Iron and Blood

A Military History of the German-Speaking Peoples Since 1500

By: Peter H. Wilson

Narrated by: Rory Alexander

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. 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. It took two world wars to expose the fallacy of German military genius. Yet even today, Wilson argues, Germany's strategic position is misunderstood.

©2022 Peter H. Wilson (P)2023 Tantor

Difficult listen for amateur historians

Packed with interesting facts and seemingly solid analysis, the author’s use of topical sequencing that bounces between centuries presents a challenge to follow for those of us lacking mastery of the subject.

Comprehensive military history of Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

Covers a wide range of topics including procurement, grand strategy, tactics, leadership and sociology of war in Central Europe. Primarily, it is separated chronologically from the Holy Roman Empire to 1914 and 1914 to the contemporary period. Running through the previously mentioned topics from the start of the period to the end, then going back to the start of the period and running through a different topic. The performance was very good and I appreciate the author comprehensively describing the topic in such detail. A must read for everyone interested in the military history of the countries and people in the mentioned regions.

Attention to detail in the pre-20th century chapters

I am an avid reader of history and all it entails. I see the First World War as what came to define the 20th century and shaping the world as it is now. Getting the knowledge of how the German speaking world came to fight the world wars from their perspective, and how the previous four centuries shaped their experience leading to the July Crisis, was fascinating. My only regret is that the chapters and knowledge of what happened in the 20th century were more general and not so detailed as the chapters that came before. While I learned a lot from these chapters, the depth of the details was more shallow than the chapters prior.

High highs low lows

Some really engaging and interesting parts and other parts that felt disjointed and dramatically unimportant that it was a snooze fest. Overall the good outweighs the bad and I finished it with some cool things learned and an interesting perspective.

Awesome

Great narration. Great overall military history of the German speaking countries from 1500s onwards. In form it jumps around a bit in time periods which might bother some but I thought was ok. Reinforces the fact that we often look at German history with the hindsight of Nazism and the Holocaust and this causes us to draw false equivalence to German history prior to the events, which we should be mindful of. Learned a lot and bought the print copy to study further.