Iron And Blood Av Peter H. Wilson

<p><b>*WINNER OF THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON MEDAL FOR MILITARY HISTORY*</b><br><b>*A<i> DAILY TELEGRAPH </i>BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022*</b><br><br><b>''No one interested in the history of Europe can afford not to read this stupendous book'' Simon Heffer, <i>Daily Telegraph</i></b><br><br><i>Iron and Blood </i>is a startlingly ambitious and absorbing book, encompassing 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.<br><br>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, re