{"product_id":"iron-and-blood-a-military-history-of-the-german-speaking-peoples-since-1500","title":"Iron and Blood : A Military History of the German-speaking Peoples Since 1500","description":"\u003cp\u003eFor most of its existence German-speaking Europe has been splintered into innumerable states - some substantial (such as Austria and Prussia) and some consisting of just a few Alpine meadows. Its military experience has also been extraordinarily varied: threatened and threatening; a mere buffer-zone, and a global threat.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Iron and Blood is a startlingly ambitious and absorbing book. It encompasses five centuries of political, military, technological and economic change to tell the story of the German-speaking lands, from the Rhine to the Balkan frontier, from Switzerland to the North Sea. Wilson's narrative considers everything from weapons development to recruitment to battlefield strategy.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e Germans' military impact on the rest of Europe has been immense. If there is one constant it has been the sense of being beset by seemingly more powerful enemies - France or Russia or Turkey - and the need to strike a rapid knockout blow to ensure a favourable result. Almost inevitably, this has in practice meant protracted, relentless and often unwinnable wars, and - in 1939-1945 - moral catastrophe.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e The author of definitive books on the Holy Roman Empire and the Thirty Years War, Peter Wilson has with Iron and Blood written his masterpiece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e Published: UK, 2022\u003cbr\u003e Publisher: Allen Lane\u003cbr\u003e Pages: 976\u003cbr\u003e Language: English\u003cbr\u003e ISBN 13: 9780241355565\u003cbr\u003e ISBN 10: 0241355567\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peter H. Wilson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44185597903114,"sku":"","price":47.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0282\/6066\/3399\/products\/9780241355565.jpg?v=1674565794","url":"https:\/\/www.shakespeareandsons.com\/products\/iron-and-blood-a-military-history-of-the-german-speaking-peoples-since-1500","provider":"Shakespeare \u0026 Sons Buchhandel GmbH","version":"1.0","type":"link"}