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The German Wars: A Concise History, 1859-1945
The German Wars: A Concise History, 1859-1945 outlines the history of European warfare from the Wars of German Unification to the end of the World War II. The title aside, the book is not be another history of the German military; it takes a much broader approach looking at political, social, economic, and military developments across Europe, and the United States during the period. The “German War” part of the title is there because Germany plays the central part in the story. But the key element threading its way through this volume is the Industrial Revolution.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Michael A. Palmer
15 books4 followersMichael A. Palmer is a professor of History and Maritime Studies at East Carolina University.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 13, 2015
5/10 This book isn't bad, but it's bland. I don't think I learned this history well because this book didn't make it memorable.
February 7, 2013
Dr Palmer presents an overview of Western warfare from the middle of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century, a period in which every major war involved Germany. There are certainly conflicts during this period in which Germany wasn't involved, but most of them were conflicts between two non-Western nations, or one Western nation and one non-Western nation. The only really major conflict between two Western nations during this period that didn't involve Germany was the American Civil War.
This was a period in which Germany rose from a collection of minor countries to be the dominant power, both militarily and economically, in Europe. Palmer argues, convincingly, that the brilliance shown by first Prussian, and then German leadership during the period from 1859 through until the comprehensive defeat of the French in the Franco-Prussian War, was lacking during the first half of the 20th century, and was the primary factor in Germany's defeat in both World Wars.
There is little doubt that German tactical thinking and planning was far superior to that of the British, Americans and Soviets (although the gap had narrowed by the end of WWII), but their strategic planning was seriously flawed.
This was a period in which Germany rose from a collection of minor countries to be the dominant power, both militarily and economically, in Europe. Palmer argues, convincingly, that the brilliance shown by first Prussian, and then German leadership during the period from 1859 through until the comprehensive defeat of the French in the Franco-Prussian War, was lacking during the first half of the 20th century, and was the primary factor in Germany's defeat in both World Wars.
There is little doubt that German tactical thinking and planning was far superior to that of the British, Americans and Soviets (although the gap had narrowed by the end of WWII), but their strategic planning was seriously flawed.
October 10, 2021
Good survey of the wars of German unification and aggression.
December 29, 2015
Good book to read about the German wars. Nothing special about this book. Just a decent WW11 book.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews