{"product_id":"instrument-of-war-9781472829801","title":"Instrument of War","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on more than a half-century of research and teaching, Dennis Showalter presents a fresh perspective on the German Army during World War I. Showalter surveys an army at the heart of a national identity, driven by--yet also defeated by--warfare in the modern age, that struggled to capitalize on its victories, and ultimately forgot the lessons of its defeat. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Exploring the internal dynamics of the German Army, detailing how the soldiers coped with the many new forms of warfare, Showalter shows how the army''s institutions responded to and how Germany itself was changed by war. He goes on to detail the major campaigns on the Western and Eastern Fronts and the forgotten war fought in the Middle East and Africa, revealing operational strategy, the complexities of campaigns of movement versus static trench warfare, and the effects of changes in warfare.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinnter of the 2016 Norman B. Tomlinson, Jr. Book Prize, in association with the World War One Historical Associati\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis book is classic Showalter, witty, insightful, and remarkably erudite. This is the perfect match between author and project.\u003c\/i\u003e * Michael S. Neiberg, author of Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDennis Showalter does it again.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmerica’s leading historian returns to his speciality, the German army, and provides a first rate study, at once accessible and scholarly, that focuses on the strengths, resilience and eventual failure of the army during the First World War. A deft mix of the varied levels and experience of war.\u003c\/i\u003e -- Jeremy Black\u003cbr\u003eShowalter has written the last word on the German military tragedy of World War I.  The book is wise and deep.  The German political leadership, stunted and divided by Bismarck’s constitution and Kaiser Wilhelm II’s frivolous interventions, failed to craft any sound strategy for the 20th century.  The cloistered German army, less autonomous and powerful than imagined, focused its energies downward on operations and tactics, becoming the proverbial ostrich with its head in the sand.  So good and innovative were the Germans at battle that they nearly overcame their own lack of strategy as well as the most intractable strategic obstacles:  American power and British blockade.  \u003ci\u003eInstrument of War\u003c\/i\u003e is vintage Showalter – deft, limpid, wry, insightful and memorable.   Geoffrey Wawro, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Franco-Prussian War:  The German Conquest of France in 1870-71 \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eA Mad Catastrophe:  The Outbreak of World War I and the Collapse of the Habsburg Empire\u003c\/i\u003e. -- Professor Geoffrey Wawro * Publisher approached reviewer *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction and Acknowledgements  Chapter I: Portents and Preliminaries  Chapter II: Autumn of Decision  Chapter III:Reevaluating  Chapter IV: Verdun and the Somme: End of an Army Chapter V: Reconfigurations Chapter VI: Climax and Denouement Coda  Notes Bibliography  Index\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing PLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48867214491991,"sku":"9781472829801","price":10.44,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/instrument-of-war-9781472829801","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}