Download or read book Hitler as Military Commander written by John Strawson and published by Leo Cooper Books. This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was Hitler 'the greatest strategic genius of all time' as Nazi propaganda would have us believe, or a facile amateur in military affairs? Why was the startling success of his campaigns in Poland and France followed by the blundering mistakes in Russia, Tunis and Normandy? Might the German General Staff have won the war without Hitler's continual disastrous interference? John Strawson answers these and other questions by showing how Hitler's insatiable preoccupation with war and conquest was translated into reality. While the willpower behind the revitalized German army was Hitler's the author examines the Fuhrer's eccentric use of the most formidable war machine the world had ever seen. This lucid assessment is brought alive by the accounts of those who served Hitler both on his staff and as field commanders. The Western Front

Download or read book Hitler s Commanders written by Samuel W. Mitcham (Jr.) and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in an expanded edition that includes biographies of the generals of Stalingrad and a new chapter on the panzer commanders, this book offers rare insight into the men who ran Nazi Germany's war machine. Going beyond common stereotypes, Samuel W. Mitcham and Gene Mueller recount the compelling lives of a varied group of army, navy, Luftwaffe, and SS men. Weaving in dramatic stories of tank commanders, fighter pilots in aerial combat, and U-Boat aces, the authors bring the battlefields of World War II to life.

Download or read book Hitler s Commander written by Steven H. Newton and published by Da Capo Press. This book was released on 2006-01-03 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Field Marshal Walther Model (1891-1945) was an extremely capable and aggressive German commander who rose through the ranks of the Wehrmacht's high command during World War II. His expertise in rebuilding broken fronts earned him the nickname of the “Fuhrer's Fireman,” and throughout the war, Hitler relied on the rapidly promoted general to save his army in several desperate situations, despite the fact that Model was often quite blunt with his erratic Fuhrer.Model's greatest achievement was the restoration of stability along the eastern front in June 1944. In August he was sent to restore the deteriorating western front, where he re-established a strong defensive line along the West Wall in September. He was second-in-command at the Battle of the Bulge and was leading the German army when it collapsed at the end of the war. Rather than surrender, he shot himself in April 1945.Although Model destroyed most of his personal papers just before he died, Stephen H. Newton draws on a wide variety of original German sources, including extensive Wehrmacht archival material, to tell the first and only authoritative story of the commander who was Hitler's favorite.

Download or read book Hitler as Military Commander written by John Strawson and published by Canelo. This book was released on 2023-06-15 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was Hitler 'the greatest strategic genius of all time' as Nazi propaganda had it, or just an amateur? Why was the startling success of his campaigns in Poland and France followed by the blundering mistakes in Russia, North Africa and France? Might Germany even have won the war without Hitler's continual and disastrous interference? In this extraordinary history, John Strawson answers these and other questions by showing how Hitler's insatiable preoccupation with war and conquest was translated into reality. While the power of a revitalized German army came from Hitler, Strawson examines the Fuhrer's eccentric use of the most formidable war machine the world had ever seen. This lucid story of fire and incompetence is brought alive by the accounts of those who served Hitler both on his staff and as field commanders. Perfect for readers of Ian Kershaw and Anthony Beevor.

Download or read book Inside Hitler s High Command written by Geoffrey P. Megargee and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2000-06-08 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenging previous accounts, Geoffrey Megargee shatters the myth that German generals would have prevailed in World War II if only Hitler had not meddled in their affairs. Indeed, Megargee argues, the German high command was much more flawed than many have suspected or acknowledged. Inside Hitler's High Command reveals that while Hitler was the central figure in many military decisions, his generals were equal partners in Germany's catastrophic defeat. Megargee exposes the structure, processes, and personalities that governed the Third Reich's military decision making and shows how Germany's presumed battlefield superiority was undermined by poor strategic and operational planning at the highest levels. His study tracks the evolution of German military leadership under the Nazis from 1933 to 1945 and expands our understanding of the balance of power within the high command, the role of personalities in its organizational development, and the influence of German military intellectuals on its structure and function. He also shows how the organization of the high command was plagued by ambition, stubbornness, political intrigue, and overworked staff officers. And his "a week in the life" chapter puts the high command under a magnifying glass to reveal its inner workings during the fierce fighting on the Russian Front in December 1941. Megargee also offers new insights into the high command crises of 1938 and shows how German general staff made fatal mistakes in their planning for Operation Barbarossa in 1941. Their arrogant dismissal of the Soviet military's ability to defend its homeland and virtual disregard for the extensive intelligence and sound logistics that undergird successful large-scale military campaigns ultimately came back to haunt them. In the final assessment, observes Megargee, the generals' strategic ideas were no better than Hitler's and often worse. Heinz Guderian, Franz Halder, and the rest were as guilty of self-deception as their Fuhrer, believing that innate German superiority and strength of will were enough to overcome nearly any obstacle. Inside Hitler's High Command exposes these surprising flaws and illuminates the process of strategy and decision making in the Third Reich.

