Iron and Blood: A Military History of the German-Speaking Peoples since 1500 Hardcover – February 14, 2023

Excellent book

This is a tremendous book. It covers the military history of the German-speaking peoples (defined as Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) over the last approximately 500 years. It is not a narrow war/battle book. Each of the sections, which cover about 100 years, gives an overview of the conflicts during the period of interest, but then discusses governments and how military decisions are made, military technology, recruitment of forces, how finances were handled, and the sociology of the military forces and polities. There are subsection titles like "Welfare, Medical Care, and Mortality" and "The Politics of Recruitment." The book has 763 pages of text (including the Introduction), 20 excellent maps (which are not well integrated into the text), and 36 figures (which appear fairly random). I counted 1598 end notes spread over 73 pages. The end notes are almost, but not completely, references and citations. There are a very few clarifying/amplifying end notes. The end notes are not separated, but use a run on format. I have a few nits. The text seems to strongly imply that the fortress of Przemysl fell in a siege starting in September 1914, when it was relieved in October and then later rebesieged (not only did the Austrians not resupply the fortress, they took some of its its supplies for field forces). Wilson refers to US troops in the 1970s as occupiers, when occupation is usually considered to have ended in the 1950's. Finally, Wilson sometimes presents his conclusions was facts. Given the 1598 end notes, I suspect he is largely correct in his conclusions, but my personal preference is to be given facts (which he certainly does give) and be permitted to draw my own conclusions. This is a very valuable book, but be warned that is is extremely dense in information. Although very well written, this is not a quick and easy read.

Nephew very happy

This is a very good book that would have been great had the publisher actually included the (I presume) maps and figures. At various points in the text you find notes like "see Figure 15," but there is no Figure 15 (or any figures). The lack of maps does reduce the utility of the book somewhat, especially since the author clearly intended them to represent certain battles, army strength illustrations, and so on. I'm guessing this was an editorial oversight of some kind (since some of the figure references appear to have been removed), it's still annoying and shoddy. Especially for a work of this magnitude covering as wide a span of history as it does. It if came down to a choice between the (relatively useless) illustrations and the figures, I would have taken the maps/figures hands down.Aside from that glaring omission, this is a good overview of military developments within the German-speaking regions of what is now Europe. The author does assume some background knowledge in general European history, which might pose an issue for some these days. But if you at least know what the Holy Roman Empire was or that Napoleon existed you shouldn't have much trouble with the content. His examination of later German military affairs is especially helpful, as most studies tend to end in 1945.

Deutschland 🇩🇪 needs Bismarck back more so than ever

Way too repetitive. I was expecting a much more insightful view into the rise of militarism in Germany, but felt I was reading the same chapters again and again. Even though Wilson writes the chapters chronologically it still has that "thematic" feel about it. Maybe because I had just finished his Heart Of Europe a few weeks before. If you have digested enough on Nazi Germany to give you a stomach ache, this book does not provide any new revelations. I prefer Ben Shephard's Hitler's Soldiers and by far Christopher Clark's Iron Kingdom. 3 stars for the scholarship.

I ordered my copy from the UK so I received it in November in Vicksburg Mississippi. This is an excellent & comprehensive book. Granted I am more of a Modern European History student, so the early material was largely new to me. I will shortly be sending this on to a close friend who will CERTAINLY enjoy it.The author has written a general study of a very long period. So, I was constantly looking up wars, battles, individuals etc. as much of what is in this book is new to me and for most readers I would hazard. Sometimes he writes in broad strokes and misses out on detailed nuances, such as why Imperial Germany built the battleship fleet that it did and how it was to be utilized (and NOT as resulted in 1914-18) - (p468-70).I particularly enjoyed his inclusion of Switzerland in his analysis as this is seldom covered. Their numerous Civil Wars are not well known.One minor point, and it is common for those focused on European History. Wilson does note the Taiping Rebellion and the millions who died there (in discussing how it contrasted with, say, the losses from the Franco-Prussian War or the War of the Triple Alliance). He fails to note the Dunghan Revolt of Muslims (and others) in China or the southern Panthay Rebellion which both also had a huge butcher's list (p364).

Great insight brilliantly written