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

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This astonishingly ambitious and detailed 900-page study of militaries in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland is not for the faint of heart. Iron and Blood is a timely book , arguing powerfully that 'German history should not be read backwards'. President of the Society for the History of War and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Wilson is Chichele Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford. If there is one constant it has been the sense of being beset by seemingly more powerful enemies - France or Russia or Turkey - and the need to strike a rapid knockout blow to ensure a favourable result. Germany of course took the wrong path thanks to 'Prussian' militarism which we had to destroy, twice.

There are chapters that seem like data dumps with tons of details and numbers thrown the reader's way with only a sprinkle of context. He captures the essence of these tumultuous times, where the German people struggled for identity and unity amidst external pressures and internal strife. It begins with the early modern period, a time of great political fragmentation and religious upheaval. It encompasses five centuries of political, military, technological and economic change to tell the story of the German-speaking lands, from the Rhine to the Balkan frontier, from Switzerland to the North Sea. To explain modern Germany’s aggression, Anglophone military historians have often claimed the existence of a uniquely German way of war.By setting his account in the broader context of European history, Wilson launches a sustained attack on the teleological Prussocentrism of the traditional story. Military buffs ought to be aware that this work doesn't focus on battles, operational details, or military nuts and bolts. Granted, air power is not a factor before the 20th century, but sometimes, the in-depth breakouts aren’t consistent.

While many conflicts and specific battles are referenced in passing here, the author's themes are far grander in design. Alongside Switzerland, which relied on traditional militia, both states exemplify the longstanding civilian element within German military power. Germany, their argument goes, was naturally predisposed to bellicosity thanks to its place at the heart of Europe. will become the starting point for all students of military history , not only of Germany but of Europe as a whole. I have never read a better background to the development of modern Switzerland with its unique military history, nor have I ever seen a work, even amongst those purporting to focus on the Hapsburg Empire(s), that more clearly highlighted their enormously underrated influence on the developing German way of war.

There is no equivalent study of this quality for Germany, nor, indeed, really for any other European state, so Wilson deserves considerable praise for a work which should receive much attention…This brilliant book sets a model for other works. I had very high hopes for this book (especially after just finishing Napoleon the Great) but it really disappointed. We can learn all the intimate details of weaponry from the Thirty Years War or the Franco-Prussian War, but discussions of weaponry for Fredrick the Great aren’t there.