David Stone (2) (1947–)

This book is a comprehensive look at the German Army of World War I. Published by Conway in 2015 and spanning a total of 617 pages in my Kindle edition, David Stone's "The Kaiser's Army: The German Army in World War I" takes on a terrific challenge in presenting a topic that most historians would chop up into smaller pieces. Let's see how Stone's ambitious effort stacks up.

The wide scope of "The Kaiser's Army" means that this is a complex book, and the arrangement reflects that complexity. There are a total of nine parts to the book, with 5 to 19 chapters in each part. Stone provides two appendices, with Appendix 1 providing information on the arms and equipment of the German Army while Appendix 2 provides a list of German military terms along with the English language equivalents. The end of the book reveals endnotes, a list of illustrations, a black and white photo section, and a nice color uniform/insignia illustration section. There is no index.

Part I, The Kaiser's Army in Peacetime, 1871-1914, has 14 chapters and explains how a German national army developed out of the various monarchy armies to become the most potent military force in Europe. Part II, The Kaiser's Army at War, 1914-1918, tells the wartime story of the German Army in 18 chapters. Part III, The Structure of Military Power, takes 6 chapters to explain German Army organization over the 43 years between its founding and the outbreak of the world war. Part IV, Officers and Soldiers, has 9 chapters to explain how the German Army got its men and how the process changed in the course of the war. Part V, Uniforms and Equipment, describes in 9 chapters how the German soldier was clothed and equipped for war. Part VI, Combat Arms, takes five chapters to describe the different combat branches that formed the cutting edge of the Army, along with some of the traditions that accompanied the branches. Part VII, Supporting Arms and Services, speaks about the non-combat branches of the Army that contributed to the effectiveness of the combat arms. Part VIII, Field Training and Operational Procedures, describes how the German Army worked in battle as well as how the officers and men learned their trade. Part IX, The End of the Kaiser's Army, finishes the story begun in Parts I and II and takes the story of the German Army to its new identity as the Reichsheer, the short-lived army of the Weimar Republic.

This work is a tremendous accomplishment for David Stone. However, I feel that the book could have been improved in two ways. First, I think Parts I, II, and IX could be eliminated to save about 130 pages. Anyone interested in the book's subject probably already has some knowledge of the First World War and its campaigns. Stone's three parts do not provide any groundbreaking information and are, in fact, a rather shallow dive into the topic. Second, those 130 pages saved by eliminating the three unnecessary parts could be applied to enhance Appendix 1, which could use a serious expansion both in illustrations and in text.

I applaud this author in providing the effort to put this book together, but there is room for significant improvement.… (mehr)

5335. Shattered Genius The Decline and Fall of the German General Staff in World War II, by David Stone (read 20 Dec 2015) This is a book by an English military historian first published in England in 2011, telling in solid prose of the German General Staff and its history from 1919 till 1945. It makes no attempt to be "popular" but nevertheless tells well how the German General Staff often opposed Hitler but still did its work usually competently. They might have tried to overthrow Hitler if he had started World War II in 1938 but his success at Munich scotched that plan. 1939 and 1940 saw such success that to attempt to thwart Hitler would have been unsuccessful. Hitler often disregarded the generals' advice and often such disregard led to failure. After the July 20, 1944, assassination plot failed Hitler distrusted the generals, who never would have done the dumb things Hitler did: attacking Russia before England was conquered, and declaring war on the United States. This book I found better than I expected and it is full of good reasoning. And as always it is pleasant to read of the fall of Hitler and the Nazis… (mehr)