The Wehrmacht Retreats

In this follow-up to Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of 1942, Citino (history, Univ. of North Texas) examines the campaigns in Russia and North Africa that sapped the Wehrmacht of its offensive strength to the point where only localized, limited offensives would be possible. An expert on the "German way of war," he cites the German military tradition of emphasizing the offensive over defense as being a prime reason for the sapping of the Wehrmacht's power in the pivotal year 1943. It is a compelling argument, well illustrated by Citino's examination of the year's campaigns, and a good counterpoint to the idea that it was Hitler or Nazism that led to military defeat. Citino instead shows that the German way of war, starting with Frederick the Great, had become outmoded and untenable in the era of mass production.