Richard Overy

The roots of 20th-century German aggression

Long before the rise of Prussian militarism, German states fought bitter internecine wars and provided formidable mercenaries for other nations, says Peter Wilson

Sixteenth-century Landsknechts (German mercenaries) by Ludwig Burger. [Alamy] 
issue 01 October 2022

It is the contention of Peter Wilson, professor of the history of war at Oxford University and the author of an acclaimed history of the Thirty Years’ War, that military historians have focused too much on the German wars of the 20th century in trying to understand German ‘militarism’ as a distinctive characteristic – a ‘genius for war’ imitated by others.

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