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

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Wilson's focus examines the development of weapons, and the logistical evolution that supports the growth of standing armies through this period. That's not to say that there is no coverage of important aspects of military history--we get an excellent section on the design of warships, for example--but while battles are referred to, they are not detailed as in purely military histories. The scholarship of this book is breathtaking [and] Wilson relates it with a command of his subject that is unparalleled. No one interested in the history of Europe, and of the Germans in particular, can afford not to read this stupendous book. Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph

I can't pretend that looking at 'German' speaking people doesn't make for a complex and large history but it avoids the anachronisms that writing a 'nation' based history involves. The book'sFor most of its existence German-speaking Europe has been splintered into innumerable states - some substantial (such as Austria and Prussia) and some consisting of just a few Alpine meadows. Its military experience has also been extraordinarily varied: threatened and threatening; a mere buffer-zone, and a global threat. It has been said that historians tend to be boring, uninteresting people and that academic historians are monumentally boring and exceptionally uninteresting. Peter Wilson doesn't write many books, but the few that he does write are very long and very German. Iron and Blood follows his epic history of the Thirty Years War and his even more epic history of the Holy Roman Empire. There is inevitably a degree of overlap over these three topics, although Iron and Blood takes a wide ranging, rather than forensic approach to 500 years of German military history. Iron and Blood delves into politics, economics, technology and social developments. Its long view of Germany's military history, magisterial detail and acute analysis provide a new understanding of what was once Europe's warring heart. The Economist Endlessly fascinating ... History has returned to Europe, and Iron and Blood is an excellent place to start getting reacquainted with it' The Times

The author explores how militaries got along with broader society. This ranges from dry discussions of political support for fighter jet upgrades to midlly more interesting accounts of how German civilians coped with their nation's cataclysmic defeat in 1945. 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. 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. 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 HistoryA work of first-rate scholarship ... will become the starting point for all students of military history, not only of Germany but of Europe as a whole. Jonathan Boff, BBC History Magazine 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. From the author of the acclaimed The Thirty Years War and The Heart of Europe, a masterful, landmark reappraisal of German military history, and of the preconceptions about German militarism since before the rise of Prussia and the world wars. 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

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. The author has chopped his book into 5 sections: the 1500s, 1600s, 1700s, 1800s, and last, but certainly not least, the rather bloody 1900s of toothbrush moustsche notoriety. Each century is sub-divided into three chapters: 1. A summary of (numerous) wars. Those who like traditional battle narratives may be saddened to learn that Dr Wilson limits discussion of actual fighting to brief, dry summaries: Count Goring von Hess defeated Burgomeister Hitler Rommelstein at the battle of BarbarossaAuschwitz and then most of the Army succumbed to dystentery forcing an anti-climactic peace. 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. Wilson outlines the evolution of cavalry, artillery and firearms, and the increasing sophistication of tactics and fortifications. The justifications for war also evolved: the Christian ideal of the “just war”, which Wilson defines as a war sanctioned by a properly constituted authority, fought for a just cause, after all other remedies had been exhausted, and in which only essential force is used, rather than gratuitous violence, had fallen out of the rhetoric by the 17th century, to be replaced by “the public good”, vindicating wars of expansion, aggression and conquest stimulated by greed and ideology.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. Well, if you fall into this line of thought, this book will probably reinforce and solidify your current opinions. Peter H. Wilson has devoted his professional life to the study of German military history, particularly the Habsburg Empire and the Thirty Years War of the 1600s. 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. In defiance of this orthodoxy, Wilson’s astonishingly detailed new book is a military history not merely of Germany, but of all parts of Europe that were populated by German speakers, notably Switzerland, from 1500 to the present day. Every aspect of the armies and navies of German Europe is considered: the men (and later women) who served in them; their uniforms, weaponry, recruitment, pay and treatment; the relationship of the military with rulers and politicians; and the wars themselves.

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. From the author of the acclaimed The Thirty Years Warand Heart of Europe, a masterful, landmark reappraisal of German military history, and of the preconceptions about German militarism since before the rise of Prussia and the world wars.Don’t get me wrong, I have loved reading all I can get my hands on regarding WW1 and WW2, and the German military figures large in both. I just keep thinking there is more to say - although such stories might be much more involved. Even the last 100+ years get an interesting and compelling rewrite. The key lesson is to NOT take the teleological view, reading all past events as if somehow (almost by destiny) culminating in the string of wars of 1866 + 1870-1871 + 1914-1918 + 1939-1945 and leading to the great reset, of "Zero Hour" in 1945 (followed by a new chapter). Therein lies a key tenet that focusing on the popular and unquestioned explanation of "Prussian militarism" makes for a crappy understanding of German-speaking peoples' history and military history. The author of definitive books on the Holy Roman Empire and the Thirty Years War, Peter Wilson has with Iron and Blood written his masterpiece. From the acclaimed author of Europe's Tragedy and The Holy Roman Empire, a powerful account of German-speaking Europe through five centuries of military history