Download or read book Hitler written by Percy Ernst Schramm and published by ChicagoReviewPress + ORM. This book was released on 1999-12-01 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Percy Ernst Schramm, one of Germany's most distinguished historians, had exceptional insight into Hitler's headquarters while acting as War Diary Office of the High Command of the German Armed Forces. This classic volume, long out of print, contains the introductions written by Schramm to critical editions of Hitler's Table Talk and the official War Diary of the High Command of the Wehrmacht. In addition, there are two appendices: the first consisting of excerpts from a study composed by Schramm for the Nuremberg Trials on relations between Hitler and the General Staff; the second a memorandum written by General Jodl in 1946 on Hitler's military leadership.

Download or read book Hitler written by Rupert Matthews and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-07-03 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive examination of Hitler’s military strategies. As Führer of the Third Reich, Hitler was responsible for deciding the German war aims in 1939. As head of the Armed Forces from February 4th, 1938, he was also responsible for the overall Wehrmacht strategy intended to achieve these aims. Hitler: Military Commander examines with impeccable detail Hitler's key military decisions during the Second World War, and assesses how far these decisions were militarily justified in the light of the intelligence available at the time. Perhaps most importantly, it tackles the larger questions of how a non-German former corporal, albeit the holder of the Iron Cross First Class, managed to take personal control of an army with the Prussian traditions of the German army; to appoint, sack, and sentence to death its generals at will, to lead it into a World War it was not prepared for; and to ultimately destroy it. Featuring black-and-white photographs, maps, biographical context, tactical analysis, and more, this new edition of Hitler: Military Commander will give readers the comprehensive overview of Hitler's military decisions and downfall.

Download or read book The First Soldier written by Stephen G. Fritz and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “An expert account of Nazi war strategy that concludes that Hitler was not without military talent.”(Kirkus Reviews) After Germany’s humiliating World War II defeat, numerous German generals published memoirs claiming that their country’s brilliant military leadership had been undermined by the Führer’s erratic decision making. The author of three highly acclaimed books on the era, Stephen Fritz upends this characterization of Hitler as an ill-informed fantasist and demonstrates the ways in which his strategy was coherent and even competent. That Hitler saw World War II as the only way to retrieve Germany’s fortunes and build an expansionist Thousand-Year Reich is uncontroversial. But while his generals did sometimes object to Hitler’s tactics and operational direction, they often made the same errors in judgment and were in agreement regarding larger strategic and political goals. A necessary volume for understanding the influence of World War I on Hitler’s thinking, this work is also an eye-opening reappraisal of major events like the invasion of Russia and the battle for Normandy. “Perhaps the best account we have to date of Hitler’s military leadership. It shows a scrupulous and imaginative historian at work and will cement Fritz’s reputation as one of the leading historians of the military conflicts generated by Hitler’s Germany.” —Richard Overy, author of The Bombing War “Original, insightful and authoritative.” —David Stahel, author of The Battle for Moscow

Download or read book Hitler s Gladiator written by Charles Messenger and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 493 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A charismatic yet notorious character, Sepp Dietrich the man is impossible to separate from Sepp Dietrich the General, who was awarded twenty-four different honors during his service to the Nazi party and was known for his devotion to his men as he led them through some of the fiercest fighting in the war. In this extensively researched book, historian Charles Messenger attempts to discover the truth about this sparsely documented man, painting a vivid picture of the aggressive war and politics under the Third Reich. From Dietrich’s humble upbringing and his eventual rise to General, to his dissatisfaction with Hitler’s leadership and the trials he faced after the war, Dietrich remains a mysterious figure in history.

Download or read book Manstein written by Mungo Melvin and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2011-06-07 with total page 714 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the preeminent British military strategist comes this riveting biography of Manstein, Hitler's most controversial general. Among students of military history, the genius of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein (1887–1973) is respected perhaps more than that of any other World War II soldier. He displayed his strategic brilliance in such campaigns as the invasion of Poland, the Blitzkrieg of France, the sieges of Sevastopol, Leningrad, and Stalingrad, and the battles of Kharkov and Kursk. Manstein also stands as one of the war's most enigmatic and controversial figures. To some, he was a leading proponent of the Nazi regime and a symbol of the moral corruption of the Wehrmacht. Yet he also disobeyed Hitler, who dismissed his leading Field Marshal over this incident, and has been suspected by some of conspiring against the Führer. Sentenced to eighteen years by a British war tribunal at Hamburg in 1949, Manstein was released in 1953 and went on to advise the West German government in founding its new army within NATO. Military historian and strategist Mungo Melvin combines his research in German military archives and battlefield records with unprecedented access to family archives to get to the truth of Manstein's life and deliver this definitive biography of the man and his career.

Download or read book Hitler s Commanders written by James Lucas and published by Frontline Books. This book was released on 2014-01-22 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As absolute as Hitler's control over the German war machine was, it depended on the ability, judgment and unquestioning loyalty of the senior officers charged with putting his ideas, however difficult, into effect.Top military historian James Lucas examines the stories of fourteen of these men: all of different rank, from varied backgrounds, and highly awarded, they exemplify German military prowess at its most dangerous. Among his subjects are Eduard Dietl, the commander of German forces in Norway and Eastern Europe; Werner Kampf, one of the most successful Panzer commanders of the war; and Kurt Meyer, commander of the Hitler Youth Division and one of Germany's youngest general officers.The author, one of the leading experts on all aspects of German military conduct of the Second World War, offers the reader a rare look into the nature of the German Army a curious mix of individual strength, petty officialdom and pragmatic action.

