The Armies of Bismarck's Wars

The Armies of Bismarck's Wars PDF Author: Bruce Basset-Powell
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612002293
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
The riveting story of the nineteenth-century rise of the Prussian army—a key factor in the unification of Germany—with maps and illustrations. On July 3, 1866, a Prussian force overwhelmed and defeated an Austrian army near the fortress city of Königgrätz in a bloody battle that lasted all day. At a stroke, the foremost power in Germany and central Europe had been reduced to a second rate player. The event caused anxiety and alarm in the capitals of the western world. How was an upstart country like Prussia able to upset the balance of power in Europe? Only sixteen years before, it had been put in its place by Austria with the treaty of Olmütz. Its performance as an Austrian ally had been less than stellar in the Second Schleswig War of 1864, despite its defeat of the Danes at Düppel. Yet within five years, a Prussian-led army would humble France and a Prussian king would be crowned emperor of a united Germany. The history of the world would be changed forever. This book tells the story of this army, chronicling its growth from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the reforms of the 1860s, then offering a full account of the wars against Denmark in 1864 and Austria in 1866. The author shows how the confluence of three men’s lives—King William I, Helmuth von Moltke, and Otto von Bismarck—provided the essential ingredients that created this victorious army. The growth and influence of the General Staff is examined, along with the recruitment and training of officers and men. Powell fully describes the organization of the army and the fledgling navy, as well as the weapons with which they fought.

The Armies of Bismarck's Wars

The Armies of Bismarck's Wars PDF Author: Bruce Basset-Powell
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612002293
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
The riveting story of the nineteenth-century rise of the Prussian army—a key factor in the unification of Germany—with maps and illustrations. On July 3, 1866, a Prussian force overwhelmed and defeated an Austrian army near the fortress city of Königgrätz in a bloody battle that lasted all day. At a stroke, the foremost power in Germany and central Europe had been reduced to a second rate player. The event caused anxiety and alarm in the capitals of the western world. How was an upstart country like Prussia able to upset the balance of power in Europe? Only sixteen years before, it had been put in its place by Austria with the treaty of Olmütz. Its performance as an Austrian ally had been less than stellar in the Second Schleswig War of 1864, despite its defeat of the Danes at Düppel. Yet within five years, a Prussian-led army would humble France and a Prussian king would be crowned emperor of a united Germany. The history of the world would be changed forever. This book tells the story of this army, chronicling its growth from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the reforms of the 1860s, then offering a full account of the wars against Denmark in 1864 and Austria in 1866. The author shows how the confluence of three men’s lives—King William I, Helmuth von Moltke, and Otto von Bismarck—provided the essential ingredients that created this victorious army. The growth and influence of the General Staff is examined, along with the recruitment and training of officers and men. Powell fully describes the organization of the army and the fledgling navy, as well as the weapons with which they fought.

The Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War PDF Author: Michael Howard
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134972199
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
In 1870 Bismarck ordered the Prussian Army to invade France, inciting one of the most dramatic conflicts in European history. It transformed not only the states-system of the Continent but the whole climate of European moral and political thought. The overwhelming triumph of German military might, evoking general admiration and imitation, introduced an era of power politics, which was to reach its disastrous climax in 1914. First published in 1961 and now with a new introduction, The Franco-Prussian War is acknowledged as the definitive history of one of the most dramatic and decisive conflicts in the history of Europe.

The Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War PDF Author: Geoffrey Wawro
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521584364
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Wawro describes the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-1, that violently changed the course of European history.

Gambling on War

Gambling on War PDF Author: Roger L. Ransom
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781108454353
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
The First World War left a legacy of chaos that is still with us a century later. Why did European leaders resort to war and why did they not end it sooner? Roger L. Ransom sheds new light on this enduring puzzle by employing insights from prospect theory and notions of risk and uncertainty. He reveals how the interplay of confidence, fear, and a propensity to gamble encouraged aggressive behavior by leaders who pursued risky military strategies in hopes of winning the war. The result was a series of military disasters and a war of attrition which gradually exhausted the belligerents without producing any hope of ending the war. Ultimately, he shows that the outcome of the war rested as much on the ability of the Allied powers to muster their superior economic resources to continue the fight as it did on success on the battlefield.

French Army 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War (1)

French Army 1870–71 Franco-Prussian War (1) PDF Author: Stephen Shann
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782002316
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 135

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Book Description
At the time of the Second Empire, under Napoleon III, the French army, elevated from tactful obscurity, was re-modelled on Napoleonic lines. This army first fought in the Crimea, and then against Austria. Later, In Mexico, they had a disastrous adventure while in Europe Prussia was fast emerging as a challenge to France's military pre-eminence. Together with Austria, Bismarck first crushed Denmark before turning on Austria herself. The victory at Sadowa in 1866 stunned Europe, and in Paris Napoleon and his advisers set to thinking of a way to counter this new threat. In this first of two volumes looking at the French Army of the Franco-Prussian War, Stephen Shann and Louis Delperier examine the history, organisation and weapons of the French Imperial troops.

