‘Iron and Blood’ Review: The German Way of War

Oct 13, 2023

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Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, Britain's fabled World War II general, purportedly remarked that you haven't truly experienced war until you have fought the Germans. Whether or not he used those words, the sentiment captures a common view—that Germany is a uniquely militaristic nation. Even Germany's post-1989 rejection of war and insistence on being a "civilian power"—part of its official creed—buttressed this framing of the past. What other country would feel the need to redefine itself in such a way?

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