An exploration of the development of military theory and doctrine in the German army between the wars.

An outstanding assessment of the military power unleashed by Hitler, Warfare and the Third Reich is a notable contribution both to military history and to the understanding of the events during, and the outcome of, World War II. Written with great authoroty, it examines and discusses the growth, development and deployment of the German armed forces and considers Hitler's generals and their vital roles in the rise and ultimate decline of the Third Reich.

Originally published under the title "Men of the Luftwaffe", "this insightful, well-researched book traces the rise and fall of Hitler's air force from the perspective of its top leaders, concentrating on problems of organization, policy and aircraft production rather than battles and campaigns" ("Publishers Weekly").

The story of Western Front from a German perspective ranges from the collapse of the Normandy line in the summer of 1944 until the Germans were able to bring the Allied juggernaut to a halt on the borders of the Reich itself.

This work examines, among other topics, the personal oath of loyalty that the officers of the German army swore to Adolf Hitler on August 2, 1934. It discusses how the majority of officers--those who did not become conspirators against him--complied with Hitler's orders until May 1945 despite his cruel treatment of soldiers, militarily unsound strategy and tactics, and the widespread destruction and crimes he and his forces committed. The oath taken by the officers had a strong psychological effect among a proud corps with a long history of obedience and honor. They followed Hitler to the end even though they knew they were fighting a losing battle. The author also examines why and how only a few officers, the conspirators, began to break away, lose trust in Hitler, oppose him and finally stage an assassination attempt. This history traces the development within the German army from 1918 of the philosophies of loyalty and disloyalty--and obedience and disobedience--as challenged by the Hitlerian oath of loyalty.

Civil-military relations have been a consistent theme of the history of the Weimar Republic. This study focuses on the career of General Walther Reinhardt, the last Prussian Minister of War and the First Head of the Army Command in the Weimar Republic. Though less well known than his great rival, Hans von Seeckt, Reinhardt's role in forming the young Reichswehr and his writings on warfare made him one of the most important and influential military figures in interwar Germany. Contrary to the conventional view that civil-military relations were fraught from the outset, the author argues, Reinhardt's contribution to the military politics of the Weimar Republic shows that opportunities for reform and co-operation with civilian leaders existed. However, although he is primarily seen as a liberal General, this study demonstrates that he was motivated by professional military considerations and by the specter of a future war. His ideas on modern warfare were amongst the most radical of the time.

Because it lasted only seven months, the Franco-Prussian War has sometimes been ignored by historians and yet it merits study for the fact that it was the first deployment of a ruthlessly efficient and superbly organised German Army, a phenomenon that was to be seen twice more in the next 75 years. Indeed, military professionals and history students have long sought a thorough account of this conflict for the very reasons of its significance in both military development and European evolution. The war machine of the expansive Prussians used organisational strength and modern techniques to prevail over the more antiquated French and yet the battles were keenly fought and brought awesome casualties. The lessons learned by both sides, and onlookers, had a mighty impact; the emergence of a dominant German land force, a German nation and a German Empire determined the course of European and world history for a century and beyond. The story of the war is told with vigour and accuracy and will be a significant contribution to military history and to our understanding of the development of Europe as we see it today.

War and Economy in the Third Reich examines the nature of the German economy in the 1930s and the Second World War. Richard Overy's essays, collected here for the first time with a substantial new introduction, explore the tension between Hitler's vision of an armed economy and the reality of German economic and social life. Often thought-provoking, always informed, War and Economy opens a window on an essential aspect of Hitler's Germany.

An illustrated history of how the Red Army pushed west and into Berlin in 1945 during World War II. The last year of the war saw Russian offensives that cleared the Germans out of their final strongholds in Finland and the Baltic states, before advancing into Finnmark in Norway and the east European states that bordered Germany: Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. By spring 1945 the Red Army had reached to Vienna and the Balkans, and had thrust deep into Germany where they met American, French and British troops advancing from the west. The final days of the Third Reich were at hand. Berlin was first surrounded, then attacked and taken. Hitler’s suicide and his successors’ unconditional surrender ended the war. For writers and historians who concentrate on the Western Allies and the battles in France and the Low Countries, the Eastern Front comes as a shock. The sheer size of both the territories and the forces involved; the savagery of both weather and the fighting; the appalling suffering of the civilian populations of all countries and the wreckage of towns and cities—it’s no wonder that words like Armageddon are used to describe the annihilation. Red Army into the Reich combines a narrative history, contemporary photographs and maps with images of memorials, battlefield survivors and then & now views. It may come as a surprise to the western reader to see how many memorials there are to Russia’s Great Patriotic War and those to the losses suffered by the countries who spent so long under the murderous Nazi regime. Praise for Red Army into the Reich “If you have any interest in understanding the final cataclysm that overtook the Third Reich and delineated the hows and whys of the Cold War—and Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union—Red Army into the Reich will give you a glimpse into a generally underreported past...a small slice of heaven for the East Front fan.” —ARMOR Magazine “Carries the reader into the Eastern Front with clear writing, good maps, and lavish illustration. Many of the photographs are accompanied by images of how the scene they depict appears today.” —WWII History Magazine “A better-illustrated recent volume would be hard to find, especially one that covers the breadth of Red Army combat operations in the third period of the war.” —Journal of Slavic Military Studies

"... a work of exceptional scholarship that stands as a testament to the exhaustive nature of historical research." — War History Network This three-volume set offers concise biographical information for over five thousand generals and admirals of the Third Reich. It covers all branches of service, ordered alphabetically and provides a brief, though scholarly, overview of each individual, including personal details and dates for all attachments to unit, and medals awarded, offering a readily accessible go-to reference work for all World War II researchers and historians. In addition to the biographic information, each volume includes extensive appendices. The books are packed with information on these senior officers of the Third Reich, many of whom are little documented in the English language.