From the author of the acclaimed The Thirty Years War and 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.

German military history is typically viewed as an inexorable march to the rise of Prussia and the two world wars, the road paved by militarism and the result a specifically German way of war. Peter Wilson challenges this narrative. Looking beyond Prussia to German-speaking Europe across the last five centuries, Wilson finds little unique or preordained in German militarism or warfighting.

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.

Only after Prussia's unexpected victory over France in 1871 did Germans and outsiders come to believe in a German gift for warfare-a special capacity for high-speed, high-intensity combat that could overcome numerical disadvantage. It took two world wars to expose the fallacy of German military genius. Yet even today, Wilson argues, Germany's strategic position is misunderstood. The country now seen as a bastion of peace spends heavily on defense in comparison to its peers and is deeply invested in less kinetic contemporary forms of coercive power.

About the Author
Peter H. Wilson is the author of Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire, an Economist and Sunday Times Best Book, and The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy, winner of the Distinguished Book Award from the Society of Military History. He has appeared on BBC Radio and has written for Prospect, the Los Angeles Times, and the Financial Times. 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. His work has been translated into Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, and Spanish.

Reviews
Wilson's fascinating and comprehensive chronicle reminds us that the country's vaunted reputation was of recent vintage anyway and failed to encompass the many Germanic traditions that had little to do with Prussia, which was dominant for only a limited period. Recovering the complexity of German military history gives us a fresh perspective-one that is especially welcome at the current moment, when Germany is debating what its role should be as cannons fire and bombs drop yet again in Europe. -- William Anthony Hay * Wall Street Journal *
Wilson provides a bold survey of over half a millennium of warfare...His book is a masterful demonstration of the great potential of the new military history that has emerged over recent decades as scholars, distancing themselves from an older generation mainly interested in chaps and maps, have begun to pay more attention to the social, economic, and political aspects of war. -- David Motadel * New York Review of Books *
The scholarship of this book is breathtaking...No one interested in the history of Europe, and of the Germans in particular, can afford not to read this stupendous book. -- Simon Heffer * The Telegraph *
Hugely impressive...A determinedly analytical book, tracing in five lengthy, chronologically divided sections the development of strategy and tactics, military planning, finance and resources, the recruitment and social structures of the soldiery, weaponry and equipment, ideas about war and much more besides...The experience of Germany since 1945 demonstrates Peter H. Wilson's point that German history, seen over the long term, consists of more than an endless series of wars. -- Richard J. Evans * Times Literary Supplement *
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 *
Astonishingly ambitious and detailed...An absorbing overview of how slowly changing societal forces-such as fiscal systems, scientific and technological capabilities, ideological and cultural beliefs, and the social background of soldiers-have transformed the use of military force across modern times. -- Andrew Moravcsik * Foreign Affairs *
There is no grand unified theory in Iron and Blood-how could there be? Instead, it is an all-round purple patch of scholarship, chock-full of absorbing detail...History has returned to Europe, and Iron and Blood is an excellent place to start getting reacquainted with it. -- Oliver Moody * The Times *
Groundbreaking and highly accessible...The return of conventional warfare to Europe's shores undoubtedly gives [Wilson's] astute historical reflections on the conduct of war in central Europe an unforeseen, and unhoped for, topicality. -- Robert Gewarth * Financial Times *
This is an ambitious book which was badly needed given that so much of our recent history has been dominated by both the Hapsburgs and the Hohenzollerns and the consequences of their demise...Required reading for serious military historians. -- Barney White-Spunner * Aspects of History *
A work of first-rate scholarship, rooted in broad and deep knowledge of the period and literature...Iron and Blood 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 *
Magisterial...A magnificent and very readable explanation of a grand sweep of history, which brings us right up to date and is unlikely ever to be bettered. -- Gordon Corrigan * Aspects of History *
The definitive account of Germany's military history over the long duree...As the country enters a new military epoch, rearming against a resurgent Russia, this timely book offers an invaluable guide to Germans' rich, long and complex martial history. -- Alexander Watson * Literary Review *
Iron and Blood is also ambitious in its contextualisation of military history, drawing on political, economic, and social developments. An examination of civilian responses to conflict challenges the notion of Germans as uniquely war-like...A timely book. -- Katja Hoyer * History Today *
The book is as much a history of Germany as it is a military history. Wilson goes through painstaking detail to describe the ever-changing political landscape of Europe leading up to World War I and II...A fascinating study. -- Lynn White * Books for Congress *
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. -- Jeremy Black * Mars & Clio *
An encyclopedic survey of the 'German way of war' as it developed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from the 16th century to the present day...[Wilson] successfully upends a regiment's worth of prevailing wisdom. It's a monumental achievement. * Publishers Weekly *


Awards
Winner of Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History 2023 (United States).



Book Information
ISBN 9780674987623
Author Peter H. Wilson
Format Hardback
Page Count 976
Imprint The Belknap Press
Publisher Harvard University Press