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The German Army, 1933-1945: Its political and military failure Hardcover – January 1, 1978
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It will shake up the ideas of all those who regard the staff of the Nazi-dominated German Army as paragons of military competence.--The Economist
- Print length598 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMacdonald and Jane's
- Publication dateJanuary 1, 1978
- ISBN-100354010573
- ISBN-13978-0354010573
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Product details
- Publisher : Macdonald and Jane's; First Edition (January 1, 1978)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 598 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0354010573
- ISBN-13 : 978-0354010573
- Item Weight : 2.35 pounds
- Best Sellers Rank: #12,185,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #6,552 in Military Technology
- #28,558 in German History (Books)
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What this book does do is examine in detail the myth of Blitzkrieg and the inner workings of the command structures and way of waging war. Cooper lays out very clearly how the old myths were started, and describes very clinically how the German Army was a victim of its own traditions - both in its way of making war (modern "Blitzkrieg" actually can be dated back to at least 1866, as Cooper points out) and in its subversion by Hitler - obedience to a man (emperor of Führer) was the tradition by which the German Army ensured its own destruction.
Rivetting reading. I can't offer any deeper insight into the accuracy of some of the discussion - the earlier reviewers may have valid points about Engigma and the Russian Archives - but certainly this is the way to open one's mind to the idea that the German Army really wasn't all that revolutionary in its warmaking concepts.
I kept looking for Cooper to lay blame for the war on the Generals, or to absolve them completely - he does neither, as far as I can tell, though a book this dense needs to be read more than once for its full impact to make itself felt.
Mr Cooper probably did rely heavily on memoirs but they can be useful to the historian as well as to the writer of those memoirs.
For example, discussions of particular battles may have some use but they may sugarcoat discussions about things for which they could be punished, such as the Wehrmacht's participation in the extermination of the jews. Mr Cooper doesn't even mention that. I can understand his not covering the holocaust, but the Wehrmacht had a definite role in rounding up Jews and at times, participating in their extermination.
Also, my impression is that the book wasn't about the army so much as it was about its Generals and their relations with Hitler. I saw very little on the German soldier except for broad generalities. That said, his description of what the Russian weather did to the german soldiers when they were outside Moscow in the winter of 1941 was graphic.
Usually in a book or manual, order of battle information is presented in a table. Mr Cooper put this information into prose and sometimes it got a little tedious wading through all that information.
On the positive side, it is a very detailed examination of how the Wehrmacht fared during the war. Their trials and tribulations as well as their successes. And it does, generally, read well.
It also filled in many gaps in my knowledge. Others may know these things. I didn't. For example, The Germans invaded Russia on June 22, 1941. By July they were already having second thoughts about the wisdom of that decision and in August, he quotes one General as saying they have greatly underestimated their Soviet enemy.
It is well known that it was Hitler who ordered "no retreat" at Stalingrad but Mr. Cooper documents just how often Hitler interfered with his Generals with the "no retreat" order. In fact, you get the impression that it was Hitler's amateurish meddling with strategy and tactics that was the primary cause of the Germans losing the war. I believe it.
Overall, I found this book to be both interesting and readable and that puts me in the "wonderful" column. I would recommend that anyone interested in WWII read it. It does have some flaws but so does virtually every book one would read.