Download or read book Hermann Goring written by Fred Ramen and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2000-12-15 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chronicles the life of the powerful member of the Nazi party who was second in command to Adolf Hitler and leader of the German Air Force during World War II.

Download or read book Hitler s Generals written by Correlli Barnett and published by Grove Press. This book was released on 1989 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With essays from Carlo D'Este, Martin Blumenson, Walter Goerlitz, Gen. John Hackett, and Martin Middlebrook, Hitler's Generals probes the central mystery of why a generation of the world's most able commanders and staff officers came to be seduced by Hitler, and why they failed to deflect him from his disastrous decisions. From Kenneth Macksey's essay on Heinz Guderian, who created the Panzier divisions and innovated the use of dive bombers, to Earl Ziemke's portrait of Karl Gerd von Runstedt, whose stalling of the German blitzkrieg allowed 338,000 Allied troops enough time to fall back on Dunkirk and escape to fight again, these are bold and incisive assessments of the twentieth century's greatest strategists and villains. Book jacket.

Download or read book Hitler s Commanders written by Samuel W. Mitcham and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-01-22 with total page 347 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As absolute as Hitler's control over the German war machine was, it depended on the ability, judgment and unquestioning loyalty of the senior officers charged with putting his ideas, however difficult, into effect.Top military historian James Lucas examines the stories of fourteen of these men: all of different rank, from varied backgrounds, and highly awarded, they exemplify German military prowess at its most dangerous. Among his subjects are Eduard Dietl, the commander of German forces in Norway and Eastern Europe; Werner Kampf, one of the most successful Panzer commanders of the war; and Kurt Meyer, commander of the Hitler Youth Division and one of Germany's youngest general officers.The author, one of the leading experts on all aspects of German military conduct of the Second World War, offers the reader a rare look into the nature of the German Army a curious mix of individual strength, petty officialdom and pragmatic action.

Download or read book Hitler and His Generals written by Harold C. Deutsch and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 1974 with total page 490 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hitler and His Generals was first published in 1974. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. The author, who told the story of second of four conspiratorial rounds in his earlier book The Conspiracy against Hitler in the Twilight War,describes here the situations and events leading up to the first round of conspiracy. The present volume deals with the virtual coup d'etat by which Hitler sought to establish ascendancy over the Wehrmacht early in 1938. The account focuses on sensational events centering about Hitler's successful efforts to oust Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg, the War Minister, and Colonel General Baron von Fritsch, the Army commander in chief, in order to consolidate control of the military in his own hands. Using as an excuse Blomberg's marriage to a woman with a discreditable past, he forced Blomberg's resignation. He accomplished Fritsch's resignation through charges of homosexuality which were trumped up by Himmler, Heydrich, and Goering. He then appointed Colonel General Walther von Brauchitsch, who was under personal obligation to him, as commander in chief. Through these moves, as Dr. Deutsch shows, Hitler closed the door to all means other than conspiracy for the active Opposition movement to express itself against his aggressive policies. The story of the first round of conspiracy will be the subject of another book by Professor Deutsch, to be published later.

Download or read book Hitler written by Percy Ernst Schramm and published by Academy Chicago Publishers, Limited. This book was released on 1999 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Percy Ernst Schramm, one of Germany's most distinguished historians, had exceptional insight into Hitler's headquarters while acting as War Diary Office of the High Command of the German Armed Forces. This classic volume, long out of print, contains the introductions written by Schramm to critical editions of Hitler's Table Talk and the official War Diary of the High Command of the Wehrmacht. In addition, there are two appendices: the first consisting of excerpts from a study composed by Schramm for the Nuremberg Trials on relations between Hitler and the General Staff; the second a memorandum written by General Jodl in 1946 on Hitler's military leadership.

Download or read book Hitler s Wartime Orders written by Bob Carruthers and published by Grub Street Publishers. This book was released on 2018-07-30 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Emmy Award–winning author presents the history of WWII through the military strategies, tactics, and decisions of the infamous Nazi dictator. Edited by Bob Carruthers, Hitler’s Wartime Orders is an important historical record of Adolf Hitler’s war directives for the armies of Nazi Germany. From preparations for the invasion of Poland to his last desperate order to his troops on the Eastern Front, this volume provides fascinating insight into the proceedings of the Second World War and the mind of the man who launched the world into chaos. As readers will observe in this fascinating volume, the initial optimism of 1939 devolved into the disarray of later orders. How those orders were received, processed, and carried out by the upper echelons of the Third Reich would come to shape the future of military policy. This unvarnished publication reveals the true nature of Adolf Hitler as a military commander and sheds light on the events of one of the world’s greatest tragedies. All the wartime orders have been typeset in a clear format and presented chronologically.