dupuy

Publisher: Prentice Hall

Published: 1977

Total Pages: 416

ISBN-13:

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"Presents the case that the key to German success in war lies not in some biological predisposition for battlefield success, not in adaptation to mindless regimentation, nor in fanatical devotion to leader or cause, but rather in the development and implementation of a unique, creative General Staff system which, by its very design and professionalism, was able to institutionalize excellence"--Jacket.

History Of The German General Staff 1657-1945 [Illustrated Edition]

History Of The German General Staff 1657-1945 [Illustrated Edition] PDF

Author: Walter Görlitz

Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing

Published: 2015-11-06

Total Pages: 546

ISBN-13: 1786254956

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Includes more than twenty portraits and the World War Two On The Eastern Front (1941-1945) Illustration Pack – 198 photos/illustrations and 46 maps. The HISTORY OF THE GERMAN GENERAL STAFF is the first comprehensive history of the Prussian and later German General Staff from its earliest beginnings in the Thirty Years’ War to the German unconditional surrender in 1945. With the dawn of the industrial age, war was taken out of the hands of monarchs and aristocrats. During the first decades of its existence the German General Staff was led by idealists with constructive political conceptions and ethical and Christian mentality. The emergence of the anonymous technicians, whose political convictions were either non-existent or formed by military necessity or ambitions, only served to aggravate an expansionist, adventurous, and militaristic national temperament. Hitler’s decision to force his country into a war which could not end well and his deep hostility toward the General Staff created the greatest tragedy in its history when most of its members were continually torn by the struggle between human, ethical, and patriotic responsibilities on the one hand and by military obedience as exemplified in their military oath on the other. The continual conflict ended in the attempt on Hitler’s life and also in the complete destruction of the German General Staff by Hitler himself...There were aloof and cold technicians, warm-hearted, emotional men with European conceptions, fanatical Nazis, gullible dupes, drill-sergeant types, and true idealistic aristocrats like Stauffenberg. The...HISTORY OF THE GERMAN GENERAL STAFF, which is based on tremendous research in German and foreign sources and on many interviews with German generals and staff officers who survived World War II, is considered the standard work in the field.

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