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.
#1857626 in Books University Press of Kentucky 1997-02-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 .90 x 6.30 x 9.34l; 1.30 #File Name: 0813120047256 pages
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