The First Soldier, Stephen Fritz
The First Soldier, Stephen Fritz
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The First Soldier
Hitler as Military Leader

Author: Stephen Fritz

Narrator: P.J. Ochlan

Unabridged: 21 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/13/2018


Synopsis

A leading expert reexamines history to offer a stunningly original portrait of Hitler as a competent military commander and strategist.

After Germany's humiliating World War II defeat, numerous German generals published memoirs claiming that their country's brilliant military leadership had been undermined by the Führer's erratic decision making. The author of three highly acclaimed books on the era, Stephen Fritz upends this characterization of Hitler as an ill-informed fantasist and demonstrates the ways in which his strategy was coherent and even competent.

That Hitler saw World War II as the only way to retrieve Germany's fortunes and build an expansionist Thousand-Year Reich is uncontroversial. But while his generals did sometimes object to Hitler's tactics and operational direction, they often made the same errors in judgment and were in agreement regarding larger strategic and political goals. A necessary volume for understanding the influence of World War I on Hitler's thinking, this work is also an eye-opening reappraisal of major events like the invasion of Russia and the battle for Normandy.

About Stephen Fritz

Stephen Fritz is professor at East Tennessee State University. His books include Frontsoldaten: The German Soldier in World War II and Ostkrieg: Hitler's War of Extermination in the East. He lives in Johnson City, TN.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Boudewijn on February 29, 2020

An highly original portrait of Hitler as a competent military commander and strategist After the end of World War II, Hitler was often described by his surviving generals as someone who made strategic blunders, erratic decisions and disastrously interfered with his generals in managing the war. In thi......more

Goodreads review by Mathieu on September 30, 2018

Its a awesome book. Hitler is analysed as a military leader. yes the author aknoledge that he commited genocide and to reach is goal of vital space in the east, specialy the Soviet Union he had to mass murder slavic peoples and jews. Hitler wasn,t irrational in the way that he knew that time was goi......more

Goodreads review by Mohamed on December 05, 2019

After the end of WWII, many German generals blamed the dead Fuhrer for the defeat of Germany. In WWI the generals also blamed others (socialist politicians, communists etc), and that created what is know as the myth of the stab in the back. This time around they couldn't make the same move as the mi......more

Goodreads review by Gavin on November 23, 2021

A valuable new perspective on an often discussed, yet often one sided, rinsed and repeated argument that is; Hitler the great military blunderer. History often leads us down paths we don't want to travel and makes us engage with people and events that we would rather avoid, while forcing us to confr......more

Goodreads review by Kelly on May 29, 2020

Fascinating look into Hitler as an underrated military leader.......more