Moltke on the Art of War

Moltke on the Art of War PDF Author: Daniel Hughes
Publisher: Presidio Press
ISBN: 0307538516
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Field Marshal Helmuth Graf von Moltke is best known for his direction of the German/Prussian campaigns against Austria in 1866 and France in 1870-71, yet it was during his service as chief of the General Staff that he laid the foundation for the German way of war which would continue through 1945. Professor Daniel Hughes of the Air War College, in addition to editing and assisting with the translation of this selection of Moltke’s thoughts and theories on the art of war, has written an insightful commentary on “Moltke the Elder” that places him in the broader context of Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz’s sometimes abstract philosophical ideas. The book also contains an extensive bibliographic and historiographic commentary that includes references to Moltke and his theories in the current literature in Germany, England, and the United States—a valuable aid to anyone doing research on the subject. This volume, in addition to its appeal to scholars, serves as an introduction to the theory of the German army, as well as a summary of Moltke’s enduring theoretical legacy. Praise for Moltke on the Art of War “Moltke molded the Prussian and ultimately the German army at a time of technological and economic change. For that reason . . . this book deserves a much wider audience than those interested in nineteenth-century military history. Readers will be particularly grateful for the editor’s careful explanation of terms that are easily mistranslated in English, and for concise and useful footnotes and bibliography. A model of fine editing.”—Foreign Affairs Magazine “This valuable work ably compiles the selected writings on the art of war of one of military history’s greatest geniuses. [Moltke’s] impact on American military thinking persists, especially in various military staff college curricula. Strongly recommended.”—Armed Forces Journal “A thoughtfully edited, well-translated anthology that merits a place in any serious collection on the craft of war in the modern Western world."—Journal of Military History

The Franco German War Of 1870-1871

The Franco German War Of 1870-1871 PDF Author: Helmuth von Moltke
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781500896423
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
Helmuth von Moltke's The Franco German War of 1870-1871 is a comprehensive history of one of the 19th century's most influential wars, and the one that helped lead to the establishment of the modern state of Germany. It is written by one of the most important participants in the war, because von Moltke was a field marshal for the Prussians and a Chief of the General Staff.

The First Schleswig-Holstein War 1848-50

The First Schleswig-Holstein War 1848-50 PDF Author: Nick Svendsen
Publisher: Helion and Company
ISBN: 1910294195
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
1848 was a turbulent but momentous time in Europe. Within this context, the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein were caught between the rising nationalism and desire for unification of the Prussian/German nation states and the traditional alliances with the Danish Kingdom. The Schleswig Holsteiners decided that allegiance with the German Federation, including possessing their own constitution, was the best way forward. They rebelled against the Danish and looked to the Prussians with their greater military prowess for help. In Denmark, as in other European countries, the call for a democratic constitution caused social disturbance, triggered initially by the February riots in Paris. The Danish monarchy, in crisis, both constitutionally and in terms of monarchical succession continued to lay claim on their southernmost duchies and sent their armed forces to destroy the Schleswig-Holstein insurgents. The author describes the battles and battlefields upon which this crisis was played out: from the first major action at Bov (9 April, 1848) to the last major battles of the war, at Isted (25 July 1850) and Missunde (12 September 1850), from the geomorphic landscape influencing battlefield strategy down to the description of a farmhouse where Prussian officers jumped out of windows to save themselves from the Danish.

On the Road to Total War

On the Road to Total War PDF Author: Stig Förster
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521521192
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 724

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Book Description
On the Road to Total War attempts to trace the roots and development of total industrialised warfare, a concept which terrorises citizens and soldiers alike. Mass mobilisation of people and resources and the growth of nationalism led to this totalisation of war in nineteenth-century industrialised nations. In this collection of essays, international scholars focus on the social, political, economic, and cultural impact of the American Civil War and the German Wars of Unification.

For God and Kaiser

For God and Kaiser PDF Author: Richard Bassett
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300213107
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 633

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Book Description
Among the finest examples of deeply researched and colorfully written military history, Richard Bassett’s For God and Kaiser is a major account of the Habsburg army told for the first time in English. Bassett shows how the Imperial Austrian Army, time and again, was a decisive factor in the story of Europe, the balance of international power, and the defense of Christendom. Moreover it was the first pan-European army made up of different nationalities and faiths, counting among its soldiers not only Christians but also Muslims and Jews. Bassett tours some of the most important campaigns and battles in modern European military history, from the seventeenth century through World War I. He details technical and social developments that coincided with the army’s story and provides fascinating portraits of the great military leaders as well as noteworthy figures of lesser renown. Departing from conventional assessments of the Habsburg army as ineffective, outdated, and repeatedly inadequate, the author argues that it was a uniquely cohesive and formidable fighting force, in many respects one of the glories of the old Europe.