WHY THE GERMANS LOSE AT WAR: The Myth of German Military Superiority [Paperback]

Kenneth Macksey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1999 | Series: Greenhill Military Paperbacks

The German armed forces suffered crushing defeat in the last century. Kenneth Macksey examines the reasons behind these catastrophic military failures: the random fortunes of war, or the inevitable result of a particular structure, leadership and history? A nation with few natural defensive boundaries, Germany traditionally had to struggle to survive, and developed an aggressive and militant outlook. Its great strengths were the brilliance of individual generals and military thinkers, the innovative development of the military forces, and the skill and tenacity of the fighting men. Set against all this was a short-term war policy, a tendency to underestimate the enemy and believe its own propaganda, and the politicization of the military staffs. These and many other factors were to lead Germany from nineteenth-century success, and dreams of world domination, to twentieth-century defeat.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kenneth Macksey's other books include Guderian: Panzer General and the "alternate history" Invasion.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Greenhill Books (September 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1853673838
• ISBN-13: 978-1853673832
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #995,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A basic overview, but nothing really new..., January 17, 2000

By 

Brindle "Odd Info Fan" (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: WHY THE GERMANS LOSE AT WAR: The Myth of German Military Superiority (Paperback)

All in all this book is a very basic overview of the Second World War, with some history of the general staff thrown into the mix. Ultimately this book does not live up to its' title. If you are moderatly to well read on the Second World War, you will find very little new in this book. In fact, any general history of the Second World War is a recitation of German military blunders, which is basicly all this book is.

If you have read "The Rise & Fall of the Third Reich", "Inside the Third Reich" and throw in "The Arms of Krupp" for some odd insight into the Germans, you have read 85% of this book. Unfortunatly, I read Overy's "Why the Allies Won" prior to this book and that pushes the percentage (for me) to 98%.

Does the book offer anything new or different ? Yes, Kesselering gets deservedly good billing and the fighting in Italy and the Balkans gets more than the usual passing mention. Unfortunately, if you have read "The Forgotten Soldier", "Heaven & Hell", "Campaign in Russia", "Soldiers of Destruction" and "D-Day", you do not need to read this book to know why the Germans lost.

Bottom line: Buy Overy's book "Why the Allies Won" to answer the question "Why [do] the Germans Lose at War [? ]".

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars He Never Explains Why!, April 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: WHY THE GERMANS LOSE AT WAR: The Myth of German Military Superiority (Paperback)

The title is *WHY* the Germans Lose at War. I read the book and all I saw was a bunch of high level summaries of battles fought and lost by the Germans. I never saw an analysis of *why* beyond the author slamming the Germans as being arrogant. There is nothing new presented in this book - not even something as simple as taking a different point of view. This book is nothing but German bashing and I am ashamed to have purchased it. If Amazon had allowed me to rate this as zero stars, I would.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Unenlightening rehash of readily available information, January 24, 2000

By 

John A. Kuczma "RogueUlfric" (Marietta, GA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: WHY THE GERMANS LOSE AT WAR: The Myth of German Military Superiority (Paperback)

The early chapters of Why the Germans Lose at War show a great deal of promise. There is an informative and thorough examination of the metamorphosis from the early Prussian leadership, with its constant infighting between aristocracy and professional soldier, to the modern German General Staff, circa WWI, with its thoroughly inbred bickering between the Kaiser and his circle of confidantes, the remaining professional soldiers of high rank, and the plethora of hangers-on who invariably interfere with and denigrate the effectiveness of any military decision making process. Unfortunately, as the book moves into the Hitlerian era, it loses much of its focus and provides almost no original information.

From 1933 on, the book becomes a stock review of the petty jealosies between OKH, OKW, OKL and OKM. There is nothing here that anyone with a more than passing familiarity with Nazi Germany will find surprising. The lone breath of fresh air is a frank appraisal of the strategic and tactical capabilities of the twin masters, Kesselring and Guderian, and a pointed debunking of the myth of Rommel.

Why the Germans Lose at War provides a limited number of insights into the origins of the psyche and staff level mechanisms that led to the debacles of the World Wars but, in the final analysis, is more than a little disappointing.